Bridging Family-Teacher Relationships in a Predominately Latinx Title I School With a Spanish-English Dual Immersion Strand Program

Spanish-English dual immersion (DI) programs can help bridge the academic achievement gap between Spanish-speaking English language learners (ELLs) and native English speakers. However, for DI programs to help ELLs, both teachers and parents/guardians need to be aware of their existence and long-term benefits. This case study examined under-enrollment in a Spanish-English DI strand program at a predominately Latinx neighborhood school with a sizable Spanish-speaking ELL population. The case study school faced challenges of transience, limited human and financial resources, and misinformation. Both parents and teachers reported a lack of information to make educational choices and recommendations. School employees built bridges between the school and parents by standardizing the introduction of DI at kindergarten parent-teacher conferences, improving the DI open house, and engaging the efforts of the school's bilingual secretary. Recommendations are provided for increasing parents' and teachers' access to accurate information regarding DI in accessible formats.

Offensive behaviours against school leaders: Prevalence, perpetrators and mediators in Australian government schools

Offensive behaviour towards school employees is widespread and involves a number of potentially harmful acts. There is evidence that school employees’ experiences of offensive behaviour are shaped by demographic, role and school-based factors that mediate the likelihood of victimisation. However, very few studies have investigated the prevalence and correlates of offensive behaviour against school leaders. This study analysed 13,028 survey responses from the Australia Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing survey that were completed between the years 2011 and 2019. The analysis determined the prevalence of bullying, threats of violence and physical violence against government school leaders, the main perpetrators of these offenses and the moderating effects of key socio-demographic factors. Results from the study demonstrated that considerable proportions of Australian government school leaders were subjected to offensive behaviour with an average (pooled) prevalence of 36.2% for bullying, 48.6% for threats of violence and 38.7% for physical violence. School leaders report that students and parents are responsible for most offensive behaviours, but that colleagues also contribute considerably to incidents of bullying. Our findings illustrate that offensive behaviours against Australian school leaders are very high and that particular groups of school leaders are at elevated risk of victimization, especially female school leaders and to a lesser extent assistant principals and those inner or outer regional areas.

Sectoral Relations, Appropriateness, Supply-Demand Problem in the Post-Secondary Vocational Schools: Recommendations for Improvement

This current study aims to identify the problem areas of the post-secondary vocational schools and develop some possible actions that could be taken to improve them. In order to obtain information about the current status of these schools, a questionnaire was prepared and distributed to post-secondary vocational school employees and 167 industrial sector representatives. The answers of these respondents were analyzed by using factor analysis, and some indexes were generated. The results of this study suggest that the main problems of the post-secondary vocational schools are stated as the limited collaboration between the post-secondary vocational schools and the private sector firms, selection of inappropriate locations to open post-secondary vocational schools, limited social facilities, and the lack of job opportunities for some graduates of associate degree programs. Some institutional and educational recommendations are suggested by the participants for solving these problems. For example, to improve the institutional status of the post-secondary vocational schools, the duration of workplace training should be increased, machinery and equipment used in these schools should be enhanced, and employment demand projections should be taken into consideration while determining the student admission quotas. In terms of education and training, they propose that the education period should be extended for the students to gain professional skills and competences, and a preparatory class should be placed to improve the basic professional skills of the general high school graduates who enrolled in these schools.

Locally, together and close to the child - how the citizenship of school employees leads to the implementation of global standards of child protection

For social pedagogy, it is important to answer the question whether the school and its surroundings are today a place where adults, aware of social and legal responsibility, adequately respond to suspicions of domestic violence against schoolchildren, and whether there is a dissemination of child protection standards, which are emphasized in international documents. Using the case study method, in Warsaw's Praga district (which was the Polish "cradle" of interdisciplinary work in the 1990s) I conducted two research (using an interview technique) on the role of schools in preventing child abuse. 10 respondents took part in the first phase of the study in 2009, while in the second phase (in the years 2019–2020) – 15 respondents. The aim of the study (in both phases) was to identify experiences regarding the quality of cooperation among school employees as members of interdisciplinary teams, in two periods of teams’ activity: before the introduction of the amendment to the Act on Counteracting Domestic Violence in 2010, and after its introduction – from 2011 (the aim of the article is to compare these experiences from both periods). The results of the research show that cooperation within the interdisciplinary teams established by the amendment is generally perceived positively by the members of these teams, although those who cooperated before the amendment, i.e., not obligatorily, define today's cooperation as too formalized and bureaucratic. The respondents' statements prove that currently interdisciplinary teams (from the perspective of a school employee in the Praga-Południe district) are less effective, and participation in their work, although obligatory, is relatively less frequent than when the meetings were voluntary.

Higher Physical Activity of School Personnel Is Related to More Positive Attitudes towards Children’s Physical Activity at School

School personnel can struggle with meeting the daily physical activity recommendation; however, they are role models for students, and their attitudes towards physical activity can impact students’ physical activity habits. The aim was to assess school personnel’s physical activity and their attitudes regarding the importance of physical activity among students. The physical activity levels of 1030 school employees in Estonia were assessed using an accelerometer. Participants also responded to a questionnaire about physical activity habits, overall health, and attitudes about the importance of physical activity among students. About 92.6% of the participants met the World Health Organisation’s weekly physical activity recommendation. However, 69.1% of the accelerometer wearing time was spent being sedentary. Only 5.8% of the wearing time was spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity. More active school personnel believed their lead affects students’ attitudes towards physical activity (r = 0.072–0.156, p < 0.05) and being active at recess facilitates a peaceful learning environment in the classroom (r = 0.064–0.072, p < 0.05). Whereas more sedentary school personnel did not encourage students to be active at recess (r = −0.073, p < 0.05). More active school personnel had more positive attitudes towards physical activity, which demonstrates the importance of focusing on encouraging physical activity among school personnel as they can affect the behaviour of students.

Characteristics of schools for girls: a case study

Single-sex schools account for a minimal percentage of alternative forms of education in Poland. Debates around such institutions focus on the issues of work efficiency in the context of academic achievements and dilemmas related to the social functioning of students. Most research on singlesex education is based on the positivist paradigm and uses quantitative methods. However, there are no monographic descriptions that consider the interpretative paradigm. In response to this gap, the author conducted a study of the culture of the girls’ school using qualitative methods – a case study based on the method of ethnography. The aim of the research was to conduct an in-depth study of a selected institution and describe its culture applying anthropology-based concept. I was interested in what image of the institution emerged based on individual interpretations of its members. The aim of the study. The main research questions concerned the specificity of the functioning of the staff in particular – the relations and key program assumptions. I tried to find out which aims are declaratively important and which are implemented by members of the school community. An important topic was also their perception of social relations and the style of working of the staff. The next task was to analyse and interpret the meanings that my interviewees attached to selected aspects of the school’s operation. The actions taken can be defined as constructing and reconstructing the model of the studied reality. The main aim of the analysis was to hear the “voice from the field” in order to understand better the meanings that the interlocutors attach to the everyday life at school. Research methods. The basic procedure for collecting data were interviews, partially structured and indepth, as well as observations of various school situations (both formal and informal). I interviewed parents, teachers, representatives of the board, and other school employees, I conducted focus group interviews (FGI) with students, I shadowed the headmaster, and analysed the documents. I used Atlas.ti software for the data analysis, which facilitated assigning and classification of codes and then combining them into broader categories. Conclusions and recommendations. Research has shown that adult respondents interpret the school reality in a similar way. Both parents and school employees emphasized the importance of values in constructing the school’s working style and the unique climate of families connected with the school. Social relations and emotions accompanying them were a significant problem, which on the one hand was a challenge for everyday work, and on the other hand, the expected style of functioning. The female character of the school manifested itself mainly in these dimensions. To a lesser extent, it was reflected in the style of work that would be in line with the stereotyped interests of the students. The results of the study apply to the specific case of the studied school. The methodology can be used many times in relation to any institution of this type.

Examining the Validity and Reliability of Measures for Individual-Level Constructs related to Implementation of School-Based Physical Activity Approaches

Valid and reliable measures are important to understanding the implementation of physical activity approaches in schools. The study purpose is to examine the psychometric properties of measures of individual-level constructs (knowledge, attitudes, outcome expectations, self-efficacy, innovativeness, and support) in the context of implementing school-based physical activity approaches. We collected data from a sample of elementary school employees (administrators, classroom teachers, physical educators, and support staff) from an urban school district in southeast Texas. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) models were used to examine structural validity. We also examined correlations between constructs to assess discriminant and convergent validity. Last, we used a CFA-based approach to examine point estimates for reliability. The analytic sample consisted of 205 employees. CFA results for each individual measure revealed good-fitting models for most measures (χ2(df)>0.05, RMSEA<0.08, CFI>0.90, TLI>0.90, SRMR≤0.07). A combined model that included all the measures also indicated good fit across indices: χ2(306)=485, p<0.001; RMSEA=0.05, CFI=0.93, TLI=0.92, SRMR=0.07. All correlations between constructs were <0.70, and all but one construct (innovativeness) demonstrated moderate correlations with support for classroom-based physical activity approaches (>0.30). In addition, reliability point estimates were all >0.70. The measures tested in this study were found to have good reliability, as well as good structural, discriminant, and convergent validity. These measures are useful in efforts to better understand how individual-level constructs relate to implementation behaviors for physical activity approaches in schools.

The School as an Arena for Co-Creating Participation, Equity, and Well-Being—A Photovoice Study from Norway

Schools may play an essential role as an arena for co-creating community activities that enhance well-being, equity, and citizenship. Still, there is limited knowledge about physical and non-physical factors that contribute to well-being within such approaches. The aim of this study was to identify important factors for well-being as perceived by pupils, school employees, and parents in a community school in Norway. The participatory method photovoice was used, and seven pupils, six employees, and four parents participated by taking photos used as the basis for six focus group discussions. Transcripts of the discussions were analyzed using Systematic Text Condensation. The analysis showed that the participants experienced that the school’s built and natural environment, the activities happening there, and the human resources and organization at the school facilitated perceptions of safety, inclusion, and cohesion, which in turn contributed to well-being. Furthermore, the results showed that co-creating schools as a community arena could be an innovative way of ensuring participation, equity, and well-being in the community. Such an approach might be especially important in deprived areas or in multi-ethnic communities. An important prerequisite to succeed is the openness of the school’s staff to engage in co-creation with other stakeholders in the community.

I’m Here; I’m Queer: How One Parent Advocates for the Inclusion of Queer Youth

Educators and school administration are tasked with creating schools that support and affirm LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) students and families. This study explores a high school in a conservative community as one parent attempts to advocate for their transgender child and other LGBTQ+-identifying students. Although school employees are mandated by state and federal laws to ensure that all students are free from bullying and harassment, the research highlights that schools remain hostile for many LGBTQ+ students. This article provides reflection questions throughout the case as a way for school leadership to grapple with and challenge their thinking regarding LGBTQ+-affirming strategies in their schools.

K–12 School Employee Perpetrated Student Sexual Abuse, Misconduct, and Exploitation

K–12 school employee perpetrated student sexual abuse, misconduct, and exploitation is the sexual boundary crossing of school employees to include verbal, visual, physical, and/or social media conduct of a sexual nature by a school employee directed toward a student. The sexual abuse of students by school employees is a worldwide problem that is under-documented and systematically ignored. Empirical work published since the first studies in the early 1980s explore five questions. How prevalent is the sexual abuse of students in schools? Who abuses? Who is abused? How does it happen? And, how can it be prevented?