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Eating Patterns of the Rural Families of Overweight Preschool Children:
A Pilot Study
Nuananong Seal and John Seal
Abstract
Childhood
obesity is one of the most multifaceted public health problems currently
challenging the nation with serious medical and economic consequences
for the future. Recognition of the increasing overweight status of
children has prompted the need to identify factors associated with this
trend. This study is the first to qualitatively examine eating patterns
of families of overweight preschool children, aged three to five years,
living in a predominantly rural agricultural area in the Northern Plains
of the United States. This article presents the findings from an initial
focus group interview. Ten parents of ten preschool children who were
three to five years of age designated as being overweight or obese using
body mass index measurements were recruited and interviewed. This paper
presents preliminary findings (eating patterns) of a dually focused
study related to healthy eating and physical activity in this selected
population. The results of this study suggest that intervention focused
on overweight parents of young children is warranted. Further focus
group interviews and participant observation are required to add to the
depth and scope of knowledge about strategies to prevent children from
becoming overweight or obese.
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Article
Concept Mapping in Introductory Physics
Voltaire Mallari Mistades
Abstract
Concept mapping is a meta-learning strategy
based on the Ausubel-Novak-Gowin theory of
meaningful learning. In a concept map, concepts are related with linking
words to form propositions. By expanding this concept-proposition link,
one eventually forms a web of concepts whose meanings are embedded in
the presented map. The paper describes the author’s experience with
students’ use of concept maps and how concept maps are scored. The
strategy was utilized as an advance organizer and as an assessment tool
(for diagnostic and summative purposes). Sample concept maps constructed
by students taking up Introductory Physics are presented.
Full
Article
ESL Student Plagiarism: Ignorance of the Rules or Authorial Identity
Problem?
Robert Lankamp
Abstract
One major cause of plagiarism by ESL
students (and native speakers) is, unsurprisingly, ignorance of
plagiarism conventions. Recent studies on ESL plagiarism have identified
a second cause: absence of one's own voice, or, as it is also referred
to, lack of authorial identity. So far, it appears that these two causes
of ESL student plagiarism have been studied separately, with little
reference to one another. Consequently, it is not clear whether these
two factors are related, leaving an element of uncertainty in the body
of knowledge about ESL student plagiarism and in the development of
means to help students avoid it. In this paper, a qualitative study is
presented where this relationship is investigated. Six ESL graduate
student writers volunteered to take part in this study, without knowing
its purpose. Plagiarism was detected in four of the in total twelve
essays that the students wrote over a period of six to seven weeks. Data
on their knowledge of
plagiarism rules and on their authorial identity were elicited by means
of interviews. Although some of the plagiarizing students turned out to
be both ignorant of the rules and without authorial identity, no
relationship was found between these two factors. It is in fact
concluded that lack of authorial identity by no means always causes
plagiarism. One implication of this study is that instruction in the
avoidance of plagiarism should encompass more than just teaching the
content of a style guide.
Full
Article
The Teaching and Learning of Cultural Studies at Lower Primary School
Level in Botswana
Obed Dube and Paphani Moffat
Abstract
The study examined the
theoretical and practical understandings of Cultural Studies at the
lower primary school level in Botswana. The education system in Botswana
intends to produce learners who are reflective, adaptive and who can
easily fit in every academic and social environment. Cultural Studies
was introduced in 2002 as an integral part of the lower primary school
curriculum (Standard 1-4) thus replacing Social Studies and Religious
Education at this level. Aspects of the new subject would imbue learners
with an understanding of cultural citizenship so that they become living
and practicing citizens, in their ever-changing global community. The
qualitative and quantitative approaches were employed in collecting
data. This was done through interviews, observations and questionnaires
which were administered to teachers and students in primary schools
country-wide. In addition, an officer from the Department of Curriculum
and Evaluation of the Ministry of Education responsible for Cultural
Studies was interviewed. The simple random sampling was employed in the
selection of participants. It emerged from the findings that there are
still gaps in the teaching and learning of Cultural Studies that need
urgent attention. These include the training of teachers, review of the
syllabus, and the provision of adequate and quality resource materials.
Full
Article
Principals' Perceptions of the No Child Left Behind's Adequate Yearly
Progress Requirement as it Relates to Students with Special Needs.
Janet R DeSimone
Abstract
This qualitative study
examined perceptions of elementary school principals regarding the NQ
Child Left Behind Act's Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirement as it
relates to the students with special needs subgroup. Data were collected
through in-depth interviews with seven principals working in urban
public schools. An interview schedule was created, and responses were
analyzed using the constant comparative method (Bogdan & Biklen, 2003).
Central findings included limited principal and teacher training;
contradictions between AYP and Individualized Education Program (IEP)
goals; complex, restrictive, and punitive nature of the AYP process; and
insufficient school resources to achieve AYP requirements.
Full
Article
Comparing empathy and selfish rationales motivating preschool children’s
decisions about wearing vision-obscuring opaque eyeglasses.
Harvey Ginsburg and Tammy Silakowski
Abstract
Empathy may motivate early
pro-social behaviors. Hypotheses examined were that preschool children’s
decisions to wear vision-obscuring eyeglasses and wearing durations
would depend upon requests producing high empathy, low empathy, or
selfish motivations. IRB approval requiring parental consent was
obtained for 126 preschool children who were randomly assigned to the
three motivation conditions. Percent wearing uncomfortable eyeglasses
and
wearing durations increased
with high empathy, compared to low empathy and selfish motivation.
One-way ANOVA showed significant differences, .005 level, F = (2, 123) =
5.65. Age was a significant co-variant; sex was not. Concern for others
versus self-directed motivation differentiated children’s responses.
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Article
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