Improving Outcomes for Refugee Children: A case study on the impact of Montessori education along the Thai-Burma border

There are 25 million displaced children worldwide, and those receiving schooling are often educated in overcrowded classrooms. Montessori is a child-centred educational method that provides an alternative model to traditional educational approaches. In this model, students are able to direct their own learning and develop at their own pace, working with materials rather than in supervised groups or with direct teacher instruction. Because most children are working alone, teachers have more time to work one-on-one with children even when student-teacher ratios are quite large. This gives teachers increased opportunity to tailor their teaching to the specific needs and strengths of each student. We conducted an evaluation of Montessori classroom conversion for displaced students on the Thai-Myanmar border. We administered the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) to 66 children before and after classroom conversion and across treatment and control classroom conditions. We then conducted difference in difference testing. All domains showed meaningful improvements in ASQ scores, with the Montessori students gaining 18 points relative to the traditional students (p = 0.33). However, only the personal-social domain of the ASQ was statistically significant (8.8 point gain for the Montessori students relative to the control, p < 0.05) in our underpowered sample

Predictors of Health Among Refugee Adults from Myanmar and the Development of Their Children

The objective of this study is to attempt to understand predictors of health among adult migrants from Myanmar to Thailand and predictors of development among their children. EQ5D5L scores and sociodemographic data were obtained among adult household members of children from two schools on the Thai/Myanmar border. Children were administered Ages and Stages questionnaires (ASQs). OLS and logistic regressions were used to examine predictors (e.g., witnessing gunfire) of various outcome measures (e.g., ASQ scores among children). In logistic regression analyses, maternal literacy proved to be a very strong predictor of the child’s ASQ communication [17 ASQ points out of 60; 95 % confidence interval (CI) 3, 31 points], problem solving (25 points; 95 % CI 4, 45 points), and social skills (12 points; 95 % CI 1, 23 points) scores. A lower number of habitants/room predicted significantly better dentition among children [odds ratio (OR) 1.08, 95 % CI 1.01, 1.67] and better social skills on the child’s ASQ (12 points; 95 % CI 1, 23 points). Appliance ownership was a weak predictor of adult health, with those who own a refrigerator having about an 8 % higher score on the EQ5D5L (1.08; 95 % CI 1.01, 1.16). Finally, parents who witnessed gunfire tended to have children with ASQ scores that were 14 points lower than average in problem solving (95 % CI −24, −4). Maternal education programs may have a very large impact on the development of their children. However, identifying those households at greatest need of resources is not a simple task, and will require a more complete census of communities at risk

Anderson-type Polyoxometalates Functionalized by a New Class of Organic Photochromic Molecule

International audienc

Drastic solid-state luminescence color tuning of an archetypal Ir( iii ) complex using polyoxometalates and its application as a vapoluminescence chemosensor

International audienc

Etude des particules solides inorganiques en atmosphere urbaine

SIGLECNRS-CDST / INIST-CNRS - Institut de l'Information Scientifique et TechniqueFRFranc