ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Violence is a leading global public health problem, and interventions in early childhood are important in the primary prevention of violence. We tested whether the Irie Classroom Toolbox, a violence-prevention teacher-training programme reduced violence against children by teachers and reduced class-wide child aggression in Jamaican preschools (catering to children aged 3-6 years). METHODS: We did a single-blind, cluster-randomised controlled trial in 76 preschools in Kingston and St Andrew, randomly selected, using simple randomisation, from 120 eligible preschools. Inclusion criteria were two to four classes of children; at least ten children per class; and located in an urban area. We randomly assigned preschools (1:1) to either the Irie Classroom Toolbox intervention or waiting-list control that received no intervention, using a computer-generated randomisation sequence by an independent statistician masked to school identity. The Toolbox involved training teachers in classroom behaviour management and promoting child social-emotional competence. All assessors were masked to group assignment. All teachers and classrooms in the selected schools participated in the study. Within each school, we used simple randomisation to randomly select up to 12 children aged 4 years for evaluation of child outcomes. The Toolbox intervention was implemented from August to April the following year. Teacher and classroom measures were done at baseline (the summer school term; ie, May to June), post-intervention (after 8 months of intervention; ie, May to June of the following year), and 1-year follow-up (ie, May to June 2 years later). The primary outcomes were observations of violence against children (including physical violence and psychological aggression) by teachers occurring across one full school day, and class-wide child aggression occurring over five 20-min intervals on another school day, all measured at post-intervention and 1-year follow-up and analysed by intention to treat. This trial is registered with ISRCTN, number ISRCTN11968472. FINDINGS: Between June 22, 2015, and April 29, 2016, (after baseline measurements were completed), we assigned 38 preschools (with 119 teachers) to the Toolbox intervention and 38 preschools (with 110 teachers) to control. 441 children in the intervention schools and 424 in the control schools were included in the evaluation. All schools were included in the post-intervention and follow-up analyses. There were fewer counts of violence against children by teachers in the intervention schools compared with control schools at post-intervention (median counts 3 [IQR 0-11] vs 15 [3-35]; effect size -67·12%, 95% CI -80·71 to -53·52, p<0·0001) and 1-year follow-up (median counts 3 [IQR 0-9] vs 6 [1-16]; effect size -53·86, 95% CI -71·08 to -36·65, p<0·0001). No differences between groups were found for class-wide child aggression at post-intervention (effect size 0·07, 95% CI -0·16 to 0·29, p=0·72) or 1-year follow-up (-0·14, -0·42 to 0·16, p=0·72). INTERPRETATION: In Jamaican preschools, the Irie Classroom Toolbox effectively reduced violence against children by teachers. The Toolbox was designed for use with undertrained teachers working in low-resource settings and should be effective with early childhood practitioners in other LMICs. Additional research is needed to further develop the Toolbox to reduce class-wide child aggression. FUNDING: Medical Research Council, Wellcome Trust, UK Aid, and the National Institute of Health Research.
Subject(s)
Aggression/psychology , Psychology, Child , School Teachers/psychology , Teacher Training/methods , Violence/prevention & control , Child, Preschool , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Jamaica , Male , Schools/organization & administration , Single-Blind Method , Teacher Training/organization & administrationABSTRACT
RESUMO Este estudo objetivou avaliar a implementação de um programa de intervenção para promoção do estilo de vida ativo e saudável em estudantes. Estudo avaliativo, realizado durante a intervenção, que incluiu como amostra a comunidade escolar envolvida nas atividades (estudantes, professores, coordenadores e pais), por meio de entrevista ou por observação externa. A matriz avaliativa foi construída e validada contendo 32 medidas em oito indicadores: capacitação dos professores, modificação nas aulas de Educação Física, modificação nas aulas regulares, distribuição de panfletos, distribuição de material, ginástica na escola, visibilidade do programa e conhecimento e distribuição de material. A análise descritiva (quantitativas) ou de conteúdo (qualitativas) foi utilizada. Temas de saúde em sala de aula foram abordados por 94% dos professores durante a intervenção. Metade dos alunos reportou terem participado de, pelo menos, uma aula de ginástica e utilizado os jogos durante a intervenção, mas dificuldades para armazenar material e falta de organização e de espaço foram relatadas. O conhecimento sobre o programa foi frequente entre professores, gestores e estudantes, mas não entre os pais. Em conclusão, a maioria das ações do programa tiveram uma implementação conforme planejada, contudo, dificuldades foram reportadas e devem ser consideradas em futuras propostas de um ambiente escolar que almeje promover atividade física e saúde.
ABSTRACT This study aimed to evaluate the implementation of an intervention program to promote active and healthy lifestyle in students. This was a evaluation study performed during the intervention, which included the school community (students, teachers, coordinators and parents), through interview or external observation. The evaluation matrix was constructed and validated with 32 measures in eight indicators: teacher training, modification in Physical Education classes, modification in regular classes, distribution of pamphlets, distribution of material, gymnastics in the school, visibility of the program and knowledge and distribution of material. Descriptive (quantitative) or content (qualitative) analysis was used. Health issues in the classroom were addressed by 94% of teachers during the intervention. Half of the students reported that they participated in at least one gym class and used the games during the intervention, but difficulties in storage of sports equipments and organization of places were reported. Knowledge about the program was frequent among teachers, managers and students, but not between parents. In conclusion, most of the program actions had an implementation as planned, however, difficulties were reported and should be considered in future proposals of a school environment that aims to promote physical activity and health.
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , School Health Services/organization & administration , Healthy Lifestyle , Health Promotion/organization & administration , Pamphlets , Physical Education and Training/methods , Exercise , Early Intervention, Educational/organization & administration , Teacher Training/organization & administration , Gymnastics/educationABSTRACT
Normal schools in Mexico train teachers for basic level education. Classified as Higher Education Institutions, part of their mandate is to conduct scientific research to improve educational quality. Currently, normal school students can meet graduation requirements by either writing a thesis or reporting on professional practice using Participatory Action Research (PAR). Teachers at normal schools have only limited experience in conducting and supervising PAR projects. With the aim of analyzing the situation and addressing this paradox, we used PAR to develop a plan to train normal school teachers in application of PAR methodology. We present the training proposal and evaluate its results in a pilot phase. These suggest that PAR represents an innovative option for training teachers to conduct research and therefore fulfill part of their responsibilities at normal schools in Mexico. Changes in institutional culture and structure would be required for successful implementation of PAR in this context.
Subject(s)
Community-Based Participatory Research/organization & administration , Research Personnel/education , Schools/organization & administration , Teacher Training/organization & administration , Curriculum , Humans , Mexico , Professional Competence , Program Evaluation , Quality Improvement/organization & administrationABSTRACT
O impacto trazido pelas transformações contemporâneas se caracteriza por ter como um dos elementos centrais os processos de gestão do conhecimento, ou seja, a capacidade de produzir, armazenar, processar, recuperar e disseminar informações e conhecimentos. Países desenvolvidos e um grupo cada vez maior de países em desenvolvimento tem colocado a produção de conhecimento e a inovação tecnológica no centro de sua política para o desenvolvimento. Fazem isto movidos pela visão de que a habilidade de gerar, adquirir, disseminar e empregar o conhecimento é um fator primordial e de que a inovação é o principal veículo para transformação de conhecimento em valor.Neste contexto, a educação é um dos mais importantes protagonistas, onde se tem a principal gênese do processo de construção, consumo e transferência de conhecimentos. É inquestionável a sua importância como fator estratégico crítico para o desenvolvimento, criando, interferindo e contribuindo de forma efetiva para o progresso do homem. Portanto, as instituições de ensino devem integrar uma nova cultura, permitindo que a aprendizagem ocorra em diferentes lugares e por diferentes meios. A tecnologia deve ser utilizada para a criação de novas formas de pensar e aprender, norteado essencialmente pela busca da Qualidade Total em Educação que significa a busca da excelência dos processos pedagógicos, técnicos e administrativos da escola. Mediante o exposto, este artigo visa apresentar os fatores e componentes estruturais para a construção e gestão de um curso não presencial em sintonia com os parâmetros preconizados pelas teorias de Gestão do Conhecimento pela Qualidade Total que possibilitem suprir a lacuna dos programas de formação de professores no tocante à sua capacitação tecnológica, incentivando a integração das modernas tecnologias à prática docente e sugerindo a adoção de novos comportamentos e novas formas de produzir, armazenar e transmitir o conhecimento que possam dar origem a novas formas de pensar, fazer e aprender.
The impact brought by the contemporary transformations characterizes as being one of it's central elements the administration processes of knowledge, in other words, the capacity to produce, to store, to prosecute, to recover, and to disseminate information and knowledges. In this context, education is one of the most important protagonists, where we have the main genesis of knowledge construction, consumption, and transfer process. It is unquestionable importance as a critical strategic factor for the development, creation, interference, and contribution by an effective form for man's progress. Following this conductor thread, the teaching institutions should integrate a new culture, allowing that the learning occurs in different places and by different means. The technology should be used, not only for existent computerization processes of teaching, but for the creation of new ways of thinking and learning. In this sense, search for the Total Quality in Education is the search for excellence in pedagogical, technical, and administrative processes of the school, where should converged the actions of properly qualified and pledged educators with permanent improvement in quality in education. By means of the exposed, this project aims to introduce the factors and structural components for the construction and administration of a model course in syntony with the arguments praised by the theories of Management Knowledge by Total Quality that enables, mostly, to supply the gap of the teachers formation's programs concerning it's technological training, encouraging the integration of modern technologies to the educational practice and suggesting new behaviors and new forms to produce, store, and transmit the knowledge, giving source of the new forms to think, do, and learn.