Academic literature on the topic 'High school students Australia Conduct of life'

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore relationships between students’ self-reported mental health and their perspectives about life at school in metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia. Design/methodology/approach – The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and a purpose designed Living and Learning at School Questionnaire (LLSQ) were administered to 1,715 early adolescents in school Years 7-9. Correspondence analysis, which is a perceptual mapping technique available in SPSS, was used to examine relationships between students’ SDQ subscale scores (Emotional Symptoms, Hyperactivity, Conduct Problems, Pro-social Skills) and the LLSQ subscale scores (Motivation, Learning Strategies, Coping with Schoolwork, Bullying, Numbers of Friends, Safety at School and Teacher Intervention in Bullying Events). Findings – The correspondence analysis produced a two-dimensional visual display (a perceptual map) showing that students’ abnormal, borderline and normal SDQ subscale scores were closely related to their low, medium and high LLSQ subscale scores, respectively. A clear Dimension (factor) emerged, showing a progression from mental health difficulties to strengths, in close association with students’ reports about their school experiences. Research limitations/implications – Caution should be exercised when using the results to interpret events in other contexts. The limitations of self-report methods must be considered. Practical implications – The two-dimensional visual display provides a powerful tool for dissemination of the findings of this study about students’ perspectives to system-level and school-based personnel. This can inform the selection of intervention programs, such as strategies for self-regulation of emotions and learning behaviours, fostering friendships, and supporting academic achievement, that are related to positive mental health. Social implications – This paper can inform school-level policies and practices, such as those relating to professional development to support teachers’ and students’ capabilities (e.g. to manage and prevent bullying) and thus influence the nature of the school experiences that shape students’ perceptions. Originality/value – This paper adds students’ perspectives to the emerging field concerned with designing programs for mental health promotion in schools.

Field-based research programs offer students a singular opportunity to understand that today there are no simple scientific, economic or socio-political answers to the complex questions facing governments, communities, and local organizations. Through their research, students can gain a first-hand appreciation that decision making in the real world is a mix of all these disciplines, and that they have a vital role to play in participating in this process. According to the most recent Open Doors report (2006), issued by the Institute of International Education, about 206,000 US students studied abroad in 2004/5. While about 55% studied in Europe, an increasing number studied in other host countries around the world. Social science and physical science students comprised about 30% of all US study abroad students in this period. While study abroad programs encompassing a field research component are still in the minority, an increasing number of home institutions and field-based providers are supporting and conducting these types of programs. As the student papers in this Special Issue of Frontiers demonstrate, there is high quality work being produced by undergraduates in settings as diverse as France, Thailand, Kenya, South Africa and Mali. For these students this opportunity was likely a new experience, involving living and studying in international settings; dealing with language and culture differences; matriculating in programs operated by host country universities, independent program providers, or their home institution’s international program; and learning how to conduct research that meets professional standards. Much has been written and discussed regarding pre-departure orientation of US students studying abroad, along with studies and evaluations of the study abroad experience. Less discussion and research has focused on the experiences of the on-site faculty and staff who host students and incorporate field-based research into their courses and programs. These courses and programs involving student research include the following types: • International university-based research, in which the student conducts research on a topic as part of a course or term paper; • Independent field-based research, in which the student identifies a topic, organizes the project, and conducts the field work, analysis, write-up, etc. for an overall grade; • Collective field-based research, in which students, working under the guidance of a professor (either US or international), conduct a research project as part of a US-based course, or complementary to the professor’s research focus; • Client-focused, directed, field-based research in which the research conducted is in response to, or in collaboration with, a specific client ranging from an NGO, to a corporation, to an indigenous community, or a governmental agency. The purpose of this article is to describe some of the issues and challenges that on-site faculty and staff encounter in preparing and supporting US undergraduate students to conduct formal research projects in international settings in order to maximize their success and the quality of their research. The perspectives described below have been gathered through informal surveys with a range of international program faculty and staff; discussions with program managers and faculty; and through our own experience at The School for Field Studies (SFS), with its formal directed research model. The survey sought responses in the following areas, among others: preparing students to conduct successfully their field-based research in a different socio-cultural environment; the skill building needs of students; patterns of personal, cultural, and/or technical challenges that must be addressed to complete the process successfully; and, misconceptions that students have about field-based research. Student Preparation Students work either individually or in groups to conduct their research, depending on the program. In either case on-site faculty and staff focus immediately on training students on issues ranging from personal safety and risk management, to cultural understanding, language training, and appropriate behavior. In programs involving group work, faculty and staff have learned that good teamwork dynamics cannot be taken for granted. They work actively with students in helping them understand the ebb and flow of groups, the mutual respect which must be extended, and the active participation that each member must contribute. As one on-site director indicates, “Students make their experience what it is through their behavior. We talk a lot about respecting each other as individuals and working together to make the project a great experience.” Cultural and sensitivity training are a major part of these field-based programs. It is critical that students learn and appreciate the social and cultural context in which they will conduct their research. As another on-site director states, “It is most important that the students understand the context in which the research is happening. They need to know the values and basic cultural aspects around the project they will be working on. It is not simply doing ‘good science.’ It requires understanding the context so the science research reaches its goal.” On-site faculty and staff also stress the importance of not only understanding cultural dynamics, but also acting appropriately and sensitively relative to community norms and expectations. Language training is also a component of many of these programs. As a faculty member comments, “Students usually need help negotiating a different culture and a new language. We try to help the students understand that they need to identify appropriate solutions for the culture they are in, and that can be very difficult at times.” Skill Building Training students on the technical aspects of conducting field-based research is the largest challenge facing most on-site faculty and staff, who are often struck by the following: • A high percentage of students come to these programs with a lack of knowledge of statistics and methods. They’ve either had very little training in statistics, or they find that real world conditions complicate their data. According to one faculty member, “Statistics are a big struggle for most students. Some have done a class, but when they come to work with real data it is seldom as black and white as a text book example and that leads to interpretation issues and lack of confidence in their data. They learn that ecology (for example) is often not clear, but that is OK.” • Both physical and social science students need basic training in scientific methodology in order to undertake their projects. Even among science majors there is a significant lack of knowledge of how to design, manage and conduct a research project. As a program director states, “Many students begin by thinking that field research is comprised only of data collection. We intensively train students to understand that good research is a process that begins with conceptualization of issues, moves into review of relevant literature, structures a research hypothesis, determines indicators and measurements, creates the research design, collects data, undertakes analysis and inference. This is followed by write-up in standard scientific format for peer review and input. This leads to refining earlier hypotheses, raising new questions and initiating further research to address new questions.” Consistently, on-site faculty have indicated that helping students understand and appreciate this cycle is a major teaching challenge, but one that is critical to their education and the success of their various field research projects. • The uncertainty and ambiguity that are often present in field research creates challenges for many students who are used to seeking ‘the answer in the book.’ On-site faculty help students understand that science is a process in which field-based research is often non-linear and prone to interruption by natural and political events. It is a strong lesson for students when research subjects, be they animal or human, don’t cooperate by failing to appear on time, or at all, and when they do appear they may have their own agendas. Finally, when working with human communities, student researchers need to understand that their research results and recommendations are not likely to result in immediate action. Program faculty help them to understand that the real world includes politics, conflicting attitudes, regulatory issues, funding issues, and other community priorities. • Both physical and social science students demonstrate a consistent lack of skill in technical and evidence-based writing. For many this type of writing is completely new and is a definite learning experience. As a faculty member states, “Some students find the report writing process very challenging. We want them to do well, but we don’t want to effectively write their paper for them.” Challenges The preceding points address some of the technical work that on-site faculty conduct with students. Faculty also witness and experience the ‘emotional’ side of field-based research being conducted by their students. This includes what one faculty member calls “a research-oriented motivation” — the need for students to develop a strong, energized commitment to overcome all the challenges necessary to get the project done. As another professor indicates, “At the front end the students don’t realize how much effort they will have to expend because they usually have no experience with this sort of work before they do their project.” Related to this is the need for students to learn that flexibility in the research process does not justify a sloppy or casual approach. It does mean a recognition that human, political, and meteorological factors may intervene, requiring the ability to adapt to changed conditions. The goal is to get the research done. The exact mechanics for doing so will emerge as the project goes on. “Frustration tolerance” is critical in conducting this type of work. Students have the opportunity to learn that certain projects need to incorporate a substantial window of time while a lengthy ethics approval and permit review system is conducted by various governmental agencies. Students learn that bureaucracies move at their own pace, and for reasons that may not be obvious. Finally, personal challenges to students may include being uncomfortable in the field (wet, hot, covered in scrub itch) or feeling over-tired. As a faculty member states, “Many have difficulty adjusting to the early mornings my projects usually involve.” These issues represent a range of challenges that field-based research faculty and staff encounter in working with undergraduate students in designing and conducting their research projects around the world. In my own experience with SFS field-based staff, and in discussions with a wide variety of others who work and teach on-site, I am consistently impressed by the dedication, energy and commitment of these men and women to train, support and mentor students to succeed. As an on-site director summarizes, essentially speaking for all, “Fortunately, most of the students attending our program are very enthusiastic learners, take their limitations positively, and hence put tremendous effort into acquiring the required skills to conduct quality research.” Summary/Conclusions Those international program faculty and staff who have had years of experience in dealing with and teaching US undergraduates are surprised that the US educational system has not better prepared students on subjects including statistics, scientific report formatting and composition, and research methodologies. They find that they need to address these topics on an intensive basis in order for a substantial number of students to then conduct their research work successfully. Having said this, on-site faculty and staff are generally impressed by the energy and commitment that most students put into learning the technical requirements of a research project and carrying it out to the best of their abilities. Having students conduct real field-based research, and grading these efforts, is a very concrete method of determining the seriousness with which a student has participated in their study abroad program. Encouraging field-based research is good for students and good for study abroad because it has the potential of producing measurable products based on very tangible efforts. In a number of instances students have utilized their field research as the basis for developing their senior thesis or honors project back on their home campus. Successful field research has also formed the basis of Fulbright or Watson proposals, in addition to other fellowships and graduate study projects. An increasing number of students are also utilizing their field research, often in collaboration with their on-site program faculty, to create professional conference presentations and posters. Some of these field-based research models also produce benefits for incountry clients, including NGOs, corporations and community stakeholders. In addition to providing the data, analyses, technical information, and recommendations that these groups might not otherwise be able to afford, it is a concrete mechanism for the student and her/his study abroad program faculty and staff to ‘give back’ to local stakeholders and clients. It changes the dynamic from the student solely asking questions, interviewing respondents, observing communities, to more of a mutually beneficial relationship. This is very important to students who are sensitive to this dynamic. It is also important to their program faculty and staff, and in most cases, genuinely appreciated by the local stakeholders. In essence, community identified and responsive research is an excellent mechanism for giving to a community — not just taking from it. An increasing interest in conducting field-based research on the part of US universities and their students may have the effect of expanding the international destinations to which US students travel. A student’s sociological, anthropological, or environmental interest and their desire to conduct field research in that academic discipline, for example, may help stretch the parameters of the student’s comfort level to study in more exotic (non-traditional) locales. Skill building in preparing for and conducting field-based research is an invaluable experience for the student’s future academic and professional career. It is a fairly common experience for these students to indicate that with all the classroom learning they have done, their study abroad experience wherein they got their hands dirty, their comfort level stretched, their assumptions tested, and their work ethic challenged, provided them with an invaluable and life changing experience. Conducting field-based research in an international setting provides real world experience, as the student papers in this edition of Frontiers attest. It also brings what may have only been academic subjects, like statistics, and research design and methodology, to life in a real-conditions context. On a related note, conducting real field-based work includes the requirement to endure field conditions, remote locations, bad weather, personal discomforts, technological and mechanical breakdowns, and sometimes dangerous situations. Field research is hard work if it is done rigorously. In addition, field work often includes non-cooperating subjects that defy prediction, and may confound a neat research hypothesis. For a student considering a profession which requires a serious commitment to social or physical science field work this study abroad experience is invaluable. It clarifies for the student what is really involved, and it is helpful to the student in assessing their future career focus, as they ask the critical question — would I really want to do this as a fulltime career? US education needs to bridge better the gap between the physical and social sciences. Students are done a disservice with the silo-type education that has been so prevalent in US education. In the real world there are no strictly scientific, economic, or sociological solutions to complex, vexing problems facing the global community. Going forward there needs to be interdisciplinary approaches to these issues by decision makers at all levels. We need to train our students to comprehend that while they may not be an ecologist, or an economist, or a sociologist, they need to understand and appreciate that all these perspectives are important and must be considered in effective decision-making processes. In conclusion, education abroad programs involving serious field-based research are not a distraction or diversion from the prescribed course of study at US home institutions; rather, they are, if done well, capable of providing real, tangible skills and experience that students lack, in spite of their years of schooling. This is the reward that is most meaningful to the international program faculty and staff who teach, mentor and support US students in conducting their field-based research activities. As an Australian on-site program director stated, “there are relatively few students who are adequately skilled in these (field research) areas when they come to our program. Most need a lot of instruction and assistance to complete their research projects, but that of course is part of what we’re all about — helping students acquire or improve these critical skills.” This is the real service that these programs and on-site faculty and staff offer to US undergraduates. Paul Houlihan, President The School for Field Studies

The study aims to describe the academic life of the junior high school learners in online distance learning. Further, the study aims to know the challenges and ways to adapt in the online learning modality. Specifically, it sought to answer how are the junior high school learners described in terms of enrollment, cohort survival, drop-out rate, promotion rate, available resources, and source of internet connectivity; and what are the practices of the junior high school learners in adapting to online distance learning in terms of time management, study habits, comprehending the lessons, attending synchronous classes, and completing the requirements. The study utilized mixed methods research design, specifically a sequential-explanatory. Documentary records were utilized in the conduct of the study. A questionnaire was administered to 931 students from Grades 7- 10 students of a state university in Bacolor, Pampanga, Philippines. After which, a focused group discussion through virtual meeting was conducted to the 22 student-leaders. It was found out that despite of the various lockdowns and continuous threat of the COVID-19, online education modality had allowed education be served to the learners. With various practices on how to adapt with the “new normal”, learners were able to be deal with the online set-up. Challenges are still present and remain to be unavoidable but continuous interventions are being done to assure that quality, equitable, and accessible high school education is served. However, it is suggested to further improve the conduct of the online classes; concepts that were of challenge to the students should be address in the reopening of schools; intervention for the students’ social aspects should be taken into consideration; and continuous support must be given to the learners as well as to the teachers.

<p align="center"><em>This article explains the concept of Islamic guidance and counselling to help high school students build readiness for marriage and having family life. Marriage and family life readiness is one of aspects in Competency Standards of Independence (SKK) that must be achieved by students at high school level.This concept is similar to the phases and tasks of adolescent development which begin to enter the early adult development phase. The researchers did not find any particularly studies that discuss the concept of Islamic guidance and counseling to help marriage readiness and family life for high school students. Despite the fact that the theme is important to be discussed for further elucidation,the problems eventuates among adolescents, such as premarital sex. The research is conducted by library research method. To support information requirements, researchers also conduct document observations and in-depth interviews with marriage counselor in Religious Affairs Office (KUA), high school principals, as well as high school guidance counselor and school counselor. The concept of guidance and counselling answers the need and solutions to the problems of adults at the high school level. This also helps to understand family life responsibilities and functions, the concept of reproductive health, what appropriate sexual behaviour is, family norms and relationships between family members.</em></p>

AbstractThe Internet has, for varied reasons, emerged as a critical mediating tool in the everyday experience for many young people. Opportunities for access and participation are vast and well-documented. There are, however, risks, or more accurately ‘problematic situations’, associated with these online experiences. From a digital youth’s perspective, real and perceived threats, primarily related to content, contact and conduct, all play to policy agendas, and adult fears of how best to protect youth within virtual space where the boundaries of private and public are easily blurred and compromised. Drawing upon a purposive sample of four high schools, in greater Melbourne, Australia, frequency analysis is performed on questionnaire data from 770 students aged 12–18. Adapting the research taxonomy from the EU Kids Online (2014, EU Kids Online: findings, methods, recommendations (deliverable D1.6)) project, this paper extends that work by developing a more comprehensive coding structure to reflect the complex attitudes high school students of this study exhibit with their online practice. In doing so, this research, via a more nuanced classification, supports the ongoing validity of previous research that points to navigation of the Internet as a continuing contestation between balancing opportunity and risk.

Abstract Introduction: Burnout emerges as a common problem during the university period when social competition and expectations from the individual increase, and daily life becomes increasingly complicated due to augmenting stress factors. The aim of this study was to examine whether the school burnout of university students can be predicted significantly by adjustment to school. Methods: This study used a correlational survey model to investigate the burnout levels of university students in terms of their adjustment to university life. The sample of the study comprised a total of 334 students, enrolled in four different faculties of a university in Turkey. The data of this research were collected by using the “Adjustment to University Life Scale (AULS)”, “The Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Form (MBI-SF)” and personal information form. Results: The findings obtained in this study showed that academic, social, and personal adjustment to university life among university students negatively and significantly correlated with school burnout that students experienced. In addition, personal, social and academic adjustment variables together significantly predict each of the exhaustion, cynicism and efficacy variables. Discussion: According to these results, academic, social, and personal adjustment to university life among university students negatively and significantly correlated with school burnout that students experienced. This situation indicates that as students’ academic, social, and personal adaptation to university life increases, they will experience less emotional burnout, become less cynical of their environment, and feel less personal inefficacy. In this context, it is thought that interventions that support adaptation to university life are an important factor that will protect students from the negative effects of burnout. Limitations: The sample of this study is limited to 334 participants. In addition, the findings of the study are limited to the sincere response of the participants to the instruments of the study and the qualifications of the measurement tools. In other words, this research has no claim of generalizability. Conclusions: According to the findings of the study, students with high adjustment to university life experience less academic burnout. In this context, both individual and group work to be conducted by the guidance and psychological counseling units of universities gain importance. It will be particularly beneficial to conduct studies for adjustment to university life, such as psycho-education, group psychological counseling, or peer guidance.

This case study aimed to: (1) reveal how intercultural language learning occurred within a sister school partnership in an Indonesian public high school in Yogyakarta, and (2) describe student behaviours perceived to be indicative of intercultural language learning. Using an ethnographic approach through observations and dialogues, this study investigated real life interactions occurring among the research participants within the uniqueness of the partnership between an Indonesian public high school in Yogyakarta and its Australian school partner. The results showed that intercultural language learning occurred in the forms of learning experiences which engaged the students in interaction, observation and reflection with the target community. A number of indicators of intercultural language learning were revealed in the students behaviours within four authentic language experiences including exploring language and culture, noticing verbal and non-verbal cultural behaviours, making connections between home and the target language and culture, and reflecting on the development of a third or intermediate personal position between cultures.

School-based surveys provide a useful method for gathering data from youth. Existing literature offers many examples of data collection through school-based surveys, and a small subset of literature describes methodological approaches or general recommendations for health promotion professionals seeking to conduct school-based data collection. Much less is available on real-life logistical challenges (e.g., minimizing disruption in the school day) and corresponding solutions. In this article, we fill that literature gap by offering practical considerations for the administration of school-based surveys. The protocol and practical considerations outlined in the article are based on a survey conducted with 11,681 students from seven large, urban public high schools in the southeast United States. We outline our protocol for implementing a school-based survey that was conducted with all students school-wide, and we describe six types of key challenges faced in conducting the survey: consent procedures, scheduling, locating students within the schools, teacher failure to administer the survey, improper administration of the survey, and minimizing disruption. For each challenge, we offer our key lessons learned and associated recommendations for successfully implementing school-based surveys, and we provide relevant tools for practitioners planning to conduct their own surveys in schools.

Adolescence is a transitional phase with physical, social and psychological changes. With the influence of rapid societal changes, it has become difficult for teachers and parents to manage adolescents. A government school in Karnataka had approached to provide behavioural intervention session for their students. A tailor-made life skills intervention aimed at bringing behavioural changes among students was designed. Our objective was to assess the effectiveness of a four-day life skills intervention on change in behaviour among students of a government high school in Karnataka. A semi-structured Pre- and post-test self-administered questionnaire which included a Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire was administered to participants. This tailor-made intervention for adolescents in a school showed significant improvement in emotional symptoms (p=0.002) following the intervention. The intervention was provided to 137 students. It was observed that out of 17 (21%) participants who reported to have borderline symptoms for strengths and difficulties, 13 (76%) participants improved after training. Out of 7 (8.7%) participants who reported to have abnormal symptoms for strengths and difficulties during pre-test, about 5 (71%) participants improved post-training. There was improvement in all other domains of strengths and difficulties namely conduct problem, hyperactivity, peer relationship and prosocial behaviour scales, although not statistically significant. The total strengths and difficulties score decreased overall. Individually strengths and difficulties showed movement more towards the normal end rather than the abnormal end of the spectrum of strengths and difficulties scores. The result of this tailor-made intervention program has implications for adolescents from similar socio-economic background as well as adaptation of this intervention among adolescents in different situations.

This study endeavored to establish trends in the re-enforcing factor related to the consumption of alcoholic beverages among high school students in Liberia, using an experimental research design. A sample of 440 students from two selected schools was determined using Cochran’s formula. A sixteen item questionnaire with a reliability coefficient of 0.70 was administered to the 440 students to identify those who drink alcohol. Applying G Power formula, 84 students were randomly selected out of the 170 students who drink alcohol as participants. Another validated questionnaire with a reliability coefficient of 0.76 was used to collect data from the field. Descriptive statistics and t-test were used to analyze the data. The study concludes that the use of the Alcohol and Life Skills Training Model, which was employed to the experimental group is an effective educational tool to prepare students to make responsible decision about abstaining from drinking alcoholic beverages than the HIV/ AIDS Model which was employed to the control group. It is therefore recommended that the Government of Liberia should adopt the Alcohol and Life Skills Training Model into the National High School Curriculum in order to prevent and control the consumption of alcohol by students in high schools. Secondly, researchers and the Ministry of Education in conjunction with other Ministries such as Health and Youth should conduct further research on a wider scale on alcohol consumption among the youth, including the in-school and the out of school adolescents in Liberia.

Currently, garden-based research does not include input from young adults about their experiences and perspectives as individuals in garden-based programs, specifically those that address issues of food and community. To address this void, this qualitative research examines youth perspectives and engagement in garden-based community projects in Olympia, Washington, and Medford, Oregon. The sample of 11 students was chosen from these projects that use food as a means to engage the community and educate underprivileged young adults about local food systems. The main question that the research addresses is: Why, and in what ways, are young adults appropriate agents for community revitalizing garden-based projects? Using open-ended interviews, field notes and observations, the research draws upon theories of food access, community development, social and environmental justice, and nontraditional education. The findings suggest that when young adults are involved in garden-based community projects, they are learning life skills, developing leadership, engaging in models of nontraditional education, and retaining perspectives of grass-roots community development. It is evident from the research and emerging themes that young adults desire to accept responsibility in their community. It is time to harness young people's energy, care, compassion, and dedication so that they can act as ambassadors to dispel the class-based ideologies of the current food systems, empowering underserved communities and celebrating youth's perspectives on food and place.

Rural students are underrepresented in higher education in Australia. At the same time, the workforce is rapidly transforming with the integration of digital processes into everyday work and life. Rural students are less digitally competent than urban students. Queensland, a largely regionalised state, has a high percentage of rural students. Using cultural capital as a framework, this research identifies family, community, school and digital media as influences on rural Queensland students' decisions to pursue higher education and their perceived value of digital media. Family plays the most significant role in the decision making process, while students' community and school also influence decisions and perceptions. Students' value of digital media depended somewhat on their intended career choice. Findings provide valuable new data around student influences towards higher education and digital media and suggest avenues to improve outreach programs targeting students in rural areas.

Relationship with the Divine is the core of Christianity and the professional concern of a number of ministries, including that of religious education. Knowledge about what God means to children and adolescents would be beneficial to teachers. However, research has provided little useful information in this area. Most research conducted so far has been quantitative in nature and does not uncover the lived experience or the participants' personal understandings of this phenomenon. The qualitative research that has been done focuses mainly on the range of concepts of God held by participants. It is concerned with uncovering some of the elements that lead to the formation of these concepts, and not with determining which concepts are meaningful to respondents. This study sought to discover the nature of the meaning of God for a group of senior secondary students at a metropolitan Catholic high school. It focussed on such issues as what God is to these adolescents, what concepts of God are meaningful to them, what mediates God to them, and what influence God has on their lives. The purpose of this study was to provide teachers with useful information that could help to guide them in their educational endeavours. The theoretical paradigm adopted was that of critical liberal feminist theology. The research methodology was that of phenomenography. The methods used for the collection of data were drawing, journalling, and the in-depth interview.

In this thesis, I focus on adolescent teens at Kingswood College High School, where I am currently employed as a student assistant in Grahamstown. I form part of a networked hierarchy at Kingswood College whereby I am expected to perform duties which require me to uphold discipline, forge respect and act as a mentor to students. Within this complex role I am mindful of the power dynamics within the school and my focus is on how the students at Kingswood College in some instances challenge them. Regulations in regard to uniforms and in regard to the arrangement of each learner’s belongings insist on the sublimation/sacrificing of an individual identity in favour of an institutional one. Thus tiny departures from those norms, slight transgressions, might be understood as small rebellions which the boarder stages against disciplinary structures and the conformity demanded of him or her. I am particularly interested in these transgressions. In this thesis I attempt to unravel the complexities associated with such idiosyncrasies and how they play out amongst adolescent teens.

This study focuses on the students who participate in acts of racism. The study examines the degree to which students who commit acts of racism and engage in cultural clashes are outsiders or nonparticipants in their schools as well as in their communities.

This chapter explores how an ongoing collaboration between a local university and an educational district within Queensland, Australia, has assisted educational professionals to better address the requirements of students with disabilities to transition successfully from high school to adulthood. The collaboration was a response to federal data that identified poor outcomes for students with disabilities and provided funding to improve these outcomes through school and system capacity-building. In Australia, there is a paucity of research into transition-focused education and postschool outcomes, a lack of research and technical assistance centers, poor professional preparation and development for teaching staff, and poor systemic structures to support this student population at school and in their early adult life. The study outlined here addresses this lack of research on school to adulthood transitions for students with disabilities and offers an example of implementing recommended practice to support transitions.

The game Journalist has established itself as one of the complex forms of intensive additional education, as a way of active and thoughtful acquaintance of high school students with the surrounding world. Participating in the game, adolescents visit modern enterprises as journalists, get acquainted with the problems and successes, specialists, peculiarities of the production of this enterprise, and as a result of this visit, they prepare real journalistic materials that are subsequently published in various media. The chapter describes the experience of playing in Latvia and Russia on the basis of a school, a university, the organization of additional education, the editorial offices of local media, and local self-government bodies; mechanisms of interaction with business during the preparation and conduct of the game; discusses the possible impact of the game on local life, the degree of its openness, public dialogue in solving pressing problems; and the establishment, through the game, of closer links between education and other spheres of public life in a city or region.

Literate demands on our youth today have become increasingly more complex due to a technological revolution, increased local diversity and a stronger connectedness with our global neighbours (New London Group, 1996). Contemporary classrooms are characterised by a diverse range of learners that come from different places, with different life world experiences and preferred ways of learning and knowing. Texts are no longer confined to print and comprehending texts involves understanding how different modes such as the audio, visual and spatial integrate to make meaning. Despite this, schools continue to measure and describe student’s literacy in relation to their ability to encode and decode print. The recent Program for International Student Assessment results (OECD, 2006) show that Australia has dropped from 5th ranking to 6th in the world in terms of reading literacy. More disturbing is the fact that this assessment showed a continuing widening gap in academic achievement between Australia’s Indigenous and non Indigenous students with very little improvement since 2000. Similarly in the United States recent literacy results show that despite some gains in the achievements of minority groups, there has been little narrowing in the gap between white students and minority students (Lee, Grigg et al., 2007). This chapter adopts a socio-cultural view of literacy and calls for a rethinking of what might count as literacy in school. It reports on a study which documented the literacy practices valued in the home community, community school and urban high school of seven Aboriginal students as they moved from Year 7 in their community school to Year 8 in their new urban high school (Rennie, Wallace et al. 2004). It discusses theoretical ideas related to a multiliteracies framework (Cope & Kalantzis, 2000), literacy as an act of translation (Somerville, 2006) and Aboriginal world views and knowledge (Martin, 2008) as a means to explore ways we might rethink the teaching of literacy in diverse and culturally rich classrooms.

The kind of environment you wish to establish in your classroom is an individual decision that is in part determined by your particular personality and what makes you feel most comfortable. Some teachers prefer a very relaxed environment while others prefer a more controlled environment. Regardless of which approach most appeals to you, you must consider what will be most effective in helping the majority of students to be attentive and productive during class time. In a studio class in which most students are college freshmen right out of high school, you may find it beneficial to keep a tighter rein on things since there seems to be a tendency for the atmosphere to escalate to noisy and chaotic if boundaries are not clearly established and adhered to. In a studio class in which the majority of students are older or more experienced, it will generally not be necessary to monitor things quite so closely. This reflects the simple fact that older students tend to be more mature and often take their studies more seriously. Of course this is a generalization that does not apply to all students, regardless of age or experience. You must gauge the situation and conduct yourself accordingly. Experience indicates that if the atmosphere is too unstructured, with a lot of noise and chatter unrelated to the work being pursued, it is difficult for students to concentrate and to maximize their learning experience. It is therefore a good idea to make it very clear when it is okay to be a bit more relaxed or playful and interactive with fellow students, and when it is time to buckle down and get to some serious work and maintain an atmosphere conducive to this. When working with a model in a life drawing course, certain guidelines should be followed to insure a mutually comfortable and respectful atmosphere for the students and the model. These guidelines are discussed in chapter two under “Classroom Etiquette for Working with a Nude Model.”

Now the whole life of a person has switched to online mode. These changes also affected the education system. This means the need to introduce new technologies into the educational process. Books, manuals, printed publications are being replaced by electronic educational resources. Providing up-to-date, verified information to students has always been and remains one of the most important functions of the teacher. Unfortunately, with the transition of training to the online mode, the teacher cannot use his literature when conducting classes. In this regard, there is a need to use electronic resources. On the one hand, the development of the global network implies the presence of a large number of a wide variety of sites, which cannot but be a positive aspect, because both the teacher and the student can independently choose a resource that will be most understandable. But on the other hand, the variety of Internet resources implies the presence of unverified, false information, which can negatively affect the quality of education. That is why it is necessary to analyze new information systems. The problem is the presence of a large number of information technologies and resources used in education. Purpose. The goal is to conduct a comparative analysis of educational electronic publications and resources most often used by teachers of the natural science cycle in terms of their fullness, accessibility and use in the educational process. Method or methodology of the work. The requirements for the organization of a comprehensive examination suggest an approach that includes an examination of technical and technological, psychological, pedagogical and design-ergonomic aspects of the creation and use of educational electronic publications and resources, in our work we were based precisely on generalized research methods: 1) Technical and technological expertise (technical component of the site, its position in the network). 2) Psychological and pedagogical expertise (component by the type of educational electronic publication or resource, level of education, type and form of the educational process, assessment of the content and scenario of the informatization tool). 3) Design-ergonomic expertise (assessment of the quality of interface components of educational electronic publications and resources, their compliance with uniform ergonomic, aesthetic and health-saving requirements; assessment of the quality of interface components of educational electronic editions and resources, their compliance with uniform ergonomic, aesthetic and health-saving requirements). Results. The main sites that are frequently used by teachers of the natural science cycle of disciplines are the Russian Textbook corporation, the Enlightenment group of companies, the Binom publishing house, the Digital Age School, the practical significance of the study is determined by the high level of readiness of the results obtained, during the study it was found that it is advisable to introduce an information-electronic educational site - the Russian textbook corporation - into the pedagogical practice of the implementation of natural science subjects. The advantages of this server were established and recommendations for its use in the educational process were developed. Practical implications: the results obtained are expedient to be applied in educational institutions of the Russian Federation.