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"Students"

Background: Child labor remains a widespread phenomenon in today's world. The purpose of the present study was to describe the working conditions and health status of child workers in Kocaeli. Methods: A cross-sectional research study has been carried out on 365 working children at the Kocaeli Occupational Training Center. Data were collected on working conditions, smoking habits, work accidents, perceived health status and psychological status using General Health Questionnaire-12. In order to evaluate the physical growth of children, their height and weight were measured. Results: Most working children usually have a low level of education, low income and extended families. The mean age for children to start working was 14.8 ± 1.5 years and their daily working periods were 11.3 ± 1.3 h on average. Girls were found to have more psychopathology compared to boys on the GHQ-12 and the results were statistically significant. The height z score was less than-2 SD at 6.9% while the weight z score was less than-2 SD at 1.9%. According to body mass index (BMI) percentiles range, 3% of children were found to be underweight. A statistically significant and negative directional correlation was detected between body mass index z scores with age and daily working periods. Statistically significant but weak correlations were detected between height for age z scores and the starting age of work and also between weight for age z scores and chronological age. Conclusions: Both the mental and the physical health of children were found to be negatively affected, by having to work at an early age, and by long working hours. For this reason, immediate and direct intervention should be taken to eradicate child labor, and protect children from unsafe and exploitative working conditions. © 2010 Japan Pediatric Society.

This article discusses forms of 'boundary-work' in school-based training for industrial work or, put another way, discourse and practices that cross, blur or reinforce boundaries between school and industry. The discussion builds on two ethnographic studies, one conducted in the 1980s and one in 2006, to provide insights on continuity and change in an activity system with two partly conflicting raison d'êtres: One linked to the educational mandate of the school and the other to industrial demands on the school. Two forms of boundary-work are used by teachers and students to make sense of everyday activities and define school-based vocational training. The 'reaffirmation' of boundaries and of schooling specificity involves taking the fostering and educational aspects of education seriously; the 'reconstruction' of workplace experiences provides instructional practices that link schooling to work. Various manifestations of these forms of boundary-work are analysed, as are tensions and developments over time. © 2010 Taylor & Francis.

This study investigated the content, realism, stability, and coherence of the career aspirations of 262 students in seventh grade in Switzerland (ages 13-15 years). The content analysis revealed that 82% of the participants named at least one realistic career aspiration, and aspirations showed clear resemblance to existing opportunities in the environment. Quantitative analyses confirmed the hypotheses that realism and stability of aspirations over a 10-month period could better be predicted by individual degree of career adaptability as measured by planfulness and exploration than by chronological age when grade level was controlled for. Coherence of aspirations was not related to age or adaptability. students attending basic scholastic requirements school tracks reported more adaptability but not more realistic, stable, or coherent aspirations compared to students in advanced requirements tracks. © Curators of the University of Missouri 2010.

The aim of this paper is to present the design, implementation and evaluation of the methodology which focuses on the pedagogical utilization of Interactive Videoconferencing (IVC) in the contemporary elementary school. As part of the project "ODYSSEAS", during the school year 2007-2008, 46 students and 4 teachers from two elementary schools in Athens and Crete collaborated at a distance via IVC and, with the aid of the animation technique, designed and implemented constructive activities on the topic: "Environment-Climatic Changes". According to the findings of this paper, IVC under pedagogical conditions plays a significant role in supporting collaborative synchronous learning activities at a distance by strengthening the social relations among students and teachers of the local and the remote class at both schools. This survey brought to light that the combination of IVC and face-to-face learning activities consolidates the role of the modern school as a socialization agent. At the same time, it broadens students' opportunities for communication, collaboration and expression by strengthening their willingness to make new contacts all over the world. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.