Secularity: Guiding Questions for Inclusive Yoga in Schools

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Cook-Cottone ◽  
Traci Childress ◽  
Jennifer Cohen Harper
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Potential Risk ◽  
School Setting ◽  
Personal Transformation ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
School Based ◽  
School Programs ◽  
Legal Mandates ◽  
Secular Ethics ◽  
Ethical Obligations

Abstract This commentary explores the legal and ethical obligations of yoga programs and teachers to uphold both the principles and the spirit of secularism when teaching yoga in schools. Arguing that secularity is essential both to comply with legal mandates and to maximize inclusivity and access, each facet of a secular approach to yoga in schools is explored through an inquiry-based model meant to help the reader gain clarity and make informed choices when developing school-based yoga programming. This article does not address the use of nonsecular yoga for children outside the school setting. It instead speaks to the complexities of topics such as spirituality, personal transformation, secular ethics, and the use of cultural and historical artifacts within school programs. While inviting continued reflection on the nuances of the topic, the article concludes that given both the legal imperatives and potential risk of exclusion, failure to offer school-based yoga using a secular approach threatens to undermine the success of the field and hinder access to practices that have positive effects on young people.

scholarly journals Development and validity testing of the Adolescent Health Literacy Questionnaire (AHLQ): Protocol for a mixed methods study within the Irish school setting

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. e039920
Author(s):  
Ailbhe Spillane ◽  
Sarahjane Belton ◽  
Clare McDermott ◽  
Johann Issartel ◽  
Richard H Osborne ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Young People ◽  
Adolescent Health ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Adult Population ◽  
School Setting ◽  
Mixed Methods Study ◽  
Advisory Panel ◽  
Validity Testing

IntroductionHealth literacy research has focused predominantly on the adult population, and much less is understood about this concept from an adolescent perspective. The tools currently available to measure adolescent health literacy have been adapted from adult versions. This limits their applicability to young people because of the developmental characteristics that impact on adolescents’ behaviour, including impulse control and judgement skills. This protocol describes the intended development and validity testing of a questionnaire to measure health literacy in adolescents.Methods and analysisThis protocol describes this mixed methods study that has three phases: the first phase will involve grounded research with adolescents using qualitative group interviews, co-design and concept mapping workshops to understand what health and healthy behaviours mean to adolescents and to explore their health literacy needs and the potential domains for the questionnaire. The draft health literacy domains identified will be presented to the youth advisory panel, and the questionnaire will be altered based on their feedback. Cognitive pretesting of the questionnaire items will also be conducted. Phase 2 will involve piloting the questionnaire to a two-stage random sample of young people in five urban and rural schools in Ireland. Test–retest reliability will be conducted using Pearson correlation coefficient. Confirmatory factor analysis will also be conducted to analyse the psychometric properties of the questionnaire. Phase 3 will involve the questionnaire being rolled out to a nationally representative sample of adolescents (n=6052) in Ireland to assess their levels of health literacy.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval to conduct this study has been granted from the University College Dublin Human Research Ethics Committee – Sciences (LS-20–08). Informed assent from adolescents and informed consent from parents/guardians will be sought. The findings of this research will be disseminated at national and international conferences, as well as through publication in peer-reviewed journals.

scholarly journals Effective Components of School-Based Prevention Programs for Child Abuse: A Meta-Analytic Review

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeanne Gubbels ◽  
Claudia E. van der Put ◽  
Geert-Jan J. M. Stams ◽  
Mark Assink
Keyword(s):  
Child Abuse ◽  
Program Effectiveness ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Prevention Programs ◽  
Effect Sizes ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
School Based ◽  
Analytic Review ◽  
Program Components ◽  
Self Protection

AbstractSchool-based programs seem promising for child abuse prevention. However, research mainly focused on sexual child abuse and knowledge is lacking on how individual program components contribute to the effectiveness of school-based prevention programs for any form of child abuse. This study aimed to examine the overall effect of these school-based programs on (a) children’s child abuse-related knowledge and (b) self-protection skills by conducting two three-level meta-analyses. Furthermore, moderator analyses were performed to identify how program components and delivery techniques were associated with effectiveness. A literature search yielded 34 studies (158 effect sizes; N = 11,798) examining knowledge of child abuse and 22 studies (99 effect sizes; N = 7804) examining self-protection skills. A significant overall effect was found of school-based programs on both knowledge (d = 0.572, 95% CI [0.408, 0.737], p < 0.001) and self-protection skills (d = 0.528, 95% CI [0.262, 0.794], p < 0.001). The results of the first meta-analysis on children’s child abuse knowledge suggest that program effects were larger in programs addressing social–emotional skills of children (d = 0.909 for programs with this component versus d = 0.489 for programs without this component) and self-blame (d = 0.776 versus d = 0.412), and when puppets (d = 1.096 versus d = 0.500) and games or quizzes (d = 0.966 versus d = 0.494) were used. The second meta-analysis on children’s self-protections skills revealed that no individual components or techniques were associated with increased effectiveness. Several other study and program characteristics did moderate the overall effects and are discussed. In general, school-based prevention programs show positive effects on both knowledge and self-protection skills, and the results imply that program effectiveness can be improved by implementing specific components and techniques.

The Delphi Process: Involving Parents of Children With Disabilities in Participatory Consensus Building

2021 ◽  
pp. 105345122110249
Author(s):  
Vita L. Jones ◽  
Randall Boone ◽  
Regina R. Brandon ◽  
Nicole Dobbins ◽  
Kyle Higgins
Keyword(s):  
Children With Disabilities ◽  
School Setting ◽  
Critical Factor ◽  
Linguistically Diverse ◽  
School Policy ◽  
Delphi Process ◽  
Parental Participation ◽  
Consensus Building ◽  
School Based ◽  
Diverse Background

Educators recognize that parental participation is a critical factor in the success of children within a school setting. This is particularly true for parents who have children with disabilities or who are from a culturally or linguistically diverse background. However, reaching out to these families can be a difficult task even for the most empathetic and concerned educator. And while communicating directly with individual parents about their children’s academic and social welfare provides some degree of effective engagement and communication between them and the school, the parents often remain isolated from the concerns and thoughts of other parents who are in similar situations. The Delphi process described in this article creates a collaborative workspace that moves parents from being a “watcher” of school policy or school-based decisions to a “developer” of school policy or school-based decisions. The article outlines and illustrates the steps in the process and further elaborates through an ongoing commentary depicting the creation and implementation of a Delphi with the goal of better engagement with parents.

scholarly journals Objective Measures to Assess Active Commuting Physical Activity to School in Young People: A Systematic Review Protocol and Practical Considerations

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (16) ◽  
pp. 5936
Author(s):  
Pablo Campos-Garzón ◽  
Javier Sevil-Serrano ◽  
Yaira Barranco-Ruíz ◽  
Palma Chillón
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Young People ◽  
Web Of Science ◽  
Cochrane Library ◽  
Objective Measures ◽  
Active Commuting ◽  
School Based ◽  
Review Protocol

There are no systematic reviews that have identified the existing studies assessing active commuting physical activity (PA) to and from (to/from) school using objective measures, as well as the contribution of both walking and cycling to/from school to PA levels. To fill this gap in the literature, this systematic review will aim (a) to identify existing studies that assess active commuting PA to/from school with objective measures in young people and to examine the contribution of walking and cycling to/from school to PA levels, and (b) to propose an appropriate methodology and practical considerations to assess active commuting PA to/from school based on the studies identified. The review protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42020162004). We will conduct a systematic search up to 2020 in five databases: PubMed, Web of Science, SPORTdiscuss, Cochrane Library, and National Transportation Library. Both the risk of bias and the quality of the identified studies will be evaluated through different instruments according to the design of each study. This systematic review will help to choose the most appropriate objective measures to assess active commuting PA to/from school and to promote walking and cycling to/from school to increase PA levels.

Supporting Young People at School With High Mental Health Needs

2005 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debra Rickwood
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Primary Health Care ◽  
Young People ◽  
School Environment ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
School Setting ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Primary Health

AbstractFor young people still at school, the school setting is vital to their mental health and wellbeing. Not only does the school environment have a direct and indirect impact on mental health, it provides an opportunistic setting in which to identify and respond to emerging mental health problems. To do this effectively, schools and school staff must work in collaboration with the young people themselves, their families, and other support services within the community, particularly primary health care services, including general practice. The importance of developing effective partnerships and care pathways between schools and the primary health care sector is being increasingly acknowledged, and initiatives such as MindMatters Plus GP have advanced our understanding in this area.

‘I don’t want to go to a crummy little university’: social class, higher education choice and the paradox of widening participation

2009 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 209-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tina Byrom
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Class ◽  
Young People ◽  
Working Class ◽  
Summer School ◽  
Widening Participation ◽  
Education Choice ◽  
School Based ◽  
Institutional Habitus ◽  
Participation In Higher Education

Whilst there has been growing attention paid to the imbalance of Higher Education (HE) applications according to social class, insufficient attention has been paid to the successful minority of working-class young people who do secure places in some of the UK’s leading HE institutions. In particular, the influence and nature of pre-university interventions on such students’ choice of institution has been under-explored. Data from an ESRC-funded PhD study of 16 young people who participated in a Sutton Trust Summer School are used to illustrate how the effects of a school-based institutional habitus and directed intervention programmes can be instrumental in guiding student choices and decisions relating to participation in Higher Education.

scholarly journals Mental health of young Brazilians: Barriers to professional help-seeking

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 355-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cláudia Cristina FUKUDA ◽  
Maria Aparecida PENSO ◽  
Deise Matos do AMPARO ◽  
Bruno Coimbras de ALMEIDA ◽  
Camila de Aquino MORAIS
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young People ◽  
Private School ◽  
Mental Health Treatment ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Structural Barriers ◽  
Professional Help ◽  
Health Treatment ◽  
Major Barrier ◽  
Positive Effects

The present study investigated the perception of young Brazilians of professional help and barriers to seeking mental health services. A total of the 1,030 questionnaires were administered to young people aged 8-21 years of both genders attending public and private school or who had received or were receiving treatement at mental health facilities in three Brazilian cities. The data were evaluated using descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, and comparison between means. The results showed fear of stigmatization as a major barrier to seeking mental health treatment, exerting greater impact than that of structural barriers. Regional differences influenced their perception of the treatment. Having undergone previous mental health treatment was found to be related to a greater perception of the positive effects of the treatment and the structural barriers to accessing care services. It was found that the onset of mental disorders usually occurs during early adolescence. School-related issues, anxiety, fear, and depression were the most common reasons for mental health treatment seeking among young people.

scholarly journals An Initial Investigation of the Generalization of a School-Based Social Competence Intervention for Youth with High-Functioning Autism

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla Schmidt ◽  
Janine P. Stichter ◽  
Kristin Lierheimer ◽  
Stephanie McGhee ◽  
Karen V. O'Connor
Keyword(s):  
Social Competence ◽  
High Functioning Autism ◽  
School Setting ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Expression Recognition ◽  
High Functioning ◽  
School Based ◽  
The Social ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
The Impact

This study evaluated the impact of generalization of the Social Competence Intervention-Adolescent (SCI-A) curriculum in a school setting for individuals with high-functioning autism or Asperger's Syndrome (). This study examined to what degree the generalization of the SCI-A curriculum could be measured when delivered in a school setting. Across the six participants preliminary results suggest improvement on teacher reports of social skills and executive functioning. Some improvements were also evident in direct measures of facial-expression recognition. Data collected in the nonintervention settings indicated that some generalization of social interaction skills may have occurred for all six participants. Future research directions are discussed.

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