Search Results (37)

Research highlights a growing demand for active, experiential learning methods in higher education, especially in teacher education. While the benefits of parental involvement (PI) are well-documented, Hungary lacks tools to effectively prepare teacher trainees for fostering family–school cooperation. This study addresses this gap by introducing a custom-designed board game as an innovative teaching tool. The game simulates real-world challenges in PI through a cooperative, scenario-based framework. Exercises are grounded in international and national research, ensuring their relevance and evidence-based design. Tested with 110 students, the game’s educational value was assessed via post-gameplay questionnaires. Participants emphasized the strengths of its cooperative structure, realistic scenarios, and integration of humor. Many reported gaining new insights into parental roles and strategies for effective home–school partnerships. Practical applications include integrating the game into teacher education curricula and adapting it for other educational contexts. This study demonstrates how board games can bridge theory and practice, offering an engaging, effective medium to prepare future teachers for the challenges of PI. Full article

Background: During childhood and adolescence, personality development is continuous. Younger people—defined in this study as high-school students aged 14 to 18—are particularly receptive to change. The health behaviors formed during this period can significantly influence health in later life. Therefore, families and schools play a crucial role in promoting a healthy lifestyle. In our research, we examined the relationship between psychosocial resources (social support and school resources) and the regularity and intensity of physical activity. Methods: In this study, “appropriate physical activity” refers to the level and intensity of activity recommended by the World Health Organization—namely, at least 60 min per day of moderate- to vigorous-intensity aerobic activity for adolescents. We conducted our cross-sectional research in Hungary, Western Transdanubia, using convenience sampling among high-school students (n = 331). Data collected with a self-edited and standardized questionnaire (MSPSS, HBSC school resources and school social support) were analyzed using the SPSS Statistics 22 program with a t-test, ANOVA and χ² test (p < 0.05). Results: In the case of the time spent on physical activities per week, boys (p < 0.05) and younger people (p < 0.05) showed a much more favorable picture. Examining the intensity of regular physical activity among students who belonged to the appropriate range, the average values of family social support were significantly higher (p < 0.05), but this association was not observed for social support from friends or significant others (p > 0.05). The amount of movement was not differentiated by support from others (p > 0.05). The level of attitude towards their school was higher among students who performed physical activity of the appropriate quality and quantity (p < 0.05). Teachers’ assessment of school performance and the quality of the relationship with teachers showed a correlation with physical activity performed at the appropriate intensity (p < 0.05). Conclusions: We found a positive effect of family and school resources on the regularity and intensity of physical activity, which draws attention to strengthening the partnership between family and school, improving the school atmosphere and social support within the school, increasing students’ attachment to their institution. The combination of these resources can help children lead a more active and healthier life, which has a beneficial long-term impact on their physical and mental well-being. The cooperation between parents and schools is crucial in supporting young people in adopting a healthy lifestyle. Full article

A better match between formal education and work-life is seen as one approach that can help students acquire competences and knowledge necessary for successful participation in their future lives. However, emphasis is often placed on exploring practices targeted at students nearing entry into a work-life pattern, whereas promoting key competencies and positive attitudes toward work should start at an earlier stage. We conducted in-depth interviews with 20 Estonian primary school teachers, recognized by their colleagues for outstanding practices to explore their understanding and experiences of integrating work-life and students’ work-related experiences in classroom learning. While teachers involve the work-life and professions of the students’ family members, they often overlook the potential of their local community. Teachers perceived the primary school context as generally supportive, with the national curriculum and cooperative relationships with families being supportive factors. Teachers often viewed students’ work-related experiences as limited to tasks like maintaining tidiness, with few recognizing broader experiences, such as taking on different roles or participating in after-school activities. There is significant potential to purposefully connect work-life and classroom learning, enabling students to take on roles that promote their key competencies and agency, while personalizing learning based on their work-related experiences. Full article

This study explores factors influencing female engagement in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields in Mozambique, Nigeria, and Uganda through Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory. The research collected qualitative data from 81 women across these countries through open-ended surveys. Using content analysis, the results demonstrate the critical role of personal interests nurtured by family, showing how direct interactions with family influence STEM engagement at a microsystem level. The mesosystem level reveals the supportive influence of community and school interactions, emphasizing the importance of relationships between different microsystems, such as family–school collaborations, in fostering female participation in STEM. The exosystem level identifies the impact of positive media portrayals and role models, illustrating how external environments indirectly affect perceptions and aspirations in STEM through media and societal influences. The macrosystem level underscores the persistent cultural norms shaping gender roles, reflecting broader societal and cultural values that influence gender diversity in STEM fields, with 63% of respondents in Mozambique, 57% in Nigeria, and 67% in Uganda indicating that societal views on gender roles discouraged participation. Lastly, the chronosystem level captures the temporal changes and progress in gender diversity in STEM, highlighting the need for targeted interventions and policy reforms to address longstanding gender imbalances. Despite progress, significant gender imbalances remain, necessitating targeted interventions and policy reforms. The study proposes a sustainable, collaborative model to foster early interest and sustained participation of females in STEM, emphasizing the importance of seamless cooperation among families, educational institutions, communities, and government bodies. The findings aid in creating supportive environments for sustaining female STEM participation, promoting economic and social development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Full article

Elective home education is a significant aspect of the UK educational system, yet dedicated research on this topic is limited. This study, employing Appreciative Inquiry, explored the best practices perceived by 90 UK home-educating parents. It uncovered diverse strategies, emphasising the importance of resources such as technology, curricula, and collaborative efforts within home education co-operatives. Parents stressed the value of flexible learning environments and strong family commitment, envisioning a future with an enhanced home learning atmosphere and government and school support. They recommended concrete guidance for prospective home-educating parents, focusing on comprehensive child development. Ultimately, families aspired to shape a future for home education that prioritises enriched learning environments, broader societal recognition, and practical support for those embarking on the home education journey. The study’s findings have implications for children’s development, facilitating collaboration between homes and schools, as well as partnerships between families and educators. Full article

Family farming is relevant for the generation of employment and income in the countryside. The objective of this study is to analyze the challenges and potentialities in the socioeconomic dynamics of agriculture through the institutional food market in the area of operation of a family farming cooperative. A qualitative case study was carried out in the north of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, through eighteen in-depth interviews. Data were analyzed using the content analysis method, considering five categories: economic, social, environmental, food security, and family succession. The results indicate that labor shortage and excessive bureaucracy are constant challenges. Furthermore, effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, lack of information, and lack of succession are among the main challenges of the institutional market from the perspective of the social agents participating in the research. On the other hand, the institutional commercialization channel, via the National School Feeding Program, is a consolidated public policy in the region, and one of the greatest benefits identified was the increase in the income of the cooperative members. Among the main potentialities of the institutional market from the agents’ point of view are income guarantee, institutional relations, support from cooperatives and technical assistance and rural extension, women’s involvement, and productive diversification. The results can support the implementation and strengthening of similar programs in other countries. Full article

This study analyzes the previous literature on the online safety of children and youth under “the 4Cs risk framework” concerning contact, content, conduct, and contract risks. It then conducts a comparative study of Australia, Canada, and the UK, comparing their institutions, governance, and government-led programs. Relevant research in Childhood Education Studies is insufficient both in quantity and quality. To minimize the four major online risks for children and youth in cyberspace, it is necessary to maintain a regulatory approach to the online exposure of children under the age of 13. Moreover, the global society should respond together to these online risks with “multi-level” policymaking under a “multi-stakeholder approach”. At the international level, multilateral discussion within the OECD and under UN subsidiaries should continue to lead international cooperation. At the domestic level, a special agency in charge of online safety for children and youth should be established in each country, encompassing all relevant stakeholders, including educators and digital firms. At the school and family levels, both parents and teachers need to work together in facilitating digital literacy education, providing proper guidelines for the online activities of children and youth, and helping them to become more satisfied and productive users in the digital era. Full article

Parental involvement of super-diverse families in the educational process is an integral part of the integration of emergent bilingual students, which, however, entails obstacles to its implementation in Greek schools and worldwide. Τhe present study investigates, through a qualitative case study, the perceptions of eight primary school teachers who had worked in zones of educational priority (ZEPs) in Greek public education, which are also called reception classes, towards the involvement of immigrant and refugee parents in the educational process as well as the barriers that influence it. The methodological tool of semi-structured interviews was used, while the sample was selected with both the convenience and snowball sampling techniques. Some important results reveal the usefulness of parental involvement for all involved persons in the school–family partnership as well as the multiple obstacles to its implementation. The main difficulties encountered by the participants were the parents’ lack of competence in Greek or in an intermediate language as well as their unfamiliarity with a culturally different education system. In response to this reality, the establishment of translation services at school with language and cultural interpreters that could bridge theses distances while recognizing families’ differences as an asset rather as an obstacle emerges as a necessity. Full article

In recent years mothers have been finding themselves overwhelmed by the need to balance work and maternal duties. Father involvement in childcare has been related to a decrease in mother’s burden in childcare. This association is influenced by multiple aspects, such as the way parents share parenting perspectives and views about child rearing, i.e., coparenting. Nevertheless, the mediating role of coparenting on the association between father involvement and maternal stress has been overlooked. This will be addressed by the current study. A total of 254 Portuguese married/cohabiting mothers of preschool children reported on maternal stress, father involvement in caregiving, and coparenting. Data was collected in public and private schools through questionnaires and online through advertisements in social media. Results show that greater father involvement in direct care was associated with greater maternal stress, but this direction changes when mediated by cooperative coparenting. Moreover, results suggest that when mothers perceived less conflict in coparenting, greater father (in)direct care contributed to decreased maternal stress. The current study supports the notion that fathers involvement and parent’s cooperation account to mothers’ wellbeing, which will improve family dynamics. Full article

The objective of this work is to analyze the trajectory and role assumed by the collective organizations of family agriculture, Cooperatives and Associations, in the construction and supply of food for the institutional market built from the National School Feeding Program (PNAE) in the five most important municipalities in the state of Minas Gerais/Brazil. This approach is justified by the need to remedy theoretical gaps in the insertion of cooperatives, which serve as instruments to guarantee food and nutrition security and also as a crucial actor in the construction of food markets. For this, it is necessary to investigate how these organizations were constituted, how they are organized, which actors are involved, and what their role is in the implementation of the public food purchase policy. Methodologically, it is a multiple case study, with a qualitative approach and descriptive character. For data collection, semi-structured interviews were applied in the five most populous municipalities in Minas Gerais, based on two scripts aimed at representatives of family farming organizations and members of the Public Administration who work directly with the management of the PNAE. The research results corroborate the recommendation that the Brazilian State should support the collective organization of farmers and strengthen the promotion of associativism and cooperativism in family farming, providing instruments for the development of social and economic organizations as well as expanding and strengthening government food purchase programs, since they help boost social capital in the countryside and generate income for family farmers. Full article

Teachers face a high degree of risk when disciplining students in contemporary China. Under the guidance of risk society theory, based on a qualitative study of teachers at a county town high school in Southwest China, this paper finds that, in the context of shifting responsibility for education from family to school and inequal risk distribution system in school, teachers become a primary risk taker. The culture of the teacher as a service provider with unlimited responsibilities and the institution of “No Accident” in daily management supported by schools and local government is constructing the sense of risk in teachers. The consequences of risky events are unbearable for teachers in most cases, so they have to adopt limited discipline strategies with a focus on risk avoidance. Reconceptualizing cooperative family–school relations and constructing a reasonable risk allocation mechanism in school would be the keys to eliminating teachers’ conception of discipline risk. Full article

The increase in the use of the Internet, strongly boosted by the spread of COVID-19, has amplified the risk of involvement in cyberbullying and online grooming among minors. To date, most research on these phenomena has focused on middle and high school students, with fewer studies on younger children. The present study aims to fill this knowledge gap by measuring the spread of cyberbullying and online grooming in a sample of 410 primary school students in the city of Rome and by identifying the main individual and environmental predictors associated with the involvement of children in these phenomena using factor analysis. Results indicate that both cyberbullying and online grooming are widespread among respondents, showing common traits within the four latent dimensions identified. Screen time is among the main predictors of children’s involvement, together with parental supervision, phubbing behaviours, prosocial tendencies and family socio-economic background. These findings highlight the need for further studies on representative samples of this age group, as well as for a greater cooperative effort among schools, parents and caregivers to keep children safe in the virtual world. Full article

The purchase of food from family farming in public institutions in Brazil was boosted by the implementation of the public call modality. The National School Feeding Program—PNAE— and the Food Acquisition Program—PAA— are world references in terms of purchasing food from family farming. However, hindrances are still observed regarding the participation of small farmers in public purchase of food, reducing their participation and scope of the food products available. Using a cross-sectional approach, this study analyzed food from family farming purchased by federal institutes of education located at the northeast region of Brazil to characterize the profile of family farmers participating on public calls, identify the food required and verify the processing level of food present into these documents. The data obtained indicate that family farmers supply mainly in natura or minimally processed foods, especially fruits. Meat and meat products were not present and processed foods, such as cheese, were not purchased extensively from family farmers by federal institutes, even when farmers were grouped into cooperatives and associations. Failure to comply with sanitary requirements required in the public call process was the main reason for the non-homologation of some food from family farming. The data found in this study show that despite the advances that allowed the purchase of food from family farming in public educational institutions, it is necessary to find ways to increase the diversity of food. Investing in improving structural conditions would be a way to increase the quality and diversity of food provided by family farming in public institutions, contributing to the environmental, social, and health dimensions of sustainability. Full article

This paper investigates the determinants of mathematics performance by gender, exploiting a multilevel random forest approach. OECD PISA 2018 data from 28 European countries are employed to explore the performance of male and female students as a function of students’ family characteristics, their attitudes towards education, and class and school environment. Results show that the gender gap in favour of boys persists in most European countries. However, teacher and school practices like fostering student reading and creating a cooperative environment allow mitigating the influence of family background in countries without gender gap. Policy implications to foster performance equality are provided. Full article

Adolescents with asthma are usually insufficiently adherent to regular inhalation treatments, thus limiting their effectiveness. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of adherence to single-inhaler long-acting LABA/ICS dry-powder combination o.d. in affecting lung function, bronchial hyperreactivity, and health outcomes over a twelve-month survey of a group of non-smoking adolescents with mild to moderate asthma. Methods: Age, gender, BMI and atopy, forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV¹), maximum mid-expiratory flow (MMEF), and maximum expiratory flow at 25% of lung filling (MEF₂₅) were assessed via a Boolean selection process from the institutional database at recruitment, as well as after 6 and 12 months, together with the incidence of exacerbation, school days that were taken off, GP and specialist visits, and systemic steroid and/or antibiotic courses. Adherence was checked monthly via a direct telephone call. Statistics were calculated with an ANOVA trend analysis, assuming p < 0.05. Results: Two well-matched sample groups of 54 subjects each were obtained. The mean annual adherence to treatment ranged from 48.2% doses ± 10.9 sd to 79.3% doses ± 8.8 sd (p < 0.001), regardless of age and gender. Only adolescents that adhered to the o.d. ICS/LABA inhalation regimen progressively achieved complete control of all lung function parameters (FEV¹: 0.001; MMEF: p < 0.002; MEF₂₅ < 0.001; <0.001), minimized their bronchial hyperreactivity (p < 0.001), and optimized all health outcomes (p < 0.001—p < 0.002) over the survey duration. Discussion: A good adherence to treatment is essential for asthma management, particularly in young patients. Factors that are totally independent of the complexity of the therapeutic regimen adopted (namely, only a once-daily inhalation in the present survey) probably represent the major reasons limiting the adolescents’ adherence. Cultural, educational, behavioral, and psychological factors are frequently involved, are difficult to control, and can present barriers to adolescents’ asthma management. Further studies aiming to deeply understand and possibly remove the reasons for such adolescents’ attitudes are needed, in cooperation with actions oriented in this direction by families, educators, and health professionals. Full article