ALTERNATIVE FINANCING MECHANISMS OF CHURCH-FOUNDED SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN UGANDA

<p>Alternative financing mechanisms of church-founded secondary schools in Uganda geared towards mitigating the repercussions of financial resource scarcity in church-founded schools is an ongoing debate among denominational school stakeholders. This study analyzes the extent to which the schools are grappling with possible mechanisms to bridge their financing gap. The findings are a result of a cross sectional survey of what the various church-founded school stakeholders suggest to be the possible Alternative financing mechanisms of church-founded secondary schools in Uganda. It was concluded that most of the students, teachers, head teachers and education secretariat officials revealed that School-generated businesses such as school farms, alumni associations as well as soliciting for funding partners who share in the mission of the Church are the most appropriate Alternative financing mechanisms for Church Founded Schools in Uganda. </p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0954/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Australian School Stakeholders’ Perceived Strategies for Preventing Adolescent Obesity

Adolescent obesity is a complex multifactorial disease with a combination of environmental, behavioral, psychosocial, biological, cultural and genetic determinants. It remains a global public health issue that presents a major challenge to chronic disease prevention and health into adulthood. Schools have a rich opportunity to improve youth health and tackle obesity, yet they face barriers in fulfilling this function. This study investigated school stakeholders’ beliefs and perceptions of the barriers and enablers currently experienced by schools, as well as their recommendations towards preventing adolescent obesity. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods study design was utilised with surveys administered for the quantitative phase and individual interviews for the qualitative phase. Descriptive statistics and inductive thematic analyses were utilised for the survey and interview data, respectively. Triangulation of findings from the quantitative and qualitative phases aided in the better understanding and integration of the overall results. In total, 60 school stakeholders (52 subject teachers, 3 senior teachers and 5 heads of department) from both independent and public high schools in Queensland, Australia responded to the survey, while 14 respondents participated in the interviews. The main perceived causes of obesity were poor eating habits and sedentary lifestyle. Highlighted barriers were busy timetables, shortage of trained staff and funding, lack of robustness in the introduction and implementation of school interventions and insufficient motivation of learners to participate in obesity prevention programs. Enabling factors included parental support, easy access to fitness equipment during recess, supportive government policies, provision of healthier school tuck shop menu options and elimination of sugary drinks from vending machines. A model for the prevention of adolescent obesity was developed based on participants’ perceptions. Tripartite collaboration between the school, government and parents was perceived as fundamental to preventing adolescent obesity. Strategies targeting nutrition, physical activity and overall health, including parental education on health, formal health talks in schools by health professionals and better-targeted advertisement encouraging healthy lifestyle choices, were identified as essential for improved adolescent health outcomes.

The role of akidah akhlak teacher in embedding character of polite and decent language for elementary students

Indonesia well known as a nation that Cary on the head of polite and decent caharcter, especially in the use of language. Recently many cases were found that students are impolitely speaking, even bullying teachers. For this reason that embedding character of polite and decent language for early childhood is necessary. This study aims to identify the role of Akidah Akhlak teacher in embedding the character of polite and decent language for students’ year 1 at MIN 1 Bantul. The subject of this study is Akidah Akhlak, teacher of year 1 in MIN 1 Bantul. This study used a qualitative method with a descriptive approach. Data gathered through interviews and analyzed using qualitative analysis. Triangulate technic is used to validate the data and to recheck the result of the interview. This study showed that the role of Akidah Akhlak teacher is to give comprehension, become an example, and a role-model, doing observation and evaluation with the support from school stakeholders in embeeding polite and decent language through daily activities.

Best Practices of Advisory Councils for School-Based Agricultural Education Programs

An advisory council is an organized group of selected business representatives, community members, and school stakeholders who provide input in the planning, development, implementation and evaluation of a school-based agricultural education program. Recommendations and best practices are provided for implementing advisory councils. Written by R. G. Easterly III, D. M. Barry, B. E. Myers, and E. W. Osborne; published by the UF/IFAS Department of Agricultural Education and Communication; 7 pp.

Perceived Influence of Financial Disbursement on School Quality Assurance in Nyamagana District, Tanzania

This study sought to investigate on the perceived influence of financial disbursement on school quality assurance in Nyamagana District. The study used a mixed study approach that involves the use of both qualitative and quantitative data in a single study. The study population comprised of 198 selected school stakeholders and the sample was 78 school stakeholders. A single interview guide and a questionnaire were used during data collection. Quantitative data was analyzed through descriptive statistics using the Statistical Package for Social Science (Version 21.0) while qualitative data was analyzed through the thematic approach. The findings of the study showed that adequate funds are important for school quality assurance officers to function effectively. Furthermore, the adequate supply of funds for quality assurance purposes have added advantages like increasing the quality of students’ and teachers’ performance, propelling teachers’ professional development as well as enhancing the confidence of teachers in the process of teaching and learning. The study recommends that the government should disburse adequate funds to support Quality assurance activities in schools, recruit more qualified quality assurers and offer regular training to enable them to effectively perform all activities which are required when they visit schools. Quality assurers should do their job effectively to make sure schools have good environment to enhance quality learning for big results.

Perception of School Stakeholders on the Effect of School- Home Distance on Students’ Academic Performance among Community Secondary Schools in Rorya District, Tanzania

The study sought to determine the perception of school stakeholders on the effect of school- home distance on students’ academic performance among community secondary schools in Rorya District, Tanzania. The study employed a convergent survey design under the mixed research approach. The sample for this study was 100 respondents out of the population of 21,894 stakeholders, but only 87 responded. Quantitative data were collected through a questionnaire while qualitative data were collected through the interview. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics while qualitative data was analyzed using thematic analysis. The study concludes that long distance travelled by students reduces teacher-students contact time, leads to stomach ulcers, headaches and related issues which reduce school attendance and completion rates. The researchers recommended that community, government authorities and other stakeholders should make plans to build school dormitories or hostels to reduce the adverse effects of school –home distance.

School food offer at lunchtime: Assessing the validity and reliability of a web-based questionnaire

Objectives To develop and validate a web-based self-diagnostic questionnaire on school food service offer aimed at food service managers (FSMs) by: i) identifying relevant indicators of school food offer, developing a questionnaire and validating the concept using an expert panel, ii) validating the questions by comparing the food service manager’s responses with observations by dietitians, and iii) undergoing a qualitative evaluation of the tool through direct observation and short interviews. Design Mixed methods. Setting Quebec, Canada. Participants Nine experts validated the theoretical constructs and indicators on which the questionnaire was based. Inter-rater reliability tests were conducted with 39 food service managers, who then participated in interviews about platform functionality satisfaction. Twenty school stakeholders participated in the survey pertaining to their use of the personalised report. Results The questionnaire focused on the main school food service’s lunchtime offer and comprised 26 questions. The overall strength of agreement was good, and all questions’ strengths of agreement were fair to excellent except for one question. Qualitative data reached saturation and showed that navigation through the questionnaire was fluid. Improvements were suggested to increase user-friendliness and simplicity of both the platform and questionnaire. Results from the survey showed that all respondents were either satisfied or very satisfied with their personalised report. Conclusions We successfully developed and validated a web-based self-diagnostic questionnaire. The final version facilitates knowledge mobilisation with school stakeholders and offers a new opportunity for the assessment and surveillance of school food offer.

Students' assessment on dialogue and argumentati-on in society and school

The purpose of this study was to contribute to the model of preparing students for active argumentation in democratic societies and emphasize the teacher’s role in classroom discussions /1/. As many as 245 university students reflected upon the statements in the Questionnaire about dialogue and argumentation. The research objective was to investigate the opinion of students – future teachers about argumentation. Results show that students evaluate in a more positive way the areas of argumentation at school from the aspect of the relationship among school stakeholders, with the relationship between pupils as the mostly evaluated; those who have the highest level of knowledge on the concept of argumentation evaluate more positively that engaging in different society activities develops cohesion, dialogue and argumentation. Students with better assessment on the important teachers' characteristics for argumentation show higher understanding for the encouragement of school activities which contribute to the development of dialogue.

Expanding Transformative Agency: Learning Lab as a Social Change Intervention for Racial Equity in School Discipline

Background In the United States, students of color are more likely to receive disciplinary exclusion compared with their White peers. The racial disproportionality in exclusionary school discipline (e.g., office discipline referrals and suspension) marginalizes students from nondominant communities and further aggravates inequalities in academic, social, and behavioral outcomes. As a socially, historically, and geographically situated inequity issue, addressing racial disparities in disciplinary outcomes requires a transformative experiment in which local stakeholders can engage in situated problem identification and problem-solving efforts in response to their specific needs, goals, and local dynamics. Purpose of Study This study examined how Learning Lab, an inclusive, collaborative problem-solving process, created a collaborative problem-solving space wherein school stakeholders exercised their collective, transformative agency to bring about a qualitative transformation in the school discipline system at an urban middle school for the creation of culturally responsive and equity-oriented learning environments for all students. Setting The research took place at Rogoff Middle School in Wisconsin, which has historically served students from urban, low-income families. The school community struggled with the overrepresentation of Black students in exclusionary school discipline. Participants Learning Lab comprised 14 members. Three parents and 11 school staff— administrators, teachers, social workers, an after-school coordinator, and a parent/paraprofessional working in a special education classroom—participated in the Learning Lab. Research Design This study used the Learning Lab intervention, taking place at an urban middle school between November 2012 and May 2014, as an instrumental case to explore how the participatory, design-based intervention transformed a schoolwide behavioral support system. Data collected from 14 meetings include observations, ethnographic field notes, school disciplinary data, and photos. All meetings were video recorded and transcribed, then analyzed using a transformative agency framework. Findings/Results With the aim of organizing inclusive problem-solving activities for shared, collaborative future-making learning experiences, the Learning Lab encouraged local stakeholders to exercise their collective, transformative agency in order to produce locally meaningful and emancipatory knowledge aimed at reshaping a dysfunctional, punitive system that historically has yielded racial injustice in school discipline. Conclusions/Recommendations As a community-driven, scaled-down design process, Learning Lab can be a powerful leadership tool for school leaders to unite school stakeholders by building authentic school–family–community partnerships and leveraging expertise, experiences, and ingenuity for the development of locally optimized solutions to inequity.