Secondary school students' school-related stressors during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Sabah, Malaysia

IntroductionDue to the rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the disruption of education systems worldwide, secondary schools in Malaysia have shifted to online classes to ensure educational continuity. Therefore, it was necessary to investigate the various effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on secondary school students. MethodsA self-reported survey with closed and open-ended questions was used to collect data involving 1,067 secondary school students from eight schools in Sabah, Malaysia. The participants were mostly male (53.4%), with a mean age of 14.8 (SD = 1.64). The study involved students from various levels/grades, including transition class, forms 1-5, lower six, and upper six. ResultsStudents faced a variety of school-related stressors, including academic failure due to a poor online course;general mental health issues;a poor internet connection;a lack of in-person interaction;a SOP restriction;an inability to focus;too many homework assignments;burnout;becoming lazier;home conditions;and financial difficulties. DiscussionThe implications for classroom practice, policy formulation, and future research are examined.

Analysing the attitude and opinions of a 'difficult' year group in a secondary school

This paper reports a small-scale action research project aimed at helping a school whose teachers were concerned about the behaviour and achievement of their Year 8 group. Two focus group was used to identify any worries or concerns of pupils in Key Stage 3 (Years 7–9;aged 11–14). These concerns were further explored using a ranking exercise completed by all 486 pupils across the three year groups. The same pupils then completed the 'Psychological Sense of School Membership' questionnaire. The results of the ranking exercise are reported. The pupils' scores on the PSSM questionnaire suggests that pupils in Year 8 identified least with the aims of the school. The scores did show that a third (33%) of the pupils in Year 8 scored at a level regarded as 'of serious concern'on the PSSM questionnaire indicating a negative view of the school. The results of the both exercises were shared with the teachers and a plan drawn up th improve the school's pupil management. Further development of this initiative was bought to a halt by the closure of the school in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Pastoral Care in Education is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Online Courses of Mathematics for Entrance Exams

This paper deals with the results of students during the preparing courses of mathematics for entrance exams at an university. These courses take place every year and since the Covid-19 period, they are not only face-to-face, but also online. The study involves students of secondary schools who apply to the university of economics. This report compares results of tests of two different classes of these students and from different parts of mathematics. These tests are in the form of online quizzes. We do not prove if there are differences between the scores of students of short-time or long-time courses. In addition, we compare the results with the students from the year before. We also emphasize the more problematic topics of mathematics.

Perceptions of Academic Resilience by Senior Phase Learners and Teachers from Low Socioeconomic Schools

This article reports on the perceptions of academic resilience of Grade 8 and Grade 9 learners and their teachers in low socioeconomic township schools. Learners from township schools experience many risk factors that can impede their academic success and careers. A lack of resources is one of the risk factors experienced by the learners. During COVID-19, where an online or hybrid learning model was relied on for teaching and learning, most township schools relied on the rotational learning model instead. The study's main aim is to evaluate and understand the learners' perceptions of their academic strengths, future aspirations and motivation, and to compare their perceptions with those that emerged from their teachers' blind evaluations. The participants were teachers (n = 8) and learners (n = 12) from two purposively sampled township secondary schools. Data-generation instruments included semi-structured interviews for learners and a self-constructed Likert-type-scale questionnaire for teachers. Content analysis was used to analyse the data. The findings suggest that risk factors to academic resilience exist within the family and the school environment. Lack of parental support and school security, poor teacher-learner relationship and unemployment were frequently mentioned. However, factors that can enhance academic resilience were also identified within the family, school and community. Risks and protective factors affecting learners' immediate threats and needs were identified. Access to technology and the need for technological advances were not identified as resources or risks. Future research should examine the relationship between resilience, academic resilience, career aspirations and the role of technology in education. © 2023, OpenED Network. All rights reserved.

"Flexibility, Compassion, and Support" -- A Study on Multilayer Mitigation Effects on Pedagogy and Resilience in Thai Classroom, June-September 2022

This qualitative study analyzed pedagogical effects of multilayer mitigation in a Thai classroom. The triangulated data set were confidential, comprising teachers' voluntary anonymous information, pedagogical views and opinions, respectively. First, pupils' low absence rates enabled pedagogical focus on learning losses, which were mainly skills. The second effect was related to assessment. None of the teachers mentioned test results as learning loss indicators but regarded learning and qualified assessment as dynamic processes. An interesting dilemma was the learning loss measurements by non-pedagogical experts. Mostly those were presented as test scores, working hour counts, or annual formalities. However, optimized learning strategies' research had existed for decades, being responded better by these pupils. The third effect was the improved resilience of pupils and caretakers. Initially worried parents turned relieved. Resilience fostered the intrinsic motivation of all. When compared to some countries, firmer resilience made the difference in learning loss endurance for this group. "All-inclusive" mitigation had given families meaningful support. They shared visions of community roles, mediated by teachers and school management. The latter were backed by epidemiologists and medical experts. Further studies should discuss schools in a longer timeframe. External, quantified test scores without in-depth pedagogical analyses seem outdated by the early fourth pandemic year.

IDDF2023-ABS-0282 Prevalence and risk factors for unhealthy dietary habits among children during covid-19 pandemic

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has led to changes in dietary and lifestyle habits among children and adolescents. This study investigated the prevalence and factors associated with unhealthy dietary habits among 1,475 primary and secondary school students from 2021 to 2022.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in randomly selected primary and secondary schools participating in a project promoting online health education and promotion named GoSmart using self-administered questionnaires. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to investigate the demographic and lifestyle habits associated with various unhealthy dietary habits. This study was approved by Survey and Behavioural Research Ethics (SBRE) [Reference No.: SBRE-21-0052] and funded by Quality Education Fund (QEF#2019/0883).ResultsThe prevalence of inadequate consumption of vegetables and fruits was high among both primary (81.5%) and secondary school students (89.5%) and associated with physical inactivity in both primary (aOR=3.35, 95%CI: 1.41-7.97, p=0.006) and secondary students (aOR=4.30, 95%CI: 1.51-12.25, p=0.006). A substantial prevalence of breakfast skipping was observed among primary students (22.9%) who spent two or more hours on video games or social media (aORs=1.84-2.27);and among secondary students (23.7%) who consumed two or more hours on social media, alcohol consumption, and consumption of unhealthy food (aORs=1.42-2.79). Consumption of unhealthy food was reported by 43.9% and 48.2% for primary and secondary students respectively, with primary and secondary students who spent two or more hours on video games or social media (aORs=1.62-2.27) and secondary students who perceived themselves as underweight (aOR=1.79, 95%CI: 1.13-2.83, p=0.012) having a higher frequency of consumption.ConclusionsThere was a high prevalence of unhealthy dietary habits among schoolchildren in Hong Kong. Alarming results were observed with physical inactivity being associated with a higher risk of unhealthy dietary habits among primary and secondary students, which may increase the risk of obesity. Moreover, the apparent interrelationship between unhealthy habits highlights the need for a comprehensive approach to promoting healthy habits through education in this population.

A cold war text for the COVID generation

Not only do the early pandemic fads of sourdough baking and mushroom foraging make the narrator's frontier-style life now seem less removed from reality, the loneliness, uncertainty, and subdued terror that form the backdrop of her daily routine perhaps for the first time will be relatable to students. [...]their loneliness begets deeper woes: the most recently released Youth Risk Behavior Survey (2023) issued by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention shares that almost half of high school students in 2021 reported "persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness," a significant increase from prepandemic times. In a variation of an American Association of Teachers of German sponsored public graffiti event created by my colleague several years ago to commemorate the fall of the Berlin Wall, I will repeat her prompt: "Which walls hold you back?" Key to her question was the understanding of a "wall" as any kind of social, physical, or mental impediment that prevented students from fully realizing their goals. In particular, the moment at which the narrator encounters the wall is jarring;a comparison of the literary versus cinematic description of this event offers students the opportunity to consider the power and/or limits of the written word.

Investigation of Secondary School Students' Opinions on Mathematics Lesson with Distance Education

The aim of this study is to examine the opinions of secondary school students about mathematics lessons taught with distance education. The research was carried out by taking the opinions of 286 secondary school students from one state school selected from each of the provinces (Manisa, Izmir, Mugla, Antalya, Sirnak, Bitlis). Quantitative and descriptive survey method was used in the study. According to the findings, it was seen that the opinions of female and male students were very close to each other, there was no significant difference according to the variables of the number of siblings and whether they had their own study room, and there was a significant difference between 5th grade students and 8th grade students. Students;It was seen that there was no difference in their views on understanding the lesson better and increasing their success, they did not have any problems in accessing the Mathematics lesson, but they had problems due to internet interruptions during the lesson, they did not have any problems in communicating with their teachers and delivering homework during the lesson, but they still preferred face-to-face education at a high rate. It was observed that the motivation of the 5th grade students during the lesson and their better understanding of the lesson were higher than the 8th grade students.

An Action Research Study of Using Group-Based Remote Learning with ESL High School Students in English Language Arts

At the time of writing, New York City high schools had been working remotely for a year, with educators facing some great challenges. Working remotely marked a significant difference in the way we teach and the way our students learn. Classroom spaces were no longer room numbers on doors;they were virtual meeting room numbers on platforms like Teams or Google Classroom, and they were accessible from anywhere by Wi-Fi. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO, 2020), school closures caused by the Covid-19 pandemic affected over 1.5 billion students and families. The Covid-19 pandemic presented multiple challenges for teaching students with English as a second language in an online instructional environment, but also opportunities for collaboration, training, and communication for inclusive educators to strive to meet the needs of their students. This article addresses the following teacher-researcher questions: 1) What opportunities do I find most rewarding teaching in an online environment to students for whom English is a second language? 2) What do I find to be most challenging teaching English second language (ESL) students in the online context? 3) How can media play a part in online teaching and learning, and how do students respond to online learning with these mixed media platforms? 4) What recommendations can be offered to other inclusive educators who are teaching online? The researcher discusses the methodological approach used to conduct the research, using methods including surveys and field notes. Further research conducted was based on the researcher's journal of field notes kept throughout teaching a unit titled "Beowulf.” An analysis of student assessment data is also provided to show progress, where applicable, for one class of English Second Language students.

Learning Mathematics with Plickers as an Assessment Tool in Rural Secondary School

Most Indonesian schools have to close immediately because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and there will be a quick transition to distance learning, requiring the usage of digital interventions. But the country's digital education infrastructure, particularly in rural schools, is not sufficiently developed to maintain and enhance students' learning outcomes. To address these problems Plickers (students response system) offers students an opportunity for a high-quality education while potentially reducing the cost of technology resources. This study enhanced integrated Plickers for learning mathematics in rural secondary schools. A quantitative and qualitative approach was used to examine how students participated in the learning and their perception, preferences, and motivation for using Plickers. The study involved 50 seventh graders, and 15 of them volunteered to participate in interviews. A paired samples t-Test revealed a significant difference between learning engagement on paper-based tests and learning engagement on Plickers-based tests. The majority of students also had positive opinions of Plickers, noting its usability, capacity to make learning more enjoyable, increase engagement in problem-solving, promote comprehension of the subject, and help students maintain their interest during class. While some students struggled to focus and thought Plickers was just a quiz tool that couldn't motivate them to learn. © 2023 IEEE.

Nomophobia and smartphone addiction amidst COVID-19 home confinement: the parallel mediating role of digital gaming and social media tools usage across secondary school students.

Introduction: With the inevitable technological boom enforced by the COVID-19 lockdowns and online emergency remote teaching practices, the prevalence of nomophobia (NMP) and smartphone addiction (SA) among adolescents has become a pressing issue, which has come under scrutiny. However, the impact of social media tools usage (SMTU) and digital gaming behavior (DGB) on these phenomena remains unclear since there is little research focusing on the complex interplay among these variables. Regarding this context, the present study aimed to explore the parallel mediating role of secondary school students' SMTU and DGB in the relation between NMP and SA. Methods: In line with this aim, we employed a cross-sectional design with a critical case sampling strategy and collected data through an online survey from a total of 427 secondary school students in Istanbul in the 2021-2022 academic year. In order to test the parallel mediation model, we employed multiple linear regression models by utilizing PROCESS models with 5000 BC bootstrap samples and 95% CI. Results and discussion: Results illustrated that there was an increase in the prevalence of NMP and SA during the COVID-19 home confinement as consistent with the previous research. The results also indicated that among the multiple mediators, the mediating role of SMTU was significant in the relation between NMP and SA. This means NMP has direct and indirect significant impact on SA through SMTU. However, the mediating role of DGB was found nonsignificant in this relationship. Our results are robust and hold key contributions to both theoria and praxis in educational psychology research realm by disentangling the complex underlying mechanism between NMP, SMTU, DGB, and SA. On the practical side, our results provide insightful implications for school boards and researchers in the development of effective interventions.

Factors Affecting High School Teachers' Attitudes Towards Online Teaching

The transition to distance learning during COVID-19 has completely overturned the teaching-learning way of the world's education system. Based on the technology acceptance model, this study was conducted to explore what factors might affect the teachers' attitudes toward the online teaching regime. Structural equation modeling was employed to analyze data drawn from high school teachers in Vietnam. The findings presented that the perceived usefulness of digital teaching was the most fundamental determinant of teachers' attitudes and played a mediating role in linking the perceived ease of use to attitude. As an external factor, school assistance was significantly associated with both perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness, which provides facilitating conditions to ensure successful adoption of online teaching. Age and teaching experience also had a significant influence on external assistance and teachers' attitudes, respectively. This investigation sheds light on promoting digital transformation in the education sector in Vietnam and other countries.

Distance learning environment: perspective of Italian primary and secondary teachers during COVID-19 pandemic.

School closures because of the COVID-19 emergency forced a rapid transition to distance learning worldwide. In this study, we investigated teachers' experiences with distance learning during the first Italian lockdown. A sample of 270 primary and secondary teachers answered a semi-structured questionnaire administered between April and May 2020. Didactic modalities, students' and teachers' difficulties with distance learning, and teachers' feelings during school closure were investigated through open-ended questions. Content analysis indicated that most teachers adopted both synchronous and asynchronous modalities, which resembled the traditional classroom learning environment. Moreover, technological weaknesses (lack of proper digital equipment and poor digital skills) and lack of interactions appeared to be the main threats to the quality of distance learning. The implementation of distance learning in primary schools emerged as more challenging than in secondary education. Furthermore, most teachers experienced negative feelings during online teaching. However, 13% of the sample reported a sense of resilience and opportunity. Particularly, older teachers reported more resilience compared with younger teachers, indicating the importance of experience in managing stressful teaching events. Overall, findings suggest that-in this novel educational environment-teachers' role has changed significantly, placing strong emphasis on the ability to encourage communication, discussion, and contact with students. Future work should focus on how information and communications technology could sustain meaningful interactions between students and teachers, especially in primary education.

Teacher Evaluation in Primary and Secondary Schools: A Systematic Review of SSCI Journal Publications from 2012 to 2022

This study revealed the current situation and developments in teacher evaluation in primary and secondary schools by reviewing 54 articles published in the recent decade (i.e., from January 2012 to October 2022). The coding scheme was developed based on the three components of effective teacher evaluation systems: "what”, "how”, and "who”. Specifically, we investigated the frameworks used for teacher evaluation, methods of evaluation, and participants in teacher evaluation. Based on our results, most studies evaluated teachers from the dimension of Instructional Support. Evaluation through video recording became popular due to technological advancement. Further, an increasing number of schools invited external experts to conduct teacher evaluations to ensure fairness. We also identified several crucial factors for teacher development: effective use of teaching resources and technology, high-quality feedback and communication, emotional support, classroom organization, and professional responsibilities. Due to COVID-19, many schools adopted distance learning, prompting the need to develop technological skills for teachers. Through the in-depth analysis of the current situation and development trends in the various dimensions of teacher evaluation in primary and secondary education, future research directions and issues were discussed and explored in this review.

Using Shakespeare to Address Societal Problems

Stephens uses Shakespeare to address societal problems. Teaching William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet's relevance to struggling readers is challenging. Like Kelly Gallagher's argument that struggling writers do not do enough writing, she thinks struggling readers suffer from similar failures: teachers do not do enough reading with students. Like Gallagher, she believes it is best to focus on what teachers can control. So, when she was required to teach Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet to her ninth graders last year, she paused to reflect on undertaking this task with struggling readers while making the text accessible and meaningful. Here she describes her attempt to meet this task.

Creating year 7 bubbles to support primary to secondary school transition: a positive pandemic outcome?

In this paper, we explore the benefits of new forms of in-school grouping for children moving from primary to secondary school during the COVID-19 pandemic in England. Our three-phase study with over 400 students and teachers found that protective measures to limit COVID-19 though year group ‘bubbles' generated an environment more aligned to children's previous primary school experience. This natural experiment smoothed the process of transition by providing a better correspondence with students' developmental needs, especially for those on the cusp of adolescence. We recommend that physical, administrative and pedagogical school structures are reimagined for this age group to this end. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

The couch as a classroom: exploring the school environment of low-income Latine adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to uncover what the at-home educational environments of low-income Latine adolescents looked like during the COVID-19 pandemic and how these environments influenced students' participation in their online classes. Additionally, the findings highlight students' perspectives on their varied engagement in virtual instruction.Design/methodology/approachData for this study were collected via an online survey that included both open and close-ended questions. Students were able to share about their behaviors and comfort in their online classes, as well as provide photos of the areas from which they joined their online classes. Quantitative and qualitative data analysis methods were used.FindingsMany students in the sample expressed discomfort with themselves and their homes being seen on camera and shared having to juggle multiple responsibilities during online classes. Photos uploaded revealed that at-home educational environments often lacked the resources afforded by in-school instruction, with students joining classes from areas that may not be conducive to learning.Originality/valueResearch has highlighted the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic may have exacerbated existing issues of educational equity, but the systemic reasons for these inequities remain understudied. The results from this study highlight the ways in which disparate at-home learning environments may help to explain unequal engagement in online classes.

A Comparative Analysis of Black American Student Experiences and International Student Experiences During the Initial Months of the Covid-19 Pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic created an indelible mark on K-12 education - specifically, high school students transitioning to college and career. The global scope of this pandemic presented an opportunity to compare how high school cultures across the world adapted to the emergency. Further, news reports highlighted how communities of color were more susceptible to the pandemic. To better understand how the Black student experience in middle America compared to that of other students from the global community in responding to pandemic-related educational disruption, I used Krippendorffs content analysis procedures (2018) and a phenomenological interview process to gather and analyze data from 17 Black American high school students and 35 teachers. The central research question was: What are the experiences of Black students in middle America regarding educational disruption when compared to the experiences of high school students in other countries? The findings revealed that globally both students and teachers were primarily concerned with educational quality, teacher preparedness and substandard Internet service. Findings from twelve other countries confirmed that diminished Internet access and teacher unpreparedness were essential problems. However, Finnish districts which relied on government support seamlessly progressed through the interruptions in March 2020.

Spatial thinking and GIS: developing and assessing student competencies

Spatial thinking is an integral skill for geography students to develop. Whilst many spatial competencies have been identified by researchers, and the merits of GIS seemingly ubiquitous in the published literature, little work has been done into how students' spatial thinking skills can be assessed. Therefore, further investigation into the relationship between spatial thinking and performance and attainment is needed. This research investigates the impact using a geographic information system (GIS) has on students' spatial thinking skills and attempts to assess the extent using a framework. This was done through the design and implementation of two GIS-based interventions. This small-scale evaluation used qualitative methods to investigate students' and teachers' views. Student work was also analysed using the framework developed for the assessment of spatial thinking skills. The findings suggest that the use of a GIS does enhance, and in most cases improves students' spatial thinking skills, but, that spatial thinking is hard to quantify and difficult to measure progress in. Another benefit that using a GIS affords is the creation of engaging, contemporary and interactive lessons, using real data, from which students derive a lot of geographical value. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of International Research in Geographical & Environmental Education is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Does Higher Education Provide the Necessary Skills and Competencies to Succeed in the Job Market and Life?

There is a crisis in higher education. One troublesome issue is the sharp drop in higher education enrollments as well as the decline in the number of colleges in the United States. There is evidence that some college degrees are not worth the time and the money, and students would have earned more had they joined the workforce immediately after graduating high school. The authors discuss some of the problems and posit that some higher education institutions in the United States have done a poor job of teaching crucial skills, including critical thinking, ethical thinking, collaboration skills, and character development. The most vital competency of all might be inculcating in students a passion for lifelong learning, which is necessary to develop the ability to adapt swiftly to changing business conditions. Without these skills, it should be no surprise that there has been a disconnect between higher education and employability.