Aptitude test, socio-economic background and secondary school selection: the possibilities and limits of change

A group of verbal reasoning questions, of the type often used in intelligence tests, were included in the English paper of the Kenya secondary school selection examination (C.P.E. - Certificate of Primary Education) from 1971, and from 1974 scientific reasoning questions were included in the general paper. In early 1974 a full-scale item analysis of the 1973 selection paper was made. This paper presents some results from the analysis carried out for the years 1973 to 1976 of the English paper and the science section of the general paper. The scores of pupils from Nairobi high-cost primary schools and from rural low-cost schools are compared. Three interesting results of this analysis are presented and some possible explanations offered. For one thing, pupils from the Nairobi high-cost schools perform up to 70 per cent better on English items testing knowledge of specialised words, expressions and idioms, whereas in the science paper, descriptive items testing knowledge of specialised and technical terms produce a mean difference of less than 12 per cent. Secondly, the verbal reasoning items in the English paper give the Nairobi high-cost pupils a smaller advantage than the achievement items; whereas in science, the reasoning items give a bigger advantage than the descriptive and explanatory items. Finally, the observation items in the science paper produce an especially large performance gap between the two types of schools. These and other results suggest that the huge performance advantage enjoyed by Nairobi high-cost pupils in the English paper can be ascribed entirely to two sources: first, their greater familiarity with the language, and second, the superior quality of the teaching they receive. In both papers, questions which test higher-level intellectual skills, such as the ability to reason, are particularly sensitive to the effects of teacher quality, rather than reflecting the innate capacity of the pupils

The Kenya functional literacy programme: an evaluation

This paper presents the results of an evaluation of the Kenya Functional Literacy Programme, conducted on an experimental basis in six divisions (counties) in different parts of the country as part of the Special Rural Development Programme. The main problem with the literacy programme may be that it is too ambitious. Through the same set of texts it attempts to achieve three goals: first, the attainment of literacy, second, knowledge of the Swahili language, and third, knowledge of practical facts about agriculture, health and household management. By not establishing a priority order among these objectives, the programme risks failing to attain any of them. Little advantage is taken of the fact that Swahili, unlike English, is a phonetic language in which sounds are connected to written symbols in a rational and consistent manner. Students are not systematically taught the sound-values for each symbol, so they acquire only slowly the knowledge and skill needed to tackle the reading of new words for themselves. Instead, throughout the course each new word is learned first as a whole, by rote-memorisation. The period in which students remain intellectually dependent on their teachers is thus prolonged. An alternative teaching method based on the rapid breaking down of a few well-known and meaningful generative words into their simplest components is suggested. Virtually no account is taken of the fact that for most learners Swahili is a little-known second language. The order in which new words are introduced bears little relationship to their linguistic or phonetic difficulty. Forgetting of new words thus tends to be rapid. The information and advice given in the booklets about farming is sometimes inconsistent with existing knowledge, and often fails to take into account the constraints under which low-income families in Kenya live. If the new information to which learners are exposed is not both accurate and relevant, very little of what is taught will lead to permanent behaviour changes

A qualitative study of a food intervention in a primary school: Pupils as agents of change.

This study explored the impact of a school-based kitchen project at a large inner London school. Timetabled kitchen classroom sessions (90 min every fortnight) were held with all 7-9 year old pupils. Semi-structured focus group discussions (with 76 pupils, 16 parents) and interviews (with headteachers, catering managers and specialist staff) were conducted at the intervention school and a matched control school. Categories and concepts were derived using a grounded theory approach. Data analysis provided three main categories each with their related concepts: Pupil factors (enthusiasm and enjoyment of cooking, trying new foods, food knowledge and awareness, producing something tangible); School factors (learning and curriculum links, resource implications and external pressures) and Home factors (take home effects, confidence in cooking and self-esteem, parents' difficulties cooking at home with children). Children's engagement and the opportunity to cook supported increased food awareness, skills and food confidence. In the grounded theory that emerged, take home effects beyond the school gate dominate, as children act as agents of change and influence cooking and food choice at home. These short term outcomes have the potential to lead to longer term outcomes including changing eating behaviour and diet

Witchcraft and the Somerset idyll : The depiction of folk belief in Walter Raymond’s novels

The work of Walter Raymond (1852-1931) is now largely forgotten. Yet his Somerset novels, complemented by his ethnographic writings, contain depictions of local witchcraft belief that are worthy of study in literary and historical contexts. They raise issues regarding the fictional depiction of rural life and tradition, and the value of fiction as a folkloric and historical sourcePeer reviewe

Informing the design of a national screening and treatment programme for chronic viral hepatitis in primary care: qualitative study of at-risk immigrant communities and healthcare professionals

n Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise statedThis paper presents independent research funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) under the Programme Grants for Applied Research programme (RP-PG-1209-10038).

Sugar sweetened beverage consumption by Australian children: Implications for public health strategy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>High consumption of sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) has been linked to unhealthy weight gain and nutrition related chronic disease. Intake of SSB among children remains high in spite of public health efforts to reduce consumption, including restrictions on marketing to children and limitations on the sale of these products in many schools. Much extant literature on Australian SSB consumption is out-dated and lacks information on several key issues. We sought to address this using a contemporary Australian dataset to examine purchase source, consumption pattern, dietary factors, and demographic profile of SSB consumption in children.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data were from the 2007 Australian National Children's Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey, a representative random sample of 4,834 Australian children aged 2-16 years. Mean SSB intake by type, location and source was calculated and logistic regression models were fitted to determine factors associated with different levels of consumption.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>SSB consumption was high and age-associated differences in patterns of consumption were evident. Over 77% of SSB consumed was purchased via supermarkets and 60% of all SSB was consumed in the home environment. Less than 17% of SSB was sourced from school canteens and fast food establishments. Children whose parents had lower levels of education consumed more SSB on average, while children whose parents had higher education levels were more likely to favour sweetened juices and flavoured milks.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>SSB intake by Australian children remains high and warrants continued public health attention. Evidence based and age-targeted interventions, which also recognise supermarkets as the primary source of SSB, are recommended to reduce SSB consumption among children. Additionally, education of parents and children regarding the health consequences of high consumption of both carbonated and non-carbonated SSBs is required.</p