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Monday, 7 July 2008
Learning Objective 1: evaluate the level of school connectedness and feelings about school among pre-teenagers who were either with or without chronic health condition.
Learning Objective 2: take preventive actions to prevent disengagement in schools, especially for pre-teenage boys, and for chronically ill children, specifically, children dealing with mental illnesses or learning disabilities.
The purpose of the research was to evaluate the level of school connectedness and feelings about school among Icelandic pre-teenagers who were either with or without chronic health condition. The study is cross sectional were 480 10-to 12- year old children (209 boys and 271 girls) and 38 teachers participated from 12 randomly selected public elementary schools in Reykjavik, Iceland. Data were collected from March 2004 to early June 2004. Independent t-tests and multivariate regression analysis were used to test the hypotheses. Girls were found to report significantly higher connectedness to their school and significantly higher positive feelings about their school than the boys. Children with chronic illnesses were found to report significantly lower school connectedness and significantly lower positive feelings about their school than children without chronic illness(es). Further, Icelandic pre-teenagers with mental illness or learning disabilities were found to report significantly lower school connectedness and to reported significantly lower positive feelings about their school than their school mates who had physical chronic illness(es). The teachers' perception on children's social competence significantly predicted both the girls and the boys perception of their connectedness to school and feelings about school. Preventive actions need to be taken by school nurses and other school personnel, to prevent disengagement in schools, especially for pre-teenage boys, and for chronically ill children, specifically, children dealing with mental illnesses or learning disabilities.