ERIC Number: EJ1239254
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0332 3315
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
The Neglected Issue of Sleep: A Curricular and Home-Based Intervention for Improving Sleep Patterns among Sixth-Class Children in an Irish Urban School with High Levels of Poverty
Hargadon, Ciara; Downes, Paul
Irish Educational Studies, v38 n4 p419-433 2019
This study seeks to examine the importance of sleep health in an Irish urban school context of high poverty. It adopts an action research approach to conduct small-scale research with a non-probability sample of twenty-four sixth class pupils, to ascertain whether a five-week school and home based intervention can improve; sleep behaviours among the participants; self-reported daytime sleepiness of participants; and self-reported motivation to improve sleep health. The results indicated a notable improvement in child-reported daytime sleepiness, particularly among high-risk children. There was also a reduction in children reporting a bedtime post-midnight after the intervention. This intervention is innovative in its approach, as it provides a possible model for implementing a sleep health programme in the Irish primary curriculum to address the current Irish national policy neglect of this issue. It incorporates a parental involvement element, which has been recommended by previous international sleep interventions [Blunden et al. 2012. "Does Sleep Education Change Sleep Parameters? Comparing Sleep Education Trials for Middle School Students in Australia and New Zealand." "The Open Sleep Journal" 5: 12-18]. In addition, it aims to exert behaviour change, not just changing attitudes. These results, coupled with a positive feedback from children, their parents and class teacher, suggest positive potential for curricular multi-disciplinary model interventions in addressing sleep health needs among school-aged children.
Descriptors: Sleep, Intervention, Urban Schools, Poverty Areas, Health Behavior, At Risk Persons, Children, Parent Participation, Program Effectiveness, Elementary School Students, Motivation, Childrens Attitudes, Handheld Devices, Fatigue (Biology), Behavior Patterns, Foreign Countries, Health Education, Family School Relationship
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Ireland (Dublin)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A