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Abstract Background At least two million Canadian children meet established criteria for weight management. Due to the adverse health consequences of obesity, most pediatric weight management research has examined the efficacy and effectiveness of interventions to improve lifestyle behaviors, reduce co-morbidities, and enable weight management. However, little information is available on families’ decisions to initiate, continue, and terminate weight management care. This is an important knowledge gap since a substantial number of families fail to initiate care after being referred for weight management while many families who initiate care discontinue it after a brief period of time. This research aims to understand the interplay between individual, family, environmental, and systemic factors that influence families’ decisions regarding the management of pediatric obesity. Methods/Design Individual interviews will be conducted with children and youth with obesity (n = 100) and their parents (n = 100) for a total number of 200 interviews with 100 families. Families will be recruited from four Canadian multi-disciplinary pediatric weight management centers in Vancouver, Edmonton, Hamilton, and Montreal. Participants will be purposefully-sampled into the following groups: (i) Non-Initiators (5 families/site): referred for weight management within the past 6 months and did not follow-up the referral; (ii) Initiators (10 families/site): referred for weight management within the past 6 months and did follow-up the referral with at least one clinic appointment; and (iii) Continuers (10 families/site): participated in a formal weight management intervention within the past 12 months and did continue with follow-up care for at least 6 months. Interviews will be digitally recorded and analyzed using an ecological framework, which will enable a multi-level evaluation of proximal and distal factors that underlie families’ decisions regarding initiation, continuation, and termination of care. Demographic and anthropometric/clinical data will also be collected. Discussion A better understanding of family involvement in pediatric weight management care will help to improve existing health services in this area. Study data will be used in future research to develop a validated survey that clinicians working in pediatric obesity management can use to understand and enhance their own health services delivery.

Drawing on a community-university (CU) partnership between a non-profit organization that serves teen families, a housing organization and a university, this paper discusses the opportunities and challenges that can arise when engaging vulnerable youth in research. Through this paper, we share reflections on promising practices and ethical considerations in the participant recruitment, data collection, data analysis, and dissemination stages of the research process. Conclusions are offered for those seeking to engage vulnerable youth in research.

Background: The objectives of this systematic review were to synthesize qualitative evidence on the impacts of COVID-19 restrictions on physical activity (PA) for children and youth, and explore factors perceived to influence those impacts. Methods: Five databases (MEDLINE, Embase, SPORTDiscus, ERIC, and CINAHL) were searched initially in June 2021 and updated in December 2021 to locate qualitative articles considering COVID-19 restrictions and PA for children and youth (≤18 y old), in any setting. Eligibility, quality assessments, and data extraction were completed by 2 independent reviewers. Data were synthesized using meta-aggregation with confidence of findings rated using ConQual. Results: After screening 3505 records, 15 studies were included. Curriculum-based PA, organized sport, and active transportation were negatively impacted by COVID-19 restrictions. Negative changes were affected by COVID-19 exposure risks, inadequate instruction, poor access, screen time, and poor weather. Unstructured PA was inconsistently impacted; outdoor unstructured PA increased for some. Positive changes were facilitated by family co-participation, availability of outdoor space, and perceived mental health benefits. Conclusion: Qualitative data indicated restrictions had a predominantly negative impact on PA for children and youth, but inconsistent impacts on unstructured PA. The improved contextual understanding offered by our review will be foundational knowledge for health strategies moving forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The pressing needs of populations with unique challenges, such as immigrants or refugees, often stimulate important innovation in development of educational techniques and resources. This article highlights the RAISED between Cultures model, a conceptual framework for understanding children's experiences holistically and promoting intercultural practice in interactions with children and families. The model outlines six important factors to consider when working with children who are raised between two or more cultures and languages and who are growing up in families of immigrant and/or refugee background. The acronym "RAISED" was intentionally created to help educators remember the six key messages of the model, and to facilitate application of the framework and reflection in their own work: Reveal culture; Acknowledge pre-Migration experiences; Identify post-migration systemic barriers; Support family and community strengths; Establish connections between environments; Determine child outcomes together with families.

Technical adequacy and usability are important considerations in selecting early childhood social-emotional (SE) screening and assessment measures. As identification of difficulties can be tied to programming, intervention, accountability, and funding, it is imperative that practitioners and decision makers select appropriate and quality measures from the plethora of measures available. This study systematically reviewed and evaluated the technical adequacy and usability of 10 commonly used SE assessment and screening measures, using a framework for evaluating selected properties of measures (e.g., reliability, validity). Through this review, it was found that there are inadequacies in many commonly used SE measures, deserving the attention of both users and developers.

Parental engagement in education has proven to be important to children's academic success. Research suggests that when parents are involved in their children's schooling, children tend to be motivated learners, have high educational aspirations, get good grades, and experience a sense of school belonging (Cheung & Pomerantz, 2012; Hill et al., 2004; Kuperminc, Darnell, & Alvarez-Jimenez, 2007). Research also shows that the advantages of parental involvement benefit all students, including minority and immigrant students (Jeynes, 2003). In light of globalization, schools in many Western countries such as Canada and the United States receive large numbers of immigrant and refugee students each year. As a result of these demographic shifts, ways to engage culturally diverse parents are gaining increased attention in the literature. Interest in best practices and models of working with culturally diverse families is growing. This article seeks to contribute to this body of knowledge by reporting on a case study of refugee parent engagement. Specifically, this article reports on how inclusive parent engagement was understood and facilitated in the context of a multi-agency program for refugee families in an urban center in Western Canada.

The "Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing" indicate that test instructions, and by extension item objectives, presented to examinees should be sufficiently clear and detailed to help ensure that they respond as developers intend them to respond (Standard 3.20; AERA, APA, & NCME, 1999). The present study investigates the use of verbal reports, one of many sources of evidence for validity arguments, as a way to evaluate the content clarity of 30 items from a large-scale science assessment. Student reports were used to edit items and create a "student-modified" test form. Evaluations from expert preservice teachers were used to edit the items and create an "expert-modified" test form. Both experimental forms, along with the original set of 30 items, were then randomly assigned to a sample of 264 examinees. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that examinee performance on the student-modified and expert-modified forms was similar relative to performance on the original test items. Item statistics indicated that student-modified test items were equally difficult and discriminating as expert-modified test items. The implications of using student and teacher evaluations are discussed for informing test development. (Contains 3 footnotes and 8 tables.)

Classroom teachers are in the front line of introducing students to formal learning, including assessments, which can be assumed to continue for students should they extend their schooling past the expected mandatory 12 years. The purpose of the present investigation was to survey secondary teachers' beliefs of classroom and large-scale tests for (a) providing information about students' learning processes, (b) influencing meaningful student learning, and (c) eliciting learning or test-taking strategies for successful test performance. Secondary teachers were surveyed because a majority of large-scale tests are developed for secondary students (e.g., PISA, TIMSS). Results suggested that in comparison to large-scale tests teachers believe classroom tests provide more information about student learning processes, are more likely to influence meaningful student learning, and are more likely to require learning over test-taking strategies. The implications of these results for assessment literacy are explored. (Contains 7 tables, 1 figure and 1 note.)

The purpose of the present investigation was to identify the relationship among different indicators of uncertainty that lead to potential item misalignment. The item-based indicators included ratings of ambiguity and cognitive complexity. The student-based indicators included (a) frequency of cognitive monitoring per item, (b) levels of misinterpretation per item, and (c) levels of lack of confidence per item. Results indicate that item cognitive complexity was related to all student-based indicators even after controlling for students' performance on the item. Moreover, item ambiguity was related to levels of item misinterpretation but not to frequency of student cognitive monitoring or lack of confidence. The implications of these conclusions for identifying item misalignment are discussed in light of construct-relevant and construct-irrelevant sources of ambiguity. (Contains 5 footnotes, 2 figures, and 5 tables.)

Studies of test dimensionality indicate that many large-scale science assessments measure multiple dimensions. These findings have reinforced the perspective that science achievement is an inherently dynamic process and that there is benefit in reporting subscores in science. A limitation with some of these studies is that they fail to indicate how the dimensions found to underlie science assessments relate to psychological theories of scientific reasoning. A convincing argument for the dynamic character of scientific reasoning and the need to report subscores should include how the dimensions relate to psychological theories of scientific reasoning. Otherwise, the broader, psychological character of student science performance will not be informed. The first objective of this article was to identify the dimensional structure of a new large-scale science assessment using nonparametric and parametric techniques, thus attempting to replicate findings from previous studies. The second objective was to determine whether a content-based or psychologically-based framework could be used to identify, define, and explain the dimensions found to underlie this new large-scale science assessment. The results of the current study indicate that a psychological theory of scientific reasoning could be used to describe the multiple dimensions underlying at least one large-scale science assessment.

Given the unique challenges and strengths of teen parents, specialized supports are needed to help teen families reach their full potential. This study explored, from the perspectives of teen parents involved in a supportive housing program, what helps teen parents raise their children in healthy ways. Aligned with a community-based participatory research approach, we used the photovoice method. Two 6-month rounds of photovoice were conducted, during which teen parents met with the researchers on a biweekly basis for group discussions and engaged in innovative knowledge mobilization. Resulting categories, in response to the question of what helps teen parents raise their children in healthy ways, consist of (a) supports and services; (b) safe, secure, and affordable housing; and (c) community. Ultimately, teen families have both complex needs and strengths that require relationship-based, trauma-informed, structured supports delivered by nonjudgmental staff who respect their independence, supportive landlords, and communities where they can feel safe to raise their children without stigma and judgment. Importantly, findings emphasize the need for supportive and responsive structures, policies, and housing programs to be in place for teen families rather than focusing exclusively on preventing teen pregnancy. Specific recommendations are provided with direct relevance for research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]