The effects of changes in the order of verbal labels and numerical values on children's scores on attitude and rating scales

Research with adults has shown that variations in verbal labels and numerical scale values on rating scales can affect the responses given. However, few studies have been conducted with children. The study aimed to examine potential differences in children’s responses to Likert-type rating scales according to their anchor points and scale direction, and to see whether or not such differences were stable over time. 130 British children, aged 9 to 11, completed six sets of Likert-type rating scales, presented in four different ways varying the position of positive labels and numerical values. The results showed, both initially and 8-12 weeks later, that presenting a positive label or a high score on the left of a scale led to significantly higher mean scores than did the other variations. These findings indicate that different arrangements of rating scales can produce different results which has clear implications for the administration of scales with children

Editorial: Learning in times of COVID-19: students', families', and educators' perspectives

Whilst writing this editorial, we are looking back at almost 2 years of crisis due to the COVID-19-pandemic. From a first unprecedented lockdown in March 2020, after the first cases of this new virus disease were detected, to a series of more lockdowns, and hygiene regulations, it seems worthwhile to summarize findings that shed light on the situation of the education system. The present special issue on “Learning in times of COVID-19: Students', Families', and Educators' Perspectives” contains a collection of international empirical papers that analyze the situation of schoolteachers, pupils, university teachers, students, children, and parents. It offers insights into the situations of countries that had comparatively mild measures in place (e.g., Switzerland; cf. Garrote et al.; Helm and Huber) to countries that imposed weeks-long national lockdowns that completely isolated the country (such as Australia; cf. Martin et al.). Worldwide, parents had to juggle working from home while homeschooling or watching their children at the same time. Teachers and pupils had to move lessons online and get used to remote teaching formats. The same happened to university teachers and students around the world. Now, there is a generation of young people who have hardly seen their educational institution from the inside for the past 2 years and who, not to mention, suffered from severe contact restrictions that, in some cases, led to extreme social isolation. All of this was embedded in a situation of uncertainty regarding how the crisis would develop. The current special issue includes 40 research articles from all over the world that examined consequences of the pandemic in the educational context from multiple perspectives. Below, we present the articles according to four themes, pertaining to the situation of families, pupils, teachers and schools, and university students

Photovoice as a research method with children

Hintergrund: Körperliche Aktivität ist ein wichtiger Schlüssel zur Reduktion Public-Health-relevanter Erkrankungen. Zur Entwicklung effektiver Gesundheitsförderung ist ein partizipativer Einbezug der Zielgruppe erforderlich. Dennoch ist gerade in Deutschland die Forschung mit Kindern noch randständig. Ziel dieser Studie ist es, am Beispiel der Bedürfnisse von Kindern in Bezug auf die Förderung ihrer Nahmobilität, die Methode Photovoice zu erproben und weiterzuentwickeln. Methode: Drittklässler*innen (n= 18) fotografierten maximal fünf Situationen oder Gegenstände im Rahmen ihrer eigenen Nahmobilität in einem Zeitraum von zwei Tagen. Auf Basis dieser Fotos wurden vier Gruppeninterviews mit vier bis fünf Kindern leitfadengestützt durchgeführt. Die transkribierten Interviews wurden in Anlehnung an die qualitative Inhaltsanalyse nach Mayring analysiert. Zudem wurde die Forschungsmethode von den Teilnehmer*innen mit Ratingskalen eingeschätzt. Ergebnisse: Photovoice verhalf den Kindern bei der Erarbeitung und Darlegung eigener Relevanzen. Gruppeninterviews führten mit Hilfe der Fotos zu gemeinsamer Generierung von Lösungen sowie Diskussionen über die Fotos hinaus. Allerdings ist ein hohes Maß an Flexibilität, zeitlicher Ressourcen sowie Empathie erforderlich. Fazit: Die Studie zeigt, dass die Methode Photovoice geeignet ist, um kindliche Perspektiven zu erfassen und damit neue Erkenntnisse zu generieren. Sie sollte verfeinert sowie weiter ausgebaut werden, indem die Ergebnisse zu einer Präsentation für Entscheidungsträger aggregiert werden. (c) Springer-Verlag GmbH German