Primary School Attainment Research Articles

Factors determining high academic attainment in primary school (based on the longitudinal study of year 2 and year 4 Russian schoolchildren)

Introduction. The study attempts to solve the problem of predicting academic attainment in primary school. The main emphasis in selecting factors to predict success in learning was on personal and contextual ones. Among personal factors, executive functions were considered, which are described by many authors as significant for successful learning. Among the contextual factors, the main focus is on marks given to schoolchildren in each subject by their teacher. An attempt is made to predict children’s academic attainment in Year 4 based on data on academic attainment in Year 2. Materials and Methods. 53 primary schoolchildren were examined first in Year 2 and then in Year 4. The following executive functions were studied: working memory (using the O. M. Razumnikova’s technique) and inhibitory control (using E. G. Vergunova and E. I. Nikolaeva’s inventory). In addition, final marks in all subjects were analyzed for each year. All schoolchildren were assigned to one of the following groups: ‘excellent students’, ‘good students’, ‘C students’. This parameter was called ‘academic attainment’. First, using factor analysis, correlations between the studied parameters were identified separately for Year 2 and Year 4, then a regression analysis was carried out, with the help of which the factors influencing high academic attainment in Year 2 and Year 4 for the same children were identified. Finally, a factor analysis was conducted in order to assess academic attainment in Year 4 based on data collected in Year 2. Results. Factor analysis revealed that marks given to primary schoolchildren by the main teacher in Year 2 correlate with each other, that is, a halo effect is noted when marks are given not for a particular student’s answer, but according to teacher’s general impression about them. As part of the regression analysis, it was shown that in Year 2, academic attainment is determined only by final marks in the Russian language. Only in Year 4 the influence of inhibitory control and working memory on academic attainment was found. An attempt to predict academic attainment based on the results of Year 2 showed that academic attainment in Year 4 can only be predicted on the basis of final assessment in the Russian language. It can be assumed that this subject is more difficult for children than others; therefore it requires maximum inclusion of executive functions. Conclusions. The study revealed that executive functions do not affect academic attainment in Year 2, but inhibitory control is a significant factor predicting academic attainment in Year 4. Inhibitory control at the behavioral level is assessed as the level of manifestation of volitional quality in a child. A significant relationship was found in Year 4 between high scores in Reading and high scores in Music, Art, and Science. This indicates that central processes that underlie activities in these subjects are interconnected. Finally, it was found that a significant factor predicting academic attainment in Year 4 is the mark for Russian language in Year 2.

Mother’s age at marriage and gender-differential in child schooling: Evidence from Pakistan

In this study, we provide empirical evidence in support of intergenerational effects of women’s marriage age on girl-specific child education outcomes using a nationally representative household survey of 24,809 households from Pakistan. Our key findings are four-fold: First, we find that mother’s age at marriage has no girl-specific impact on the education of children of school going age in terms of school enrolment, type of school (public/private) or education expenditure. However, there is a positive effect of delaying mother’s marriage on girls in terms of relative grade progression and primary school attainment, implying that late-marrying mothers are more likely to transfer their human capital advantages/disadvantages to the daughters. Second, the impact does not depend on whether the child is firstborn or later-order, youngest child or with no siblings. Sex of the previous child does not affect the relationship either. Third, the beneficial impact of mother’s marriage age on girls’ education is visible only in the cohort of women who got married in 2000 or later. Fourth, father’s marriage age is significantly associated with an increase in daughters’ school enrolment and primary completion. The impact of smaller spousal age difference is also positive. These findings are robust to the use of empirical strategies and specifications that address potential endogeneity, collider bias, recall bias, sample selection and confounding factors. These findings suggest that delay in women’s marriage is helping to narrow down gender disparities in education. The findings underscore the need to promote social and behavioural changes that encourage later marriages.

Primary school attainment outcomes in children with neurodisability: Protocol for a population-based cohort study using linked education and hospital data from England

Background Neurodisability describes a broad range of heterogenous conditions affecting the brain and/or the neuromuscular system that result in functional limitations including cognitive, sensory, and motor impairments. Children with neurodisability have complex health and educational needs. They are likely to achieve below-expected levels in measures of school attainment and require special educational needs provision. While the educational outcomes of children with specific conditions under neurodisability have been investigated previously, there is little evidence on the collective outcomes of population or the progression of their attainment throughout primary school. This study aims to describe educational attainment and attainment trajectories by the end of primary school for children in England with neurodisability recorded in hospital records, compared to their peers. Methods We will use the Education and Child Health Insights from Linked Data (ECHILD) database, which links educational and health records across England. We will define a primary school cohort of children who were born in National Health Service funded hospitals in England between 1st September 2003 and 31st August 2008, who were enrolled in reception of a state-funded primary school at age 4/5 years. Children with neurodisability will be identified using diagnostic and procedure codes recorded from birth to the end of primary school (age 11) in hospital admission records. We will describe educational outcomes at reception (Early Years Foundation Stage Profile, age 4/5), year two (key stage one, age 6/7), and year six (key stage two, age 10/11) for three groups of children: those with an indicator of neurodisability first recorded before the beginning of primary school, those with an indicator of neurodisability first recorded during primary school, and those without a record of neurodisability before the end of primary school. We will additionally explore the variation in educational outcomes between these groups, accounting for socioeconomic and demographic characteristics.

Gestational age at birth and academic attainment in primary and secondary school in England: Evidence from a national cohort study.

Preterm birth (<37 weeks’ gestation) is a risk factor for poor educational outcomes. A dose-response effect of earlier gestational age at birth on poor primary school attainment has been observed, but evidence for secondary school attainment is limited and focused predominantly on the very preterm (<32 weeks) population. We examined the association between gestational age at birth and academic attainment at the end of primary and secondary schooling in England. Data for children born in England from 2000–2001 were drawn from the population-based UK Millennium Cohort Study. Information about the child’s birth, sociodemographic factors and health was collected from parents. Attainment on national tests at the end of primary (age 11) and secondary school (age 16) was derived from linked education records. Data on attainment in primary school was available for 6,950 pupils and that of secondary school was available for 7,131 pupils. Adjusted relative risks (aRRs) for these outcomes were estimated at each stage separately using modified Poisson regression. At the end of primary school, 17.7% of children had not achieved the expected level in both English and Mathematics and this proportion increased with increasing prematurity. Compared to full term (39–41 weeks) children, the strongest associations were among children born moderately (32–33 weeks; aRR = 2.13 (95% CI 1.44–3.13)) and very preterm (aRR = 2.06 (95% CI 1.46–2.92)). Children born late preterm (34–36 weeks) and early term (37–38 weeks) were also at higher risk with aRR = 1.18 (95% CI 0.94–1.49) and aRR = 1.21 (95% CI 1.05–1.38), respectively. At the end of secondary school, 45.2% had not passed at least five General Certificate of Secondary Education examinations including English and Mathematics. Following adjustment, only children born very preterm were at significantly higher risk (aRR = 1.26 (95% CI 1.03–1.54)). All children born before full term are at risk of poorer attainment during primary school compared with term-born children, but only children born very preterm remain at risk at the end of secondary schooling. Children born very preterm may require additional educational support throughout compulsory schooling.

Determinants of Enrolment of Girl Children in Primary Education in Rural India: A Region-based Analysi

This paper investigates the factors which can influence overall enrolment and girls’ enrolment in primary education in rural India. Based on the 2011 Census, 352 rural people-dominated districts of 16 major states of India are identified. Due to sociocultural differences among rural Indian people, the states are divided into four regions based on their geographical locations. Initially, after constructing School Grant Coverage Index through principal component analysis and with the help of the General Entropy Measure of Inequality, it is observed that the coverage of grants in public primary schools has enhanced and inequality in terms of receiving government grants has decreased over time in rural India. Results based on the static panel regression model depict that midday meal and teaching–learning material grants influence overall enrolment only in the Northern and Eastern regions of rural India. Similarly, midday meals, school development grants and father’s education influence girl’s enrolment in Eastern, Western and Northern regions but failed to influence in Southern regions of India. The availability of female teachers positively influences girls’ enrolment in primary school attainment in Eastern, Western and Southern regions of India. We have also found that parents are more interested to admit their girl child to public primary schools in rural areas.

Female homicides and femicides in Ecuador: a nationwide ecological analysis from 2001 to 2017

BackgroundGender–based violence is a major public health concern arising from the structural discrimination of women and girls. In 2014, Ecuador criminalized acts of femicide in response to a growing crisis across the region. As no epidemiological studies on the state of female homicides and femicides have been published, we estimated patterns of female homicides and femicides nationally and the burden through economic cost per years of life lost, between 2001 and 2017.MethodsUsing aggregated data from the National Institute of Census and Statistics and police records we estimated the annual mortality rates, cumulative incidence and prevalence odds ratios for female homicides and femicides, from 2001 to 2017. The impact of aggressions, assaults and violence on years of life lost due to premature mortality was estimated using the Human Capital method.ResultsOver the period, at least 3236 cases of female homicides and femicides were reported. The highest murder rate occurred in the province of Sucumbíos (6.5 per 100,000) and in the Putumayo canton (12.5 per 100,000). The most common way to murder their victims was using firearms (38%). The highest odds ratio was estimated for women aged between 25 and 29, at 4.5 (3.9–5.1), of primary school attainment at 17.2 (14.6–20.3) and of Afro-Ecuadoran descent 18.1 (10.5–30.9). Female homicide-related costs reached, on average, $35 million per year and more than $500 million lost from 2001 to 2017.ConclusionsThe high rates, distribution and cost indicate that investments are urgently needed to address the structural causes and reduce the impact of female homicides and femicides in Ecuador; thereby protecting the livelihood and well-being of their women and girls.

Educational Inequalities in COVID-19 Vaccination: A Cross-Sectional Study of the Adult Population in the Lazio Region, Italy.

Several studies reported socioeconomic inequalities during the COVID-19 pandemic. We aimed at investigating educational inequalities in COVID-19 vaccination on 22 December 2021. We used the cohort of all residents in the Lazio Region, Central Italy, established at the beginning of the pandemic to investigate the effects of COVID-19. The Lazio Region has 5.5 million residents, mostly distributed in the Metropolitan Area of Rome (4.3 million inhabitants). We selected those aged 35 years or more who were alive and still residents on 22 December 2021. The cohort included data on sociodemographic, health characteristics, COVID-19 vaccination (none, partial, or complete), and SARS-CoV-2 infection. We used adjusted logistic regression models to analyze the association between level of education and no vaccination. We investigated 3,186,728 subjects (54% women). By the end of 2021, 88.1% of the population was fully vaccinated, and 10.3% were not vaccinated. There were strong socioeconomic inequalities in not getting vaccinated: compared with those with a university degree, residents with a high school degree had an odds ratio (OR) of 1.29 (95% confidence interval, CI, 1.27–1.30), and subjects with a junior high or primary school attainment had an OR = 1.41 (95% CI: 1.40–1.43). Since a comprehensive vaccination against COVID-19 could help reduce socioeconomic inequalities raised with the pandemic, further efforts in reaching the low socioeconomic strata of the population are crucial.

Agriculture exports, child labor and youth education: Evidence from 68 developing countries

AbstractThis paper examines the effects of agricultural exports on youth education in a panel of 68 developing countries during the period from 1965 to 2010 by applying exogenous world agriculture prices as an instrument. The main finding is that an increase in the agriculture trade leads to a significant reduction in years of education and the increase in child labor that results from a boom in agriculture provides a dominant channel. The reduction in primary school attainment supports the child labor channel due to their strong linkage. Finally, income and literacy are found to be able to mitigate such adverse effects.

Cohort at risk: long-term consequences of conflict for child school achievement

We investigate the long-term effects of households’ exposure to violent conflict on children’s educational attainment in primary school, studying cognitive and non-cognitive skills as possible causal channels. Our identification strategy exploits the locality-level variation in the intensity of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the West Bank during the Second Intifada (2000–2005). We show that an increase in family experience of conflict has large negative long-term effects on the educational attainment of children as measured by grade point averages. We find that non-cognitive rather than cognitive skills are the channels through which exposure affects children’s educational achievement.

Gender-Based Violence and Femicide in Ecuador: A Cross-Sectional Study of Population Mortality Estimates from 2001-2017

Background: Gender-based violence is a major public health concern arising from the structural discrimination of women and girls. In 2014, Ecuador criminalized acts of femicide in response to a growing crisis across the region. As no epidemiological studies on the state of femicides have been published, we estimated trends occurring between 2001 and 2017. Methods: Using data from the National Institute of Census and Statistics we estimated the annual mortality rates, cumulative incidence and relative risks for female homicides, from 2001 – 2017. The impact of aggressions, assaults and violence on years of life lost due to premature mortality was estimated using the Human Capital method. Findings: Over the period, at least 3,236 cases of female homicides were reported. The highest murder rate occurred in the province of Sucumbios (6·5 per 100,000) and in the Putumayo canton (12·5 per 100,000). The most common way to murder their victims was using firearms (38%). The highest relative risk was estimated for women aged between 25-29, at 4·5 (3·9 – 5·1), of primary school attainment at 17·2 (14·6 - 20·3) and of Afro-Ecuadoran descent 18·1 (10·5- 30·9). Femicide-related costs reached, on average, $35 million per year and more than $500 million lost from 2001 to 2017. Interpretation: The high rates, distribution and cost indicate that investments are urgently needed to address the structural causes and reduce the impact of femicides in Ecuador; thereby protecting the livelihood and well-being of their women and girls. Funding Statement: This work was funded by the Universidad de Las Americas Declaration of Interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethics Approval Statement: The current epidemiological study included ecological data from all reported cases of femicide, homicides and crime related deaths in Ecuador. This analysis did not contain access to any source of identifiable information. The entire dataset is anonymized and is publicly available in the following website https://www.ecuadorencifras.gob.ec/nacimientos_y_defunciones/. According to the international good clinical and research practice and in accordance with Ecuadorian legislation on clinical investigation involving humans, ethical approval by a local or international institutional review board (IRB) is not required.

Towards a pedagogical model of teaching with ICTs for mathematics attainment in primary school: A review of studies 2008–2018

This article reviews literature in the field of ICTs in teaching/learning mathematics at an elementary school level. The findings to date in the field of teaching with technology in mathematics classrooms are very conflictual, with some studies indicating that ICTs impact positively on achievement through altering pedagogy, while other studies indicate that the effect on achievement and pedagogy is in fact negative. The current paper seeks to address the conflictual data by analysing a variety of meta-analyses and studies in order to answer the following questions: Does pedagogy alter with the use of ICTs in grade 6 mathematics classrooms and if so, in what ways does it vary? Secondly, does student achievement in mathematics change with the use of ICTs as teaching tools and if so, in what ways does it do so? Findings from the review indicate that student achievement in mathematics can be positively impacted using technology, depending on the pedagogical practices used by teachers. Technology on its own appears to have no significant impact on student's attainment. There is a dearth of findings regarding pedagogical variation with ICTs outside of a single meta-analysis that indicates that a ‘constructivist’ approach to teaching/learning with technology is the most effective approach to developing students' conceptually. Due to this gap in the literature, the paper outlines a theoretical framework for providing a nuanced study of pedagogical variation with ICTs drawing on Cultural Historical Activity Theory and TPACK that can track pedagogical change along various dimensions.

Protocol for a systematic review: Interventions to improve mathematics achievement in primary school-aged children: a systematic review.

Protocol for a systematic review: Interventions to improve mathematics achievement in primary school-aged children: a systematic review.

Measuring Gender Equality in Education: Lessons from Trends in 43 Countries

Measuring Gender Equality in Education: Lessons from Trends in 43 Countries

Educational Attainment at Age 10–11 Years Predicts Health Risk Behaviors and Injury Risk During Adolescence

PurposeTo examine the effect of educational attainment in primary school on later adolescent health. MethodsEducation data attainments at age 7 and 11 were linked with (1) primary and secondary care injury consultation/admissions and (2) the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children survey. Cox regression was carried out to examine if attainment in primary school predicts time to injury in adolescence. ResultsPupils that achieve attainment at age 7 but not at age 11 (i.e., declining attainment over time in primary school) are more likely to have an injury during adolescence. These children are also more likely to self-report drinking in adolescence. ConclusionsInterventions aimed at children with declining attainment in primary school could help to improve adolescent health.

Cohort at Risk: Long-Term Consequences of Conflict for Child School Achievement

We investigate the long-term effects of households' exposure to violent conflict on children's educational attainment in primary school, studying cognitive and non-cognitive skills as possible causal channels. Our identification strategy exploits the locality-level variation in the intensity of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the West Bank during the Second Intifada (2000–2005). We show that an increase in family experience of conflict has large negative long-term effects on the educational attainment of children measured by grade point averages. Impaired non-cognitive rather than cognitive skills are identified as channels through which exposure affects children's educational achievement.

Can ‘Philosophy for Children’ Improve Primary School Attainment?

There are tensions within formal education between imparting knowledge and the development of skills for handling that knowledge. In the primary school sector, the latter can also be squeezed out of the curriculum by a focus on basic skills such as literacy and numeracy. What happens when an explicit attempt is made to develop young children's reasoning—both in terms of their apparent cognitive abilities and their basic skills? This paper reports an independent evaluation of an in-class intervention called ‘Philosophy for Children’ (P4C), after just over one year of schooling. The intervention aims to help children become more willing and able to question, reason, construct arguments and collaborate with others. A group of 48 volunteer schools were randomised to receive P4C (22 schools) or act as a control for one year (26). This paper reports the CAT results for all pupils in years 4 and 5 initially, and the Key Stage 2 attainment in English and Maths for those starting in year 5. There was no school dropout. Individual attrition from a total of 3,159 pupils was around 11 percent—roughly equal between groups. There were small positive ‘effect’ sizes in favour of the P4C group in progress in reading (+0.12) and maths (+0.10), and even smaller perhaps negligible improvements in CAT scores (+0.07) and writing (+0.03). The results for the most disadvantaged (free school eligible) pupils were larger for attainment (+0.29 in reading, +0.17 writing and +0.20 maths), but not for CATs (–0.02). Observations and interviews suggest that the intervention was generally enjoyable and thought to be beneficial for pupil confidence. Our conclusion is that, for those wishing to improve attainment outcomes in the short term, an emphasis on developing reasoning is promising, especially for the poorest students, but perhaps not the most effective way forward. However, for those who value reasoning for its own sake, this evaluation demonstrates that using curriculum time in this way does not damage attainment (and may well enhance it and reduce the poverty gradient in attainment), and so suggests that something like P4C is an appropriate educational approach.

Ecological Framework for Primary School Attainment in Ethnic Minority Children in Bangladesh

Ecological framework suggests that poor family socieconomic status and school social capital have negative influences on young children’s proper development, social well-being, and primary school attainment. Using representative sample (young children) aged 5–12 from northwestern primary schools this study examines whether or not family (origin of family, lower socioeconomic status, limited resources), and poor school social capital (language problem, poor social relation with classmate and teacher, and teacher punishment in classroom) are significantly related to primary school attainment (late enrollment and irregular class attendance) in tri-ethnic (e.g., Santal, Oraon & Hindu) children in rural Bangladesh. Applying binary logistic regression results indicate that late enrollement and irregular class attendance are significantly associated with their poor family SES and school social factors. Of the predicting factors, ethnic identity is positively related to late enrollment and irregular class attendance, but lower family income is negatively related to late primary school enrollment. In addition, landlessness and teacher’s punishment are negatively linked to irregular class attendance among the ethnic children in rural Bangladesh. Despite some limitations: randomization and causal or interaction effects of family and school factors by ethnic identity on children’s primary school attainment, the findings may have social policy implications in tri-ethnic children’s primary school attainment, improving ethnic identity status, family SES, and school social capital.

Do scheduled caste and scheduled tribe women legislators mean lower gender-caste gaps in primary schooling in India?

Despite India's substantial investments in primary schooling, gaps in schooling persist across gender and caste—with scheduled caste and scheduled tribe (SC/ST) girls being particularly disadvantaged. The representation of SC/ST women in state legislatures may help to mitigate this disadvantage. Specifically, because of her intersecting gender and caste/tribe identities, a SC/ST woman legislator might maintain a strong sense of solidarity especially with SC/ST girls and women, and support legislative policies benefitting SC/ST girls. Consequently, for this reason, we expect that living in a district where SC/ST women represent in state legislatures in a higher proportion may increase SC/ST girls' primary school completion, progression and performance. We tested this hypothesis using district-level data between 2000 and 2004 from the Indian Election Commission, the 2004/5 India Human Development Survey, and the Indian Census of 2001. As expected, the representation of SC/ST women in state legislatures was positively associated with SC/ST girls' grade completion and age-appropriate grade progression but was apparent not SC/ST girls' primary-school performance. SC/ST women's representation in state legislatures may reduce gender-caste gaps in primary-school attainment in India.

Does human capital investment matter in economic development? Evidence from a Nigerian micro-data

In this paper, I establish the relationship between human capital investment and economic development in Nigeria using a micro-data. Previous studies on Nigeria have exploited the macro data and findings are inconclusive. These studies proxied educational quality by enrolment in learning institutions. Instead, I utilized educational attainment which is a better measure of educational output. The results reveal that all the human capital indicators adopted in the study with the exception of primary school attainment positively drive economic development in Nigeria. The disconnection between economic development and primary education may be traced to the low skill acquired at this level. I observe that the positive link between secondary, tertiary, and economic development is weaker when compared to macro-studies which used enrolment rate rather than educational attainment. This suggests that these studies may have over-estimated the effect of human capital investment, particularly education on economic development in Nigeria. This finding therefore could redirect government policies towards focusing more on educational attainment as the outcome of educational input.

Developing an item bank for use in testing in Africa: Theory and methodology

The author describes the steps taken by a research team, of which she was part, to develop a specific methodology for assessing student attainment in primary school, working with the Programme for the Analysis of Education Systems (PASEC) of the Conference of Ministers of Education of French-speaking Countries (CONFEMEN). This methodology provides the basis for an item bank that can be used for many assessment tests. It can also be applied outside the specific context of French-speaking Africa.