WASH in Schools Empowers Girls' Education: Proceedings of the Menstrual Hygiene Management in Schools Virtual Conference 2013

This publication brings together the key elements of the 16 presentations made at the Second Annual Virtual MHM in WinS Conference at UNICEF Headquarters in New York City on 21 November 2013. Building on recommendations from the MHM 2012 virtual conference, the 2013 conference focused on the research tools and instruments being used to explore MHM barriers and practices and to evaluate the interventions being trialed or implemented in various contexts

Bullying in school and cyberspace: Associations with depressive symptoms in Swiss and Australian adolescents

Background Cyber-bullying (i.e., bullying via electronic means) has emerged as a new form of bullying that presents unique challenges to those victimised. Recent studies have demonstrated that there is a significant conceptual and practical overlap between both types of bullying such that most young people who are cyber-bullied also tend to be bullied by more traditional methods. Despite the overlap between traditional and cyber forms of bullying, it remains unclear if being a victim of cyber-bullying has the same negative consequences as being a victim of traditional bullying. Method The current study investigated associations between cyber versus traditional bullying and depressive symptoms in 374 and 1320 students from Switzerland and Australia respectively (52% female; Age: M = 13.8, SD = 1.0). All participants completed a bullying questionnaire (assessing perpetration and victimisation of traditional and cyber forms of bullying behaviour) in addition to scales on depressive symptoms. Results Across both samples, traditional victims and bully-victims reported more depressive symptoms than bullies and non-involved children. Importantly, victims of cyber-bullying reported significantly higher levels of depressive symptoms, even when controlling for the involvement in traditional bullying/victimisation. Conclusions Overall, cyber-victimisation emerged as an additional risk factor for depressive symptoms in adolescents involved in bullying

Developmental trajectories of adolescent victimization: predictors and outcomes

Chronic victimization negatively affects mental health, making it crucial to understand the key predictive social health (e.g., loneliness, isolation) factors. Evidence suggests that the effects of victimization are worse over the transition from primary to secondary school. Longitudinal data from 1810 students transitioning were used to identify victimization trajectory groups, classified as low increasing, low stable, medium stable, and not bullied. Adolescents with poorer social health were more likely to be in the increasing and stable victimized group than in the not bullied group. Students in the low increasing victimized group had poorer mental health outcomes than those in the stable and not bullied groups. The results of this study have important implications for the type and timing of school-based interventions aimed at reducing victimization and the harms caused by long-term exposure

Internalising symptoms: An antecedent or precedent in adolescent peer victimisation?

The transition period from primary to secondary school is a critical time in adolescent development. The high prevalence of adolescent mental health problems makes understanding the causal pathways between peer victimisation and internalising symptoms an important priority during this time. This article utilises data collected from self-completion questionnaires four times over 3 years from 3,459 students’ aged 11–14 to examine directional relationships among adolescents as they transition from primary to secondary school, and investigates gender differences in these associations. The findings suggest depression in males is both a precedent and antecedent for victimisation over the transition period, whereas for females depression is an antecedent only. Anxiety is a both a precedent and antecedent for victimisation for males and females. To maintain emotional wellbeing and prevent peer victimisation, interventions prior to and during this transition period are critical, especially among adolescents experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety

Adolescent Bully-victims: Social health and the transition to secondary school

This study aimed to investigate the causal pathways and factors associated with being involved in bullying behaviour as a bully-victim using longitudinal data from students aged 11-14 years over the transition time from primary to secondary school. Examination of bully-victim pathways suggest a critical time to intervene is prior to transition from the end of primary school to the beginning of secondary school to prevent and reduce the harm from bullying. Negative outcome expectancies from bullying perpetration were a significant predictor of being a bully-victim at the end of the first year of secondary school. The findings show an association between peer support, connectedness to school, pro-victim attitudes, outcome expectancies and level of bullying involvement. Implications for intervention programs are discussed

The Forms of Bullying Scale (FBS): Validity and reliability estimates for a measure of bullying victimization and perpetration in adolescence

The study of bullying behavior and its consequences for young people depends on valid and reliable measurement of bullying victimization and perpetration. Although numerous self-report bullying-related measures have been developed, robust evidence of their psychometric properties is scant, and several limitations inhibit their applicability. The Forms of Bullying Scale (FBS), with versions to measure bullying victimization (FBS-V) and perpetration (FBS-P), was developed on the basis of existing instruments, for use with 12-to 15-year-old adolescents to economically, yet comprehensively measure both bullying perpetration and victimization. Measurement properties were estimated. Scale validity was tested using data from 2 independent studies of 3,496 Grade 8 and 783 Grade 8-10 students, respectively. Construct validity of scores on the FBS was shown in confirmatory factor analysis. The factor structure was not invariant across gender. Strong associations between the FBS-V and FBS-P and separate single-item bullying items demonstrated adequate concurrent validity. Correlations, in directions as expected with social-emotional outcomes (i.e., depression, anxiety, conduct problems, and peer support), provided robust evidence of convergent and discriminant validity. Responses to the FBS items were found to be valid and concurrently reliable measures of self-reported frequency of bullying victimization and perpetration, as well as being useful to measure involvement in the different forms of bullying behaviors

Formative Assessment in Mathematics: Students at the Centre of Learning

<p>In this paper the findings of a recent systematic review on formative assessment (Shiel & Dooley, 2022) that pertain to the teaching and learning of mathematics are outlined. Reference is made to the meaning of formative assessment, its effect on learning, the nature and source of feedback, learning trajectories, and revelatory tasks. It is argued that effective formative assessment encompasses more than a set of tools – it is dependent on a learning environment that is characterised by student autonomy in learning and assessment.</p&gt