Selective Education in Guyana: Comparing the Psychosocial Well-Being of Students Across Schools

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (1&2) ◽  
pp. 110-138
Author(s):  
Charlotte Shaw ◽  
Janelle Levesque ◽  
Katrina McKie

Selective education research has demonstrated that students are aware of the low status of being allocated to a low-ability school. Recent data in Guyana has shown that low-ability school attendance is associated with low rates of student attendance, retention, and graduation. This study aims to understand the effects of ability grouping on students by comparing the psychosocial well-being of students from different ability schools. Data was collected from a sample of 193 adolescents (70 males and 123 females) aged 13-18 from four secondary schools; representing the four school ability rankings. It was hypothesised that student psychosocial well-being would be significantly lower in low-ability schools compared to high-ability schools. Unexpectedly, the results indicated that the highest ability school had significantly lower psychosocial well-being than the other lower ability schools. The results may be potentially explained by the theory of Big-Fish-Little-Pond Effect, however confirmation in future research is warranted.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Delia Baskerville

<p>Truancy is a longstanding, unresolved educational issue in countries where there are compulsory attendance policies. Taking time out from class without permission is illegal and negatively influences future functioning for students who truant in regards to employment, family and community. Truancy represents a long-term cost to society in expenditure on health, well-being and incarceration.  Previous research has focused on key demographic variables related to truancy, causal factors, and a variety of viewpoints. However, there has been a paucity of evidence about truancy from student perspectives. Therefore, the purpose of this research was twofold; (1) to investigate how secondary school students who truant constructed meaning about their experiences, and (2) to develop a substantive theory that identified how participants constructed the processes involved in truanting. This thesis used a grounded theory approach, concurrently gathering and analysing data generated through interviews with 13 young people from three schools and an activity centre.  Students in the study referred to truanting as wagging. In respect of this, the study presents a process theory of wagging which identifies four stages: Wagging-in-class; leaving; awakening, and reincluding. The study contributes to truancy scholarship in several ways, which include the experiences and challenges occurring in class and in their personal lives that contribute to youth truanting; how youth reposition themselves when they truant; the nature of their interactions and the group they truant with; what causes them to realise there is no future value in truanting; the conditions that support them to reintegrate in class after truanting; and why they are able to return and attend school regularly after truanting.  Further findings indicate that teacher intentional behaviours and student willingness to change are necessary to support the further development of inclusive practices in schools required to address truancy. The recommendations made for school leaders, teachers, counsellors, teacher educators and policy makers include four suggestions: (1) building teacher-student rapport, links with whānau, and school connectedness; (2) more proactive, sustained and consistent monitoring of student attendance; (3) reviewing school systems to foster inclusiveness and student attendance; and (4) providing a strong focus on inclusiveness within teacher education and professional development programmes. Future research and development opportunities are also identified, for example, the design of an ethnodrama to disseminate the results of this study and to heighten awareness of the dangers of wagging to students and the community. The intention is also to research the audience reactions and responses to the ethnodrama. This thesis also draws attention to the need for further studies to replicate the design features of the present study in other contexts so as to confirm, modify, extend or challenge the process theory of wagging that has emerged from this research.</p>


1984 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 342-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
John C. Moyer ◽  
Larry Sowder ◽  
Judith Threadgill-Sowder ◽  
Margaret B. Moyer

Eight story problems in a drawn format, eight matching problems in a verbal format, and eight matching problems in a telegraphic format were administered to 854 students in tests at each grade from 3 to 7. Scoring was based on the choice of correct operations to solve the problem. Readers of high ability, as measured by a reading test, chose correct operations more often than low-ability readers. The drawn format was easier than the other two formats. A significant format-by-reading-ability interaction revealed that the advantage of the drawn format was greater for low readers than for high readers.


2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 110-117
Author(s):  
Isabelle Sjoberg ◽  
Jason D. Pole ◽  
Marilyn Cassidy ◽  
Claudette Boilard ◽  
Sharon Costantini ◽  
...  

Background: Childhood cancer affects the entire family. Siblings experience similar stress to that of the ill child, including anger, depression, jealousy, guilt, and social isolation. School reentry programs are shown to be positive interventions for patients, it is hypothesized that similar outcomes exist for siblings. Objective: To examine the feasibility of studying the impact of the Ontario Oncology Nurse School Visitation Program on the well-being and school adjustment of siblings of pediatric cancer patients. Methods: Fourteen sibling participants and parents completed a semistructured interview and the PedsQL® questionnaire before and after a nurse school visit. School attendance was also compared and data were collected for logistics of study procedures. Results: The mode of data collection was agreeable and easy to plan and execute. School attendance showed a reduction of days missed; there was no significant impact on PedsQL results but the interviews yielded positive feedback. Conclusions: The outlook for siblings improves with the support of family members and health care professionals. This pilot study provides hypotheses and design for future research.


2016 ◽  
Vol 49 (5) ◽  
pp. 509-535 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kayleigh J. Wyles ◽  
Sabine Pahl ◽  
Matthew Holland ◽  
Richard C. Thompson

Coastal visits not only provide psychological benefits but can also contribute to the accumulation of rubbish. Volunteer beach cleans help address this issue, but may only have limited, local impact. Consequently, it is important to study any broader benefits associated with beach cleans. This article examines the well-being and educational value of beach cleans, as well as their impacts on individuals’ behavioral intentions. We conducted an experimental study that allocated students ( n = 90) to a beach cleaning, rock pooling, or walking activity. All three coastal activities were associated with positive mood and pro-environmental intentions. Beach cleaning and rock pooling were associated with higher marine awareness. The unique impacts of beach cleaning were that they were rated as most meaningful but linked to lower restorativeness ratings of the environment compared with the other activities. This research highlights the interplay between environment and activities, raising questions for future research on the complexities of person-environment interactions.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Delia Baskerville

<p>Truancy is a longstanding, unresolved educational issue in countries where there are compulsory attendance policies. Taking time out from class without permission is illegal and negatively influences future functioning for students who truant in regards to employment, family and community. Truancy represents a long-term cost to society in expenditure on health, well-being and incarceration.  Previous research has focused on key demographic variables related to truancy, causal factors, and a variety of viewpoints. However, there has been a paucity of evidence about truancy from student perspectives. Therefore, the purpose of this research was twofold; (1) to investigate how secondary school students who truant constructed meaning about their experiences, and (2) to develop a substantive theory that identified how participants constructed the processes involved in truanting. This thesis used a grounded theory approach, concurrently gathering and analysing data generated through interviews with 13 young people from three schools and an activity centre.  Students in the study referred to truanting as wagging. In respect of this, the study presents a process theory of wagging which identifies four stages: Wagging-in-class; leaving; awakening, and reincluding. The study contributes to truancy scholarship in several ways, which include the experiences and challenges occurring in class and in their personal lives that contribute to youth truanting; how youth reposition themselves when they truant; the nature of their interactions and the group they truant with; what causes them to realise there is no future value in truanting; the conditions that support them to reintegrate in class after truanting; and why they are able to return and attend school regularly after truanting.  Further findings indicate that teacher intentional behaviours and student willingness to change are necessary to support the further development of inclusive practices in schools required to address truancy. The recommendations made for school leaders, teachers, counsellors, teacher educators and policy makers include four suggestions: (1) building teacher-student rapport, links with whānau, and school connectedness; (2) more proactive, sustained and consistent monitoring of student attendance; (3) reviewing school systems to foster inclusiveness and student attendance; and (4) providing a strong focus on inclusiveness within teacher education and professional development programmes. Future research and development opportunities are also identified, for example, the design of an ethnodrama to disseminate the results of this study and to heighten awareness of the dangers of wagging to students and the community. The intention is also to research the audience reactions and responses to the ethnodrama. This thesis also draws attention to the need for further studies to replicate the design features of the present study in other contexts so as to confirm, modify, extend or challenge the process theory of wagging that has emerged from this research.</p>


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 19-24
Author(s):  
Zanariah Ismail ◽  
Nur Amiratul Adibah Binti Ahmad Diah

The main purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between financial well-being, self-esteem, and readiness for marriage among final year students in University Putra Malaysia. There were a total of 148 final year students participated in this study where they were choosen by purposive sampling. The data were collected through a set of self-administered questionnaire. Incharge Financial Distress/Financial Well-Being was used to determine financial well-being. Rosernberg Self-Esteem Scale was used to measure self-esteem. Criteria for Marriage Readiness Questionnaire was used to measure readiness for marriage. The finding demonstrated that financial well-being and readiness for marriage was negatively correlated (r = -.187, p = .023) while gender, parents‟ marital status, and self-esteem did not have any correlation with readiness for marriage. Findings of this study suggest that strong financial well-being is important for someone is ready to get married. It is recommended for future research to take account of the other predictive factors for readiness for marriage among emerging adulthoods. Furthermore, future research could be expanded in various universities in Malaysia with increased sample size in order to provide greater generalization and yield a more reliable data.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lea Waters ◽  
Daniel Loton

This large-scale quantitative review used publication data to track the presence of positive education terms over a 100+ year period across 35 psychology journals and education journals utilizing two analytical methods. First, computer-generated linguistic word count analysis identified that positive education terms have shown small but steady growth in psychology and education research for more than a century. From 1904 to 2016, positive education terms have risen consistently, with increases in 1952, 1982, 2010, and 2014 to over 4, 5, 6, and 7 percent, respectively. Four new terms were present in the top 20 most prevalent terms following the official launch of positive education in 2009: well-being, satisfaction, motivat*, and engag* (note: terms ending with an asterisk are word stems). Three terms also increased in rank order prevalence from 2009 onwards: emotion*; health; and goal*. The second analytical method involved in-depth human coding of a subset of positive education abstracts (n=2,805) by a team of five researchers1 to identify trends pertaining to how positive education research has been conducted in terms of paradigms, designs, methods, tools, samples, and settings from 1950 to 2016. College students and students in secondary school make up the most common samples, with little research in the early childhood years. Quantitative, cross-sectional studies using self-report surveys have been the most common design and method used over the past six decades, suggesting room for growth in qualitative methods and the need for greater longitudinal and intervention designs. The human coding was also used to classify positive education variables into broader categories of research. Nine categories were identified: positive functioning; well-being; ill-being; strengths; agency; connection and belonging; identity and personality; school climate and outcomes; and demographics. By tracking positive education science over time, the current paper allows researchers to take stock of the field, identify gaps, outline areas of growth, and pursue fruitful topics for future research.


2005 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 129-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reimer Kornmann

Summary: My comment is basically restricted to the situation in which less-able students find themselves and refers only to literature in German. From this point of view I am basically able to confirm Marsh's results. It must, however, be said that with less-able pupils the opposite effect can be found: Levels of self-esteem in these pupils are raised, at least temporarily, by separate instruction, academic performance however drops; combined instruction, on the other hand, leads to improved academic performance, while levels of self-esteem drop. Apparently, the positive self-image of less-able pupils who receive separate instruction does not bring about the potential enhancement of academic performance one might expect from high-ability pupils receiving separate instruction. To resolve the dilemma, it is proposed that individual progress in learning be accentuated, and that comparisons with others be dispensed with. This fosters a self-image that can in equal measure be realistic and optimistic.


Author(s):  
Melanie K. T. Takarangi ◽  
Deryn Strange

When people are told that their negative memories are worse than other people’s, do they later remember those events differently? We asked participants to recall a recent negative memory then, 24 h later, we gave some participants feedback about the emotional impact of their event – stating it was more or less negative compared to other people’s experiences. One week later, participants recalled the event again. We predicted that if feedback affected how participants remembered their negative experiences, their ratings of the memory’s characteristics should change over time. That is, when participants are told that their negative event is extremely negative, their memories should be more vivid, recollected strongly, and remembered from a personal perspective, compared to participants in the other conditions. Our results provide support for this hypothesis. We suggest that external feedback might be a potential mechanism in the relationship between negative memories and psychological well-being.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 209-222
Author(s):  
Anne H.J. Lee ◽  
Geoffrey Wall

This research explores Buddhist heritage-based tourism in South Korea. It examines temple food experiences provided in tandem with templestay programs that emphasize the Buddhist cooking tradition and share aspects of traditional Buddhist culture with visitors. Based primarily on participant observation, this ecologically friendly form of tourism is described and the ongoing development of temple food programs is documented. A "person-centric" perception is adopted from two perspectives: an emphasis on the holistic well-being of individual visitors, and the importance of a specific person in the provision of tourism experiences. Rich description and narrative interpretation are used to explain the phenomenon and provide a foundation on which future research can be grounded.


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