School Personnel’s Self-Esteem, Sense of Self-Efficacy and Interventions on Weight-Related Bullying According to Their Weight Perception and Dieting Behaviors

To increase academic performance in children, elementary school personnel are encouraged to focus on socio-emotional learning. Better classroom management and safer environments, exempt of bullying and particularly of weight-related bullying, appear like ways of fostering socio-emotional learning in children. However, some school personnel’s characteristics could impact their ability to act on these dimensions. This research is interested in how weightrelated intervention behaviors, self-esteem and sense of self-efficacy vary according to school personnel’s dieting behaviors and weight perception are related to their self-esteem, sense of self-efficacy, and intervention behaviors on weight-related bullying. A total of 164 Canadian participants filled in questionnaires focusing on bullying, self-esteem, and sense of self-efficacy. Results show that most school personnel felt competent to manage their group of students and to intervene on weight-related bullying. Those who were on a diet and who perceived their weight as higher seem significantly more involved in promoting motivation for school and learning engagement in their students as well as more likely to intervene with the bully when encountering weight-related bullying situations. For their part, participants of normal weight who were on a diet had a significantly lower self-esteem than those dieting and having a perception of overweight. These results are encouraging because they suggest that elementary school personnel feel competent with regards to the socioemotional learning of their students and is actively involved in providing them a safe learning environment.

School Personnel Knowledge and Perceived Skills in Diabetic Emergencies in Georgia Public Schools

Diabetes affects tens of thousands of school-aged children in the United States. The ability to appropriately manage their diabetes is essential to preventing life-threatening health complications if occurring during the school day. The purpose of this study was to assess school personnel’s knowledge of diabetes (types 1 and 2) and perceived self-competence in performing diabetes management skills. A non-probability sample of elementary school personnel ( N = 809) from five different school districts in Georgia completed a diabetes knowledge and competence questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance, and principal component analysis were performed to analyze the data. School personnel reported limited knowledge of diabetes basics and an overall low perceived self-competence in performing many of the diabetic management skills. Despite state legislation enacted to assist children with diabetes in school and available training for school districts, the study found that school personnel are not well trained and lack confidence in performing diabetes management.

Teachers as Partners in the Prevention of Childhood Obesity

This paper presents a community-school-higher education partnership approach to the prevention of childhood obesity. Public elementary school personnel, primarily teachers, participated in the design and delivery of a curriculum targeting primary caregivers of 8-9-year-old children. Theoretical framework and methodological approaches guided the development of a cognitive behavioral lifestyle intervention targeting childhood obesity prevention in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), a U.S. commonwealth. This project demonstrated that in populations with health disparity, teachers can be a valuable and accessible resource for identifying key health issues of concern to communities and a vital partner in the development of parent and child interventions. Teachers also benefited by gaining knowledge and skills to facilitate student and parent learning and impact on personal and familial health. Successful community-school-higher education partnerships require consideration of local culture and community needs and resources. Moreover, within any community-school–higher education partnership it is essential that a time sensitive and culturally appropriate feedback loop be designed to ensure that programs are responsive to the needs and resources of all stakeholders, and that leaders and policymakers are highly engaged so they can make informed policy decisions.

Race as a Factor in Teachers' Responses to Children's Grief

A study of 605 elementary school personnel in metropolitan New Orleans, one third of them black, was designed to investigate how teachers respond to children in death-related situations. When black and nonblack teachers were compared, no differences were evident in attitudes toward death or belief in an afterlife. However, significant differences appeared in the responses they chose to children's grief. Possible reasons for the observed differences and guidelines for future research are offered.