わが国の弱視教育の現状と今後の課題

The majority of deaf and hard of hearing students are taught in public schools. Many of these students are taught by itinerant teachers who report their primary areas of instruction are language, reading, and writing (Antia & Rivera, 2016; Luckner & Ayantoye, 2013). The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine (1) how strategic and interactive writing instruction (SIWI) was implemented by three itinerant teachers of the deaf in one rural, one urban, and one affluent school district and (2) what context-specific variables impacted their writing instruction. Through observations of a unit of their writing instruction for informative writing, scoring their fidelity for that writing unit, and conducting interviews about their instruction, the researchers concluded that the itinerant teacher participants were able to implement SIWI with typical fidelity for teachers in their first year of using this instruction technique. Their unique insights highlighted ways that the interactive instruction principles of the instructional fidelity instrument could be revised to better align with the educational contexts of itinerant teachers. They also reported four main challenges to their writing instruction: working with general education teachers, district-related factors, time, and physical space and organization.

There have been a perceived decline in teaching and learning in Nigerian schools which could be attributed to teachers’ ineffectiveness. Teachers’ effectiveness have been adopted in many research works, but scarcely attempted on motivational practices for teachers’ effectiveness. A literature gap exists, thus motivating the researcher to assess principals’ motivational practices for teachers’ effectiveness in public and private secondary schools in Ebonyi State. The study adopted descriptive survey design. The population of the study was 355 principals, comprised of 221 from public schools and 126 from private schools. Purposive sampling technique was used to select all the 355 principals for the study. Questionnaire titled “Principals Motivational Practices for Teachers’ Effectiveness Questionnaire” (PMPTEQ) was used for data collection. The data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation while the null hypotheses formulated for the study were tested using t-test of independent sample at 0.05 level of significance. The results revealed that principals’ effective communication pattern motivates teachers for effectiveness in public and private secondary schools, that the extent principals ensuring staff meeting motivate teachers for effectiveness in public and private secondary schools. The study however found that differences exist in the extent the principals ensure teachers’ welfare services in public and private secondary schools. The result further revealed that there is no significant different on the extent principals’ communication pattern motivate teachers for effectiveness in public and private secondary schools in Ebonyi Stat. It showed that there is no significant difference in the extent principals ensure regular meeting with teachers to motivate teachers for effectiveness in public and private secondary schools. The result equally revealed that there is significant difference in the welfare services adopted by public and private school principals for teachers’ effectiveness. This difference was in terms of school management strategies. The study therefore recommended among other things that motivation of teachers by the principals is vital tools for effective secondary school administration whether public or private but the personnel management skills adopted could either make or mar the effectiveness of teachers in teaching and learning process. Key words: Motivation, motivational practices, teachers’ effectiveness

O presente estudo discute o trabalho do professor itinerante dentro da Secretaria Municipal de Educação do município do Rio de Janeiro. Compara a ação desses profissionais junto aos alunos com necessidades educacionais especiais incluídos nas escolas regulares em 1998 e em 2005 e aponta soluções para favorecer a inclusão dos alunos com deficiência física. A metodologia utilizada foi um survey realizado por meio de questionário contendo perguntas abertas e fechadas. O estudo aponta para a manutenção do perfil e atividades desempenhadas pelo professor itinerante na comparação dos dois estudos e evidencia seu papel de mediação, sensibilização e mobilização em favor da inclusão. Diante da impossibilidade do professor itinerante em mediar o desenvolvimento pedagógico dos alunos com necessidades educacionais especiais, as autoras sugerem a inclusão do professor de apoio, por meio de parceria entre a Universidade e Secretaria Municipal de Educação, contribuindo para a inclusão dos alunos e melhorando a formação dos estudantes de pedagogia para o trabalho na diversidade.

Due to vulnerabilities resulting from disparities in socio-economic status (SES), most nutrition and health interventions are targeted at children in public schools. This study was conducted to investigate the determinants of malnutrition among pupils attending public and private schools in the Hohoe municipality, Ghana. School-based cross-sectional survey, which used a multi-stage random sampling technique to select 633 pupils, aged 3–12 years enrolled in 14 public and seven private schools. Data was collected through face-to-face interviews using semi-structured questionnaire. Type of school attended was used as proxy of SES of the pupils. Weight, height and mid upper-arm circumference were measured and used to generate underweight, stunting, thinness and obesity levels using WHO Antroplus and STATA 12.1. Mutually adjusted simple and multinomial logistic regressions were performed to determine associations between explanatory and dependent variables. Underweight (13 % vs. 2 %, p = <0.0001), stunting (12 % vs. 3 %, p = <0.0001) and thinness (8 % vs. 1.4 %, p < 0.0001) were higher among pupils attending public schools compared to their private schools counterparts. Public school pupils had increased likelihood for underweight (AOR = 7.5; 95 % CI = 2.4–23; p = 0.001) and an increase risk for thinness (RR = 4.7; 95 % CI = 1.5–21.2; p = 0.028) but had decrease risk for overweight (RR = 0.3; 95 % CI = 0.1–1; p = 0.043). Overweight (9 %) was higher among private schools pupils compared to public schools (3 %). Underweight (14 % vs. 6 %), stunting (14 % vs. 4 %) and thinness (8 % vs. 4 %) were higher among pupils in rural schools compared to urban dwellers. Rural schools children were twice likely to become stunted (AOR = 2.6; 95 % CI = 1.0–6.4; p = 0.043). However among pupils attending schools in urban areas, the prevalence of overweight was 7 % compare to 1 % in rural areas. Pupils who consumed only two meals per day were more likely to be underweight (AOR = 6.8; 95 % CI = 1.4–32.2; p = 0.016), stunted (AOR = 7.2; 95 % CI = 1.2–43.7; p = 0.033) and thin (RR = 9.4; 95 % CI = 2.0–47.8; p = 0.007) compared to those who had at least three square meals daily. Both under nutrition and over-nutrition were common among the school pupils but overweight appeared largely driven by high SES and urbanization while under nutrition was associated with low SES and rural residency. Interventions targeting school children should aim at reducing poverty and hunger as these factors remain as underlying causes of malnutrition in childhood.

How Effective Are Private Schools in Latin America?

Background: Intestinal parasitic infection is highly prevalent among children in the tropics. Identifying the most at risk group and subsequent targeted intervention will lead to cost effective and easy to implement control programme. We thus aim to determine the prevalence and pattern of intestinal parasite among pupils from public and private schools.Material and Method: This was a cross-sectional survey. Participants were recruited through multistage stratified random sampling. Information were collected using a questionnaire and early morning freshly passed stool sample was collected and processed from each participating pupil. Stool microscopy was done using saline and iodine preparations. Eggs were counted using Stoll’s method. Data obtained was analyzed using EPI INFO version 3.5.1.Results: Four hundred and twenty pupils were studied, 210 pupils from each school type. Prevalence of 78.1% and 17.1% were recorded for the public and private schools respectively. The pupils from the public schools were 17.23 times more likely to have intestinal parasitic infestation compared to those from private schools (OR =17.23, 95% CI = 10.6-28.01, p = &lt;0.0001). Ascaris lumbricoides was the most frequent isolate in both the public (62.8%) and private (66.7%) schools. The prevalence of multiple parasitic infestation was 14.8% in the public schools and none in the private schools. Socioeconomic status and source of water were the main factors with significant effect on the prevalence of intestinal parasite (p&lt;0.0001).Conclusion: Intestinal parasitic infestation remains a very common health issue among the children particularly in the public schools. Distribution of free antiparasitic drugs to pupils at the beginning of every term should be incorporated into the school health program.Key words: Intestinal Parasites, Ascaris lumbricoides, public school, private school, socioeconomic status.

This paper assesses the relative effectiveness and efficiency of private and public schools in Chile, where the military government implemented a national voucher plan in 1980. Non-religious voucher schools (accounting for two-thirds of primary enrollments in all private voucher schools) are marginally less effective than public schools in producing academic achievement in the fourth grade; at best, they are similarly effective. Catholic voucher schools are somewhat more effective than public schools. Nevertheless, non-religious schools are more efficient, by virtue of producing academic achievement at a lower cost. The difference is probably attributable to lower teacher wages and constraints on public school resource allocation. The relative efficiency of public and Catholic schools is similar. We tentatively conclude that the case for shifting public resources to privately run schools is mixed (although a comprehensive evaluation would require evidence not provided by this research).

A inclusão de alunos com deficiências nas escolas regulares tem atraído a atenção dos educadores. Em algumas escolas, alunos com deficiências são inseridos em turmas regulares, porém sem efetiva participação nas atividades. Ainda como fator agravante, sabe-se que jovens com deficiência em geral apresentam seu lazer extremamente passivo, com poucas oportunidades de vivências motoras. Visando a analisar a situação de alunos com deficiência participando de aulas de educação física, este estudo objetivou a análise de variáveis da aptidão física relacionadas à saúde de adolescentes cegos. Para tanto, 24 adolescentes cegos com idades entre 14 e 16 anos, sendo 12 de escolas regulares estaduais e 12 de uma escola especial privada, tiveram mensuradas algumas variáveis antropométricas, flexibilidade, força muscular e resistência cardiorrespiratória. Ambos os grupos de alunos participavam das aulas de educação física com uma frequência de duas vezes por semana. Foi verificado que, nas variáveis força muscular e resistência cardiorrespiratória, os adolescentes da escola especial apresentaram resultados superiores e melhor evolução do que seus colegas das escolas regulares. Pelos resultados obtidos conclui-se que os adolescentes da escola especial apresentaram melhor nível de aptidão física relacionada à saúde do que seus colegas inseridos em escolas regulares.

We apply propensity score matching to the estimation of the disparity in school effectiveness between the privately owned, privately funded school sector and the public one in a sample of 25 countries in Europe, America and Asia. This technique allows us to distinguish between school choice and school effectiveness processes and thus, to account for selectivity induced variation in school effectiveness. We find two broad patterns of private independent school choice: the choice as a social class reproduction choice; and the choice of an outsider’s for a good-equipped school. As regards school effectiveness, our results show that, after controlling for selectivity and school choice processes, the initial higher reading scores of students in private-independent schools become comparable to those public schools students in a majority of countries. However, in a few countries average reading scores remain higher in the private independent sector even after introducing controls for school choice induced selectivity. The opposite pattern, namely of higher average reading scores in the public sector has also been found in four countries.

Background‘Almajiris’ are children and adolescents sent far away from their homes to study in Islamic schools under the care of Muslim scholars. Over the years, there has been a decline in the capacity of the scholars to cater to these pupils. Consequently, Almajiris spend significant periods of time on the streets begging and carrying out menial jobs to earn a living thereby increasing their risk for physical and mental disorders. The aim of this study was to compare the prevalence of psychiatric disorders among Almajiris and public primary school pupils in Zaria.MethodsA comparative cross-sectional design was utilized to compare 213 Almajiris and 200 public primary school children and adolescents aged between 5 and 19 years. All participants were administered a Socio-demographic questionnaire and the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-aged Children Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL). Data were analyzed using Chi square tests and logistic regression.ResultsThe current prevalence of psychiatric disorders among Almajiris and public school pupils was 57.7 and 37.0% respectively. After adjusting for age and family characteristics, Almajiris were significantly more likely to have any psychiatric diagnosis, depression, enuresis, substance use, and post traumatic stress disorder but less likely to have separation anxiety disorder than the public school pupils.ConclusionPsychiatric disorders are more prevalent among Almajiris and public primary school pupils in Northwest Nigeria than found in other prevalence studies with a significantly higher rate among the Almajiris. Joint efforts need to be made by the Government and Civil Society organizations including religious groups towards reforming the Almajiri education system and the provision of programmes aimed at reducing the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in both Almajiris and the school pupils.

The effectiveness of private versus public schools: the case of Indonesia

Investigations of the effects of schools (or teachers) on student achievement focus on either (1) individual school effects, such as value-added analyses, or (2) school-type effects, such as comparisons of charter and public schools. Controlling for school composition by including student covariates is critical for valid estimation of either kind of school effect. Student covariates often have different effects between schools than within schools. Econometricians typically attribute such differences to a form of endogeneity, specifically, “Level-2 endogeneity,” or the confounding of student covariates with unobserved school characteristics, whereas education researchers primarily interpret the differences as contextual effects or the effects of collective peer attributes on individual student achievement. This article considers both and makes connections between the econometric and education research literatures. We show that the Hausman and Taylor approach from panel data econometrics can be used for valid estimation of individual school or school-type effects when there is only Level-2 endogeneity but can lead to bias when there are also contextual or peer effects. In contrast, contextual effects are typically estimated by including school means of student covariates in addition to the student-level covariates (equivalent to the Mundlak device), but this leads to biased school comparisons in the presence of Level-2 endogeneity. We interpret the estimates from these two competing estimators in terms of the “Type A” and “Type B” school effects defined by Raudenbush and Willms and show that both estimators are preferable to the common group-mean-centering approach.

ABSTRACTThis study focuses on J. E. Wallace Wallin, who recognised the rights of children with disabilities to receive an education, and who tackled the scientific classification of children and the provision of special classes in the state of Delaware from the 1930s to the middle of the 1940s. This study intends to clarify how Wallin recognised and classified children who exhibited learning problems, and how he provided an educational environment for them. Wallin advocated the democratic philosophy of providing differentiated education based on the individual differences among children. He classified children with learning problems as “mentally deficient”, “backward”, and “special subject-matter disabilities”. He also recommended special educational treatment in not only special classes but also regular classes. He insisted that regular class teachers and special class teachers share the responsibility of educating children with disabilities. However, in addition to tailoring education based on the diversity exhibited by children with learning problems, it is essential to tailor it for disabled children in public school special classes established in their communities. In terms of both human and material resources, it was difficult to address learning problems suitably in regular classes while improving the quality and quantity of education in special classes.

Academic motivation of intellectually gifted students and their classmates in regular primary school classes: A multidimensional, longitudinal, person- and variable-centered approach

Problems with our public urban high schools are widely discussed, and many see magnet schools and private schools as the answer. But are those schools really better at increasing the academic skills of students? Using the National Educational Longitudinal Survey, I estimated the effect of attending a magnet school, Catholic school, or secular private school on the achievement of urban students in math, reading, science, and social studies. I then compared these estimates to the achievement of students who attend comprehensive public high schools. I found that magnet schools are more effective than regular schools at raising the proficiency of students in science, reading, and social studies; Catholic schools have a positive impact on math skills, while secular private schools do not offer any advantage, net of preexisting differences among students. Further analyses tested the sensitivity of the results to assumptions about independence and selectivity; these showed support for the magnet school advantages in reading and social studies, but raised doubts about the Catholic school effects in math and the magnet school effects in science.