Everyone deserves quiche: French school lunch programmes and national culture in a globalized world

Globalization poses many challenges for national cultural unity, especially in Europe. Some doubt whether national cultures will be able to survive, but there are many counter‐trends pushing to maintain national cultural unity. I analyse the dual trends of global diversity and maintaining unity through an everyday manifestation of French culture: elementary school lunches. French school lunch programmes are part of the nation‐building process because they are designed to teach students how to eat, which is especially important in France where the art of gastronomy is a key source of identity and pride. I analyse cultural influences on over 11,000 school lunch menu items from eight municipalities across two French regions. I also conduct in‐depth face‐to‐face interviews with the people who design and approve school lunch menus. My inquiry is guided by three key questions. First, to what extent are foreign influences included? Second, does openness to foreign influences vary across different parts of France? Finally, how are foreign cultures represented? My results suggest that foreign cultures are deployed to nationalize difference. The limited foreign influences that appear in school lunches are strategically chosen to appeal to and to educate students, but in a way that reinforces the centrality of traditional French cultural norms. This article contributes to our understanding of the tension between national culture and a globalizing world.     

A systematic review of evidence-based interventions for students with challenging behaviors in school settings

The author's systematic review of 2,294 articles from 10 journals in the fields of education, special education, school social work, school psychology, and school counseling identified 42 articles meeting search criteria of addressing evidence-based interventions for students with challenging behaviors in school settings. Interventions were considered evidence-based if they were (a) manualized or structured to facilitate replication; (b) evaluated with an experimental design; and (c) demonstrated to be effective. Current practices available to address students who require evidence-based interventions for challenging behaviors are summarized. Suggestions for intervention development to address the needs of students with difficult behaviors are offered.     

Parent training to reduce problem behaviors over the transition to high school: Tests of indirect effects through improved emotion regulation skills

Adolescent problem behaviors are costly for individuals and society. Promoting the self-regulatory functioning of youth may help prevent the development of such behaviors. Parent-training and family intervention programs have been shown to improve child and adolescent self-regulation. This study helps fill gaps in knowledge by testing for indirect effects of the Common Sense Parenting® (CSP) program on reduced substance use, conduct problems, and school suspensions through previously identified short-term improvements in parents' reports of their children's emotion regulation skills. Over two cohorts, 321 low income families of 8th graders were enrolled and randomly assigned to either the standard CSP program, an adapted CSP Plus program, or a minimal-contact control condition. Pretest, posttest, 1-year follow-up, and 2-year follow-up survey assessments were completed by parents and students with 94% retention. Intent-to-treat multivariate path analyses were conducted. Neither intervention had statistically significant total effects on the three targeted adolescent outcomes. CSP, but not CSP Plus, had statistically significant indirect effects on reduced substance use and school suspensions at the 1-year follow-up as well as conduct problems and school suspensions at the 2-year follow-up through increased child emotion regulation skills at posttest. Findings provide some support for emotion regulation as one pathway through which the intervention was associated, indirectly, with reduced substance use, conduct problems, and school suspensions among at-risk students over the high school transition.     

Preventing failure at school

This paper considers early educational interventions aimed at preventing school failure. It begins with a typology of prevention and intervention, then goes on to consider four specific examples of preventive interventions all aimed at avoiding or alleviating academic failure at school. (1) The High Scope pre-school programme for disadvantaged children aimed at providing a ‘better start at school'. (2) Reading Recovery, a targeted intervention aimed at getting children who show early reading difficulties ‘back on course'. (3) A Focused Literacy Programme for improving the reading of all children in disadvantaged neighbourhoods of the inner city. (4) ‘Parent involvement' programmes to improve the reading of all children in primary school through support for literacy at home. Each of the intervention strategies is described and criticised in terms of effectiveness, acceptability and generalisation. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The roles of humour and laughter in youth focus groups on school food

The article examines young people's group interaction and the roles of humor and laughter in relation to school food and school lunch situations. The analysed focus group discussion data is drawn from a broader case study (2012?2013) with 9th grade students (15–16 years old; 62 pupils; 25 boys and 37 girls; 14 groups; 4?6 pupils per group) in a Finnish secondary school. The analysis is based on existing interpretations and classifications of humor in literature, which is complemented by notions drawn from the study's data set. It is argued that an analysis of humor and laughter can provide valuable notions of how collective attitudes towards school food are constructed, enforced and distributed among students, while also providing insight regarding what kinds of issues around school lunch practices are considered important and worthwhile in the context of students' informal peer cultures. The results illustrate how humor and laughter functioned for the students as a space for (1) Constructing ‘us’ versus ‘them’; (2) Negotiating social order; and (3) Engaging in fun and safe interaction. Results are discussed in the light of how humor and laughter uphold or divide social groups, as well mediate shifts between formal conventions and students' informal worlds.     

Professional development for teachers plus coaching related to school-wide suspensions for a large urban school system

Little is known about how professional development models can be used to address exclusionary disciplinary practices in response to behavior management challenges in classrooms and schools. This is of great concern given data that suggests that such practices predict negative outcomes for students, including repeat suspensions, dropout and incarceration. Instead, the professional development literature has focused largely on instructional practices in the classroom. Using secondary data, the current paper sought to address this limitation by examining the potential impact of a professional development intervention, focused on classroom management strategies through training and one-on-one coaching, on reductions in disciplinary practices. School-level suspension and behavioral incidence data were available for 70 schools participating in the intervention and 1605 schools that did not participate in the intervention during the 2011–2012 school year. First, differences in demographics between the schools receiving the professional development intervention and schools that did not receive the intervention were explored. Next, a series of hierarchical regression models were estimated in order to test the level of dosage as a predictor of change in suspensions and behavior incidents. Results reveal that intervention schools experienced significantly reduced suspensions and behavior incidents in the school year following the intervention. The number of coaching sessions also predicted significant decreases in suspensions and marginally significant decreases in behavioral incidences. These findings suggest that professional development interventions may have the potential to shift teacher behavior management practices that reduce exclusionary disciplinary practices known to be detrimental to student outcomes.     

Efficacy of a brief intervention on attitudes to reduce school violence: A randomized clinical trial

There is growing interest in the phenomenon of school violence, which has been associated in diverse works with youth's attitudes towards violence, and it has been the focus of many intervention programs. However, the high human and economic cost entailed can impede its administration in some school centers. Therefore, the goal of the present study is to assess the efficacy of a brief intervention aimed at modifying attitudes towards violence to reduce the phenomenon of school bullying. The sample was obtained from a Secondary Education Institute during the 2010–2011 school term, and was made up of 252 students aged between 12 and 15 years. A controlled and randomized design was used in order to assess the effects of the program “Count on Me.” Ten classrooms were randomly assigned either to the intervention or to a waiting-list. Results show a significant reduction of playground violence perceived by the students, especially among the girls. Implications for the development of future brief programs for the prevention of school violence are discussed.     

Rock Up: An initiative supporting students' wellbeing in their transition to secondary school

This paper reports the background and findings of the community-based pilot program ‘Rock Up’ to school. The Rock Up program was directed at a niche section of young students in Grades 5, 6, and 7 to respond to identified risk factors associated with disengagement from formal education. The Rock Up approach was to energise these students' connection to learning as they approach the difficult stage of transition from primary school to secondary school. Ultimately, Rock Up aims to assist those students in their development of wellbeing, within and outside of the school environment. The operational measures of wellbeing covered; academic, social, emotional, behavioural, and school absence. Thirteen students, who had been identified by their respective teachers, were invited to participate in individual and/or group activities that focused on their wellbeing and developing their readiness for secondary school. Written and verbal feedbacks from students, teachers, parents, and the program facilitator, were in the main very positive. Analysis of the data of the first round of the program using a three-wave questionnaire and a participatory action research approach indicated the need to proceed to a new round using more refined processes. When fully developed, Rock Up is intended to be the vanguard for collaborative practice between the education and community sectors throughout Victoria and to be an example of an efficient and effective model of transition for this age-group.     

The impact of influenza vaccination on respiratory illness at a boarding school.

We studied the impact of influenza vaccine during an outbreak of influenza at a 989-student boarding school in January to March, 1989. By February 6, 120 (17%) of 690 students completing survey questionnaires had been ill with fever and respiratory symptoms. Eighty-seven students had received influenza vaccine in the previous 18 months; these students had an attack rate half that of the unvaccinated students (9% v 19%; vaccine efficacy = 50%, confidence interval = 0%-70%). We estimate that, if the entire student body had been vaccinated, influenza-like illness could have been prevented in 162 students (16% of the school), and that preventing this illness could have avoided at least 482 student-days of missed classes, or approximately one student-day for each 1.8 additional doses of vaccine given. This study suggests that, when feasible, a broad influenza immunization policy for healthy students at residential schools should substantially decrease the disruption of school activities caused by influenza.     

THE EFFECT OF WELFARE PROGRAMS ON CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR: A THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS

A simple economic model of criminal behavior shows that welfare payments will reduce the time allocated to illegal activities under risk aversion and other reasonable assumptions. This theoretical prediction is confirmed by the empirical findings: using a set of cross-sectional U.S. state data for 1987, it is found that cash or in-kind welfare programs have a negative and often significant effect on property crime. More general programs such as public housing seem to have a larger effect than those aimed primarily at women (AFDC). Medicaid and school lunch programs apparently have little effect on property crime.     

Three high school after-school initiatives: lessons learned

Alarmed by the large numbers of high school-age youth who are disengaged at school and leaving high school without a diploma or the important skills for the workplace, policymakers and youth advocates are beginning to see high school after-school as the new frontier in after-school programming. Although older youth represent a sizable percentage of American students, they garner only a small fraction of the federal, state, and local investments for after-school programs. This chapter reviews the insights and lessons learned from three after-school initiatives that have shown success in attracting high school students to their programs and engaging them in meaningful activities to support their success in school and transition to early adulthood: the After School Safety and Education for Teens, After School Matters, and the After-School Corporation. Emerging from these pioneering efforts are some promising practices and program models that can guide the development of future after-school programs, but not without the help of policymakers and funders, both public and private.     

Prejudices against immigrants in secondary school

This paper presents the results of a study of prejudice against immigrants in secondary schools in the Basque Country, in Spain. We carried out a review of the best-known questionnaires and catalogues on prejudices regarding immigration and we drew up a new questionnaire, with positive and negative scales of prejudices, in order to apply them to secondary school students in Euskadi (the Basque Country). We analysed the responses of almost 1500 students and thus obtained results for the main types of prejudice that exists amongst the students. We subsequently examined these prejudices and compared them with the scientific data, reports and other research that have generated much debate. As a result of this research, we have made available to educators, both inside and outside the classroom, the basis for drawing up strategies and plans for educational interventions with secondary school students. We propose a solid foundation for undertaking an educational programme that will be useful for combating prejudices and xenophobia in schools.     

The role of the school library: reflections from Sweden

Libraries are critical learning spaces and may play a significant role in intercultural education initiatives, particularly in Sweden where the national curriculum ascribes central functions to libraries for learning activities. Unfortunately, the ways in which teachers and librarians may collaborate to leverage mutual resources is not fully understood. This article uses Pirjo Lahdenperä’s model of intercultural education development to consider the case of a small school library in a highly diverse urban neighbourhood. Although public libraries in Scandinavia can support intercultural educational values by addressing individual needs and complementing curriculum-based teaching, the development of new teaching practices requires additional guidance as well as institutional support.     

Youth organizing: From youth development to school reform

Over the past twenty years, youth organizing has grown across the country. Through organizing, young people identify issues of concern and mobilize their peers to build action campaigns to achieve their objectives. Youth organizing has been appreciated for its contributions to youth and community development. The authors use two case studies to trace the more recent emergence of youth organizing as an important force for school reform. The Boston-based Hyde Square Task Force began with a focus on afterschool programming, but its youth leaders now organize to get Boston Public Schools to adopt a curriculum addressing sexual harassment. Meanwhile, the Baltimore Algebra Project began as a peer-to-peer tutoring program but now also organizes to demand greater funding for Baltimore schools. These cases illustrate a broader phenomenon where students reverse the deficit paradigm by acting out of their own self-interest to become agents of institutional change.     

Immigrant students and their teachers – exploring various constellations of acculturation orientations and their impact on school adjustment

ABSTRACT

The present study examined what impact various constellations of acculturation orientations of immigrant students and their teachers have on the students’ school adjustment. For this purpose, the study analysed the acculturation orientations of 1106 5th graders and their class teachers in Switzerland. Using multiple regression analysis, we found that immigrant students were more satisfied at school if their teachers had similar attitudes about cultural assimilation and cultural diversity and could, thus, be said to have congruent acculturation orientations. With respect to students’ academic self-concept, immigrant students with a minority orientation whose teachers value cultural diversity including the heritage culture of their students showed a lower academic self-concept despite matching acculturation orientations. We interpret this result as a dilemma of teachers between the endeavour to develop culturally sensitive attitudes and behaviours and the risk to create stereotype threat and its negative effects through addressing cultural differences. Furthermore, a mismatch between the students’ (bi-)national identification at school and the teacher’s perception of the student as an immigrant or a native-born student could be shown to have adverse effects on the academic self-concept in the group of students with older teachers (50+ years).     

Development of a fostering purpose intervention

Evolutionary Evaluation is a framework for understanding the evolution of programs. Just as programs grow and develop, so can standalone interventions. This paper focused on building and evaluating a purpose intervention to scaffold adolescents and young adults’ search for purpose. Four studies were conducted at each phase of the intervention’s lifespan to assess if modifications were needed and to test the viable validity of using online activities to increase both the search for and the discovery of a purpose in life. These studies can be viewed through the lens of the Evolutionary Evaluation framework. Study 1 evaluated the intervention at its initiation phase, which consisted of developing and testing the intervention activities. Study 2 tested the intervention during the development phase to determine which activities most effectively increased rates of purpose. Study 3 evaluated the intervention in its stability phase by experimentally testing all activities together in a full curriculum via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. Finally, study 4 assessed the dissemination of the intervention by testing the full curriculum with over 500 high school and college students. These studies suggest that the fostering purpose intervention cultivated purpose among adolescents and young adults. Additionally, the success of the intervention demonstrates that the Evolutionary Evaluation framework may be an effective model with which to develop an intervention, from initiation through dissemination phases.     

Hate at school: victimization and disorder associated with school avoidance

Abstract

Previous research indicates that victimization at school and school disorder are associated with school avoidance. The appearance of hateful words and symbols at schools and verbal hateful attacks at schools are prompting additional concerns about students’ perceived safety. The current study provides evidence that observing and being victimized by hate at school are additional contributors to school avoidance that is enacted over concerns of being attacked at school. This includes avoidance of the school itself as well as specific places at the school such as the school entrance, school cafeteria, and parking lots. Data analyzed from the 2013 School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey provide this evidence. The findings point to recommendations for identifying and reducing hate in schools while maintaining efforts to reduce bullying and provide a positive school climate.     

The role of ethnic identity in school engagement: perceptions of immigrant Tibetan adolescents in select US public schools

This purpose of the study was to ascertain the level of ethnic identity formation and its perceived role on school engagement for Tibetan adolescents enrolled in public schools in two Midwestern states in the USA. The journey of these students from culturally encapsulated schools from Nepal, Bhutan, and India to multiculturally diverse settings was one of the most fascinating facets of the Tibetan Diaspora. Subjects included 16 girls, 25 boys, and 2 who did not identify their gender. The multigroup ethnic identity measure was used to determine the level of ethnic identity formation of Tibetan students while a questionnaire gathered information on school engagement. The overall ethnic identity measure for this sample was high with a mean of 3.58, while the cognitive and affective aspect of the measure was also high with a mean of 3.56 and 3.74, respectively. The girls showed more emotional commitment to ethnic identity, as their mean score was 3.92, while boys scored 3.62. The results clearly corroborated findings and conclusions drawn by other scholars. School and community partnership contributed to the healthy ethnic identity development of adolescents who were thus encouraged to be more engaged in meaningful school activities.     

Secondary power source: High school students as participatory researchers

Conditions that foster and hinder participatory research are examined, using examples from one such research project aimed at dropout reduction undertaken with students in a “last chance” high school. Student researchers sometimes used racial, gender, and social class differences to gain power and display undemocratic behavior within the group. Dilemmas arose as small-scale actions were implemented that seemed to threaten the power and authority of teachers and administrators both within the alternative school and the traditional high schools that fed into it. The limits to extending democracy to students through research are identified, drawing upon recent theoretical work on feminist pedagogy and participatory research. The conclusion is that youths need to be taken seriously as knowers and potential agents of change and that adults who want to work with adolescent researchers need to model democratic teaching and leadership.     

Assessing the effects of a school-based intervention on unscheduled school transfers during elementary school.

Raising Healthy Children is a cluster-randomized study of a school-based intervention aimed at preventing problem behaviors among children recruited into the project in the first or second grade of elementary school. Multilevel analysis was used to compare students in intervention and control schools with respect to whether they transferred out of their original schools. Students in intervention schools were less likely to transfer within the first 5 years of the project. A multilevel discrete-time survival model that included both time-varying and contextual variables revealed that the difference in hazard of transfer was greatest in the earlier years of the project.