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Parents’ positive views on exercise link to higher physical literacy in kids.
Federal order requires some education programs to check immigration status.
Indiana expands high school apprenticeships for workforce prep.
Research & Practice
Scientific Reports: The Predictive Relationship Between Parents’ Perceptions of Physical Activity and Children’s Physical Literacy
Researchers examined the relationship between parents’ perceptions of physical activity and children’s physical literacy. Physical literacy is defined as building motivation to engage in lifelong physical activity. Around the world, children have reported low levels of physical literacy, which can prevent them from creating habits that improve their cognitive, emotional, and physical health. Examining 195 children from one school in Central China, the results indicate that parents with more positive perceptions of physical activity had children with higher levels of physical literacy, regardless of children’s gender, age, and socioeconomic status. This finding may be due to parents encouraging children to participate in regular physical activity or having higher expectations for their children’s knowledge of healthy habits. Additionally, children from higher socioeconomic status backgrounds had increased physical literacy. The research underscores the importance for families to build strong habits at home, which can impact children’s familiarity and interest in engaging in activities to improve their health.
Humanities and Social Sciences Communications: Making Their Minds Up: Flux and Stability in Young Children’s Career Aspirations in North East England
Children’s interests in pursuing specific careers are typically influenced by societal norms, especially gender roles. In a longitudinal study, researchers from Northumbria University in England examined children’s career aspirations between the ages of seven and nine. The majority of children reported career interests that were the same as their classmates. Several gender differences in career aspirations were noted. Boys were most interested in being a football player, while girls were more interested in being a teacher or actress. Interest in STEM careers decreased for girls from 51% in 2019 to 33% in 2021, while boys’ interest in STEM careers increased from 26% to 40% in the same period. Children’s career choices were most likely to be influenced by their families. The research provides evidence for the importance of career-based learning as early as elementary school; children may benefit from exposure to different job types to reduce gender-based stereotypes and increase their knowledge of career choices.
Policy
K-12 Dive: Trump Administration Restricts Education-Related Programs for Some Immigrants
The Trump administration made changes to federal programs that serve non-American citizens. The executive order now requires agencies to identify all federally funded programs that provide “cash or non-cash public benefit” to undocumented immigrants. The changes require Head Start, a program designed to support low-income families’ access to early childhood education, to check citizenship and immigration status before allowing children to enroll. The executive order will also impact tuition for dual enrollment and early college programs for high school students. United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., shared that the previous process “diverted hardworking Americans’ tax dollars to incentivize illegal immigration.” In response to the executive order, the National Head Start Association released an official statement: “This decision undermines the fundamental commitment that the country has made to children and disregards decades of evidence that Head Start is essential to our collective future.”
Chalkbeat: Family Preschool Costs Rise as Indiana Cuts Preschool Funding
Preschool costs in Marion County, Indiana, have increased partly due to cuts from the state’s preschool voucher program, On My Way Pre-K. The program provided low-income families with vouchers to pay for preschool. Several changes will be made to the program in the next school year. The number of seats dropped from 6,000 to 2,500, and now families will receive up to $148 a week instead of $300 to cover preschool costs. Families must make up to 140% of the federal poverty level, and parents must be employed, a student, or attending job training to be eligible for the program. Indianapolis Public Schools has now implemented a sliding-scale tuition to help families cover costs. Research has shown that early childhood education has a significant impact on children’s academic performance. Community members worry that schools will have trouble retaining students due to the increased cost of education, which could lead to more programs closing in the future.
Around the Nation
CalMatters: Homeless Student Counts in California Are Up. Some Say That’s a Good Thing
The percentage of homeless students in Kern County, California, has increased by 10% in the last year, mostly due to schools implementing better practices to identify students in need. Previously, families were required to submit forms on their housing status. This method was proven ineffective as families did not want to share their personal information for fear of legal repercussions. In 2021, a bill was passed to train educators to spot potential signs of homelessness. The bill was effective and identified 21,000 more homeless students in California, though researchers believe that the count is still an underestimate. In Kern County, schools have created special programs for homeless students, including pairing them with tutors and mentors, providing them with school supplies, and creating a college preparation program. Staff sought student feedback to improve schools to increase student attendance. Since the program started, the chronic absenteeism rate for homeless students has dropped from 45% to 39%.
Springfield News-Sun: Springfield Schools Forms Team, Initiatives to Help Fight Chronic Absenteeism After 6-Month Program
Springfield City Schools in Ohio participated in a program led by Digital Group to address chronic absenteeism in the district. In the 2024-2025 school year, the school district’s attendance rate was 89%. Next year, they hope to reach 93%. To accomplish this goal, they improved communication with families, conducted outreach across the city, and created systems to manage data more effectively. They also surveyed families who were chronically absent and formed a task force to develop initiatives to implement in the upcoming year. If students miss just two days of school a month, by the time they graduate from high school, they will have missed one year of instruction. Baron Davis, who co-leads the initiative, shared that the program allowed school districts to see “… chronic absenteeism not as defiance but as data. Not as a problem to be fixed, but as a message to be decoded.”
The Hechinger Report: Apprenticeships for High Schoolers Are Touted as the Next Big Thing. One State Leads the Way
Nationwide, there has been a push for schools to provide students with apprenticeships in high school. High schools in Indiana have created opportunities for students to apprentice in various types of workplaces in addition to receiving classroom instruction. Currently, 80 students from seven school districts have apprenticeships, and the state hopes to create opportunities for up to 50,000 students to participate by 2034. The program was created after the Great Recession to ensure future financial stability for the community, and it is modeled after similar initiatives in Switzerland and Germany. Students who have participated in the program have enjoyed the extra responsibility and opportunity to work closely in a field they are interested in. Some employers have paid for their students’ community college classes. Schools have had difficulty expanding the program due to a lack of reliable transportation to job sites and funding for employers to hire students.
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