The Food and Health Environment in Junior Secondary Schools in Urban Burkina Faso: A Cross-Sectional Study of Administrators, Food Vendors and Early Adolescents

School enrolment rates have increased globally, making the school environment a unique setting to promote healthy nutrition and eating outcomes among early adolescents. In this cross-sectional study, we describe the food and health environment of junior secondary schools in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso, West Africa). We evaluated the food and health environment using three components: (1) the implementation of health-related policies or guidelines in the schools, (2) the provision of health, nutrition and water, sanitation & hygiene (WASH) services in the schools, and (3) the quality of the school food environment, including foods sold by vendors. We used stratified random sampling to recruit 22 junior secondary schools from the five Ouagadougou districts in 2020. Trained fieldworkers collected standardized questionnaire data from 19 school administrators, 18 food vendors, and 1059 in-school adolescents. We report that only 7 out of 19 school administrators were aware of existing health-related policies and guidelines at their school and only 3 schools had a school health and nutrition curriculum in place. The overall provision of health, nutrition and WASH services was low or inadequate. Likely because of the lack of school canteens, 69% of the students bought snacks and unhealthy foods from food vendors. There is a critical need to improve the food and health environment of junior secondary schools in urban Burkina Faso.

Improving the quality of science education in Tanzanian junior secondary schools: The stakeholders' perspectives, issues, and promising practices

<p>Improving quality science education (SE) in many countries across the world has been a focus of international inquiry. Though Tanzania, like many other countries, has placed an increasing focus on improving the quality of SE experiences in its schools, little has been made to achieve this goal. This means the process of providing quality SE remains problematic and challenging. This study explores promising practices for improving the quality of SE in Tanzanian junior secondary schools (JSS) from the perspectives of 67 key SE stakeholders involving: educators, policy makers, parents, students, science alumni and selected education officers. In order to address the issue, the study used a mixed method approach involving interviews and questionnaires (with all respondents except students); document review, and focus group discussions (with students). A pragmatic perspective, with an emphasis on creating a more relevant, contextual, responsive and functional SE experiences in schools, was used as a lens. The study was conducted in two concurrent (embedded) phases within two regions in Tanzania beginning with in-depth interviews with policy makers and followed by intensive study of schools. All phases of data collection generated qualitative and quantitative data sets, which were then analysed using thematic analysis and descriptive statistics respectively. The findings of this research identified that despite policy articulation, the understanding and delivery of quality SE in Tanzanian JSS has remained debatable, divisive and antagonistic controversy over its meaning, value, nature, features and measures. As such, a comprehensive framework is needed to harmonise the existing and diverse conceptions of what quality SE is among different stakeholders. The findings also revealed that there are several contextual challenges rooted in the processes of planning, delivery, assessment and monitoring of quality SE practices in schools. Respondents identified these challenges as limiting the efforts to provide quality SE. Employing comprehensive and multiple frameworks to address the issue of quality SE is likely to help in making school SE experiences become as relevant, context responsive and functional as possible. This thesis hybridises an American pragmatism and uses it in linking and integrating collective and different perspectives towards identifying promising practices for quality SE in Tanzanian JSS.</p>

Improving the quality of science education in Tanzanian junior secondary schools: The stakeholders' perspectives, issues, and promising practices

<p>Improving quality science education (SE) in many countries across the world has been a focus of international inquiry. Though Tanzania, like many other countries, has placed an increasing focus on improving the quality of SE experiences in its schools, little has been made to achieve this goal. This means the process of providing quality SE remains problematic and challenging. This study explores promising practices for improving the quality of SE in Tanzanian junior secondary schools (JSS) from the perspectives of 67 key SE stakeholders involving: educators, policy makers, parents, students, science alumni and selected education officers. In order to address the issue, the study used a mixed method approach involving interviews and questionnaires (with all respondents except students); document review, and focus group discussions (with students). A pragmatic perspective, with an emphasis on creating a more relevant, contextual, responsive and functional SE experiences in schools, was used as a lens. The study was conducted in two concurrent (embedded) phases within two regions in Tanzania beginning with in-depth interviews with policy makers and followed by intensive study of schools. All phases of data collection generated qualitative and quantitative data sets, which were then analysed using thematic analysis and descriptive statistics respectively. The findings of this research identified that despite policy articulation, the understanding and delivery of quality SE in Tanzanian JSS has remained debatable, divisive and antagonistic controversy over its meaning, value, nature, features and measures. As such, a comprehensive framework is needed to harmonise the existing and diverse conceptions of what quality SE is among different stakeholders. The findings also revealed that there are several contextual challenges rooted in the processes of planning, delivery, assessment and monitoring of quality SE practices in schools. Respondents identified these challenges as limiting the efforts to provide quality SE. Employing comprehensive and multiple frameworks to address the issue of quality SE is likely to help in making school SE experiences become as relevant, context responsive and functional as possible. This thesis hybridises an American pragmatism and uses it in linking and integrating collective and different perspectives towards identifying promising practices for quality SE in Tanzanian JSS.</p>

Using Procedural And Conceptual Colour Stimulation-Game As an Instructional Gizmo For Nigerian Students

This research study focused on investigating on the effect of colour stimulation-game on Nigerian Junior secondary school creative arts by adopting quasi-experimental research design with 60 junior secondary schools of three co-educational, from Private, Public and Federal Secondary Schools using simple random sampling technique to randomly select The three secondary schools assigned to both experimental and control groups. With the aid of two instruments which were The Colour Stimulation-game and Colour Stimulation-Game Achievement Test (CSGAT), the data was collected. Frequency counts and percentage distribution, mean, standard deviation, independent t-test, ANOVA and ANCOVA were used to analyse the data demographic information, the research question and the hypothesis generated respectively. The researcher found out that the students taught with Stimulus perform better after treatment than the student taught with conventional teaching method, students taught with Colour Stimulus game performed better when exposed to treatment than their students taught with conventional teaching method and female students taught with Colour Stimulus game performed better than their male students. It was recommended that that creative arts instructors should utilizes, colour stimuli game and reducing conventional method do as to impact the appropriates knowledge for studentsKeywords: Colour Stimulation-Game, Colour, Game and instruction, Game, Significant in games

Modelling the Spatial Distribution Differences of Compulsory Education Resource

This paper aimed to explore the difference in the spatial distribution of compulsory education resource allocation. Raw data were collected from the 2020 China Statistical Yearbook (county/district level) and Guangxi Province Statistical Yearbook of China. Data analysis was conducted using the entropy method, comprehensive evaluation method, K-means clusters analysis, analysis of variance, and spatial statistical analysis (Moran’s I index). It was determined that there were significant differences in the spatial distribution of compulsory education. The equilibrium degree to mandatory education resource allocation was divided into three classes: high level, medium level, and low level, and each class presented a spatial aggregation effect in the spatial distribution. Compared with the primary schools, the equilibrium degree of junior secondary school was higher. However, the equilibrium fluctuation of junior secondary schools was more significant among different counties/districts. The equilibrium of educational resources of junior secondary schools in the urban areas was higher than that in the rural areas, but there was no significant difference for the primary school.

THE DIETARY INTAKE OF ETHNIC MINORITY STUDENTS AT TWO ETHNIC BOARDING JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN THÁI NGUYÊN PROVINCE

Objective: To assess the dietary intake of ethnic minority students at two ethnic boarding junior secondary schools of Thai Nguyen province in 2019. Research subjects and methods: The study was conducted according to the descriptive method, cross-sectional design on ethnic minority students and their dietary intake at two ethnic boarding junior secondary schools of Thai Nguyen province. Using pre-designed questionnaires to collect demographic information, frequency of eating and using the food weight method to determine the total energy and nutrient composition in the dietary intake. Results: The total dietary energy of students (1939 ± 327.0) was insufficient compared to the recommended needs, only 88.1% in male and 94.6% in female. Energy from lipid (23.4%) provided enough compared to the recommended needs, however, the energy from protein (17.8%) provided an excess and from carbohydrates (58.8%) was lacking compared to the recommended needs. The rate between the three energy-producing substances (17.8:23.4:58.8) was not reached compared to the recommended needs (14:20:66). Lipid, animal lipid, vegetable lipid provided enough compared to the recommended needs. While, protein, animal protein provided redundancy, vegetable protein and carbohydrates were lacking compared to the recommended needs. Substances that do not produce energy and fiber were mostly lacking in compared to the recommended needs. Only vitamin B1, vitamin B3 and zinc provided enough compared to the recommended needs. The rate of Ca/P was reasonable. Conclusion: The dietary intake of the ethnic minority students at two ethnic boarding junior secondary schools of Thai Nguyen province was not balanced and reasonable.

Content Adequacy of Oral Literature in Selected English Studies Textbooks: Implications for Inculcating Moral Values into In-School Adolescents

Textbooks are essential resources in the teaching-learning process. The integration of English language and literature called English Studies at the junior secondary schools in Nigeria has brought about textbooks incorporating both language and literature (oral and written) components. This study was carried out to analyze the content adequacy of oral literature incorporated in New Oxford Secondary English Course for Junior Secondary Schools and New Concepts English Textbooks and investigate teachers' perceptions. Book one to three of the two textbooks was purposively selected because they were used in the selected junior secondary schools for this study. The study, hence, adopted a mixed-methods of data collection and analysis. The textbooks selected were content analyzed by drawing out their oral literature components. Quantitative data were collected using a self-constructed questionnaire from 50 teachers of English studies randomly selected across 25 junior secondary schools in the Ibadan metropolis. The content analysis done of the selected textbooks was compared with the teachers' perception of the adequacy of the textbooks in inculcating moral values into students. The study recommended, among others, that English teachers at the junior secondary school level should actively implement the oral literature content of the English studies textbook with the use of appropriate teaching methods, strategies, and instructional materials.

The relationship between students’ mathematical disposition and their learning outcomes

The affective aspects must be owned by students in a lesson, where the affective aspects will have a relationship with the cognitive aspects of a student, therefore this study aimed to determine whether there is a relationship between students 'mathematical dispositions and students' mathematics learning outcomes. Using a mixed method and a sequential explanatory plan, the research was undertaken by first collecting quantitative data and then continuing to collect qualitative data. Where, the sample count in this study was 413 students from junior secondary schools 18 in Jambi City, Indonesia who used a total sampling technique. Data were then analyzed with the help of SPSS 21 application to find descriptive statistics in the form of mean, min, max, and category as well as inferential statistics using Pearson Product Moment. The results obtained in this study dominate both the mathematical disposition of pupils and the learning outcomes of pupils in mathematics. This was reinforced by the existence of a relationship between mathematical disposition and student learning outcomes in mathematics which is indicated by the obtained sig 0.05. This means that the mathematical disposition of students which includes the affective aspect of students has a relationship with the cognitive aspect, by having a good affective aspect, the cognitive aspects of the student are also good.

Analysis of large class-size and its effects on teaching and learning process among students’ secondary schools in Potiskum local government area

The study was carried out on the evaluation of the effects of over-population on teaching and learning of among students in junior secondary schools in Potiskum Local Government Area. To guide the study, 3 research questions in line with purpose of the study were formulated. Descriptive Survey Research Design was adopted for the study. The target population of the study was the entire teachers in randomly selected four junior secondary schools in Potiskum Local Government Area. Stratified Random Sampling Technique was adopted to select 40 teachers from the 4 junior secondary schools to constitute the sample size of the study. Structure Questionnaire was the major instrument used to collect data for the study. The data collected was analyzed using Mean and Standard Deviation for the questionnaires. The findings of the study revealed that, inability of teachers to paid attention to individual students that need special attention, lack of classroom control and management at overcrowded classroom and teachers found it difficult in conducting effective continuous assessment in classroom are some of the problems faced by teachers and students in teaching and learning in over-populated classrooms in junior secondary schools of Potiskum Local Government Area. The findings of the study also revealed that, high numbers of the students in classroom affect academic performance and that smaller class’s size lead to improvement of academic performance are some of the effects of over-population on the quality of teaching and learning in junior secondary schools in the study area. The findings of the study further revealed that, Admission of the students in junior secondary schools should be based on minimum standard as specified National Junior Secondary School Curriculum and provision of modern teaching aids such as overhead projectors, power point presentation device that each and every individual student will view the content of the lesson in the classroom are some of the ways forwards for overcoming the problems faced by teachers and students in over-populated classroom during teaching and learning in junior secondary schools in the study area. It was recommended that, a ratio of 1:40 teachers to students is hereby suggested for junior secondary schools as stated in the National Policy of Education (2013).

The Nature of Social Studies Teachers’ Beliefs About Teaching

This article reports on teachers’ beliefs about teaching and the implications of these beliefs in the teaching of Social Studies. A case study design was adopted using a beliefs tool that was administered to a sample of 21 Social Studies teachers in junior secondary schools and five in-service Social Studies teachers enrolled at the national university. Data were analyzed against the Luft and Roehrig (2007) belief categories and the South African Norms and Standards for teaching. The findings showed that teachers have different beliefs about teaching: as a knowledge-based profession and as a community, citizenship, and pastoral responsibility.