Abstract
A growing number of studies suggest that relatively young behavior of pupils gives them a much greater likelihood of being diagnosed with a disorder such as ADHD. This ‘relative age effect’ has also been demonstrated for special educational needs, learning difficulties, being bullied, and so on. The current study investigated the relationship between relative age of pupils in primary education and teachers’ perception of their behavior. The study sample included 1973 pupils, aged between 6 and 12. Six linear mixed models were carried out with birth day in a year as predictor variable and ‘total problem score’, ‘problems with hyperactivity’, ‘behavioral problems’, ‘emotional problems’, ‘problems with peers’ and ‘pro-social behavior’ as dependent variables. Random intercepts were added for school and teacher level. Cluster-mean centering disaggregated between-school effects and within-school effects. We found no associations between relative age of pupils and teacher perceptions of their behavior. Several explanations are postulated to account for these findings which contradict prior studies on relative age effects.
Highlights
The United Nations (UN) Declaration on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities [1] calls to provide inclusive education at all levels
Significant main effects were found for gender in most outcomes: teachers reported more pro-social behavior, less behavioral problems, less hyperactivity, less problems with peers and less total problem behaviors for girls
For pro-social behavior a main effect was found for combined year group: combined year groups were associated with higher levels of perceived pro-social behavior
Summary
The United Nations (UN) Declaration on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities [1] calls to provide inclusive education at all levels. Achieving inclusive education is an ongoing challenge in many Western countries [2]. Policy aimed at achieving inclusive education pairs with the wish to more consider what pupils need than what pupils have, with respect to their behavior in the classroom [3]. Much special education research remains focused on identifying and assessing individual pupils’ dysfunctioning [4], the responsibilities of teachers in diagnosing disorders [5] and the need to identify disorders as early as possible [6].
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