A matching activity when entering higher education: ongoing guidance for the students or efficiency instrument for the school?

In order to lower dropout rates and stimulate student success in higher education, the Dutch government implemented a new law demanding that every higher education institute offer a matching activity to applying students. This article evaluates how students and teachers experience this matching activity. Data were collected in a Dutch university of applied sciences through questionnaire (students: n = 1711, teachers: n = 52) and interview research (students: n = 136, teachers, n = 36). Results provide insights into useful and improvable aspects of the matching procedure. It also reveals a tension related to a ‘conflicting perspective’: the matching activity can be used as a selection-oriented instrument or as a guidance instrument, which leads to different perceptions on the effectiveness of the instrument

Infant Development at the Age of 6 Months in Relation to Feeding Practices, Iron Status, and Growth in a Peri-Urban Community of South Africa

Background: Evidence on the association between feeding practices, iron deficiency, anaemia, stunting, and impaired psychomotor development during infancy is limited. This study assessed the association between psychomotor development with early feeding practices, growth, iron status, and anaemia. Methods: This was cross-sectional baseline data of a randomised controlled trial which included 6-month-old infants and their mothers or primary caregivers (n = 750) in a peri-urban community in the North West province of South Africa. The Kilifi Developmental Inventory and a parent rating scale were used to assess psychomotor development. Feeding practices and anthropometric measurements were based on the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines. Anaemia and iron status were determined by blood sample analysis. Results: Prevalence of anaemia and stunting for the infants were 36.4% and 28.5%, respectively. Multiple regression analysis showed that birth weight was related to combined psychomotor scores (β = −3.427 (−4.603, 1.891), p < 0.001), as well as parent rating scores (β = −0.843 (−1.507, −0.180), p = 0.013). Length-for-age z-scores were associated with combined psychomotor scores (β = −1.419 (−2.466, 0.373), p = 0.008), as well as parent rating scores (β = −0.747 (−1.483, −0.010), p = 0.047). Conclusions: In this setting, with high prevalence of anaemia and stunting, important associations between lower psychomotor development scores and birthweight as well as length-for-age z-scores in 6-month-old infants were found. These findings warrant further investigation to develop a greater understanding of factors influencing the association between child growth and psychomotor development within the first 1000 days of life

A Priori and a Posteriori Dietary Patterns among Pregnant Women in Johannesburg, South Africa: The NuPED Study

Dietary pattern analyses allow assessment of the diet as a whole. Limited studies include both a priori and a posteriori dietary pattern analyses. This study aimed to explore the diet of pregnant women in urban South Africa through both a priori and a posteriori dietary pattern analyses and associated maternal and household factors. Dietary data were collected during early pregnancy using a quantified food frequency questionnaire from 250 pregnant women enrolled in the Nutrition During Pregnancy and Early Development (NuPED) cohort. A priori dietary patterns were determined using the Diet Quality Index-International (DQI-I), and a posteriori nutrient patterns using exploratory factor analysis. Based on the DQI-I, the study population followed a borderline low-quality diet. Three a posteriori nutrient patterns were identified: Pattern 1 “plant protein, iron, thiamine, and folic acid”; pattern 2 “animal protein, copper, vitamin A, and vitamin B12”; pattern 3 “fatty acids and sodium”. Pattern 1 was associated with higher dietary quality (p < 0.001), lower maternal educational level (p = 0.03) and socioeconomic status (p < 0.001). Pattern 3 was significantly associated with lower dietary quality. The low dietary quality among pregnant women residing in urban South Africa should be addressed to ensure optimal maternal and offspring health outcomes