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Due to the high prevalence of childhood obesity, it is imperative to assess the relationship children's access to food retailers and obesity. However, the influence of methodological decisions on these associations has been understudied. We examined relationships between different measures of geospatial food environment (using 4 data sources, and 2 data processing methods), and BMI in a sample of low-income children in Baltimore, Maryland. The choice of data sources and data processing methods produced large differences in estimates of children's exposures to certain store types, such as supermarket-like stores, but had less impact on associations with BMI z-scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Positive home-school relationships are essential for students with SEN, and this was especially true during the initial months of the pandemic lockdown, when parents took on more responsibility for schooling. Qualitative analyses suggested that principals and parents struggled to make connections during the first months of emergency schooling but ultimately recognized the value of family-focused planning and working together as co-educators. Participants identified "partner with parents" and "develop iterative practice" as steps moving forward. Recommendations for effective school/home relationships during crises are framed by sensemaking theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bullying has harmful effects on mental health, and it is particularly toxic to children already struggling with mental health challenges. We explored mental health indicators in children, their individual strengths, and challenges in parenting in relation to children's bullying involvement, assessed through parent and clinician reports. Results of our study involving 91 children (ages 4–11 years) receiving services at a children's mental health agency indicated significant differences on dependent variables across four different bullying involvement groups: bully, victim, bully-victim, and non-involved. Results indicated children in our clinical sample were involved in school bullying at much higher rates and many more were involved as bully-victims than what is observed in community samples. Children in the bully-victim group were assessed as having the highest level of externalizing behavior and their parents as having the most challenges. Victims presented the highest level of internalizing problems, and non-involved children were assessed as having higher individual strengths than all children that were involved in bullying. Findings suggest that children's mental health service providers should routinely screen for bullying problems, and interventions targeting bullying involvement and its consequences should be part of mental health care for these children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teachers need to relate to students in caring and committed ways, which can be personally and emotionally challenging. Enhancing teachers' social-emotional competences (SECs) is a pathway to fostering these kinds of relationships. One possibility is using Teaching with Acceptance and Commitment (TAC), which integrates ideas and practices from mindfulness and behavior change. TAC helps teachers notice their emotional responses in the classroom and respond thoughtfully guided by professional values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ways in which media discourse frames topics in areas such as education or disabilities can both reflect and influence public understanding, beliefs and actions. With respect to education funding, public perception is particularly important to understand, given the ways in which the availability and allocation of funding for inclusive education is influenced by various communities. This study explores the ways in which funding for inclusive education is depicted in Canadian news media over a five-year span (2014-2019). Content analysis was conducted on 120 news articles with 7 themes emerging related to funding: to address growing complexity, based on labels, for class size and composition, for education assistants, for separate systems, for resource teachers and for specialists. The results of this study corroborate existing attitudinal research related to inclusive education. Findings add uniquely to the literature by highlighting the narrative of student deficit depicted in the media articles to support the need for increased funding viewed as necessary for inclusive education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problematic and disruptive behaviours continue to be a pervasive problem in elementary school classrooms across the globe, with recent reports indicating rising trends. The present study seeks to describe a unique sample of children who are seeking mental health services and present with specific problematic school behaviours. Preliminary analyses were conducted to provide a descriptive understanding of the demographic characteristics of the sample of children. Comparative analyses were conducted to investigate the social and emotional functioning of children who engage in minimal problematic school behaviours and children who engage in more severe and frequent problematic school behaviours. Findings indicate significant between-group differences for conduct problems, hyperactivity-inattention, and peer relationship problems. Implications and possible suggestions are discussed regarding how key stakeholders can make use of these findings within their school contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differentiated Instruction (DI) continues to be a framework adopted within K-12 settings as it supports planning for the needs of diverse groups of students. However the research base exploring the implementation of DI is limited. The current study explores the relationships between individual and contextual variables on teachers' use of DI practices drawing upon data from a survey (N = 4875) and focus groups (N = 46). Results indicate that beliefs, self-efficacy and organisational support were significantly related to teachers' DI practice. Teachers described varied understandings, misconceptions and beliefs about DI. Research and practice implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teachers’ beliefs inform their instructional practice, which in turn has direct bearing on students’ success. The current study utilised Trochim’s Group Concept Mapping (GCM) to explore the experiences that influence pre-service teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning in inclusive classrooms. Fifty-one pre-service teachers at the end of their programme were interviewed about these experiences. Fifteen pre-service teachers sorted the statements that captured these experiences and rated how important they would be for developing beliefs about teaching in inclusive classrooms. Four distinct themes were identified as was their importance. Practicum/collaboration experiences were most important followed by work and personal experience, and then education. These results underscore the importance of both professional and personal experiences and implicate teacher education programmes in the development process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]