Qualitative research with primary school-aged children: ethical and practical considerations of evaluating a safeguarding programme in schools

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 194-204
Author(s):  
Vicki Jackson-Hollis
Keyword(s):  
Primary School ◽  
School Setting ◽  
Service Evaluation ◽  
Careful Consideration ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Primary School Children ◽  
Service Development ◽  
Content Type ◽  
School Aged Children ◽  
School Based

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore some of the ethical and practical challenges of working with primary school-aged children to conduct qualitative service evaluations regarding sensitive safeguarding topics. Design/methodology/approach The paper centres on the author’s learnings from conducting school-based, task-assisted focus groups with 5–11 year olds. The reflections are drawn from notes made during fieldwork, debrief discussions with evaluation colleagues and wider team debates. This was a consultative participatory evaluation and the findings are situated within the wider literature around rights-based approaches to research. Findings Using multi-method and creative approaches can facilitate young children to assent and dissent from service evaluation in a school setting. However, the challenges of helping children understand confidentiality are highlighted, as is the challenge for researchers in recognising and responding in situ to disclosures. Using suitable and creative activities, this evaluation demonstrates that primary school children can contribute meaningful data to assist with service development. However, the approach to collecting these data from the youngest children needs careful consideration. Practical implications Researchers may need to adopt full participatory methods to better help children understand the confidentiality bounds of research and to form views on the subject matter. More discussion is needed in the wider safeguarding research literature to show how researchers have navigated the challenges of handling disclosures. Originality/value This paper contributes to the literature by providing examples of how to overcome issues of children’s participation, consent and protection in service evaluation focussed on a sensitive topic.

The Mozart Effect and Primary School Children

2003 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 405-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vesna K. Ivanov ◽  
John G. Geake
Keyword(s):  
Primary School ◽  
School Children ◽  
School Setting ◽  
Spatial Task ◽  
Primary School Children ◽  
Natural Setting ◽  
Mozart Effect ◽  
School Aged Children ◽  
Musical Background ◽  
Paper Folding

This study found some evidence for the existence of a Mozart Effect with upper-primary school-aged children in a school setting. Scores on a Paper Folding Task (PFT) for a class which listened to Mozart during testing were significantly higher than the PFT scores of a control class. Moreover, a similar result was obtained for another class which listened to Bach during testing. The musical educational experience of the children, ascertained by a Musical Background Questionnaire, did not significantly contribute to the variance in PFT scores. We believe that this study is the first to find a Mozart Effect for school children in a natural setting, in contrast to the original study of Rauscher, Shaw and Ky (1993) who examined the effects of listening to Mozart on the spatial task performance of university students in a laboratory.

Introducing Vi polysaccharide typhoid fever vaccine to primary school children in North Jakarta, Indonesia, via an existent school-based vaccination platform

Public Health ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 120 (11) ◽  
pp. 1081-1087 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.D. Agtini ◽  
R.L. Ochiai ◽  
R. Soeharno ◽  
H.J. Lee ◽  
J. Sundoro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Typhoid Fever ◽  
Primary School ◽  
School Children ◽  
Primary School Children ◽  
School Based

scholarly journals Effect of a School-based Nutrition Education Program on the Nutritional Status of Primary School Children

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Parisa Keshani ◽  
Seyed Mohammad Mousavi ◽  
Zahra Mirzaei ◽  
Zeinab Hematdar ◽  
Najmeh Maayeshi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nutritional Status ◽  
Primary School ◽  
Nutrition Education ◽  
School Children ◽  
Education Program ◽  
Primary School Children ◽  
School Based ◽  
Nutrition Education Program

scholarly journals Primary school children often underestimate their nasal obstruction

2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 164-169
Author(s):  
Francesca Occasi ◽  
Marzia Duse ◽  
Tommaso Vittori ◽  
Anna Rugiano ◽  
Giancarlo Tancredi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Allergic Rhinitis ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Primary School ◽  
Nasal Obstruction ◽  
School Children ◽  
Primary School Children ◽  
Nasal Resistance ◽  
Nasal Patency ◽  
School Aged Children ◽  
Subjective Sensation

Background: No consensus has ever been reached about the correlation between nasal resistance and the subjective sensation of nasal patency. The aim of the present study was to better de ne whether primary school and secondary school aged children correctly estimate their nasal obstruction. Materials and methods: Two hundred eighty four children (168 males and 116 female) aged between 6 and 14 years (9.5+2.9 years) affected by Pediatric Allergic Rhinitis underwent Rhinomanometry and they were considered as correctly estimating their nasal obstruction when the grade of nasal patency corresponded to the severity of the NOSE score, overestimating when the grade of nasal patency was <1 when compared to the severity of the score, underestimating when the grade of nasal patency was >1 when compared to the severity of the score. Results: Correlation between NOSE score and nasal patency was statistically significant (r -0.74; p<0.001). Children between 6 and 9 years of age underestimate (43.7%) and children >12 overestimate (34.7%) their symptoms more frequently than children among other age ranges (p<0.001). Conclusion: Although NOSE score approximately allow to quantify nasal obstruction, in children, especially between 6 and 9 years of age, an objective measurement of nasal patency should be performed to better define the therapeutic approach.

Bullying prevalence and numeracy performance among primary school children in Johannesburg: Implications for school-based interventions

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jace Pillay
Keyword(s):  
Primary School ◽  
School Children ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
School Bullying ◽  
Home Language ◽  
Primary School Children ◽  
Contextual Variables ◽  
School Based ◽  
Early School

Background: Research has provided evidence about the negative impact of school bullying on the academic performance of primary school children, but studies on the prevalence of school bullying and numeracy performance of children are very scant.Aim: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of school bullying and numeracy performance among primary school children, and its implications for school-based interventions.Setting: The sample comprised 435 children (56.3% females and 43.7% males; Grades 1–7; median age = 11 years) attending six primary schools in three different education districts in Johannesburg, South Africa.Method: The children self-reported their experience of bullying by peers through a questionnaire. In addition, they completed numeracy tests. For children aged 6 to 9 years, the questionnaire was completed with the assistance of trained field workers.Results: The results following a linear regression with multiple predictors indicated that numeracy was significantly associated with contextual variables such as grade and home language. Bullying was strongly associated with socio-economic indicators such as school quintile and regional situation. These variables are important in early school support interventions directed at improving learner numeracy performance in the primary school.Conclusion: The results show a relatively high percentage of bullying in primary schools in the Johannesburg region. The performance in numeracy was significantly associated with the grade and home language of the learner. Contextual variables related to socio-economic situation of learners such as school quintiles and regional situation had strong associations with bullying.

Malaria classroom corner: a school-based intervention to promote basic malaria awareness and common control practices among school-age children

2020 ◽  
Vol 120 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-119
Author(s):  
Uchechukwu M. Chukwuocha ◽  
Greg N. Iwuoha ◽  
Chisom M. Ogara ◽  
Ikechukwu N.S. Dozie
Keyword(s):  
Primary School ◽  
Behaviour Change ◽  
School Children ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
School Age ◽  
Content Type ◽  
School Based Intervention ◽  
School Based ◽  
Common Control ◽  
Primary School Age

PurposeThis study assessed the effectiveness of malaria classroom corner (MCC), school-based intervention in the promotion of basic malaria awareness and common control practices among children of primary school age.Design/methodology/approachA quasi-experimental design was employed, involving 206 children of primary 5 and 6 classes from two randomly selected public primary schools in Owerri, South Eastern Nigeria. The MCC was designed and set up in the intervention school (with 103 children) while the control school (with 103 children) was offered malaria health talk. Structured pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect data pre- and post-intervention in both schools. Data was analysed using Statistical Package – Stata version 14.1 (Stata Corp, College Station, TX, USA).FindingsResults show that there was a significant enhancement of basic malaria awareness (p = 0.0003) and common preventive and management practices (p = 0.0202) among children in the intervention primary school compared to those in the control primary school.Research limitations/implicationsThe study did not account for actual behaviour change, as its scope was within basic malaria awareness and common control practices.Practical implicationsThis approach could enhance awareness and proactiveness of school children towards malaria prevention and overall health consciousness.Social implicationsThis could help in achieving a healthy population of school children with a positive effect on their school performance.Originality/valueThe MCC could provide a simple, participatory and effective approach for the promotion of basic malaria awareness and common control practices among primary school-age children in malaria endemic areas. Such children could, in turn, become malaria conversation drivers and behaviour change agents in their homes and communities, thereby contributing to the malaria elimination efforts.

scholarly journals Effect of a School-Based Anxiety Prevention Program among Primary School Children

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (24) ◽  
pp. 4913 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siti Fatimah Ab Ghaffar ◽  
Sherina Mohd Sidik ◽  
Normala Ibrahim ◽  
Hamidin Awang ◽  
Lekhraj Rampal Gyanchand Rampal
Keyword(s):  
Primary School ◽  
Prevention Program ◽  
Coping Skills ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Primary School Children ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Anxiety Prevention ◽  
School Based ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Significant Difference

Anxiety is one of the most common mental health disorders in childhood, and children with anxiety have an increased risk of psychiatric disorders during adulthood. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a school-based anxiety prevention program for reducing anxiety among primary school students relative to a school-as-usual control group. Secondary to this, the current study aimed to examine the effect of a school-based prevention program on worry coping skills and self-esteem. A two-group parallel cluster randomized controlled trial of a single-blinded study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the program, with schools as the unit of allocation and individual participants as the unit of analysis. The intervention program was conducted between May 2016 and December 2017. The primary outcome was anxiety, whereas the secondary outcomes were worry coping skills and self-esteem measured at three months post-intervention. Data were analyzed by using a generalized linear mixed model, accounting for the clustering effect. Subgroup analyses were performed for children with anxiety. A total of 461 students participated in this study. At baseline, there was no significant difference between groups for anxiety score, worry coping skills score, and self-esteem score (p > 0.05). The intervention was effective in reducing anxiety for the whole sample (p = 0.001) and the anxiety subgroup (p = 0.001). However, it was not effective in improving worry coping skills and self-esteem. These findings suggest that the program could be effective for reducing symptoms of anxiety when delivered in schools and provide some support for delivering this type of program in primary school settings.

Bryant’s Empathy Index: Structure and Measurement Invariance across Gender in a Sample of Primary School-Aged Children

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatriz Lucas-Molina ◽  
Alicia Pérez-Albéniz ◽  
Marta Giménez-Dasí ◽  
Gema Martín-Seoane
Keyword(s):  
Primary School ◽  
Measurement Invariance ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Primary School Children ◽  
Index Structure ◽  
Dimensional Structure ◽  
Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽  
School Aged Children ◽  
Three Factor

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to examine the dimensional structure and measurement invariance of Bryant’s Index of Empathy for Children and Adolescents (IECA) (Bryant, 1982) across gender in a representative sample of primary school-aged children in Spain. The sample consisted of 2,050 children (50.80% girls), with a mean age of 9.80 years (SD = 1.24), recruited from 27 primary schools. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted. The model that presented the best fit indices was Lasa, Holgado, Carrasco, and del Barrio’s (2008) three-factor model: Understanding Feelings, Feelings of Sadness, and Tearful Reaction. The levels of internal consistency for the subscales ranged from .76 to .83. In addition, the results partially support the measurement invariance of the IECA across gender. When the latent means of the empathy dimensions were compared across gender, statistically significant differences were found. These results coincide with those found in the literature showing the multidimensionality of the IECA. Specifically, the findings support its three-factor structure and its invariance across gender, making it a very useful instrument for exploring the expression of empathy in primary school children.

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