Teaching Indigenous children : listening to and learning from indigenous teachers

This article is based on the findings of a qualitative case study that examined the professional experiences and career pathways of fifty current and former Australian Indigenous teachers. Here, we draw on data obtained from semi-structured interviews with the teachers to highlight their knowledge in three key areas: ‘Indigenous ways of knowing’, ‘Indigenous learners’ lives beyond the classroom’ and ‘Building relationships with Indigenous students and communities’. We suggest that Indigenous teachers can potentially play important roles as teacher educators and as mentors to non-Indigenous teachers and preservice teachers. We argue that it is important for schooling systems and teacher education to create and formalise opportunities for non-Indigenous teachers and preservice teachers to listen to, and learn from their Indigenous colleagues

Children's television viewing and objectively measured physical activity: associations with family circumstance

BACKGROUND: The contribution of family circumstance to physical activity and television viewing has not been widely investigated in pre-adolescents, and available information is inconsistent. This study examines whether television viewing and objectively measured physical activity vary by different indicators of family circumstance. METHODS: Data from the 2001 Children's Leisure Activity Study and the 2002/3 Health, Eating and Play Study, involving Australian children in Grades Prep (mean age 6y) and 5–6 (mean age 11y), were combined. Children wore accelerometers for six consecutive 24 hour periods. Average min/day in low-intensity activity (1.0–1.9 METs) and moderate-to-vigorous-intensity activity (≥3 METs) were calculated. Parents reported children's television viewing and family circumstance. Linear regression analyses were conducted separately for young girls, young boys, older girls and older boys. RESULTS: Complete data were available for 2458 children. Parental education and, to a lesser extent, employment level were inversely associated with television viewing. Children in single-parent families, those whose fathers were not in paid employment, and those without siblings tended to spend more time in low-intensity activity than their peers. Children with siblings spent more time in moderate-to-vigorous-intensity activity; associations were stronger for girls. Maternal education was positively associated with moderate-to-vigorous-intensity activity for younger children. Maternal employment was positively associated with moderate-to-vigorous-intensity activity for older children. Multivariable models did not demonstrate a cumulative explanatory effect. CONCLUSION: Individual measures of family circumstance were differentially associated with television, low-intensity activity and moderate-to-vigorous-intensity activity and associations were often not consistent across age-by-gender groups. Interventions may need to be tailored accordingly

Parental concerns about childhood obesity and the strategies employed to prevent unhealthy weight gain in children.

Objectives: To describe parental concerns about their child&rsquo;s weight, to determine the proportion of parents taking preventive action to avoid obesity in their children and the predictors of taking preventive action, and to describe the strategies adopted by parents.Design: A cross-sectional survey was conducted. Children&rsquo;s heights and weights were measured, and parents completed a questionnaire that included measures of their own weight status, perceptions of their child&rsquo;s weight, concerns about their child&rsquo;s current weight and future weight as an adolescent and adult, and the strategies used to prevent obesity.Setting: The study was conducted in Melbourne, Australia.Subjects: A total of 291 families of children aged 5&ndash;6 years and 919 families of children aged 10&ndash;12 years participated.Results: Eighty-nine per cent of parents of overweight 5&ndash;6-year-olds and 63% of parents of overweight 10&ndash;12-year-olds were unaware their child was overweight. Seventy-one per cent of parents of overweight 5&ndash;6-year-olds and 43% of parents of overweight 10&ndash;12-year-olds were not concerned about their child&rsquo;s current weight. Although 31% of parents of 5&ndash;6-year-olds and 43% of parents of 10&ndash;12-year-olds were taking action to prevent unhealthy weight gain in their children, less-educated parents were less likely to do so.Conclusions: Public health programmes are required to raise parental recognition of childhood overweight and of related risk behaviours, and to provide parents with practical strategies to prevent unhealthy weight gain in their children.<br /

School closures and children’s emotional and behavioural difficulties

School closures have been one of the most dramatic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on society. Concerns about the impact of school closures on children’s learning were raised early on in the pandemic and work continues to mitigate lost learning. There is also widespread concern about the detrimental impact of the pandemic on children’s mental wellbeing, but there are likely to be a number of mechanisms at work here, including parents’ employment situation, anxiety about relatives’ health and social isolation. In this briefing note we specifically examine the role of school closures in England on the emotional and behavioural wellbeing of children aged 5-11, as measured by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) in the UK Household Longitudinal Study. We make use of the fact that in England certain primary school year groups (Reception, Year 1 and Year 6) were prioritised to return to school after the first lockdown from 1 June 2020, while in other year groups rates of return were much lower and often only vulnerable children and children of key workers were able to attend school. This allows us to assess how emotional and behavioural difficulties changed from pre-pandemic levels for children who were prioritised to return to school, compared to those who were not, after accounting for ways in which the two groups may differ, including age. Data collected in late July enables us to assess the short term effect of missing out on up to an additional six weeks of schooling – on top of the schooling all children missed between March and May – on children’s emotional and behavioural difficulties. Data collected in late September allows us to assess whether the effect of these different school experiences during the second half of the summer term persists once all year groups had returned to face-to-face teaching in the new academic year

Five-year changes in school recess and lunchtime and the contribution to children’s daily physical activity

Objective To investigate the longitudinal changes in children\u27s recess and lunchtime physical activity levels and in the contribution of recess and lunchtime to daily physical activity levels over 5 years among 5&ndash;6- and 10&ndash;12-year olds.Methods Data were drawn from two longitudinal studies that were conducted in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. Boys and girls (n=2782) aged 5&ndash;6 years and 10&ndash;12 years participated in baseline (T0) measures. Physical activity (n=2490) was measured every 60 s for eight consecutive days using hip-mounted accelerometry. Subsequent measurements were taken at 3-year (T1; n=773) and 5-year (T2; n=634) follow-up. Physical activity intensities were derived using age-adjusted cut-points. Sedentary time was defined as 100 counts/min. Longitudinal data were analysed using three-level (time, child, school) multilevel analyses, stratified by sex and cohort, and adjusted for potential confounding variables.Results Significant decreases in recess and lunchtime moderate and vigorous physical activity were observed (p&lt;0.001), with larger decreases occurring in the older cohort. Associated increases were observed in sedentary time over time (p&lt;0.01). Although the contribution of recess to daily moderate intensity physical activity increased in the younger cohort over time (p&lt;0.001), significant decreases were observed in the older cohort (p&lt;0.001).Conclusion Physical activity levels during recess and lunchtime decreased in both cohorts over time. Decreases in the contribution of recess and lunchtime to older children\u27s daily physical activity were also observed. Interventions are needed in both primary and secondary schools to promote physical activity levels during recess and lunchtime, particularly during the early years of secondary school.<br /

Understanding determinants of nutrition, physical activity and quality of life among older adults : the Wellbeing, Eating and Exercise for a Long Life (WELL) study

Background : Nutrition and physical activity are major determinants of health and quality of life; however, there exists little research focusing on determinants of these behaviours in older adults. This is important, since just as these behaviours vary according to subpopulation, it is likely that the determinants also vary. An understanding of the modifiable determinants of nutrition and physical activity behaviours among older adults to take into account the specific life-stage context is required in order to develop effective interventions to promote health and well-being and prevent chronic disease and improve quality of life. Methods : The aim of this work is to identify how intrapersonal, social and environmental factors influence nutrition and physical activity behaviours among older adults living in urban and rural areas. This study is a cohort study of adults aged 55-65 years across urban and rural Victoria, Australia. Participants completed questionnaires at baseline in 2010 and will complete follow-up questionnaires in 2012 and 2014. Self-report questionnaires will be used to assess outcomes such as food intake, physical activity and sedentary behaviours, anthropometry and quality of life. Explanatory variables include socioeconomic position, and measures of the three levels of influence on older adults\u27 nutrition and physical activity behaviours (intrapersonal, social and perceived environmental influences). Discussion : Obesity and its determinant behaviours, physical inactivity and poor diet are major public health concerns and are significant determinants of the quality of life among the ageing population. There is a critical need for a better understanding of the determinants of nutrition and physical activity in this important target group. This research will provide evidence for the development of effective policies and programs to promote and support increased physical activity and healthy eating behaviours among older adults. <br /