What is school readiness? A qualitative exploration of parental perceptions in England

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 338-344
Author(s):  
Nathan Davies ◽  
Rosie Cooper ◽  
Manpreet Bains

School readiness is a strong predictor of educational attainment and future health, but its meaning to parents is uncertain. This study aimed to generate an understanding of how parents conceptualise school readiness, and the forms of support they would find most acceptable and effective. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 17 parents and were analysed thematically. Parents appeared conflicted in their beliefs about the most important school readiness factors (physical, social and emotional health) and those they perceived schools to prioritise (numeracy and literacy). Parents reported orienting children towards developing cognitive skills because they believed schools favoured these over socio-emotional aspects of school readiness. Parents valued health visitors' input in developing understanding of school readiness. Parental understanding of school readiness could be better supported, along with information on how best to prepare children. Health visitors could play a pivotal role in school readiness and have opportunities to educate and empower parents of young children.

2020 ◽  
pp. 1354067X2093692
Author(s):  
Fernanda Hellen Ribeiro Piske ◽  
Tania Stoltz

This research seeks to investigate the senses and meanings that gifted students and their families and teachers have in relation to social and emotional aspects of their development in the school context. This research takes a qualitative and exploratory approach. Participants in this research are five gifted students, five families (one representative from each family) and four teachers, three from the regular classroom and one from the resource room.Data collection took place through semi-structured interviews and observations made with gifted students, their families and their teachers. It is concluded that there is a need for personal and material investment in the education of students with high potential as well as support for their families, but this support does not always occur on a regular basis and when it does occur, teaching staff are not sufficiently well prepared to deal with this demand.


Author(s):  
M. Black

ABSTRACTStructured interviews were conducted with forty-eight older clients discharged from a public health nursing service in order to: (1) describe their social support network and (2) identify specific components of social support related to physical, social and emotional health. The sample was comprised primarily of older widows living alone to whom family and relatives contributed the largest amount of support. Correlation analyses revealed that: (1) age, emotional support given by older persons to their supporters and aid given and received by older persons were related to physical functioning; (2) emotional, decisional and aid support given by older persons to their supports (total reciprocity) and femaleness were related to emotional functioning and; (3) emotional and aid support received by older persons and reciprocity were related to social functioning.


Author(s):  
Zeyang Yang ◽  
Mark Griffiths ◽  
Zhihao Yan ◽  
Wenting Xu

Watching online videos (including short-form videos) has become the most popular leisure activity in China. However, a few studies have reported the potential negative effects of online video watching behaviors (including the potential for ‘addiction’) among a minority of individuals. The present study investigated online video watching behaviors, motivational factors for watching online videos, and potentially addictive indicators of watching online videos. Semi-structured interviews were conducted among 20 young Chinese adults. Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Eight themes were identified comprising: (i) content is key; (ii) types of online video watching; (iii) platform function hooks; (iv) personal interests; (v) watching becoming habitual; (vi) social interaction needs; (vii) reassurance needs; and (viii) addiction-like symptoms. Specific video content (e.g., mukbang, pornography), platform-driven continuous watching, and short-form videos were perceived by some participants as being potentially addictive. Specific features or content on Chinese online video platforms (e.g., ‘Danmu’ scrolling comments) need further investigation. Future studies should explore users’ addictive-like behaviors in relation to specific types of online video content and their social interaction on these platforms.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Ryan J Gamba ◽  
Michael T Schmeltz ◽  
Nancy Ortiz ◽  
Alina Engelman ◽  
Juleen Lam ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective: Food security status is a continuum ranging from high to very low food security. While marginal food security falls next to high food security on the spectrum, new quantitative research indicates marginal food security status is associated with negative health outcomes and poor academic performance among college students. Qualitative research focusing on college students experiencing marginal food security has not been conducted. This study aims to qualitatively explore experiences of college students with marginal food security and to identify themes to better understand and provide context regarding how marginal food security impacts students. Design: Students were recruited for semi-structured interviews with questions designed to study the challenges associated with students’ food situations. All interviews were recorded and transcribed with themes identified via an inductive approach. Setting: A large public university on the US west coast. Participants: Thirty college students. Results: Key themes that emerged: purchasing cheap unhealthy foods; insufficient time to prepare and eat meals on a regular basis; stress and anxiety around the inability to eat healthy food and future health issues; self-perception of health when eating poorly along with physical symptoms; and low academic motivation by not fully participating in their courses due to few healthy food options or missing meals. Conclusion: Marginal food security can potentially diminish students’ health and their capacity to learn and succeed in their coursework. The results emphasize that students experiencing marginal food security should not be grouped with students experiencing high food security.


Author(s):  
Michael J. Furlong ◽  
Erin Dowdy ◽  
Karen Nylund-Gibson ◽  
Rhea Wagle ◽  
Delwin Carter ◽  
...  

AbstractRobust evidence links students’ positive mental health with academic achievement and provides a compelling rationale for developing and refining strength-based assessments. The Social Emotional Health Survey–Secondary (SEHS-S) assesses adolescents’ social and emotional skills and positive psychological dispositions. Previous studies provide reliability and validity evidence; nonetheless, there is a need for continued refinement and validation across diverse groups. The current study revised and standardized the updated SEHS-S-2020 to validate further its use in secondary schools (Grades 9–12) with a large, diverse adolescent sample. Study participants included 72,740 from 113 California schools (structural validation sample), 10,757 students from 15 randomly selected California schools (criterion validation sample), and 707 students from four additional California schools (test-retest sample). Data analyses examined structural validity, measurement invariance, criterion validity, internal consistency, and response stability. Results supported the SEHS-S-2020 validity across diverse groups of youth in various contexts. The discussion focuses on implications for assessing students’ psychosocial assets and universal school-based screening.


Author(s):  
Melissa Holland ◽  
McKenzie Courtney ◽  
James Vergara ◽  
Danielle McIntyre ◽  
Samantha Nix ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Increasing academic demands, including larger amounts of assigned homework, is correlated with various challenges for children. While homework stress in middle and high school has been studied, research evidence is scant concerning the effects of homework on elementary-aged children. Objective The objective of this study was to understand rater perception of the purpose of homework, the existence of homework policy, and the relationship, if any, between homework and the emotional health, sleep habits, and parent–child relationships for children in grades 3–6. Method Survey research was conducted in the schools examining student (n = 397), parent (n = 442), and teacher (n = 28) perception of homework, including purpose, existing policy, and the childrens’ social and emotional well-being. Results Preliminary findings from teacher, parent, and student surveys suggest the presence of modest impact of homework in the area of emotional health (namely, student report of boredom and frustration), parent–child relationships (with over 25% of the parent and child samples reporting homework always or often interferes with family time and creates a power struggle), and sleep (36.8% of the children surveyed reported they sometimes get less sleep) in grades 3–6. Additionally, findings suggest misperceptions surrounding the existence of homework policies among parents and teachers, the reasons teachers cite assigning homework, and a disconnect between child-reported and teacher reported emotional impact of homework. Conclusions Preliminary findings suggest homework modestly impacts child well-being in various domains in grades 3–6, including sleep, emotional health, and parent/child relationships. School districts, educators, and parents must continue to advocate for evidence-based homework policies that support children’s overall well-being.


2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 245-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria M. Arredondo ◽  
Melanie Rosado ◽  
Teresa Satterfield

Studies show positive associations between ethnic identity, socio-emotional health and academic success. However, most work is carried out with adolescents and few have examined how young children develop an ethnic identity, particularly u.s. Latino children. The present study represents a first-pass investigation of children’s ethnic identity mechanisms and their relation to academic success. We carried out semi-structured interviews in Spanish with 25 Latino children (ages 5–12). Open-ended questions addressed items on the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure and Ethnic Identity Scale, incorporating a mixed qualitative (i.e., themes) and quantitative (i.e., scoring) analysis. Results revealed that children provide great detail when discussing their ethnic background. Additionally, Latino children’s bilingualism and Spanish-language proficiency were significant markers of ethnic identity formation, which in turn were positively associated with affect and Spanish literacy. These findings shed light on the complexities of ethnic identity construction during children’s early years, and establish a path for further investigation of Latino children’s socio-emotional health and academic achievement.


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