The influence of social determinants on healthcare consumption in women

Noncommunicable diseases provide a significant impact on global health. Information about the factors influencing the noncommunicable morbidity and the need for medical care is important for forecasting need and distribution of healthcare resources. The article presents the results of a study dealing with the relationship between social determinants of health and acute conditions requiring medical care in women. Social determinants including the standard hierarchy of values and the level of education (high school) influence on individual self-assessment of health and are associated with lower need for medical care due to acute non-communicable diseases. The graph method was used for the study and can be proposed for further investigation of the influence of social determinants on the need for medical care.

Beyond stereotypes: Comparing Chinese and Australian parents’ perceptions of transition to school

Parents’ perceptions and expectations of transition to school influence their engagement in the transition process. In this study, eight Chinese and eight Australian parents were interviewed to explore their perceptions of transition to school. The results showed similarities in Chinese and Australian parents’ views of transition to school as a two-phase process involving preparation and school familiarisation. Cohort and intra-cohort differences were evident in the type of preparation, attention to diverse needs and the difficulty of the transition process. Moreover, Australian, but not Chinese, parents regarded transition to school as a change for themselves. The findings challenge stereotypes, indicating the need for more reciprocal communication to address parent expectations about transition to school in diverse communities.

Occupational and Educational Expectations of Rural youth in Croatia

The present study is as an attempt to understand how socio-demographic characteristics (i.e., gender, family socioeconomic status) and school level supports (i.e., school climate, professional guidance at school) influence occupational and educational expectations among rural youth (i.e., aspirations for a meaningful career, future family values, and future employment goals). The findings showed a relationship among the demographic characteristics, school level supports, career aspirations and future family and employment expectations of rural youth. The results of regression analysis indicate that school climate does influence aspirations towards a meaningful career, future family orientation and future employment goals. In addition, aspirations towards a meaningful career are also influenced by gender and professional guidance at school.

Social Bonding to School and Educational Inequality: Race/Ethnicity, Dropping Out, and the Significance of Place

Social bond theory suggests that strong bonds to school influence better outcomes on measures of educational progress and success. However, we know little about the relationship between social bonding to school and dropout for racial/ethnic minorities, or how this relationship varies across school settings. We examine how five types of social bonding (attachment, academic and sports involvement, commitment, and belief) influence the likelihood of dropout for racial/ethnic minorities in urban, suburban, and rural schools using national survey data. Results suggest that strong social bonds to school have the potential to mitigate some of the observed racial/ethnic gaps in dropout risk; however, the opportunity to form such bonds, as well as the strength of their protective effects, vary by student race/ethnicity, type of social bond, and school location.

Teaching Practice Supervisory Process: A Resourceful Tool for Up-Coming Teachers

In today’s keen competitive global environment, schools and institutions of higher learning are entrusted to produce quality human capital that is able to participate and cope with the ever changing market demands in various sectors of the economy such as education, business and commerce, and technology. The quality of education that students receive is inextricably linked to the knowledge, intelligence, professional skills and competencies of teachers. Teachers are the major in – school influence on student achievement and the most influential profession in the society that make huge differences to children’s lives. The professional roles and qualities of the teacher are blended to make him/her an effective teacher. With teacher preparation issues becoming a major concern for many societies today, it is therefore crucial to shed more light on pre-service teachers teaching practice program aimed at positively influencing the quality level of our student teacher preparation to assist them in carrying out their core mandate as and when they become fully grown teachers. The issues in focus are; the concept of teaching practice, why the need for teaching practice for student teachers, supervisors and supervision, supervisions and feedback, and challenges in supervision.

Correlation of the Need for Orthodontic Treatment between the self-perception of Chilean adolescents aged 14 to 18 years and the dentist’s diagnosis.

Background: To correlate the need for orthodontic treatment between the self-perception of Chilean adolescents from 14 to 18 years old with the observation of a dentist using the same assessment scale, as well as to determine if covariates such as gender, age and type of school influence the self-perception of the adolescent and the examiner. Material and Methods: Cross-sectional descriptive study of adolescents aged 14 to 18 years from public, subsidized and private schools in Temuco, Chile. The probability sample is stratified by course, from first to fourth year, a total of 414 students participated, according to the eligibility criteria. The photographic score of the aesthetic component (AC) of the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN) was used. The statistical analysis of the data was performed with the SPSS Statistics program v.23. Results: 94.9% of the adolescents perceived themselves as having good aesthetics. The examiner considered that 77% presented this condition, p<0.00. Males perceived themselves better than females. At age 15, 1.7% of students considered themselves to have poor aesthetics, p<0.01. From the examiner's perspective, aesthetics are related to type of school, p<0.00. Conclusion: Adolescents perceive themselves better aesthetically than do the evaluators. The school type factor, according to the IOTN-AC examiner, shows a higher proportion of students with no need for orthodontic treatment in private schools, and a threshold need in municipal and subsidized institutions.

THE TOOL FOR SCHOOL LEADERS IN MEASURING CLIMATE FACTORS FOR BETTER EDUCATIONAL IMPROVEMENT

Different schools that are nestled in different locality possess different climate factors. For this paper, it emphasizes mainly on how climate factors of a school influence pupils and teachers in the teaching and learning processes in the English language. The case site is a low-performing rural primary school in a bucolic setting in the state of Sabah which is 130km away from the nearest urban centre. The main purpose of this paper is to delineate the building of an instrument as a tool for school leaders to start analysing climate factors for better educational improvement. There are four general concepts depicted under the climate factors – physical environment, social relationship/system, orderliness, and expectations on student outcomes (and teacher behaviours). To ensure a more holistic measurement of these indicators, five measurement dimensions – frequency, focus, stage, differentiation, and quality are adopted. Sources of data are from various data collection methods namely peripheral observation, classroom observation, classroom participation, formal interview, conversational interview, focus group interview as well as documents. Multiple sources of data ascertain triangulation and better trustworthiness of the data to facilitate the building of a comprehensive instrument with wide-ranging constructs. This instrument can be used as a self-evaluation guide for school leaders to further understand the weaknesses as well as strengths of their schools. Through the synthesis of the data collected using this instrument, it has facilitated clear discernment of the capacities for the case school under-investigated and how the roles of financial, human, time, and programme capacity affect the pupils’ performance in the English Language.