‘Is it like one of those infectious kind of things?’ The importance of educating young people about HPV and HPV vaccination at school

Abstract

The National Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination Program in Australia commenced in 2007 for girls and in 2013 for boys, using the quadrivalent HPV [4vHPV] vaccine. In Australia, students are primarily vaccinated en masse, on school grounds, after parental/guardian consent is obtained. Students most often receive little, or no, education at school about HPV or HPV vaccination prior to immunisation. There is also some uncertainty about where young people can and should obtain reliable information about the vaccine, outside of school. We conducted a cluster randomised controlled trial of a complex intervention in schools. This study aimed to improve: (1) student knowledge about HPV vaccination; (2) psycho-social outcomes and (3) vaccination uptake. In this paper, we briefly outline our educational intervention and discuss its implementation by educators including facilitators and barriers. We also discuss the study findings pertaining to student knowledge about HPV and HPV vaccination and their attitudes to vaccination across control and intervention schools. Study results showed students in intervention schools demonstrate greater knowledge and understanding of HPV and HPV vaccination. Greater knowledge and understanding of HPV and HPV vaccination appeared to promote positive attitudes towards vaccination and supported confidence with vaccination.     

Strategy Selection and Metacognition

The concept of metacognition is one of the most important developments in the contemporary study of cognition, especially with regard to problem solving and the transfer of cognitive skills. Its study has followed the experimental paradigm with researchers looking for universal principles; metacognition has only a small role to play in looking for explanations of individual differences in cognition. In this paper we are attempting a theoretical analysis of a number of interrelated issues with regard to their importance for metacognition in the light of some current empirical work. It considers mainly the role of these processes in strategy selection, especially in light of the impasse‐based theories of problem solving, and explores the relationship of individual differences to metacognition.     

Transitioning to a more sustainable society: unpacking the role of the learning–action nexus

In recent years, action on sustainability has been highly influential around the globe and many now recognize the importance of individual and social learning for inspiring action and achieving sustainability outcomes. Transformative learning theory has been criticized, however, for insufficient development of the link between learning and action. The purpose of this paper is to deepen our understanding of the learning–action cycle among adult learners in the sustainability context. We consider this through insights from two studies in Kenya and Canada, utilizing a qualitative approach. Both studies employed semi-structured interviews as their primary data collection instrument and used other tools such as focus groups and journal writing. Three broad nodes of social action—individual, interpersonal and collective—are identified and defined based on the data collected. Results show that while all three types of action were evident in the outcomes of participants, individual social action was the most common and collective social action was the least. Barriers to applying learning in action are also derived from the data, including situational, personal, interpersonal, sociocultural and environmental obstacles. Factors that assist in overcoming such barriers include community support networks and skills training.     

Educators’ perceptions of bringing students to environmental consciousness through engaging outdoor experiences

This paper explores the premise that environmental education involves raising environmental consciousness rather than simply knowing about the environment in a technical-rational manner and acting for it in mechanistic prescribed ways. The paper draws on educational theory and data from a phenomenological case study of educators working together at an outdoor education centre in urban Canada, whose practice of environmental education we believe can best be described as environmental consciousness raising. Based on our study’s findings, we suggest that raising environmental consciousness involves connecting people to their environment, fostering care for the environment, and building agency for the environment. Educating for environmental consciousness also requires providing people with deeply engaging experiences that afford authenticity, multidimensionality and serendipity. Our study shows how these features can work to raise environmental consciousness, by creating epiphanies or moments when sudden expansions of the self, realization and empowerment become possible.     

Do actions speak louder than words? An effect of the functional use of language on dominant sex role behavior in boys and girls

Although a number of studies document the fact that adult males interrupt females more often than females interrupt males, less is known about whether this behavior is also true of younger boys and girls. This study examined some aspects of dominant-submissive sex role behavior in preschool children and their teachers during conversation at the snack table. It asked whether there was any difference in the number of times girls and boys interrupted their teacher, and whether there was any difference in the number of times the teacher interrupted boys or girls. In succeeding observations, researchers investigated whether girls or boys were assigned the privilege of passing snack more frequently.In Investigation 1 nine boys and nine girls, 4 years of age, were observed talking with a variety of student teachers in a naturalistic snack setting, and checklists were kept of the number of teacher-child, child-teacher interruptions during conversation. In Investigation 2, tallies were kept of the number of times boys and girls assumed the dominant roles of distributing snacks and snack materials.Results indicted that during conversation, boys interrupted their teachers more frequently than the girls did (p > .03). Teachers interrupted girls more frequently than they interrupted boys (p > .02). No significant differences were found in the frequency of participation by boys or girls in passing snack. Results are discussed in relation to the teacher's role in teaching dominant-submissive sex role behaviors to children.     

Emotional intelligence and academic attainment of British secondary school children: a cross-sectional survey

Trait emotional intelligence (trait EI) covers a wide range of self-perceived skills and personality dispositions such as motivation, confidence, optimism, peer relations and coping with stress. In the last few years, there has been a growing awareness that social and emotional factors play an important part in students’ academic success and it has been claimed that those with high scores on a trait EI measure perform better. This research investigated whether scores on a questionnaire measure of trait EI were related to school performance in a sample of British pupils. Results showed that high performing students had higher trait EI scores than low performing students and that some aspects of trait EI (motivation and low impulsivity) as well as total trait EI were significant predictors of academic achievement after controlling for prior attainment at school. Therefore, initiatives to develop the emotional and social abilities of schoolchildren might be worthwhile and more effective than concentrating solely on teaching and curriculum activities.