scholarly journals A Qualitative Study Exploring Teachers’ Attitudes towards Breastfeeding Education in Family and Consumer Science Classrooms

Author(s):  
Nicola Singletary ◽  
Jackie Bruce ◽  
L. Suzanne Goodell ◽  
April Fogleman

Abstract Background: Research shows that some school-aged children have considered infant feeding choices for when they become parents and are interested in learning about breastfeeding in school. Despite recommendations to include infant feeding education in secondary school classrooms, teachers’ practices and attitudes regarding this topic have been the subject of minimal research. The purpose of this study was to explore North Carolina (NC) family and consumer sciences (FCS) teachers’ infant feeding education practices and their views on incorporating breastfeeding education in the curriculum. Methods: The study used a purposeful sample of 19 teachers who participated in semi-structured qualitative telephone interviews exploring their attitudes and practices relating to infant feeding education. We transcribed and analyzed the interviews using the constant comparative method through the lens of the theory of planned behavior. Results: Teachers had predominantly positive attitudes towards the inclusion of breastfeeding education in high school parenting, child development, and nutrition courses, citing the need to normalize breastfeeding and support students’ ability to make informed choices when they become parents as justification. Teachers’ social norms included concerns about parents’ and administrators’ views on the appropriateness of the content and apprehension about negative student responses. Perceived behavioral controls included student maturity, teachers’ own experiences and comfort with infant feeding, and the view that curriculum guidelines limit content selection. Conclusions: The results of this study can be used in the development and implementation of secondary school education programs that increase knowledge about infant feeding and positive attitudes towards breastfeeding for all members of the community. Teachers’ concerns should be addressed in the implementation of these programs.

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 41-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dinçer Temelli ◽  
Salih Zeki Genç

The purpose of this study is to examine secondary school teachers' attitudes towards the Interactive Whiteboard (IWB). This study tries to reveal teachers' attitudes towards the IWB and the effects of gender, age, daily and weekly usage of the IWB on these attitudes. The search group consists of130 volunteer teachers who work in Çanakkale province in the 2012-2013 academic years. The data was collected via "Interactive Whiteboard Attitude Scale". The results of the research shows that the teachers promote positive attitudes towards the IWB and those attitudes doesn't change according to the age or gender. The study indicates that teachers develop positive attitudes towards IWB and there are no essentially age or gender differences in the attitudes of teachers towards IWB. It is clear in the study that the teachers who have used IWB for a long time and who have spent more time on IWB in a week have built more positive attitudes towards educational and motivational effects of IWB.


2007 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert H. Ferguson ◽  
Xiaofen D. Keating ◽  
Dwan M. Bridges ◽  
Jianmin Guan ◽  
Li Chen

This study aimed to determine how California secondary physical education teachers perceive the state mandated youth fitness testing for the 5th, 7th, and 9th grades using Fitnessgram. The participants were secondary school physical education teachers (N = 323). A previously validated attitudinal instrument (Keating & Silverman, 2004a) was used to collect the data. The means and standard deviations for each attitude subdomain and the overall attitudes were computed. MANOVA and ANOVA were employed to test the differences in attitudes by demographic and profession-related variables. Teachers’ overall attitudes toward the Fitnessgram were slightly higher than a neutral attitude, indicating slightly positive attitudes on a 7-point Likert scale (M = 4.47, SD = 1.06). The mean scores for the attitude subdomain of cognitive (i.e., usefulness of fitness test results) and the affective (i.e., enjoyment of implementing fitness tests, and enjoyment of using fitness test results) components were 4.25 (SD = 1.38), 4.90 (SD = 1.15), and 4.39 (SD = 1.17), respectively. The data from the study suggested that teachers marginally agreed that the test results were useful and that they somewhat enjoyed implementing the test. Class size and student grade levels taught were important profession-related variables to consider regarding teacher attitudes toward the Fitnessgram.


2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 766-775
Author(s):  
Nicola Singletary ◽  
L. Suzanne Goodell ◽  
April Fogleman

Background The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF recommend that secondary schools include infant feeding education in the curriculum. However, little attention has been given to the study of educators’ views and practices regarding infant feeding education. Aims The aims of this research were to (1) explore North Carolina Family and Consumer Sciences teachers’ attitudes towards infant feeding education in secondary schools and (2) describe North Carolina Family and Consumer Sciences teachers’ infant feeding education practices. Methods Researchers conducted interviews ( N = 19) and a survey ( N = 137) using a sequential mixed methods design. The constant comparative method was used to analyze interview transcripts. Subsequently, a 33-item survey was developed to assess teachers’ attitudes and practices, and this survey was tested for validity and reliability. Results The majority of participants supported including infant feeding ( n = 119, 86.9%) and breastfeeding ( n = 116, 84.7%) education in high school. Approximately half of the participants supported including infant feeding ( n = 71, 51.9%) and breastfeeding ( n = 64, 46.7%) education in middle school. Participants reported that they taught infant feeding at both levels; topics taught included complementary foods, patterns of infant feeding, and the safe preparation of infant formula. Breastfeeding content was covered primarily in the high school Parenting and Child Development course. Conclusions North Carolina Family and Consumer Sciences teachers have positive attitudes towards teaching about breastfeeding at the secondary school level. Content about infant nutrition and breastfeeding is currently included in courses that cover child development and human nutrition.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Eden Hill

While many educators are consistently searching for ways to use technology for teaching and learning as new technologies emerge and older technologies are improved, not all are enthusiastic about the changes (Dobo, 2016). There is a positive correlation between teachers' beliefs about the effectiveness of technology and its use in the classroom (Petko, 2012). Teachers who have positive beliefs about technology tend to use it more in their classrooms. This mixed-method study seeks to answer the question of how do secondary mathematics teachers' use of technology in the classroom reflects their attitudes towards technology and its use. The first sub-question of what are the attitudes of secondary school mathematics teachers towards technology in the classroom as measured by the Teachers' Attitudes Toward Computers (TAC) Questionnaire is addressed in the quantitative phase through the questionnaire responses of twenty-eight middle and high school mathematics teachers in a small, rural public school system in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States (Christensen & Knezek, 2009). The second sub-question of how is the technology used in secondary school mathematics classrooms when viewed through the lens of the RAT framework is addressed in the qualitative phase through interviews with eight of the participants from the quantitative phase (Hughes, 2006). The twenty-eight participants' overall attitudes towards technology were positive with the lowest in interaction and absorption and the highest in accommodation and significance. The majority of the uses of technology for the interview participants were coded as instructional methods and amplification, which reflects the participants' positive attitudes towards technology, particularly in accommodation, significance, utility, interest, and perception while the lower percentage of uses coded as student learning processes and transformation could reflect their less positive attitudes with regard to comfort, concern, absorption, and interaction. As teachers' attitudes towards technology improve, the use of technology for student learning processes at the transformational level may also increase.


1982 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 292-304
Author(s):  
Ramon Lewis ◽  
Marta Rado ◽  
Lois Foster

Bilingual education is a topic of increasing interest in the Australian educational context. It is also a subject surrounded by both controversy and confusion. The investigation upon which this discussion is based probed perceptions of bilingual education by its potential clientele. Our contention is that the degree to which students are receptive to the concept of bilingual learning has been neglected so far, although it is crucial to the implementation of any form of bilingual education. A 10 per cent sample of Year 7, 9, and 11 students was drawn from a representative sample of 38 Melbourne metropolitan post-primary schools and surveyed using Attitude to Bilingual Education scales. The following hypotheses were supported by the findings: ‘Bilinguals have positive attitudes’, ‘Bilinguals have more positive attitudes than do monolinguals’, and ‘Bilinguals perceive their peers’ attitudes as negative’. The hypothesis, The attitudes of different bilingual groups differ’, received some support but requires further investigation. Those hypotheses which did not receive support were ‘Bilinguals perceive their parents’ attitudes as very positive’, ‘Bilinguals perceive their teachers’ attitudes as negative’, ‘Bilinguals see merit in bilingual education only for themselves to the exclusion of their monolingual peers’, and ‘Monolinguals see merit in bilingual education only for bilinguals to the exclusion of themselves’.


Author(s):  
Naief A. Mutawa

This study aimed at investigating the attitudes of secondary school teachers in Quwaiy’yah Governorate towards e- learning. To achieve the aim of the study, a questionnaire was developed and administered after testing its validity and reliability. This questionnaire consisted of 24 items. Means and standard deviations were calculated and one-way ANOVA was used to answer the study questions. T- test was used to answer the third and fourth questions.The results of the study showed that there were no statistically significant differences in the participants' attitudes towards e-learning due to experience and specialization. However, attending training courses was found a significant factor that affect teachers’ attitudes. Teachers who attended training courses showed more positive attitudes towards e-learning than teachers who did not attend training coursed. The study put forward some recommendations. An important implication is that teachers ought to attend training courses and workshops in e-learning. 


Author(s):  
Yousif Elmosaad ◽  
Ahmed Al Rajeh ◽  
Asif khan ◽  
Elfatih Malik ◽  
Ilias Mahmud

This study assessed the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) in malaria prevention using insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs) among mothers of children under five years of age in White Nile State, Sudan. Multistage cluster sampling was used to select 761 mothers for this cross-sectional survey. There were gaps in the KAP in malaria prevention. Only 46.3% of the mothers stated personal protective measures (PPMs) as the best malaria prevention strategy; 54.9% considered ITNs as an effective means; and only 18.7% reported sleeping under an ITN every day. Older mothers were less likely to have good knowledge (OR=0.96), attitudes (OR=0.98) and practices (OR=0.98). Having a Government employee as the head of the household was positively associated with knowledge (OR=2.16) and attitudes (OR=1.96). The mother having a formal education was also positively associated with good knowledge (OR=1.55) and positive attitudes (OR=1.69). Mothers with a monthly household income of <491 Sudanese Pound were more likely to have good knowledge (OR=1.43). Mothers who had good knowledge (OR=4.99) and positive attitudes towards PPMs (OR=2.60) in malaria prevention were found to be more likely to practice preventive measures. Therefore, we recommend focusing on raising mothers’ awareness of the different preventive activities to protect them and their family from malaria.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 58
Author(s):  
Irene Lacruz-Pérez ◽  
Pilar Sanz-Cervera ◽  
Raúl Tárraga-Mínguez

Inclusive education is currently one of the main aspirations of the Spanish educational system and one of the key aspects for its achievement is teachers’ attitudes toward educational inclusion. In recent years, many studies worldwide have analyzed this aspect, but so far, any systematic review has specifically focused on the Spanish educational framework. For this reason, the purpose of this paper is to review the studies published from 2010 to 2019 whose aim was to analyze teachers’ attitudes towards educational inclusion in Spain. After a literature search in four different databases (PsycInfo, ERIC, Dialnet Plus, and Google Scholar), 34 studies were selected and reviewed. The results suggest that Spanish teachers’ attitudes toward educational inclusion are generally positive, although in some cases they are ambiguous. Teachers’ attitudes are mainly influenced by the amount of training and their contact or not with students with special educational needs. The discussion highlights that more studies with a greater methodological diversity are required in order to provide a complete analysis of teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion and that teacher training is one of the best tools to generate positive attitudes.


Author(s):  
Bandar Alsaif ◽  
Najm Eldinn Elsser Elhassan ◽  
Ramaiah Itumalla ◽  
Kamal Elbassir Ali ◽  
Mohamed Ali Alzain

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a major public health problem around the world. Therefore, the aim of the study was to assess the awareness and prevalence of General Anxiety Disorder (GAD) with regard to COVID-19 among the Hail community, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in order to help health authorities to effectively control the pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was completed by 412 participants living in Hail, Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire assessed demographic characteristics, knowledge, attitudes, and practices for the prevention of COVID-19, as well as psychological feelings in terms of GAD as an impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: The study found that most of the respondents demonstrated good knowledge, attitudes, and practice for COVID-19 prevention. The elderly and employed demonstrated significant positive attitudes and practices (p < 0.05). Participants with a positive attitude were almost two and a half times (OR = 2.4; 95% CI: 1.54–3.99) more likely to have good practices. Additionally, the rural respondents were less likely (OR = 0.45; 95% CI: 0.21–0.96) to have a positive attitude. Married participants were more than one and a half (OR = 1.60; 95% CI: 1.04–2.44) times more likely to have a positive attitude. The prevalence of GAD was 21.8% and was significantly increased among participants with inadequate knowledge (OR = 2.01; 95% CI: 1.25–3.22), females (OR = 1.92; 95% CI: 1.19–3.09), individuals with chronic diseases (OR = 1.71; 95% CI: 1.02–2.86), and non-Saudi participants (OR = 2.44; 95% CI: 1.02–5.85). Conclusions: Ensuring a sufficient combination of relatively good levels of knowledge, positive attitudes, and desired practices serves as a good approach to preventing the spread of COVID-19. However, the increased prevalence of GAD requires the attention of policymakers. Therefore, a great emphasis should be placed on health awareness campaigns, with a focus on misconceptions and the provision of counseling.


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