Students’ Choice of Schools for Their Children: Logistic Regression Analysis on Contributing Factors

School choice has been an issue in the education systems where parents are given the autonomy to select schools for their children. Previous research suggests that parental decisions are affected by demographic, financial, and value-related factors. This study investigated variables including: demographic and socio-economic background, motivation, quality of school curriculum, quality of school life, and classroom environment as factors contributing to secondary students’ choice of schools for their own children. The sample comprised 8,265 secondary students from 70 Catholic schools in New South Wales, Australia. Analysis of variance and logistic regression were used to identify contributing factors of school choice. Findings suggested that students’ expectations of schools, quality of school curriculum, quality of school life, and the classroom environments they experienced all contributed to their intention to send their own children to the same schools, after controlling for their background differences. On the other hand, students’ intentions were not affected by their gender, socio-economic backgrounds, or country of birth

Creating democratic class rooms in Asian contexts : the influences of individual and school level factors on open classroom climate

Abstract: Purpose: Literature indicates that open classroom climate (OCC) is a positive influence on civic outcomes. Few studies have explored factors that appear to facilitate OCC. Most research on OCC has focused on Western countries. The emphasis has been on individual student characteristics related to OCC with little attention made to school level effects. The purpose of the present study was to investigate both individual and school level influences on OCC using Asian student samples. Methodology: Data were drawn from the five Asian societies that participated in the 2009 International Civics and Citizenship Education Study. Multilevel regression analysis was used to test individual and school level relationships in the data. Findings: There were significant differences among the five societies with regard to student perceptions of OCC. At the individual level, results showed the importance of good student-teacher relationships, students’ discussion experiences outside school, and civic participating at school for promoting OCC. Civic knowledge and self-efficacy were positively related to OCC in four Asian societies. The roles of school level predictors differed from society to society, some predictors even working in the opposite direction. Different cultural contexts, local policies, and school system characteristics might account for these differences

Creating Democratic Class Rooms in Asian Contexts: The Influences of Individual and School Level Factors on Open Classroom Climate

Purpose: Literature indicates that open classroom climate (OCC) is a positive influence on civic outcomes. Few studies have explored factors that appear to facilitate OCC. Most research on OCC has focused on Western countries. The emphasis has been on individual student characteristics related to OCC with little attention made to school level effects. The purpose of the present study was to investigate both individual and school level influences on OCC using Asian student samples. Methodology: Data were drawn from the five Asian societies that participated in the 2009 International Civics and Citizenship Education Study. Multilevel regression analysis was used to test individual and school level relationships in the data.    Findings: There were significant differences among the five societies with regard to student perceptions of OCC. At the individual level, results showed the importance of good student-teacher relationships, students’ discussion experiences outside school, and civic participating at school for promoting OCC. Civic knowledge and self-efficacy were positively related to OCC in four Asian societies. The roles of school level predictors differed from society to society, some predictors even working in the opposite direction. Different cultural contexts, local policies, and school system characteristics might account for these differences

Implementation of Brain Breaks((R)) in the Classroom and Effects on Attitudes toward Physical Activity in a Macedonian School Setting

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of Brain Break((R)) activities on interest and motivation for physical activity among schoolchildren and the contribution of such activities on learning for health and holistic development. The study sample was comprised of 283 participants, primary school students from 3rd to 5th grades from two public schools in the Republic of Macedonia. Six experimental and six control groups were included in the study. Interventions in classroom settingsbased Brain Break((R)) video exercises were introduced in the experimental group during a period of three months. Students\u27 attitudes toward physical activity were tested using a self-report survey instrument entitled Attitudes toward Physical Activity Scale (APAS) before and after intervention. Applied factor analyses were completed and the results of these analysis support APAS validity and the successful use of this application in the measurement of the learning experience, self-awareness, self-efficacy, and self-confidence in developing physical fitness. Learning was enhanced by using video exercises. Information presented in this paper is meaningful for the promotion of better exercise habits and the holistic approach to better health by using personal motivation and motivation provided by others. The results from repeated ANCOVA suggest positive effects of the applied Brain Break((R)) video exercises as an interventional program. The study confirms the effect of application of Brain Break((R)) video exercises on children\u27s attitudes for physical activity, motivation for PA, internalization of movement habits as personal good

The Impact of Brain Breaks Classroom-Based Physical Activities on Attitudes toward Physical Activity in Polish School Children in Third to Fifth Grade

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the Brain Breaks® Physical Activity Solutions in changing attitudes toward physical activity of school children in a community in Poland. In 2015, a sample of 326 pupils aged 9–11 years old from 19 classes at three selected primary schools were randomly assigned to control and experimental groups within the study. During the classes, children in the experimental group performed physical activities two times per day in three to five minutes using Brain Breaks® videos for four months, while the control group did not use the videos during the test period. Students’ attitudes toward physical activities were assessed before and after the intervention using the “Attitudes toward Physical Activity Scale”. Repeated measures of ANOVA were used to examine the change from pre- to post-intervention. Overall, a repeated measures ANOVA indicated time-by-group interaction effects in ‘Self-efficacy on learning with video exercises’, F(1.32) = 75.28, p = 0.00, η2 = 0.19. Although the changes are minor, there were benefits of the intervention. It may be concluded that HOPSports Brain Breaks® Physical Activity Program contributes to better self-efficacy on learning while using video exercise of primary school children

Implementation of Brain Breaks® in the Classroom and Effects on Attitudes toward Physical Activity in a Macedonian School Setting.

peer reviewedThe purpose of this study was to explore the effects of Brain Break® activities on interest and motivation for physical activity among schoolchildren and the contribution of such activities on learning for health and holistic development. The study sample was comprised of 283 participants, primary school students from 3rd to 5th grades from two public schools in the Republic of Macedonia. Six experimental and six control groups were included in the study. Interventions in classroom settings-based Brain Break® video exercises were introduced in the experimental group during a period of three months. Students' attitudes toward physical activity were tested using a self-report survey instrument entitled "Attitudes toward Physical Activity Scale (APAS)" before and after intervention. Applied factor analyses were completed and the results of these analysis support APAS validity and the successful use of this application in the measurement of the learning experience, self-awareness, self-efficacy, and self-confidence in developing physical fitness. Learning was enhanced by using video exercises. Information presented in this paper is meaningful for the promotion of better exercise habits and the holistic approach to better health by using personal motivation and motivation provided by others. The results from repeated ANCOVA suggest positive effects of the applied Brain Break® video exercises as an interventional program. The study confirms the effect of application of Brain Break® video exercises on children's attitudes for physical activity, motivation for PA, internalization of movement habits as personal good

Brain Breaks Physical Activity Solutions® in higher education: Randomized controlled trial among Turkish university student

A substantial volume of empirical evidence exists regarding the positive effects of technology-supported physical activity (PA) solutions in school children. However, a lack of potential impact of these solutions in higher education settings exists. This study aimed to examine the effects of Brain Breaks PA Solutions® on university students’ attitudes toward PA. This study used a pre-test and post-test with a quasi-experimental design and convenience sampling. Students (n = 521) from seven different faculties of a public university in the Cappadocia region of Turkey volunteered as study participants and were randomly assigned to either experimental (n = 263) or control (n = 258) groups. During a 3-month intervention, the experimental groups received Brain Breaks PA Solutions® videos. Student attitudes toward PA were measured using the attitudes toward PA Scale (APAS) before and after the intervention. Repeated measures analysis of variance indicates a time interaction effect for PA benefits. Time-by-group interaction effects with varying effect sizes were found for most APAS variables with the greatest gain noted in the experimental groups for fun, followed by learning from the videos, and self-efficacy (P < 0.05). This study provides evidence that technology-supported PA programs in higher education settings positively impact students’ attitudes toward PA

Using Brain-Breaks® as a Technology Tool to Increase Attitude towards Physical Activity among Students in Singapore.

peer reviewedThe purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of classroom-based Brain Breaks® Physical Activity Solution in Southeast Asia Singaporean primary school students and their attitude towards physical activity (PA) over a ten-week intervention. A total of 113 participants (8-11 years old) were randomly assigned to either an experimental (EG) or a control group (CG), with six classes to each group; the Brain Breaks® group (EG: six classes) and the Control group (CG: six classes). All EG members participated in a Brain Breaks® video intervention (three-five min) during academic classes and the CG continued their lessons as per normal. The student's attitudes towards PA in both research conditions were evaluated using the self-reported Attitudes toward Physical Activity Scale (APAS), applied before and after intervention. The effects of the intervention on APAS scores were analysed using a mixed model analysis of variance with Time as within-subject and Group as between-subject factors. The analysis revealed evidence in support of the positive effect of classroom video interventions such as Brain Breaks® on student's attitudes toward benefits, importance, learning, self-efficacy, fun, fitness, and trying to do their personal best in PA. The Brain Breaks® intervention provided a positive significant impact on students in Singapore. This study also revealed that interactive technology tools implemented into the school curriculum benefit students in terms of health and education

Brain Breaks® Physical Activity Solutions in the Classroom and on Attitudes toward Physical Activity: A Randomized Controlled Trial among Primary Students from Eight Countries.

peer reviewedClassroom-based physical activity (PA) interventions have received considerable attention due to improvements seen in academic achievement, classroom behaviors, and attitude toward PA. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Brain Breaks® Physical Activity Solutions in changing children's attitudes toward PA. Students (N = 3036) aged 8-11 years from schools in Croatia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, South Africa, and Turkey were randomly assigned to either a control or an experimental group. The experimental group received Brain Breaks® videos during classroom sessions throughout the four months of intervention. Student attitudes toward PA were measured using the Attitudes toward Physical Activity Scale (APAS) before and after the intervention. Repeated measures ANOVA indicated a time interaction effect for all APAS variables except fitness. Time-by-group interaction effects with different effect sizes were found for most APAS variables, with the greatest gain effect noted in the experimental group for self-efficacy, followed by learning from the videos concerning PA benefits, exercise importance, and enjoyment from engaging in PA. This study provides evidence supporting Brain Breaks® in terms of learning experience, attitudes towards PA, and personal motivation. Using exercise videos is recommended as an interactive, technology-based PA solution that can be easily integrated into the school setting

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries