‘‘Bursting’’ to Go and Other Experiences: Children’s Views on Using the Toilet in the First School Year

Children’s use of the toilet at school, although rarely explored, is an important facet of school experience with consequences for physical and psychological health. A mixed methods study investigated views of 25 children (4–5 years) regarding potential stressors in the first school year, including views of toileting, in Dublin, Ireland. Despite very positive responses to school, most responses to toileting (15 of 25) were mixed or negative. Although some liked to go, or noted the toilets were clean, most indicated delayed toilet use (‘‘bursting’’ to go) and ambivalent or negative experiences such as fear of not identifying the right toilet, fear of being alone, lack of privacy, and potential bullying. Many children did not expect to receive help from the teacher. As delaying toilet use can have lasting health consequences, teacher–nurse collaboration could be used to develop whole-school policies to support children’s early adjustment in this sensitive area of functioning

‘Look, I have my ears open’: Resilience and early school experiences among children in an economically deprived suburban area in Ireland

Children from economically disadvantaged communities frequently lack the socio- emotional, cognitive and behavioural skills needed for successful early school adjustment. Assessments of early school experience often rely on parent and teacher perspectives, yet children’s views are essential to design effective, resilience-promoting school ecologies. This mixed methods study explored children’s appraisals of potential stressors in the first school year with 25 children from a disadvantaged suburban community in Ireland. School scenarios were presented pictorially (Pictorial Measure of School Stress and Wellbeing, or PMSSW), to elicit children’s perspectives on social ecological factors that enable or constrain resilience. Salient positive factors included resource provision, such as food, toys and books; school activities and routines, including play; and relationships with teachers. Negative factors included bullying; difficulties engaging with peers; and using the toilet. Drawing on these factors, we indicate how school psychologists can develop resilience-fostering educational environments for children in vulnerable communitie

Reconstructing readiness: Young children’s priorities for their early school adjustment

Young children in communities facing socioeconomic disadvantage are increasingly targeted by school readiness interventions. Interventions are stronger if they address stakeholders’ priorities, yet children’s priorities for early school adjustment are rarely accounted for in intervention design including selection of outcome measures. The Children’s Thoughts about School Study (CTSS) examined young children’s accounts of their early school experiences, and their descriptions of what a new school starter would need to know. Mixed-method interviews were conducted with 42 kindergarten children in a socioeconomically deprived suburb of Dublin, Ireland. First, inductive thematic analysis identified 25 priorities across four domains: feeling able and enthusiastic for school; navigating friendships and victimisation; supportive environments with opportunities to play; bridging school and family life. Second, deductive analysis compared children’s priorities at item level against a school readiness outcome battery. Children’s priorities were assigned to three groups: (1) assessed by outcome measures (core academic competencies, aspects of self regulation); (2) partially assessed (self-efficacy, social skills for friendship formation and avoiding victimisation, creative thinking, play); and (3) not assessed by outcome measures (school liking, school environment, family school involvement). This analysis derived from children’s own perspectives suggests that readiness interventions aiming to support early school adjustment would benefit from considering factors children consider salient. It offers recommendations for advancing conceptual frameworks, improving assessment, and identifying new targets for supporting children and schools. In doing so we provide a platform for children’s priorities to be integrated into the policies and practices that shape their early lives

Self-reported early experiences of children from low socioeconomic status backgrounds: The children's thoughts about school study

Kagan (2010) likens early childhood transitions to something that is “as common as air and as complex as the molecules that compose it” (p.3). This is an apt description of the transition to school, a move that nearly all children encounter, yet one that brings considerable changes in value systems, demands, practical concerns, group dynamics, and cultural traditions (Fabian and Dunlop, 2002). Negotiating these changes is challenging and carries high stakes, as children who struggle to adjust well to school are more likely to experience poorer outcomes (Ladd and Price, 1987; Kagan and Neuman, 1998). This is especially true for children from low socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds, who frequently start school behind their peers, without the socioemotional, cognitive and behavioural skills needed to navigate school successfully (Doyle, McEntee and McNamara, 2012). Accordingly, children from low SES backgrounds are often the focus of interventions that seek to improve school readiness and promote positive transition experiences. Developing effective and efficient supports, however, requires an understanding that spans the full complexity of these transitions

Be good, know the rules’: Children’s perspectives on starting school and self-regulation

Despite the importance of self-regulation for school readiness and success across the lifespan, little is known about children’s conceptions of this important ability. Using mixed-method interviews, this research examined kindergarten children’s (n = 57) perspectives on self-regulation in a disadvantaged area in Dublin, Ireland. Children depicted school as requiring regulation of their emotional, cognitive and behavioural responses. They characterised school as a dynamic setting, placing emphasis on the regulatory challenges of the outdoor environment. Children also described difficulties associated with navigating complex social interactions, often without assistance from external supports. The results inform strategies to support children’s emerging self-regulation abilities.Irish Research CouncilUpdate citation details during checkdate report - A

Wastewater-aged silver nanoparticles in single and combined exposures with titanium dioxide affect the early development of the marine copepod Tisbe battagliai

This document is the unedited Author’s version of a Submitted Work that was subsequently accepted for publication in Environmental Science and Technology, copyright © American Chemical Society after peer review. To access the final edited and published work see https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.0c03113In this study, the effects of aged Ag and TiO2 NPs, individually and as a mixture, in wastewater relative to their pristine counterparts on the development of the copepod nauplii (Tisbe battagliai) were investigated. NP behavior in synthetic wastewater and seawater was characterized during aging and exposure. A delayed development and subsequent mortality was observed after 6 days of exposure to aged Ag NPs, with a 2-fold decrease in EC50 (316 μg/L) compared to pristine NPs (EC50 640 μg/L) despite the similar dissolved Ag concentrations measured for aged and pristine Ag NPs (441 μg/L and 378 μg/L, respectively). In co-exposures with TiO2 NPs, higher dissolved Ag levels were measured for aged NPs (238.3 μg/L) relative to pristine NPs (98.57 μg/L). Co-exposure resulted in a slight decrease (15%) in the Ag NP EC50 (270 μg/L) with a 1.9-fold increase in Ag NP retained within the organisms after depuration (2.82% retention) compared to Ag NP single exposures as measured with sp-ICP-MS suggesting that the particles are still bioavailable despite the heteroaggregation observed between Ag, Ti NPs and wastewater components. This study shows that the presence of TiO2 NPs can affect the stability and toxicity of Ag NPs in complex media that cannot be predicted solely based on ionic, total or nanoparticulate concentrations and the need for studying NP interactions in more complex matrices is highlighted.acceptedVersio

Reconstructing readiness: Young children’s priorities for their early school adjustment

Young children in communities facing socioeconomic disadvantage are increasingly targeted by school readiness interventions. Interventions are stronger if they address stakeholders’ priorities, yet children’s priorities for early school adjustment are rarely accounted for in intervention design including selection of outcome measures. The Children’s Thoughts about School Study (CTSS) examined young children’s accounts of their early school experiences, and their descriptions of what a new school starter would need to know. Mixed-method interviews were conducted with 42 kindergarten children in a socioeconomically deprived suburb of Dublin, Ireland. First, inductive thematic analysis identified 25 priorities across four domains: feeling able and enthusiastic for school; navigating friendships and victimisation; supportive environments with opportunities to play; bridging school and family life. Second, deductive analysis compared children’s priorities at item level against a school readiness outcome battery. Children’s priorities were assigned to three groups: (1) assessed by outcome measures (core academic competencies, aspects of self regulation); (2) partially assessed (self-efficacy, social skills for friendship formation and avoiding victimisation, creative thinking, play); and (3) not assessed by outcome measures (school liking, school environment, family school involvement). This analysis derived from children’s own perspectives suggests that readiness interventions aiming to support early school adjustment would benefit from considering factors children consider salient. It offers recommendations for advancing conceptual frameworks, improving assessment, and identifying new targets for supporting children and schools. In doing so we provide a platform for children’s priorities to be integrated into the policies and practices that shape their early lives

Wastewater-aged silver nanoparticles in single and combined exposures with titanium dioxide affect the early development of the marine copepod Tisbe battagliai

In this study, the effects of aged Ag and TiO2 NPs, individually and as a mixture, in wastewater relative to their pristine counterparts on the development of the copepod nauplii (Tisbe battagliai) were investigated. NP behavior in synthetic wastewater and seawater was characterized during aging and exposure. A delayed development and subsequent mortality was observed after 6 days of exposure to aged Ag NPs, with a 2-fold decrease in EC50 (316 μg/L) compared to pristine NPs (EC50 640 μg/L) despite the similar dissolved Ag concentrations measured for aged and pristine Ag NPs (441 μg/L and 378 μg/L, respectively). In co-exposures with TiO2 NPs, higher dissolved Ag levels were measured for aged NPs (238.3 μg/L) relative to pristine NPs (98.57 μg/L). Co-exposure resulted in a slight decrease (15%) in the Ag NP EC50 (270 μg/L) with a 1.9-fold increase in Ag NP retained within the organisms after depuration (2.82% retention) compared to Ag NP single exposures as measured with sp-ICP-MS suggesting that the particles are still bioavailable despite the heteroaggregation observed between Ag, Ti NPs and wastewater components. This study shows that the presence of TiO2 NPs can affect the stability and toxicity of Ag NPs in complex media that cannot be predicted solely based on ionic, total or nanoparticulate concentrations and the need for studying NP interactions in more complex matrices is highlighted

Ecotoxicological effects of transformed silver and titanium dioxide nanoparticles in the effluent from a lab-scale wastewater treatment system

In this study, a lab-scale wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), simulating biological treatment, received 10 μg/L Ag and 100 μg/L TiO nanoparticles (NPs) for 5 weeks. NP partitioning was evaluated by size fractionation (>0.7 μm, 0.1-0.7 μm, 3 kDa-0.1 μm, 80% of Ag and Ti were associated with the effluent solids. Increased toxicity was observed during weeks 2-3 and the effects were species-dependent; with marine epibenthic copepods and algae being the most sensitive. Increased reactive oxygen species formation was observed in vitro followed by an increase in epithelial permeability. The effluent affected the gill epithelium integrity in vitro and impacted defense pathways (upregulation of multixenobiotic resistance genes). To our knowledge, this is the first study to combine a lab-scale activated sludge WWTP with extensive characterization techniques and ecotoxicological assays to study the effects of transformed NPs in the effluent