Journals@UC (University of Cincinnati)
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Children’s Views of Independent Mobility during Their School Travels
No full textThere is limited understanding of the influence of children’s independent mobility on their school travel experiences. This paper aims to understand these experiences in light of children’s levels of accompaniment and the things that are of interest to them as they travel. Employing written questionnaires and focus group discussions, research was undertaken with 178 children (aged 9-11 years) in Sydney, Australia. Children who walked alone or were accompanied by siblings or peers during their school trips reported more features that provided them with a source of interest than those accompanied by parents. Traveling without adult supervision provided children with increased opportunities to converse with their friends and to explore their surroundings. The school trip can therefore represent a critical avenue for children to build their confidence by engaging in their own activities as they make their way from home to school and back again
Biodiverse or Barren School Grounds: Their Effects on Children
No full textThis child-centered study compares the effects on children of two Canadian public school grounds chosen for maximum variability of vegetation, one (Strawberry Vale Elementary) richly biodiverse, the other (Glanford Elementary) relatively barren. A total of 349 students (grades 1 to 7, aged 6 to 13) participated by 1) indicating their use of the school ground through drawings, 2) stating their preferences for various school ground elements through a survey, and 3) sharing their perceptions of each school ground through group brainstorming sessions and individual “walkabout” interviews on the grounds. Results of the analyses indicated that on the biodiversified school ground the quality of the children’s outdoor experience was richer, the children’s stated preferences more diverse and more oriented toward nature, and the use of their outdoor environment more complex. This was especially true for primary children (grades 1 to 3, aged 6 to 9) and intermediate girls, but less so for the intermediate boys (intermediate: grades 4 to 7, aged 10 to 13). The biodiverse school ground afforded children more opportunities for functional, constructive and symbolic play. It also offered children more places for reflection and conversation. This research has implications for curricular integration of environmental education and the healthy development of children
Photovoice: Addressing Youths’ Concerns in a Juvenile Detention Facility
No full textThis study used the photovoice method for a participatory needs assessment and asset inventory in a juvenile detention center setting. Traditionally, juvenile justice facilities have emphasized punishments and sanctions. The positive youth development perspective offers a more balanced approach between punishment and rehabilitation that encourages youth empowerment in improving their community. The purpose of this project was to empower youth in detention to document their struggles, critically discuss the results, and recommend any improvements to the detention center’s authority.
Youth documented the following strengths: family was valued whether or not the relationship was healthy; the center’s structure added stability; participants’ talents helped them cope; and staff were supportive. Concerns included participants’ struggles with growth and progression through the center’s programming
Gardening with Youth as a Means of Developing Science, Work and Life Skills
No full textChildren in the “black belt” region of the southern United States grow up in counties characterized by persistent poverty, low incomes, and low educational performance, including low scores by K-12 students on science and math achievement tests. In Macon County, a black belt county in Alabama with an 83 percent African-American population and 44 percent of its youth in poverty, a partnership evolved in 2004 between Tuskegee University social work students and children aged 5 through 13 years from low-income communities that resulted in after-school and summer programs to enhance K-7 student learning. In 2007, the Youth Garden Project was initiated to focus student interest and learning on science, agriculture, and the environment. The children, with support from their college student mentors learned to plant, water, weed, and harvest vegetables and fruits, emphasizing connections between land, food, and the environment. Student learning and perceptions were captured through artwork and discussions with their mentors. The response of the children and student mentors indicates that gardening activities positively influenced the children’s behavior, learning, and academic performance and interest in science, agriculture, and the environment
A Natural Sense of Wonder: Connecting Kids with Nature through the Seasons by Rick Van Noy
No full textReviewed Work: A Natural Sense of Wonder: Connecting Kids with Nature through the Seasons by Rick Van No
Children Living in Squalor: Shelter, Water and Sanitation Deprivations in Developing Countries
No full textHundreds of millions of children in developing countries are growing up in squalid conditions, yet anti-poverty policies targeted at children tend to focus upon human capital interventions such as improved schooling, healthcare and nutrition through school nutrition/feeding programs. The primary concern seems to be with children as future citizens who need human capital interventions in order to ensure they will be productive workers when they grow up. However, children are not future citizens, they are current citizens with human rights that are independent of and equal to those of the adults with whom they live. There is certainly a need for human capital interventions in education and health, but children’s needs for better living conditions are equally or more important. Squalid living conditions can kill young children and make older children sick and miserable. Better health care can treat the symptoms but not the causes of this ill health
Design for Kids by Sharon Exley and Peter Exley
No full textReviewed Work: Design for Kids by Sharon Exley and Peter Exle
The Implications of Climate Change for Children in Lower-Income Countries
No full textThis article provides a brief overview of the implications for children of climate change—both of extreme weather events and more gradual changes, along with the adaptations likely to be made at various levels. Because data on the impacts of climate change tend not to be disaggregated by sub-population or by age, there is insufficient knowledge to present a comprehensive picture of the impacts for this age group. Instead, this paper extrapolates from existing knowledge in a number of related areas to present a picture of the probable implications for children’s health, safety, and long-term well being, especially in lower-income countries and communities that are at highest risk from climate change. The article stresses not only children’s vulnerability, but also their resilience and their capacity as active agents to play a role in addressing the challenges they confront related to climate change
Learning by Doing with Shareable Interfaces
No full textNew technologies, such as multi-touch tables, increasingly provide shareable interfaces where multiple people can simultaneously interact, enabling co-located groups to collaborate more flexibly than using single personal computers. Soon, these technologies will make their way into the classroom. However, little is known about what kinds of learning activities they will effectively support that other technologies, such as mobile devices, whiteboards, and personal computers, are currently unable to do. We suggest that one of the most promising uses ofshareable interfaces is to support learning through exploration and creation. We present our work on DigiTile as a case study of how shareable interfaces can enable these forms of learning by doing. We demonstrate how DigiTile supports collaboration, present a field study on its learning benefits, and show how it can fit into a larger computing ecology
