Health and Academic Achievement


Book Description

Emotional, physical and social well-being describe human health from birth. Good health goes hand in hand with the ability to handle stress for the future. However, biological factors such as diet, life experiences such as drug abuse, bullying, burnout and social factors such as family and community support at the school stage tend to mold health problems, affecting academic achievements. This book is a compilation of current scientific information about the challenges that students, families and teachers face regarding health and academic achievements. Contributions also relate to how physical activity, psychosocial support and other interventions can be made to understand resilience and vulnerability to school desertion. This book will be of interest to readers from broad professional fields, non-specialist readers, and those involved in education policy.




Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children


Book Description

While most children learn to read fairly well, there remain many young Americans whose futures are imperiled because they do not read well enough to meet the demands of our competitive, technology-driven society. This book explores the problem within the context of social, historical, cultural, and biological factors. Recommendations address the identification of groups of children at risk, effective instruction for the preschool and early grades, effective approaches to dialects and bilingualism, the importance of these findings for the professional development of teachers, and gaps that remain in our understanding of how children learn to read. Implications for parents, teachers, schools, communities, the media, and government at all levels are discussed. The book examines the epidemiology of reading problems and introduces the concepts used by experts in the field. In a clear and readable narrative, word identification, comprehension, and other processes in normal reading development are discussed. Against the background of normal progress, Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children examines factors that put children at risk of poor reading. It explores in detail how literacy can be fostered from birth through kindergarten and the primary grades, including evaluation of philosophies, systems, and materials commonly used to teach reading.




School Counseling to Close the Achievement Gap


Book Description

School counsellors can play a powerful role in closing the achievement gap by incorporating principles of social justice - that is, equity and advocacy for all students - into their practice. This new resource for pre-service and in-service counsellors addresses the reasons why some students are more likely to encounter academic failure (racism, sexism, heterosexism, classism), and challenges readers to play an active role in bringing about the conditions for student success. Offering a variety of vignettes, strategies, activities, and reflective individual and group study questions, the book provides the framework for how school counsellors can mitigate the impact of negative factors hampering academic performance and healthy development. The book details six functions of a school counsellors that move schools toward more just practices and, ultimately, to higher test scores and increased student achievement.




Reducing Risks for Mental Disorders


Book Description

The understanding of how to reduce risk factors for mental disorders has expanded remarkably as a result of recent scientific advances. This study, mandated by Congress, reviews those advances in the context of current research and provides a targeted definition of prevention and a conceptual framework that emphasizes risk reduction. Highlighting opportunities for and barriers to interventions, the book draws on successful models for the prevention of cardiovascular disease, injuries, and smoking. In addition, it reviews the risk factors associated with Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, alcohol abuse and dependence, depressive disorders, and conduct disorders and evaluates current illustrative prevention programs. The models and examination provide a framework for the design, application, and evaluation of interventions intended to prevent mental disorders and the transfer of knowledge about prevention from research to clinical practice. The book presents a focused research agenda, with recommendations on how to develop effective intervention programs, create a cadre of prevention researchers, and improve coordination among federal agencies.




Fostering Healthy Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Development in Children and Youth


Book Description

Healthy mental, emotional, and behavioral (MEB) development is a critical foundation for a productive adulthood. Much is known about strategies to support families and communities in strengthening the MEB development of children and youth, by promoting healthy development and also by preventing and mitigating disorder, so that young people reach adulthood ready to thrive and contribute to society. Over the last decade, a growing body of research has significantly strengthened understanding of healthy MEB development and the factors that influence it, as well as how it can be fostered. Yet, the United States has not taken full advantage of this growing knowledge base. Ten years later, the nation still is not effectively mitigating risks for poor MEB health outcomes; these risks remain prevalent, and available data show no significant reductions in their prevalence. Fostering Healthy Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Development in Children and Youth: A National Agenda examines the gap between current research and achievable national goals for the next ten years. This report identifies the complexities of childhood influences and highlights the need for a tailored approach when implementing new policies and practices. This report provides a framework for a cohesive, multidisciplinary national approach to improving MEB health.




Helping Students Graduate


Book Description

This book describes the fifteen strategies identified through research reviewed by The National Dropout Prevention Center and Network at Clemson University. Each chapter in this book was written by a nationally recognized authority in that field. Research has shown that these 15 strategies have been successfully implemented in all school levels from K - 12 in rural, suburban, and urban centers; as stand-alone programs or as part of systemic school improvement plans. Helping Students Graduate: A Strategic Approach to Dropout Prevention also covers No Child Left Behind and its effects on dropout rates; Dealing with Hispanic dropouts; Differences and similarities between rural and urban dropouts. These fifteen strategies have been adopted by the U.S. Department of Education. They are applicable to all students, including students with disabilities.




School Violence Intervention


Book Description

This work offers effective intervention strategies for managing school violence. Opening with a range of perspectives on student aggression, it provides a comprehensive view on practical interventions at the student, school, and systems levels. Practioners present empirically-grounded strategies for an array of school settings and situations, seeking to help readers make informed decisions about the approaches that would be most effective in their own environments.; The first part of the text presents information on the nature and prevalence of youth violence today, and outlines strategies geared toward making the school physically safer, establishing clear behaviour standards, providing adequate adult presence, enforcing rules fairly and sanctioning offenders, and creating partnerships with outside agencies.; The chapters that follow describe a range of interventions directed toward aggresive students themselves which have proved highly effective in outcome evaluation research. These approaches include behavioural classroom management, crises- and gang- orientated interventions, and preventative pre-school programmes. In addition, it details school-orientated strategies such as academic and curriculum interventions, vandalism control, and effective security policy. Exploring the complex relationship among school behaviour, family life, and community, chapters also consider avenues toward effecting change in the larger context of the students' lives.; A hands-on manual for dealing with some of the most intractable problems education professionals face, this book offers extensive information for school psychologists and researchers.




Encyclopedia of Applied Psychology


Book Description

Encompasses topics including aging (geropsychology), assessment, clinical, cognitive, community, counseling, educational, environmental, family, industrial/organizational, health, school, sports, and transportation psychology. Each entry provides a clear definition, a brief review of the theoretical basis, and emphasizes major areas of application.