Building Pathways to CS: Multilingual Collaborative Programming for Migrant and ESL Middle School Students

As spaces in public schools are limited, a substantial number of migrant children living in Chinese cities but without local hukou are enrolled in private migrant schools. This paper studies the quality of migrant schools using data collected in Shanghai in 2010 and 2012. Although students in migrant schools perform considerably worse than their counterparts in public schools, the test score difference in mathematics has almost been halved between 2010 and 2012, due to increased financial subsidy from the government. We rule out alternative explanations for the convergence in test scores. We also conduct a falsification test and find no relative changes in the performance of migrant school students based on a follow-up survey of a new cohort of students in 2015 and 2016, a period with no changes in financial subsidies to migrant schools.

In recent decades, China has observed increasing numbers of rural–urban migrant children seeking education in Chinese cities, resulting in pressure on urban schools to accommodate these children. Drawing on pre- and post-survey and interview data with 215 primary school teachers in a metropolitan city in East China, the objectives of this article are to describe teachers’ perceptions of educational inclusion in both migrant and public schools, and to investigate changes in their beliefs from 2013 to 2016. Urban public school teachers indicated significant differences in perceptions compared with their first test, whereas no salient differences in perceptions was found among migrant school teachers. The qualitative analysis echoed the quantitative findings and provided further explanation for the complexity and particularity of these changes. Our study revealed that public schools have made great reforms in relation to educational inclusion for migrant students and that these initiatives in turn have produced changes on teachers’ perceptions and practices with migrant children. It should be noted, however, that teachers attribute the changes in their perceptions to external factors rather than the internal ones. In the light of these findings, the article discusses implications for further professional development programs for teachers in Chinese migrant schools.

In China, parents have a choice to either send their children to private migrant schools in urban areas or to keep them in their own county. It is unclear whether the academic differences of students in rural schools and those in private migrant schools is due to the quality of schools, the quality of students/peers, or the ways that peer effects interact with the quality of the school. Using survey data from students with rural residency who attended either migrant schools or rural public schools, we measure how differences in the quality of the types of schools and how the effect of peers differs in high- versus low-quality schools. An instrumental variable approach is used to identify the causality of a student’s peers on his or her academic outcomes and within the context of each of the school venues. The gap in student academic performance is explained by the differences in each student’s peers as and in how peers interact in the schooling environments. The analysis also demonstrates that there is a significant interaction effect between one’s peers and the quality of a student’s school environment. We found that school quality has a complementary effect with peers on student academic performance.

According to the 2017 China National Education Development Statistics Bulletin, there were 14.07 million rural-urban migrant children in the compulsory education stage. The mental health of migrant children in China has drawn increasing attention in research. The objective of this study was to compare subjective well-being, self-esteem, prosocial behaviour and family functioning of migrant children vs local children in Shanghai and to explore their relationship. A survey was conducted among 2229 students (9-17y of age; male 52.0%, female 48.0%) and their parents from grades 4 to 8 in four primary schools and four middle schools in Shanghai in 2016. The sample consisted of 1333 migrant children and 896 urban children in three migrant schools and five public schools. A total of 959 rural-urban migrant children and 374 urban hukou migrant children were recruited. The questionnaire for students included the Personal Well-Being Index - School Children (PWI-SC), Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Positive and Negative Affect Scale for Children, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Family APGAR Index and prosocial behaviour domain of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. In the questionnaire for parents, the Personal Well-Being Index and Social Support Rating Scale were used in addition to the sociodemographic characteristics. These data were analysed using one-way analysis of variance, correlation analysis and multiple linear regression. Rural-urban migrant children reported significantly lower PWI-SC, SWLS, positive affect, prosocial behaviour, self-esteem and Family APGAR Index scores and reported higher negative affect scores than local children (p<0.01). The prevalence rate of abnormal prosocial behaviour among rural-urban migrant children was 10%, which was higher than that of local children (5.9%; p<0.001). Compared with rural-urban migrant children in public schools, the SWLS, prosocial behaviour and Family APGAR Index scores of the children in migrant schools were higher and the prevalence rate of abnormal prosocial behaviour was lower (p<0.01). Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that the self-esteem and Family APGAR Index had predictive effects on subjective well-being and prosocial behaviour scores of rural-urban migrant children. Rural-urban migrant children are susceptible to mental health problems. Additional public policy and interventions by practitioners are needed to support rural-urban migrant children.

Harvesting hope through La Corrida : the experiences of highly mobile migrant high school students

School-based youth mentoring is popular in the United States. There are reasons to believe that school-based mentoring might be beneficial, but research has found primarily small effects and some negative effects. This study describes a formal evaluation of a single semester mentoring program that was implemented within the context of a school-university-community partnership. Middle school students were randomly assigned to a school-based mentoring program (n=60) or a control group (n=60) during the first semester of middle school. Results suggest that random assignment to the mentoring program designed to ease the transition to middle school was associated with statistically significant decreases in reading grades and null effects on other measures, including school and teacher connectedness. These results reinforce the need to evaluate mentoring programs on a case-by-case basis and continue to innovate in the area of school-based mentoring until robust, replicable evidence-based procedures are identified. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

이 연구는 마음그램을 기반으로 한 중학생의 자기조절 프로그램을 개발하고 그 효과성을 검정하는 데에 목적이 있다. 마음그램은 기본적인 욕구가 마음의 상태에 따라 부정적인 방법으로 표출할때 주로 머무는 4가지 유형의 마음자리를 말한다. 이 연구에서는 마음그램의 4가지 유형 중 탐닉형의 마음을 조절하는 것이다. 따라서 이 프로그램의 목표는 중학생의 자기조절능력 증진의 핵심요인인 의지력을 향상시키는 데에 있다. 이 프로그램은 주 1회 실시하였으며, 목표설정, 자기평가, 자기 강화, 피드백, 타인과의 관계지향 등을 주된 내용으로 6회기로 구성하였다. 예비프로그램을 실시한후 프로그램의 효과를 검증하기 위해 사전 사후 자기조절 검사를 실시하였다. 그 결과 자기조절능 력이 유의하게 증가하였다. 이와 같은 결과는 자기조절에 긍정적인 영향을 줄 수 있음을 확인할 수있다.The purpose of this study was to develop a self-regulation program for middle school students based on the Maumgram and test the effects of the program. Maumgram is a four-type mind position that usually stays when the basic needs is expressed in a negative way, depending on the state of the mind. This study is to regulates the over-indulge mind type among the four types of Maungram’s. The goal of this program was to improve willpower, a key factor in middle school students self regulation ability. This program was implemented once a week and consisted of 6 sessions with main themes such as goal setting, self-evaluation, self-strengthening, feedback, and relationship with others. After the preliminary program, pre- and post-tests of self regulation were performed to verify the effectiveness of the program. The results showed that the self-regulation ability improved significantly.

Research shows the benefits of pair programming for retention and performance in computing, but little is known about how relationship dynamics influence outcomes. We describe results from our study of middle school students programming games using Alice and pair programming. From our analysis using statistical procedures that take into account the interdependence of pair data, we found evidence for partner influence moderated by the role of confidence over improvements in Alice programming knowledge in friend partnerships but not non-friend partnerships. We discuss implications for researchers and educators.

Recently China has been undergoing an unprecedented urbanisation process which has resulted in millions of rural families living in urban areas. As part of a study of Chinese migrant children's educational experiences, surveys and interviews were conducted with primary school teachers in a metropolitan city in East China. The objectives of this study were to describe teachers’ perceptions of migrant children's education in both migrant schools and in public schools, and to investigate differences in their beliefs between school types. Results found that urban teachers’ perceptions of educational inclusion of migrant students were slightly negative in general. However, teachers in public schools showed significantly more positive attitudes to inclusion of migrant students than migrant school teachers. In the light of these findings, the paper concludes with implications for practice and policy for education of migrant children in China.

The majority of the research on alternative programs for at-risk students focuses on the high school setting or on early intervention the primary level. Middle schools have been the last group to receive attention, and dropout prevention programs for middle schools have lagged behind (DeBlois 1989). Attitudes toward school that are developed during the elementary years often manifest themselves as patterns of behavior in middle school students. For many middle schoolers, poor attitudes about school are associated with low academic achievement and behavioral problems. Bhaerman and Kopp (1988) report that 61 percent of students who have been identified as at risk drop out before completion of tenth grade. These data indicate that middle school students stand a critical juncture in terms of their educational futures. Success with at-risk students is not a

Background: Concussions affect millions of youths in the United States each year, and there is concern about long-term health effects from this injury. Purpose: To examine the association between sports- or physical activity–related concussion and health risk behaviors among middle and high school students in 9 states. Study Design: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: Data from the 2019 middle school and high school Youth Risk Behavior Survey were used for this analysis. Nine states were identified that included the same question on concussion and similar questions on health risk behaviors in their 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Students were asked to self-report whether they had ≥1 sports- or physical activity–related concussions during the 12 months preceding the survey. Self-reported concussion was the primary outcome of interest. Other variables included sex, race/ethnicity, played on a sports team, were physically active 5 or more days/week, ever tried cigarette smoking, ever used an electronic vapor product, academic grades, drank alcohol, were in a physical fight, seriously considered attempting suicide, made a suicide plan, and attempted suicide. Results: Among the 9 states, 18.2% of middle school students and 14.3% of high school students self-reported ≥1 sports- or physical activity–related concussions. Among both middle school and high school students, the prevalence of ≥1 sports- or physical activity–related concussions was higher among students who played on a sports team, were physically active 5 or more days per week, had ever tried cigarette smoking, had ever used an electronic vapor product, had seriously considered attempting suicide, had made a suicide plan, and had attempted suicide compared with those who had not engaged in those behaviors. The prevalence of sports- or physical activity–related concussion was consistently higher among middle school students than high school students across sex, race/ethnicity, and adverse health behaviors. Conclusion: Middle school students with a history of concussion warrant attention as an at-risk population for concussions and adverse health behaviors. Health care providers may consider screening students for adverse health behaviors during preparticipation examinations and concussion evaluations.

Feasibility, acceptability, and potential utility of an evidence-based pregnancy prevention program among Black/African American middle and high school students in Florida.

The advancement of computing technology has led to many changes in a variety of fields, and the importance of programming education has been emphasized in many countries worldwide. Despite the importance of programming education, the cognitive burden of text programming for beginners has not been reduced. The goal of this study was to implement an environment where a text programming language is used in a block-based programming environment and to determine at which school level this learning environment affects positive perceptions of programming. To achieve this goal, we conducted programming classes targeting 128 middle school, high school, and university students for 14 weeks and analyzed the effects of the factors of “understanding of programming instructions”, “usage confidence”, and “usefulness” on “positive perceptions of programming”. The results of the analysis by school level show that “usefulness” influenced positivity toward programming for middle school students, “usefulness” and “understanding of programming instruction” for high school students, and “understanding of programming instruction” and “usage confidence” for university students. Therefore, the significance of this study confirms the need to construct the learning environment differently depending on school level, even for beginners.

Asthma is the most common chronic disease among school-aged children under 18 years of age and is a major cause of morbidity, loss of school days, and increased hospitalizations. Asthma disproportionately affects low-income, minority youth in Alabama. The benefits of improving asthma control and self-management have significance for improving health, preventing disease, and reducing health disparities by addressing social, behavioral, environmental, economic, and medical determinants of health. This collaborative community partnership between the Mobile County Public School System, University of South Alabama (USA), and USA Children's and Women's Hospital involved nursing students, respiratory therapy students, and medical residents from three colleges and the hospital. The research question was whether a school-based asthma self-management education program presented by an interprofessional team was feasible for teens with asthma in a medically underserved area (MUA). Middle school students with a diagnosis of asthma participated in this institutional review board-approved study. Asthma assessments, one-on-one coaching, and group education were done over five sessions, using Power Breathing for teens curriculum. Instruments were the Childhood Asthma Control Test (ACT), the Asthma Responsibility Questionnaire (ARQ), the Self-Efficacy Scale, the Pediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (PAQLQ), peak flow monitoring, and spirometry. Eighteen students with moderate to severe persistent asthma completed the program with reduced asthma symptoms and increased asthma control, medication knowledge/skills, self-efficacy, and asthma responsibility. Adolescents with asthma need education in medication management, spacer use, peak flow, trigger avoidance, and coaching to take on the responsibility of asthma care. This multidimensional, interprofessional approach can strengthen asthma self-management in a middle school medically underserved community population.

The aim of this study is to adapt the Academic Grit Scale, developed by Clark and Malecki (2019), into Turkish. Validity and reliability studies for the adaptation process were conducted on two different groups. The first participant group consisted of middle school students, while the second participant group included high school students. Middle and high school students from various schools were selected using an appropriate sampling method and included in the study sample. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was applied to test whether the construct was confirmed within these two distinct sample groups. According to the CFA results, the scale’s 10-item, single-factor structure demonstrated good fit indices. Internal consistency coefficients of the Academic Grit Scale were calculated using Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient. Accordingly, the internal consistency coefficient was determined to be .89 for middle school students, .92 for high school students, and .92 for the entire sample. After determining the internal consistency coefficients, the test-retest reliability of the scale was also calculated. Test-retest reliability was found to be .82 for the middle school group, .86 for the high school group, and .85 for the entire sample. As a result of the study, the Academic Grit Scale was found to be a valid and reliable measurement tool for middle and high school students.