“BULLYING is now the number-one issue troubling school kids across Australia.
New analysis of data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Census at Schools survey shows a dramatic rise in both the level of concern Aussie kids have about bullying and the number of hours children are spending in front of a computer screen.
Experts warn this is no coincidence, with smartphones, tablets and social media sites, giving kids fewer opportunities to go home and escape playground bullies.
In 2006, when Australian schoolchildren were spending an average of just three hours a week on a computer, their primary concern was tackling pollution in the country’s waterways.
But with average weekly computer use soaring fourfold to 13 hours in 2013, primarily driven by the popularity of social media sites, kids across every state and territory now nominate bullying as the key issue affecting their daily lives.”
Stats2013AtSchool is a worldwide school project connected to CensusAtSchool. It includes a 12-question quiz on statistics that your students can take part in right now.
This might make for a great classroom activity before the end of the school year.
The team would also love teachers to contribute questions for future use in the quiz.
“THE average Aussie student starts the day with cereal, travels by car to school and relaxes by spending time online; gaming if they are boys and social networking for girls.
A new Census at School snapshot from the Australian Bureau of Statistics also shows their favourite takeaway food is pizza or pasta (21.5 per cent), followed by hot chips (15.3 per cent).
They are more worried about stopping bullying than any other social issue, followed by having healthy habits, access to the internet and conserving water.
Environmental consciousness is high for the 21,617 students surveyed, with 86.9 per cent turning off the tap when they brush their teeth, more than 80 per cent of households recycling and more than half having shorter showers to save water and or turning off appliances to save power when not in use.”
More results are out from CensusAtSchool Australia:
The CensusAtSchool survey findings, released yesterday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, show 22.3 per cent of [Australian] Territory kids are missing the most important meal of the day.
The survey was made up of voluntary responses from more than 23,700 Australian school children.
The second worst in the country was the ACT (20.1 per cent not eating breakfast) and Tasmania (18.5 per cent).
In Victoria, the best performing state, only 12.3 per cent of kids missed breakfast.
Australian CensusAtSchool have just released results from their latest survey:
Australian students say school bullying is the most important social issue to tackle, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data.
Bullying at school has been the highest rated social issue, across Australia over the last four years, ABS assistant director of education services unit Frances Mawdsley said.
“Reducing bullying has been the social issue of highest importance to Australian students since 2010, with a peak level of importance recorded in 2012,” she said.
“It has actually reduced across Australia in 2013, but still remains as the number on issue.”
Students rated the importance of reducing bullying in the survey, a median of 84 out of 100, Ms Mawdsley said.
West Australian students had rated the importance 80.4 out of 100.
The figures indicate that bullying causes a great deal of anxiety among children, ECU Child Health Promotion Research Centre Professor Donna Cross said.
USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and the American Statistical Association (ASA) have developed a new Census at School Food Preference Survey lesson plan and activities for students in grades 5-8. Building on the existing ASA Census at School program, the Food Preference Survey teaches statistical and agricultural literacy to children through common core state standards in Mathematics, Language Arts, Nutrition, Social Studies, and Family Consumer Sciences.
“Increasing statistical literacy in youth is an important way to develop the next generation of statisticians,” said NASS Administrator Dr. Cynthia Clark. “The Census at School program is a way to make statistics fun and engaging for students, allowing them to compare information about themselves with that of other students in the United States and other countries.”
Students complete an online survey and submit the data to a national database. Statistical methods and concepts are then used to compare class results with random samples from peers in the United States and other countries. Students will learn about statistics, nutrition, and cultural differences; apply graphing, mathematics, and analysis skills to real-world examples; and justify their analysis of data.
The Food Preference Survey, using three questions from the full Census questionnaire, asks students about their favorite food and beverages. The activities use the data to analyze survey results and discuss whether the results surprise the class; which foods are most popular; whether certain beverages are more popular with girls or boys; whether and how the cafeteria could use the data to plan events and meals; if there is a relationship between favorite foods and whether someone is a vegetarian; and much more. The Food Preference Survey focuses specifically on information that could be useful to agriculture-in-the-classroom teachers, as well as other teachers of the common core standards addressed.
This lesson plan was developed by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), the American Statistical Association (ASA), with guidance from the National Agriculture in the Classroom organization (www.agclassroom.org). For more information about the Food Preference Survey please visit www.nass.usda.gov/Education_and_Outreach.
At least 10,104 students in American classrooms have been exposed to statistical problem-solving in a project introduced two years ago in this country to educate school-aged kids on statistical literacy. The American Statistical Association’s (ASA) United States Census at School program, which originated in the United Kingdom in 2000, is a free, web-based project for students in grades four through 12.
7,150 secondary school students from 216 schools completed CensusAtSchool Ireland survey between August 2011 and August 2012.
The questionnaire covered topics ranging from what students have for breakfast, the types of sports they participate in, where they keep their mobile phones and how much they knew about the Olympics.
Dr Patricia O’Hara, Chairperson of the National Statistics Board in Ireland formally launches their new CensusAtSchool Ireland questionnaire today.
There’s a few new questions in it, along with ones in common with our one here in New Zealand. View their questionnaire »
