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Noncontiguous school attendance zone boundaries (AZBs) have a unique, relatively uncommon shape that assign two or more non-adjacent residential areas to the same school. Given their ability to shape school enrollments by taking advantage of residential sorting, noncontiguous AZBs have historically been linked to explicit efforts to both segregate and desegregate schools. In this paper, we use a novel, longitudinal dataset of AZBs and descriptive quantitative and geospatial methods to understand how the relationship between noncontiguous zones, school diversity, and neighborhood demographics changed from 1990-2020 in two southwestern school districts--Tucson Unified School District, Arizona and Fort Bend Independent School District, Texas. Each district has a unique legal history and demographic context that informs their use of noncontiguous AZBs. We find noncontiguous AZBs are more strongly associated with racially diverse schools and are more likely to bring together neighborhoods with different compositions in Tucson compared to Fort Bend. However, the association between Tucson's noncontiguous AZBs and racially diverse schools has waned since 1990, as the district has negotiated the end of its court-ordered desegregation plan. Our findings provide insight into when and how noncontiguous AZBs can effectively contribute to ethnoracially diverse schools.

Sports and Physical Education (SPE), like any other discipline, contributes to students' education. These students, for a good acquisition of teaching content, should be invited to take notes of the theoretical and technological knowledge conveyed by Physical and Sport Activities (PSA), subject of teaching. This quantitative and qualitative study aims to identify the usefulness of the implementation of theoretical knowledge and note-taking of the information taught in the training of students in Physical Education classes at the secondary school level. To achieve this objective, certain key concepts from "The Anthropological Theory of Didactics" by Chevallard were employed. In accordance with this theoretical framework, a methodological approach was adopted that focuses on administering questionnaires to students in the second cycle. These students meet the criterion of regular attendance at physical education courses in two secondary colleges. This approach includes recording three sessions of physical education courses and conducting interviews with each teacher at the course's conclusion. The results indicated that the students do not have a favorable relationship with the theoretical knowledge transmitted in PE during the practice of the different Physical and Sports Activities (PSA). This is due to the fact that the teacher does not focus the student's attention on what he or she has really learned and what he must retain in order to facilitate the practice of the different Physical and Sports Activities. To summarize, the essential finding derived from this study was that students in PE would greatly benefit from an introduction of theoretical courses combined with written documentation of the pedagogical information provided. The integration of both elements could foster the development of citizens who are proficient both physically and intellectually.

Advances in technology have significantly augmented the potential of online education, particularly during crises, such as COVID-19, earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods. This qualitative survey study ascertains 150 English-as-a-foreign language (EFL) learners' perceptions of the efficacy of online language education in a preparatory school of a state university after the Kahramanmaras earthquake in Türkiye in 2023. Data were gathered via an online survey with open-ended inquiries to elicit favourable and adverse experiences and recommendations from students. In order to ensure the thorough and systematic analysis of the collected data, a rigorous methodological approach was employed. Specifically, the data were analyzed through content analysis, facilitated by the MAXQDA. The research outcomes revealed that the participants appreciated online language education for its time-saving nature, comfort, ease of attendance, access to recorded sessions, teacher support, and cost-effectiveness. However, some students also considered online education ineffective and reported challenges, such as technical issues, diminished concentration, lack of motivation and discipline, limited interaction, and class participation. EFL learners also provided suggestions for improving the curriculum, assessment methods, and instructors' teaching approaches.

This research examines the reasons for school dropout occurring at varying education levels in the Turkish education system (TES). To this end, research on school dropouts pertaining to TES has been targeted. The systematic data analysis method was used in the research. 47 studies suitable for the purposes of the study were analyzed through content analysis. A total of 290 coding processes were carried out. The results suggest that the family factor emerges as the main factor for school dropout in primary education in TES. The inadequacy of families' financial situation and low interest in education are effective. At the high school level, students' academic failure, absenteeism, peer pressure, and indifference of families appear as the causes of school dropouts. In higher education, difficulties learners experience in adapting to novel social environments, academic failure, financial problems and the thought of being a misfit for the selected department seem to be among the causes of school dropout. In the other group, the reasons for dropping out are determined as academic failure, financial difficulties, early marriages, dislike of school, indifference of family, negative effects of friend groups, and indifference towards school.

The study aimed to investigate the Effect of Academic Stress on Students' Academic Achievements and Its Implications for Their Future Lives. A correlational research design was employed through stratified random sampling (n[subscript i] = 270, where female = 80 and male =190) to collect pertinent data through a questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed. Firstly, academic stress highly affects students' academic achievement, with females being more stressed (65.20%) than males (59.60%), which leads to a high dropout rate and low graduation rate. Secondly, about 69% were accustomed to drinking alcohol, chewing Khat, absenteeism, and smoking whereas about 31% were regularly engaging in unsafe sex, physical fights, smoking shisha, and poor personal sanitation. Thirdly, there were significant positive relationships among sex, age, academic batch, and student's cumulative grade point average. To conclude, academic stress hinders good academic achievement, increases college dropout rates, low graduation rates, and lack of self-confidence. It leads to drinking alcohol, absenteeism, chewing khat, reduced academic morale of students, and failure in completing assignments on time. Therefore, university authorities should ensure a good academic environment for the students and minimize academic stress through appropriate course load, appropriate lecture hours, proper lecture schedules, and non-congested lecture halls.

Compulsory attendance in communication skills courses offered at colleges of engineering seems to be a problematic issue for many students because it prevents them from performing well in such courses. Many students believe that time spent on these courses comes at the expense of focusing on core courses and worsens their overall performance in these courses. As such, the purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between attendance and students' overall performance in communication skills courses for the sake of providing suggestions that would enhance students' performance as well as allowing them to allocate more time to the core courses they are enrolled in. Making students' life easier would not only improve their status at the educational level but would also create a feeling of comfort and satisfaction in their surroundings, particularly among family members and friends. Participants in the study are university students enrolled in the college of engineering at a Middle Eastern university. The study yields significant results showing that compulsory attendance has no significant relationship with students' overall performance in communication skills courses. Relaxing attendance regulations might provide some margin of freedom for students to focus more on the engineering core courses without compromising their success in communication skills courses. The study provides significant recommendations that stakeholders can utilize to motivate students to perform well in communication skills courses while addressing any concerns they might have regarding the core courses they are enrolled in.

In higher education institutions, many faculty members are hired because they are experts in their field of study, but not necessarily individuals who are trained in how to teach. This quantitative quasi-experimental study examined college faculty member's level of methodology training in relation to student satisfaction, current course performance, attendance, the belief in the need for training, and a faculty member's sense of efficacy in teaching. In other words, does having a college professor trained in how to teach matter? The researcher found statistically significant results for student satisfaction, current course performance, and attendance. The faculty member's belief in the need for teaching methodology training showed that 96% (n = 87) of the faculty surveyed felt there was a need to be trained to teach at the college level. Faculty members want to be trained and great things can happen when faculty members develop the skills in "how to teach."

School leaders must make decisions and implement strategies to improve a school climate and student achievement, and it benefits them to understand which areas of school climate have the greatest impact on student achievement. The State of Georgia measures school climate and student achievement with its school accountability measure, the College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI). This study employed a quantitative research design using archival data that was publicly available from CCRPI data for a two year span to examine the relationship between school climate and student achievement statewide in the middle grade sector. Findings revealed that all four components of school climate (i.e., Survey Score, Discipline Score, Safe & Substance-Free Learning Environment Score, and Attendance Score) were significantly related to student achievement. Additionally, the Survey Score and Discipline Score were the most significant predictors of student achievement. These findings provide school leaders with essential information to strategically make decisions involving processes and procedures that impact these areas. Future research is needed to determine whether the relationship between school climate and student achievement is similar for elementary, middle, or high schools. In addition, separating the data into rural, suburban, and urban schools and running similar analyses may also help administrators improve school climate and student achievement.

The purpose of this case study was to understand how attending an undergraduate academic conference contributes to a student's sense of belonging, not only within their institution but also in the larger academic community. This research was informed by the literature on club participation in conferences and faculty/student connections. Through in-depth interviews with three community college students and observational data collected throughout a four-day conference, their engagement with each other and with students from other colleges was explored. The findings include the faculty's role as a catalyst for student involvement, the growth of within-group dynamics, increased student appreciation for their college, and increased involvement of students in the academic community.

This paper is framed by Nick Zepke's, Vicki Trowler's, and Paul Trowler's concept of student engagement being "chaotic", suffering from "indigestion" and "fuzziness". This study was conducted at a UK higher education institution that recently moved to a "block and blend" delivery approach. We investigated what students and staff think engagement looks like in an intensive block and blend learning context. Data were gathered from students and staff via an online survey, which consisted of both scaled and open-ended questions. Findings are synthesised in an elemental map, providing a comparison of students and staff perceptions of engagement. Specifically, students and staff thought engagement in an intensive block and blend context entailed participation and active learning; a mindset that included enthusiasm, interest, focus, and enjoyment; timely completion of assessments; relationships with peers and tutors; doing more than required, such as completing extra readings; and accessing help and support. Participants also identified attendance as an indicator of student engagement and determined that the university has a responsibility to create learning environments to foster student engagement. Overall, the study findings point to elements of student engagement that may be designed into intensive block and blend learning environments. These approaches are also relevant to other similar intensive learning contexts.

Course policies around attendance and submission deadlines have documented impacts on student outcomes within college courses, yet our understanding remains limited of instructors' own motivations behind the policies they adopt. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 43 college instructors, we find that faculty emphasize both student-centered and instructor-focused considerations. Pedagogically, they create policies they believe will enhance student success, promote equity and inclusion, and enable students to account for the realities of life. But they also design policies they believe will make their job easier, positively impact students' perceptions of them, and align with gender role and tenure expectations. These findings have implications for faculty development and university efforts to support student success.

The beginning years of a teacher's career can be an overwhelming experience, and combined with being in an isolated, fly-in community, particularly during a pandemic, can be debilitating. This qualitative research is aimed to support and account for the story of a Black Afro-Caribbean, early career teacher (ECT) in a Northern Ontario First Nation (FN) community over a three-year teaching placement. The goals were to use her stories for reflection, inspiration, and guidance to support other ECTs, and to provide recommendations to teacher-education programs to lessen attrition and increase retention among ECTs in FN school placements. An autoethnographic method was used to identify key themes in her narratives to better understand her experiences of surviving and thriving. Although this ECT was significantly tested about her decision to become a teacher, support, empathy, resiliency, and governing one's practice with clearly defined moral and ethical principles rooted in the belief that every child can learn helped her survive and thrive. The conclusion was that ECTs in FN school placements need, among other things, a willingness to be vulnerable and resilient.

An approach to action research of innovative and disruptive socioecological understandings of young people's wellbeing, resilience, and engagement in middle school was piloted with a coalition of school principals, lead teachers, police, and community development professionals by an RMIT research team. This coalition was built around the Hume-Whittlesea Local Learning and Employment Network and the Whittlesea Youth Commitment Committee in outer northern Melbourne, Australia. Action research facilitated the collaborative design of interventions for reducing middle school disengagement. These were then expressed in logic model terms to guide implementation and subsequent evaluation. Logic models clarified how local innovations, situated in an authorizing environment, can develop promising practices that contribute to system reform. Our project involved characterizing ecologies of young people's engagement, resilience, and wellbeing as part of a place-based strategy.

Dropout is a global crisis and an affliction in the United States. This study analyzes graduation rates based on prior academic achievement, attendance, and behavior at an urban American high school in Virginia over 4 years to identify who is (not) graduating and why. Using a correlational, nonexperimental design, four cohorts of graduates were compared. As found, Latinx male English language learners were overrepresented and had dropped out following exclusionary discipline or failure on standardized tests. Examining predictive indicators can clarify why some students do not complete on time or quit. Implications for practice, policy, research, and preparation are considered.

Student-faculty interaction (SFI) is an important indicator of student engagement that positively associates with academic achievement and retention. Quantitative information regarding the impact of emergency remote teaching (ERT) during COVID-19 on SFI is limited. This retrospective, observational cohort study tests the hypothesis that COVID-19 ERT negatively affected SFI in a gender-dependent manner. Electronic records of office hour (OH) appointments, used to measure SFI, for first-year medical students across three time periods, before, during and after COVID, were obtained and analyzed. A concerning, marked decline in SFI during and after the COVID-19 pandemic is noted. Before COVID, significantly more women (75.20%) made at least one OH appointment compared with men (40.54%). During COVID, the proportion of women making an OH appointment (69.71%) was statistically indistinguishable from women before COVID-19. In contrast, significantly fewer men during COVID (10.34%) than before COVID made an OH appointment. On return to face-to-face teaching, no rebound effect was observed. Compared with before COVID gender-matched peers, fewer men and women after COVID made OH appointments. Discipline-based analyses show that for all three time periods physiology emerged as the content area in which students made most OH appointments. The reduction in SFI observed, combined with the consistency with which the participants in our study indicated a need for assistance with the physiology discipline, emphasizes the importance of active promotion of faculty support and deliberate efforts to reconnect with students in the post-COVID context.

There has been little attention to personality in research on school refusal (SR). This study examined personality traits among 41 adolescents receiving cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) during participation in a School Refusal Program in the Netherlands. Traits were examined via clinical scales and 2-point code types derived from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory--Adolescent. The influence of personality traits on treatment outcome was examined at post-treatment and 1-year follow-up. At pretreatment, eight of the 10 clinical scales were disproportionately skewed toward the "high to very high" range relative to a norm group. Social introversion and depressive symptomatology were significantly increased relative to the norm group, and nearly one-half of the adolescents were characterized by code type 2-3/3-2 (depression/hysteria) or 2-0/0-2 (depression/social introversion). Adolescents characterized by a 2-0/0-2 code type were almost twice as likely (odds ratio = 1.78) to be treatment responders at post-treatment. There was no relation between personality traits and treatment outcome at follow-up. The small sample size limits generalization of the study's findings. If the results are replicated, personality traits may provide useful indications for personalizing treatment when employing interventions recommended in CBT manuals for SR.

Adolescents spend approximately one-third of their day at school. With the growing prevalence of adolescent asthma, 1 in every 10 adolescents copes with asthma throughout the day, including in the school environment. Yet, little is known about the school experiences of adolescent students with asthma. Guided by the social-ecological model, this study aimed to explore the links between asthma and school experiences in middle and high school as perceived by students with asthma. In-depth interviews were conducted with 20 adolescents with asthma aged 12 to 17 who attended middle or high school around the mid-west area of Florida. Students shared insights on their school experiences and academic performance. Data were analyzed and interpreted using thematic analysis. Four overarching and intertwined themes shaped the school experiences of students with asthma: 1. Asthma control and management; 2. Social support; 3. Asthma knowledge and awareness; and 4. Accommodation of health and academic needs. Study findings suggest addressing the school disparities of adolescent students with asthma through a comprehensive, multi-level approach. Schools should create asthma education opportunities, improve the school system and environmental accommodations, enhance asthma control, and increase continuous social support by peers and school personnel.

There is a high prevalence of adolescent girls with ovulatory menstrual (OM) dysfunction, which is associated with school absenteeism and mental health challenges. Low menstrual health literacy among this group has evoked calls to review OM health education. This qualitative study sought to explore gaps in current OM health education and to validate a holistic school-based OM health literacy program named "My Vital Cycles"®. Findings are based on 19 written reflections, six focus group discussions and three interviews conducted with 28 girls aged 14-18 years from 11 schools, and five mothers. Six themes compared current OM health education with "My Vital Cycles"®: understating health, comprehensiveness, resources, teaching, parents and cycle tracking. Future refinements to the program comprised: inclusion of the complete reproductive lifespan, use of visual media and developing a mobile application. These findings inform future research in a whole school approach, strengths-based teaching and changes in the health curriculum.

This study aimed to investigate anxiety and school avoidance in individuals with and without learning disabilities. The study employed quantitative survey-based approach, with comparative research design. N= 160 participants between 8 till 18 years were selected via Purposive sampling technique. Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (Birmaher et al., 1999) was administered to measure anxiety and school avoidance and Learning Disabilities Checklist (National Centre for Learning Disabilities, 2007) was used to assess learning disabilities in participants. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22. Results were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Correlation and regression analysis were done to study the relationship and level of variance between the variables. Results indicated significant differences on the variable of anxiety (t=-3.95, df =140.71, p <0.01) and school avoidance (t=-3.80, df =131.38, p <0.01) in both groups. A significant relationship (p<0.01) between anxiety and school avoidance was also reported in learning disabled groups; providing a valuable insight regarding increased vulnerability of internalizing disorders particularly related to anxiety in younger population in Pakistan.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations between school-based racial discrimination by teachers and peers and academic outcomes (i.e., classroom misconduct, absenteeism, academic performance, school readiness, and school behavioral problems) over one year (Time 2) through the moderation of perceived social support from friends. Participants were 599 Latinx adolescents (56% girls; M[subscript age] = 14.51, SD = 0.55) from middle schools located in the suburbs of a large Midwestern United States city. They completed questionnaires on their perceived school-based racial discrimination and social support from friends. Their teachers completed questionnaires on classroom misconduct and school readiness, measured twice over one year. School records of academic performance, absenteeism, and school behavioral problems were also collected twice over one year. The findings indicated that social support from friends was negatively associated with Time 2 classroom misconduct, absenteeism, and school behavioral problem, but positively associated with Time 2 school readiness and academic performance. School-based racial discrimination by teachers and peers were both related positively to Time 2 classroom misconduct, absenteeism, and school behavioral problems, whereas both types of discrimination were related negatively to Time 2 school readiness and academic performance. Social support from friends buffered against academic outcomes associated with discrimination by teachers. Similar patterns were found for discrimination by peers, but only for Time 2 academic performance and absenteeism. These results suggest that high perceived social support from friends positively impacts Latinx adolescents' academic outcomes after experiencing school-based racial discrimination while low levels increase such negative outcomes.

This study contributes to the research on ethnic educational inequality, by deepening the current understanding of education initiatives organised by the ethnic-cultural minoritised communities most affected by these inequalities. A univariate analysis was performed on data from an original survey conducted in Flanders, in which 816 teachers and 3037 pupils from 60 primary schools were asked about, among other things, their experience with and their perceptions of these educational initiatives. The results of this analysis show that these community-based education initiatives are widely attended by ethnic minority youth, but also that teachers in mainstream schools are rarely informed or even aware of the existence of these initiatives, or the important role they play in their pupils' lives. The broader social and scientific implications are discussed in this paper, as little to no similar larger-scale research exists that maps the relationship between these community-based education initiatives and mainstream educational institutions.

Background: Since returning to in-person instruction after the emergence of COVID-19 schools have seen a dramatic increase in the number of students chronically absent, with data indicating a greater increase for low-income, Black, and Hispanic students. Given the role of school attendance in both promoting positive educational outcomes as well as providing students with physical and mental health supports, it is critical to identify ways to re-engage families in a manner that is culturally responsive and equitable. Contributions to Theory: Current attendance interventions focus primarily on school-based academic and behavioral supports for students while excluding the family. Additionally, traditional family engagement models do not address the sociocultural realities of low-income and/or minoritized families. We present a strengths-based model of family engagement to support attendance. Implications for School Health Policy, Practice, and Equity: Along with our model, we provide concrete supports that schools can provide, including example measurement items. In this way, schools and districts can self-assess as well as identify action steps to promote positive school-family partnerships for equitable family engagement. Conclusions: Without consistent attendance, schools cannot support positive educational outcomes nor provide important safety net services for students. Attendance is a family engagement challenge, which addressing holistically can reduce racial and socioeconomic educational and health disparities.

Earning Open Badges instead of regular grades and credits can be a motivating factor for high-performing students in terms of attending classes and completing assignments in extracurricular courses, but to what extent? And for what student profiles? To tackle these questions, we conducted a quantitative study with high-performing students. Each student involved in the study had consecutively attended two Java programming courses--one where credits and regular grades were issued for their achievements and performance in the course, and another extracurricular one where Open Badges were issued instead. The study compared the achievement goal orientation (AGO) of each student in the two courses (Wilcoxon paired test). It also examined how students' AGO scores in the Open-Badges-only course were associated with class attendance, completion of assignments and public display of their achievements (badges)--both as individual correlations with these variables (Spearman method), as well as associations with student profiles based on these variables (identified with Ward hierarchical clustering). The results indicate that high-performing students feel less motivated in terms of outperforming/under-performing others and have less fear of not learning enough if they receive Open Badges rather than regular grades. Also, a small portion of high-performers will be fully engaged in an Open-Badges-only course (attendance/completing assignments), while the majority will attend but complete a few assignments or just attend. Still, their AGO is not correlated with attending classes, completing assignments and displaying badges.