African Parents as Partners in School Governance in South Africa?

Partnership in education is a global phenomenon, which is relatively new in the South African context. This is especially so in African communities, which pre-1994 did not have legitimate representation in education issues. This paper problematizes the phenomenon of school- parent partnership. The paper acknowledges that parental representation in the selected schools is in line with the prescriptions of South African Schools Act (SASA) 84 of 1996. This inclusion only refers to their numerical representation. When it comes to participation, however the parents seem to have positioned themselves as outsiders, as have educators. As a result, parents mostly rely on and rubber stamp whatever the educators have already decided. This study used the qualitative research approach through structured and semi structured interviews and documentary analysis to investigate how the partnership between parent SGB members and educators unfolds in school governance. From the findings it emerged that parent SGB members were mere pseudo partners in matters of policy development and implementation in the selected schools. As the government has enacted some progressive pieces of legislation such as SASA, this paper is calling for communities, especially Black African one to regroup and reclaim their place in education as they did, when they reclaimed their political freedom from the minority white regime pre- 1994. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n16p42

Knowledge, attitudes and practices of prevention of mother to child transmision of HIV among women in Laroo Division Gulu Municipality, Uganda

This study is exploring the knowledge, attitudes and practices of Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) among child bearing women aged between 15- 45 years old in Laroo division in Gulu municipality. The goal of the study was to determine the level of attitude as well as of knowledge and belief about PMTCT and proportion of women practicing it among the child bearing women of Laroo Division. The Cross-sectional and Descriptive study design was applied in multistage sampling method with random selection of a parish followed by random selection of a village within the parish from which a sample of homesteads was randomly selected. From each homesteads, a single respondent was randomly selected and registered in the study. Questionnaires were given to respondents that had consented to take part in the study. A total of 208 respondents were registered and interviewed in a period of February to march 2011. There were 165 (79.3%) of the mothers who had knowledge about various PMTCT methods. Of these 86(52%) heard about PMTCT first from hospital. 50 (30%) knew about exclusive breast feeding, while another 50(30%) use of ART, 45(27%) knew about replacement feedings and only 21(13%) knew of elective caesarean section as method of PMTCT. However the majority of the mothers 159(96.5%) thought that PMTCT was beneficial. Nevertheless some mothers thought that PMTCT causes various counter indications including infertility 17 (10.5%) and abnormalities in children at birth 27 (16.7). Their HIV serostatus also varied. Of the 135(81.7%) screened for HIV 42(31.2%) tested HIV positive and only 27 (64.2%) used contraceptives to prevent pregnancy while they were HIV positive. However of the correspondents who tested positive in their last HIV tests, the majority (83%) had had at least a pregnancy after testing HIV positive of which 6.8% did not practice PMTCT. Our study suggests evidence that Knowledge, attitude and practice of PMTCT among women of reproductive age in Laroo Division in Gulu municipality in Northern Uganda is adequate.Nevertheless with the infection rate of 31.2% among them points out that there is a substantial burden of HIV in the women community

A longitudinal comparison of emotional, behavioral and attention problems in autistic and typically developing children

Background Mental health problems are elevated in autistic individuals but there is limited evidence on the developmental course of problems across childhood. We compare the level and growth of anxious-depressed, behavioral and attention problems in an autistic and typically developing (TD) cohort. Methods Latent growth curve models were applied to repeated parent-report Child Behavior Checklist data from age 2–10 years in an inception cohort of autistic children (Pathways, N = 397; 84% boys) and a general population TD cohort (Wirral Child Health and Development Study; WCHADS; N = 884, 49% boys). Percentile plots were generated to quantify the differences between autistic and TD children. Results Autistic children showed elevated levels of mental health problems, but this was substantially reduced by accounting for IQ and sex differences between the autistic and TD samples. There was small differences in growth patterns; anxious-depressed problems were particularly elevated at preschool and attention problems at late childhood. Higher family income predicted lower base-level on all three dimensions, but steeper increase of anxious-depressed problems. Higher IQ predicted lower level of attention problems and faster decline over childhood. Female sex predicted higher level of anxious-depressed and faster decline in behavioral problems. Social-affect autism symptom severity predicted elevated level of attention problems. Autistic girls' problems were particularly elevated relative to their same-sex non-autistic peers. Conclusions Autistic children, and especially girls, show elevated mental health problems compared to TD children and there are some differences in predictors. Assessment of mental health should be integrated into clinical practice for autistic children

Evaluating Sex and Age Differences in ADI-R and ADOS Scores in a Large European Multi-site Sample of Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Research on sex-related differences in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has been impeded by small samples. We pooled 28 datasets from 18 sites across nine European countries to examine sex differences in the ASD phenotype on the ADI-R (376 females, 1763 males) and ADOS (233 females, 1187 males). On the ADI-R, early childhood restricted and repetitive behaviours were lower in females than males, alongside comparable levels of social interaction and communication difficulties in females and males. Current ADI-R and ADOS scores showed no sex differences for ASD severity. There were lower socio-communicative symptoms in older compared to younger individuals. This large European ASD sample adds to the literature on sex and age variations of ASD symptomatology

Social factors influencing child health in Ghana

Objectives Social factors have profound effects on health. Children are especially vulnerable to social influences, particularly in their early years. Adverse social exposures in childhood can lead to chronic disorders later in life. Here, we sought to identify and evaluate the impact of social factors on child health in Ghana. As Ghana is unlikely to achieve the Millennium Development Goals’ target of reducing child mortality by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015, we deemed it necessary to identify social determinants that might have contributed to the non-realisation of this goal. Methods ScienceDirect, PubMed, MEDLINE via EBSCO and Google Scholar were searched for published articles reporting on the influence of social factors on child health in Ghana. After screening the 98 articles identified, 34 of them that met our inclusion criteria were selected for qualitative review. Results Major social factors influencing child health in the country include maternal education, rural-urban disparities (place of residence), family income (wealth/poverty) and high dependency (multiparousity). These factors are associated with child mortality, nutritional status of children, completion of immunisation programmes, health-seeking behaviour and hygiene practices. Conclusions Several social factors influence child health outcomes in Ghana. Developing more effective responses to these social determinants would require sustainable efforts from all stakeholders including the Government, healthcare providers and families. We recommend the development of interventions that would support families through direct social support initiatives aimed at alleviating poverty and inequality, and indirect approaches targeted at eliminating the dependence of poor health outcomes on social factors. Importantly, the expansion of quality free education interventions to improve would-be-mother’s health knowledge is emphasised