Addressing Discipline Equity: The Inclusive Skill-Building Learning Approach (ISLA) an Alternative to Exclusionary Discipline

Exclusionary discipline practices are frequently utilized in schools despite decades of research indicating their ineffectiveness (American Psychological Association Zero Tolerance Task Force, 2008; Losen & Skiba, 2010; Muñiz 2021). Research shows that removing students from the classroom does not change student behavior, is administered disproportionately to historically marginalized and minoritized groups, and is linked to the school-to-prison pipeline and lower academic achievement (Barnes & Motz, 2018; Losen & Martinez, 2020; Noltemeyer et al., 2015). This study explores the impact of the Inclusive Skill-Building Learning Approach (ISLA), an instructional and restorative alternative to exclusionary discipline practices, on discipline disproportionality. Pre-intervention, implementation, and post-intervention discipline data for 6th through 8th grade students were collected to understand the relation between ISLA and disproportional discipline data by race and gender. The findings suggest that ISLA is an effective tool for reducing overall in-school and out-of-school suspension rates as well as the risk indices for out-of-school suspensions for students of color, yet there is still a need for intervention adaptations to address specific disparities in exclusionary discipline practices. Research findings, study limitations, and implications and directions for future research and practice are further discussed.Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, Grant R305A18000

Examining the Social Validity of a Universal Intervention for Reducing Exclusionary Discipline through Stakeholder Voice

45 pagesExclusionary disciplinary practices are utilized in schools despite limited benefits and associated negative student outcomes. Alternative strategies, such as Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, reduce exclusionary discipline practices, though research is limited in secondary settings. This study examines how student and school staff input was utilized throughout the iterative refinement of the Inclusive Skill-building Learning Approach (ISLA), an intervention to reduce exclusionary discipline practices in middle school through instructional and restorative practices. Intentional stakeholder involvement was hypothesized to impact acceptability and fidelity of implementation, critical for achieving intervention outcomes. Data across a two-year mixed methods approach indicate that engaging stakeholders throughout implementation enhanced fidelity. Quantitative findings demonstrate better understanding of stakeholder experiences. Implications for practice, limitations, and suggestions for future research are discussed.Grant R305A180006, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Educatio

Sustainable Development, Youth, Entrepreneurship and Leadership Education: A Case Study of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Young African Leaders Initiative

Entrepreneurship education has emerged as an alternative to traditional models of sustainable development in Sub-Sahara Africa. Traditional development models focus on economic reforms. In contrast, Amartya Sen’s capabilities approach to development emphasizes the importance of entitlements, choice, freedom, and addressing social and institutional conditions that facilitate development. This is a case study on a similar program, the Mandela Washington Fellowship (MWF) for Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), in the business and entrepreneurship track. The objective is to examine the impact of MWF on participants in developing entrepreneurial and leadership skills, which has the potential to contribute to the overall growth and development of their communities. This research assesses the effectiveness of entrepreneurship and leadership education programs in successfully developing practical skills among participants. Further goal is to examine the links between sustainable development, entrepreneurship and leadership training programs, in the context of Sen’s capabilities approach to development in Sub-Sahara Africa

Quality of life of COVID-19 recovered patients: a 1-year follow-up study from Bangladesh

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic posed a danger to global public health because of the unprecedented physical, mental, social, and environmental impact affecting quality of life (QoL). The study aimed to find the changes in QoL among COVID-19 recovered individuals and explore the determinants of change more than 1 year after recovery in low-resource settings. Methods COVID-19 patients from all eight divisions of Bangladesh who were confirmed positive by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction from June 2020 to November 2020 and who subsequently recovered were followed up twice, once immediately after recovery and again 1 year after the first follow-up. The follow-up study was conducted from November 2021 to January 2022 among 2438 individuals using the World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF). After excluding 48 deaths, 95 were rejected to participate, 618 were inaccessible, and there were 45 cases of incomplete data. Descriptive statistics, paired-sample analyses, generalized estimating equation (GEE) analysis, and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to test the mean difference in participants’ QoL scores between the two interviews. Results Most participants (n = 1710, 70.1%) were male, and one-fourth (24.4%) were older than 46. The average physical domain score decreased significantly from baseline to follow-up, and the average scores in psychological, social, and environmental domains increased significantly at follow-up (P < 0.05). By the GEE equation approach, after adjusting for other factors, we found that older age groups (P < 0.001), being female (P < 0.001), having hospital admission during COVID-19 illness (P < 0.001), and having three or more chronic diseases (P < 0.001), were significantly associated with lower physical and psychological QoL scores. Higher age and female sex [adjusted odd ratio (aOR) = 1.3, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.0–1.6] were associated with reduced social domain scores on multivariable logistic regression analysis. Urban or semi-urban people were 49% less likely (aOR = 0.5, 95% CI 0.4–0.7) and 32% less likely (aOR = 0.7, 95% CI 0.5–0.9) to have a reduced QoL score in the psychological domain and the social domain respectively, than rural people. Higher-income people were more likely to experience a decrease in QoL scores in physical, psychological, social, and environmental domains. Married people were 1.8 times more likely (aOR = 1.8, 95% CI 1.3–2.4) to have a decreased social QoL score. In the second interview, people admitted to hospitals during their COVID-19 infection showed a 1.3 times higher chance (aOR = 1.3, 95% CI 1.1–1.6) of a decreased environmental QoL score. Almost 13% of participants developed one or more chronic diseases between the first and second interviews. Moreover, 7.9% suffered from reinfection by COVID-19 during this 1-year time. Conclusions The present study found that the QoL of COVID-19 recovered people improved 1 year after recovery, particularly in psychological, social, and environmental domains. However, age, sex, the severity of COVID-19, smoking habits, and comorbidities were significantly negatively associated with QoL. Events of reinfection and the emergence of chronic disease were independent determinants of the decline in QoL scores in psychological, social, and physical domains, respectively. Strong policies to prevent and minimize smoking must be implemented in Bangladesh, and we must monitor and manage chronic diseases in people who have recovered from COVID-19. Graphical Abstrac