Data surveillance in child protection systems development: an Indonesian case study

Objectives

Successful implementation of child protection program interventions and child and family welfare services is contingent upon the availability and use of good quality information, as emphasized by the recent Convention on the Rights of the Child's General Comment 13. Yet, the role of information within child protection is not well understood, and ongoing efforts to strengthen child protection systems have not systematically examined this critical function. Recognizing these shortcomings, the Government of Indonesia and UNICEF commissioned a study to identify a “road map” for a national child protection information system.

Methods

The used desk review, semi-structured interviews, focus groups and site visits to identify existing data collection practices, and analyze the appropriateness and efficiency of information management mechanisms from the national down to the community level.

Results

The results show that the prevailing situation in Indonesia is characterized by a lack of accurate information on all necessary aspects of child care and protection including magnitude of problems, causality analysis and impact of programmatic responses. There is no lead actor for child protection at the national level, and there are no agreed upon data collection priorities, procedures or methods for a shared data collection system.

Conclusion

The study suggests a need to reframe the dominant language from a “child protection information management system” to a “child protection surveillance system” to promote clearer data collection objectives and activities. Identifying a government ministry to lead child protection efforts and to forge closer partnerships among relevant actors will be required to support a national surveillance system. Additionally, addressing obstacles that limit child protection incident detection at the community level is critical. In addition to strengthening Indonesia's system, this study's approach and findings have the potential to help to inform ongoing child protection system development initiatives in other countries as well.     

Mathematics achievement and gender: A longitudinal study of selected cognitive and affective variables [grades 6–12]

This study examined the relationship of selected cognitive and affective variables to mathematics achievement for a random sample of 60 students as they progressed through 6th, 8th,10th and 12th grades. A consistent gender difference was found for stereotyping mathematics as a male domain. No consistent significant gender difference between means was found for spatial skills, verbal skill or mathematics achievement. Confidence, verbal skill and spatial visualization were each consistently positively correlated with mathematics achievement for both males and females. No gender difference was found for these correlations. However, spatial skills alone were found to be consistent significant predictors of mathematics achievement for females each year of the study, but not for males. Verbal skill was a consistent significant predictor of mathematics achievement for males, but not for females. The results of this study could lead to a reevaluation of the hypothesis that spatial skills help boys achieve in mathematics.     

In practice: “Green on the screen”: Promoting sustainability through a campus film series

The authors describe the University of North Carolina Wilmington's Sustainability Film Series and the impact it has had on both the university and local communities.     

The effects of carbohydrate ingestion on the badminton serve after fatiguing exercise

The badminton serve requires great skill and may be affected by fatigue. The aim of the present study was to determine whether carbohydrate ingestion affects badminton performance. Nine male badminton players (age 25 ± 7 years, mass 80.6 ± 8.0 kg) attended the laboratory on three occasions. The first visit involved an incremental exercise test to exhaustion to determine peak heart rate. Participants were given 1 L of a carbohydrate-electrolyte drink or a matched placebo during the experimental trials. The accuracy of 10 long and 10 short serves was determined before and after exercise. The fatiguing exercise was 33 min in duration (83 ± 10% and 84 ± 8% peak heart rate for the placebo and carbohydrate trial respectively). Capillary blood samples (20 μL) were taken before and after exercise for determination of blood glucose and lactate. There was deterioration in long serve accuracy with fatigue (P = 0.002), which carbohydrate ingestion had a tendency to prevent (P = 0.077). There was no effect of fatigue (P = 0.402) or carbohydrate ingestion (P = 0.109) on short serve accuracy. There was no difference in blood glucose concentration between trials (P = 0.851). Blood lactate concentration was higher during the placebo trial (P = 0.016). These results suggest that only the long serve is influenced by fatigue and carbohydrate had a tendency to prevent the deterioration in performance.     

A wireless accelerometer node for reliable and valid measurement of lumbar accelerations during treadmill running

This study investigated the reliability of a wireless accelerometer and its agreement with optical motion capture for the measurement of root mean square (RMS) acceleration during running. RMS acceleration provides a whole-body metric of movement mechanics and economy. Fifteen healthy college-age participants performed treadmill running for two 60-s trials at 2.22, 2.78, and 3.33 m/s and one trial of 150 s (five 30-s epochs) at 2.78 m/s. We assessed between-trial and within-trial reliability, and agreement in each axis between a trunk-mounted wireless accelerometer and a reflective marker on the accelerometer measured by optical motion capture. Intraclass correlations assessing between-trial repeatability were 0.89–0.97, depending on the axis, and intraclass correlations assessing within-trial repeatability were 0.99–1.00. Bland–Altman analyses assessing agreement indicated mean difference values between ?0.03 and 0.03 g, depending on the axis. Anterio-posterior acceleration had the greatest limits of agreement (LOA) (±0.12 g) and vertical acceleration had the smallest LOA (±0.03 g). For measuring RMS acceleration of the trunk, this wireless accelerometer node provides repeatable and valid measurement compared with the standard laboratory method of optical motion capture.     

Prekindergarten Interactive Book Reading Quality and Children’s Language and Literacy Development: Classroom Organization as a Moderator

Research Findings: This study examined the association between interactive book reading quality and prekindergarten children’s gains in language and literacy skills over the course of an academic year for 96 teachers and 417 children across multiple locations in the United States. Two moderators were examined, namely, children’s initial skill level and teachers’ classroom organization during an interactive read-aloud session. In keeping with prior research, interactive book reading quality, measured by examination of teachers’ extratextual talk, was positively and significantly related to children’s development of both language and literacy skills. Interactive book reading quality was not significantly moderated by children’s initial skills, with the exception that interactive book reading quality appeared most beneficial to children’s print knowledge for children entering prekindergarten with relatively low skill. The unique contribution of this study is that the association between interactive book reading quality and children’s expressive vocabulary was dependent on an organized classroom during the book reading session. Practice or Policy: The quality of teachers’ talk during interactive book reading may matter for children’s vocabulary development only when reading sessions are characterized by relatively high classroom organization. Classroom organization should be an important consideration while planning for interactive book reading sessions.     

A better IDEA: best practice and outcomes‐oriented remedies in public impact litigation for students with disabilities

Class action lawsuits filed in violation of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) raise questions for those concerned with improving the education system for students with disabilities. First, do the lawsuits result in changes that can be directly linked to improved student outcomes? Second, do these lawsuits and the ‘consent decrees’ that settle them refer to best practices in educating children with disabilities? To date, no study has examined the remedies ordered as a result of these lawsuits in the disability education context, or proven how different types of remedies can impede or facilitate progress for students with disabilities. Class action lawsuits under IDEA filed in large, urban school districts between 1990 and 2011 and the remedies ordered under the final agreement were reviewed. This review suggests that the lawsuits against large, urban school districts tend to result in remedial activities that focus more on planning, supporting and monitoring than on outcomes or evidence‐based practice.     

Young people's involvement in service evaluation and decision making

This study examined young people's decision making on issues that affect their lives: bullying in different contexts (e.g., family, peer groups, school) and their involvement in evaluating the availability and effectiveness of support services (e.g., disability, care). Key aims of this study were to offer young people a platform to evaluate existing services and make recommendations towards their improvement, and to discuss ways of tackling bullying at school. Focus groups were formed with 54 young people who had experienced challenges due to bullying, learning difficulties/disabilities, and caring responsibilities for family members with disabling conditions, and discussions about services and decision making on issues that affect their lives were facilitated. The findings point to a sense of agency in young people's lives with regard to evaluating and negotiating services and offering suggestions for their improvement within their family and peers. However, in their view, their decisions regarding bullying exerted limited influence within the school context. These results raised interesting issues about young people's capacity to evaluate services and the contextual influences on their involvement in decision making.     

Consulting About Consulting: Young people’s views of consultation

The increasing recognition that children and young people should be consulted and involved in decision‐making about their lives is reflected in national and international legislation. A great deal of this legislation, stemming from the UN convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), requires education authorities to consult children and young people when making decisions about their education. However, little is known about how children and young people themselves would like consultation to proceed. This study held four focus groups of young people with and without Additional Support Needs (ASN) to address this question. The young people came up with many suggestions which can be used to guide future consultation work, but the main message was one of individual choice. Children and young people want to be consulted but the consultation should be tailored to their individual needs if it is to be truly successful. There are lessons to be learned for EPs and other professionals who regularly seek the views of children and young people.