scholarly journals Fundamental Movement Skills and their Assessment in Primary Schools from the Perspective of Teachers

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucy Hannah Eddy ◽  
Liam J.B. Hill ◽  
Mark Mon-Williams ◽  
Nick Preston ◽  
Andy Daly-Smith ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Evidence suggests that significant numbers of school children fail to acquire age-appropriate fundamental movement skills (FMS), despite the importance of FMS in facilitating participation in physical activities. This has led to calls for an increase in routine screening of children’s FMS in school settings. However, there is limited research exploring teachers’ knowledge of FMS, and the capacity of schools to conduct such assessments. This project therefore aimed to explore primary school teachers’ knowledge of FMS, and investigated what factors might influence the acceptability of FMS assessments in primary schools. Methods Primary school staff working in roles that directly impact the learning of children were invited to take a brief (10–15 minutes) online questionnaire developed using the COM-B Behaviour Change Model. Results Primary school staff (n = 851) from 32 countries (UK: n = 746, 88%) completed the questionnaire. A majority reported that knowledge of their pupils’ FMS ability would be beneficial (65.3%), and 71.8% said they would assess FMS if appropriate support was provided. Identified barriers to school-based FMS assessments included: Capability – few (15%) possessed knowledge of FMS; Opportunity – teachers reported that 30–60 minutes would be acceptable for assessing the FMS of a whole class, a substantially shorter period than current assessments require; Motivation – 57.2% stated FMS assessments would increase workload stress and 48% of teachers would be influenced by their peers. Solutions to these issues are discussed using the COM-B theoretical framework. Conclusions Current FMS assessment tools are not acceptable, or feasible for use in schools. There is a need for existing measures to be modified, or new tools to be developed, underpinned by the considerations outlined in this paper, if FMS screening in schools is to become a reality.

SAGE Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 215824401770046
Author(s):  
Fiona Muir ◽  
Kevin McConville ◽  
Lois Robertson ◽  
Karen Campbell ◽  
Shona McKnight ◽  
...  

This study was designed to explore medical students’ and primary school teachers’ experiences of a new community teaching project. Academic staff and students from the School of Medicine Dundee, National Health Service partners, local education department, and primary school teachers engaged in a collaborative project which has embedded community engagement in the curriculum while encouraging interprofessional education through multiagency working. Influenced by evaluative inquiry, this qualitative study used an online questionnaire, designed to give participants the freedom to respond, and give their own opinions, via free text responses. The results show the value of a real primary school–based situation, and the merit of experiential learning gained throughout the program, in which students interacted with children about health promotion in a meaningful way. The interprofessional and collaborative nature of the project enhanced the value of the experience for all participants in relation to the benefits of teamwork, dispelling the doctor authority and recognition of the roles of others. The experience was an interactive, enjoyable, and expressive way to facilitate learning, and has helped prepare the health care students for future practice.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renáta Kisné Bernhardt ◽  
Laura Furcsa ◽  
Annamária Sinka ◽  
Rita Szaszkó

Az elmúlt évtizedben már számos kutatás bizonyította, hogy a pedagógusok megváltozott feladatai és szerepei, a módszertani kultúra és a komplex szemlélet a digitális kompetencia fejlesztésével párhuzamosan megjelenik (Fehér, 1999; Kirschner-Woperies, 2003; Law, Chow és Yuen, 2005). A tanítási-tanulási folyamat résztvevőiként a pedagógusok is részesei a rendkívüli iramban változó lehetőségeknek, melyek az iskola különböző „valós és virtuális” terein egyre inkább biztosítottá válnak (UNESCO, 2011). 2020 márciusában 6 a koronavírus-járvány miatt bevezetett digitális munkarend által – korábban még nem tapasztalt módon – aktuálissá vált mindaz, amit a „távoktatás”, „digitális oktatás”, „otthontanulás” és szinonimáik képviseltek. A pedagógusok, diákok és szülők egyik napról a másikra kerültek át az osztálytermi környezetből a digitális platformok világába, megváltoztatva szerepeiket, feladataikat és kompetenciahatáraikat. Felmérésünk azzal a céllal készült, hogy feltárja a tanítók hogyan igyekeztek megtalálni a tantárgyi specialitásnak, informatikai tudásuknak, rendelkezésre álló eszközeiknek, a diákoknak és a szülőknek leginkább adekvát megoldásokat. Kutatásunkban kvantitatív módszert alkalmazva, online kérdőíves vizsgálattal mértük fel az 1-6. osztályban tanító pedagógusok véleményét és gyakorlatát a digitális munkarendben történő oktatással kapcsolatban (N=71). Előadásunk a tanítók által alkalmazott karanténpedagógiára vonatkozó öszszefüggésekre világít rá a következő aspektusokból: eszközök, internet a távoktatásban, a pedagógusok digitális kompetenciája, a tananyagok küldésének felülete, kapcsolattartás a tanulókkal és szülőkkel. Fókuszba kerültek az alkalmazott digitális platformok és eszközök, azzal a céllal, hogy feltárjuk az elmúlt időszakban aktuális alsó tagozatos oktatás és nevelés főbb aspektusait. A digitális munkarend, valamint az online eszközök kiválasztásának és kipróbálásának tanítói tapasztalatait is vizsgáltuk az önértékelésen alapuló tanítói digitális kompetenciák feltárása mellett. A kapott leíró statisztikai elemzések megerősítik, hogy a digitális munkarenddel kialakuló távolléti oktatási struktúra rendszerezettségében, illetve következetes használatában plasztikus eltérések jelentkeztek. Példaként említhető a kapcsolattartási mintázatok egyenetlensége és a formális (Kréta)/informális kapcsolattartási struktúra (Messenger/Facebook csoport) használatának eltérő megoszlása. Konkrét számadatokkal mérve a szülőkkel való kapcsolattartásban kiemelkedett az egyéb lehetőségek mellett a Facebook csoport (59%), és a Messenger (53%) használata a formális platformként említett Krétával (22%) szemben. Összefoglalva, az eredmények hozzájárulhatnak az általános iskolákban működő online oktatás gyakorlatának megismeréséhez, a pedagógiai praxis lehetőségeinek bővítéséhez, ugyanakkor megerősítjük Lévai (2016) felvetését is, miszerint a pedagógusok felelőssége számottevő és árulkodó abból a szempontból is, hogy mit mutatnak róluk digitális lábnyomaik, illetve az online elérhető felületek. ---- Lower-primary-school teachers’ digital educational experience: possibilities in lockdown induced pedagogy ----- The past couple decades have seen a parallel change in teachers’ tasks and roles, methodologies, educational approaches and the development of their digital competences (Fehér, 2009; KirschnerWoperies, 2003; Law, Chow and Yuen, 2005). Also teachers as participants of the teaching-learning process experience the rapid evolution of the possibilities in the real-life and virtual platforms of school (UNESCO, 2011). In March, 2020 unprecedentedly digital education was launched due to the coronavirus pandemic and “distance education”, “digital education”, “home schooling” (at present regarded as synonyms) had become reality. All at once, teachers, students and parents were transmitted from real-life classrooms into the world of virtual platforms, which modified their roles, tasks and competence boundaries. Our survey was conducted to explore how lower-primary-school teachers experimented to find the most adequate solutions related to the issues of their teaching areas and digital knowledge. Also, we aimed to detect the most characteristic challenges that the respondent teachers had to face during the lockdown period online education processes. Our quantitative research was conducted to collect data via an online questionnaire to elicit beliefs and practices of lower-primary-school teachers of 1-6-forms regarding their work during lockdown digital education (N=71). The main focus of our research was the interrelationships of lockdown induced pedagogy from the following aspects: tools in digital education, teachers’ digital competence (based on self-assessment), the platforms of sharing teaching contents and of contacting students and parents. The focal points of our study were the applied digital platforms and tools and to gain insights into the teachers’ digital competences based on their self-evaluation. We also explored the respondent teachers’ choices and experience regarding the online tools of digital education. The results of descriptive statistics showed that there were differences in the structure and consistent use of digital education during the lockdown. As an example, the distribution of the formal Kréta platform and other informal ones (Messenger/Facebook group) is uneven in terms of contact between teachers and parents. Also, the Facebook group (59%) and Messenger (53%) platforms outnumber the use of Kréta (22%) during teacher-parent communication. In sum, our results can contribute to a better understanding of the practice of online education at primary-schools, and also to the extension of the teaching repertoire in 1-6 forms. These findings are also compatible with Lévai’s (2016) results, that is teachers’ digital footsteps and the online platforms that they use can reveal a lot about them, which is a great professional responsibility.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 00017
Author(s):  
Elena Bystritskaya ◽  
Elena Grigoryevа ◽  
Maria Lebedkina ◽  
Ivan Sedov ◽  
Oleg Musin

There are no common approaches in health forming technologies classification for use in primary school. Thus, subjects of health-preserving technologies subjects cannot be determined, neither for designing and executing projects, nor for creating appropriate environment. There are different points of view in literature on duties on forming pupils of primary school of these subjects and directions of interactions are barely viewed at best. The goal of this article is to classify technologies used in health-preserving environment for primary school, based on subjects of designing and executing of these projects and to create a technology system of health-preserving technology subjects’ interaction for the benefit of primary school students ternary health harmonious development. Basic research methods are comparative analysis and pedagogical modelling of educational process subjects’ interaction system in the field of forming health-preserving environment in primary schools for the sake of juveniles’ physical, psychical and social health complex development. The result is classification of health-preserving technologies on their designing and executing subjects and their interaction technology within their functional duties in primary school pupils’ sanitation. This article can be useful for primary school pupils’ parents and primary school teachers for their non-conflict interactions for sake of 1-4 grade pupils health preserving. In addition, it can help to create health caring environment in school, family and additional learning facilities. Also this article can be helpful to specialists in additional educational system. It’s goal, among the others, is to prepare health preserving technologies project specialists.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
Syazwani Hassan ◽  
Nur Nabila Zulkifly ◽  
Annapurny Venkiteswaran ◽  
Rohaida Abdul Halim

To ascertain the level of knowledge among primary school teachers towards the management of traumatic dental injuries (TDIs) in school and to determine the preference among teachers regarding the education tools that can be used to increase awareness and knowledge among them. A total of 150 teachers from primary schools in three different districts were included in the study and they were given self-administered questionnaires to be filled. The validated questionnaire was distributed randomly in the selected schools. The questionnaire included two scenarios comprising of tooth fracture and avulsion. Questions regarding awareness and management of these scenarios were asked. All 150 participants answered the questionnaire; of these 74% were females 26% were males. 64% of the participants had received tertiary education. Although 70% of teachers had obtained first aid training, only 9.3% of them had received training regrading dental injuries. About 53% of participants knew the correct answer for the appropriate response to fractured tooth and only 35.3% managed to correctly answer the question related to appropriate response to an avulsed tooth. Only 38.7% knew about appropriate rinsing solution and a mere 4.7% were familiar with proper storage media. Even though the teachers have poor knowledge regarding management of dental injuries, it is reassuring to know that 93% of them are keen on further training and awareness. More educational programmes need to be introduced to empower the teachers with the relevant knowledge required to deal with dental emergencies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7308
Author(s):  
Soon Singh Bikar ◽  
Balan Rathakrishnan ◽  
Mohammad Rahim Kamaluddin ◽  
Norruzeyati Che Mohd Nasir ◽  
Mohd Azrin Mohd Nasir

The Ranau Earthquake that struck on 5 June 2015, February 2018, and April 2021, were a new disaster in Sabah and caused many Sabahan to panic. The unpredicted disaster also caused a serious impact on all aspects of life in Sabah. The earthquake has caused severe damage to eight primary schools in the vicinity of the epicenter, although no casualties were reported. However, the disaster has deep passing psychological effects among students. In this study, we examine how the primary school teachers enabled the student to be resilient during and after the disaster. Based on the interviews with 16 primary school students, it was revealed that most of the teachers used WhatsApp to support resilience during and after the earthquake. Interviews with 16 primary school teachers revealed there were two main reasons for them to communicate with students, namely, delivering emotional aid and monitoring their stress. Based on student interviews, five content categories of emotional support were identified: caring, reassuring, emotion sharing, belonging, and distracting. The main contribution of this study is that social media can be used as a spontaneous and proactive tool for supporting the student’s resilience during and after the earthquake trauma.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Bowles ◽  
Déirdre Ní Chróinín ◽  
Elaine Murtagh

The provision of regular physical activity opportunities has the potential to have positive health benefits for children. This study used qualitative interviews and focus groups to examine the experiences of two Irish primary school communities as they worked to attain an Active School Flag. The data suggest that engagement in this formal physical activity initiative impacts positively on children’s engagement in physical activity. Schools were encouraged to embark on innovative activities that attracted widespread participation within schools and in the wider community. The establishment of links with community groups fostered collaborations that were empowering and inclusive. This research supports the contention that primary school initiatives can provide enhanced physical activity opportunities for children, and may provide guidance to national and international policy-makers as they devise school-based physical activity interventions.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-44
Author(s):  
Berit M. Follong ◽  
Angeliek Verdonschot ◽  
Elena Prieto-Rodriguez ◽  
Andrew Miller ◽  
Clare E. Collins ◽  
...  

Abstract Primary schools contribute to promoting healthy eating behaviour and preventing overweight and obesity by providing nutrition education. Research highlights the importance of improving teachers’ program implementation to enhance intervention effectiveness. An integrative approach has been suggested to reduce time barriers that teachers currently experience in teaching nutrition. This scoping review explores use and effectiveness of integrative teaching in primary school-based nutrition education programs. Six databases were searched for primary school-based interventions on nutrition education. Papers reporting on integration of nutrition topics within core curriculum were included. Abstracts and full texts of potentially relevant articles were screened to determine eligibility. Next, data were extracted and tabulated. Findings were collated and summarised to describe intervention characteristics, subject integration and effectiveness of the included programs. Data describing integration of nutrition into the primary school curriculum were extracted from 39 eligible papers. Nutrition education programs often involve lessons about food groups and are frequently embedded within the mathematics, science or literacy syllabus. Although articles report on the integration of nutrition, the use of this approach was not commonly described in detail. Only seven papers discussed student outcomes related to the integration of nutrition education within core subjects. The ability to draw strong conclusions about school-based nutrition intervention effectiveness is limited by the current lack of program description and methodological issues. Hence, more research is warranted to inform evidence on effectiveness of integrative nutrition education for both teacher and student outcomes. Future studies that include greater detail regarding the integrative approach are needed.


Author(s):  
Sławomir Wawrzyniak ◽  
Krystyna Krzyżanowska

The aim of the studies was to gather the primary school teachers’ opinion about the „School Scheme” and its effectiveness, as well as children’s food preferences and the reasons, why some of the schools didn’t take part in the program. The empiric studies were conducted in 2017 and 6,413 teachers from primary schools took part in them. The results show that students prefer to eat fruits than vegetables. If some of them chose vegetables, they ate tomatoes, radish, carrot rather than kohlrabi or sweet pepper. When it comes to dairy products, they took: milk and cottage cheese. Some of the Polish schools didn’t take part in the program, because they claim not to have enough suitable place to store fruits and vegetables at their entities and children’s parents weren’t interested in that matter.


Per Linguam ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-44
Author(s):  
Anna Johanna Hugo

The teaching of reading is not as easy as it may seem. It requires specific knowledge and the use of reading methods by teachers. Learners’ reading needs and learning styles also have to be considered. According to the Progress in International Reading Literacy (PIRLS) results for 2016, the reading abilities of South African learners are far below the international standard as set out by PIRLS. There is a lack of research about the strategies and methods that primary school teachers use to teach reading. In this article, the feedback regarding reading methods – gathered from 36 primary school teachers in three provinces – is discussed. The data revealed that most of the Grade 1 to 7 teachers who participated in the research knew and used some of the six reading methods under discussion. However, the results did not indicate how well the teachers applied these methods and how versatile they were in using the different reading methods. The data revealed that Foundation phase teachers used some of the methods statistically significantly more often than the comparison group of Intermediate phase teachers in a nonexperimental static-group observational design study. According to Spaull (McBride 2019:1), a well-known researcher in South Africa, one of the three main reasons why Foundation phase readers are struggling with reading is that their teachers do not know how to teach reading systematically. Teachers do not know how to change and adapt the methods that they use to teach reading and not enough research has been done to address the problems with the teaching of reading in the classroom specifically. Often the reading problems experienced in the Foundation phase are carried over to the Intermediate phase.


Author(s):  
Basem Essa Abozeed ◽  
Zakia Toma Toama ◽  
Amina Ahmad Mohamed ◽  
Alyaa Farouk Abd El-Fattah Ibrahim

Background: Disasters are a global problem, concern every community and no community is immune from it, schools all over the world suffer from disasters, which affect children health and safety. Teachers play essential roles in child protection so, teachers’ training is very significant for effective school disaster management. The study aimed to evaluate. The effectiveness of implementing a training program on the performance of primary school teachers in Al Malikeyeh regarding disaster management. Methods: Design: Quasi-experimental design. Setting: the current study conducted in six primary schools at Al-Malikeyeh distracts. Sample: 78 school teachers. Tool of the study: Teacher's knowledge and practice about disaster management structured interview questionnaire which contained three parts: part (I): Socioeconomic data, part (II): knowledge of the teachers, part (III): practice of the teachers .Results: about 35.8% of teachers had good knowledge pre program; meanwhile post and follow up the program this percent was increased respectively 87.2 % and79.5%. Also the findings observed that 30.8% of teachers had satisfactory practice, whereas, respectively 84.6% and 76.9 of them gained satisfactory disaster management practice post and follow up the program,. Conclusion: Implementing the training program had statistically significant improvement on knowledge and skills of primary school teachers in Al-Malikyeh regarding disaster management. Recommended: Training programs and workshops about disaster issues should be organized for the school teachers and key teams on regular basis, in addition to, awareness campaigns should be implementing with employing mass and social media technologies.


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