Loneliness is currently regarded as one of the most common and prevalent problems experienced by adolescents, and it is also observed as a painful, unpleasant and negative experience. South African adolescents also have to face and cope with this predicament daily. The main objective of this study was to establish the perception of adolescents of different cultures regarding loneliness and mora...

The relationship between teenage childbearing and school attainment is investigated using nationally representative longitudinal data drawn from South Africa's National Income Dynamics Study. The analysis focuses on the outcomes by 2010 of a panel of 673 young women who were aged 15-18 and childless in 2008. Controlling for other factors, girls who went on to give birth had twice the odds of dr...

The principle of schools collaborating to improve is one that has seen growing interest in recent years, and there is emerging evidence that in particular collaboration between high and lower performing schools can be an effective school improvement method. However, this evidence relates primarily to secondary schools, and little research has been conducted on the factors that could make collab...

BACKGROUND While suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB) among college students are common, the associations between STB and academic performance are not well understood. METHODS As part of the World Mental Health Surveys International College Student project, web-based self-reported STB of KU Leuven (Leuven, Belgium) incoming freshmen (N=4921; response rate=65.4%) was collected, as well as aca...

In Hong Kong, kindergartens and primary schools were closed when local transmission of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 was identified. Secondary schools closed for summer vacation shortly afterwards. By fitting a model of reporting and transmission to case data, we estimated that transmission was reduced approximately 25% when secondary schools closed.

Language is embedded in society and culture, and for that matter, learning a foreign language involves learning its culture. This paper is concerned with the inseparability of culture and language in foreign language teaching, arguing that culture introduction is an effective way to promote students’ cultural awareness and language proficiency. Foreign language textbooks are major channels for ...

Background: There is limited information about the role of different age groups, particularly subgroups of school-age children and younger adults in propagating influenza epidemics. Methods: For a communicable disease outbreak, some subpopulations may play a disproportionate role during the ascent of the outbreak due to increased susceptibility and/or contact rates. Such subpopulations can be i...