Children's School Success Research Articles

Challenges to School Success Among Children in U.S. Military Families.

More than 90% of children in military families attend civilian schools that may lack understanding of the unique experiences and stressors of military life. School success in children of military families has important implications on future academic achievement, health outcomes, and military groups; yet there has not been an examination of challenges of school success among children of military families in the United States using nationally representative data. Data captured in the 2021-2022 National Survey of Children's Health, limited to children aged 6 to 17 years, were used to examine the association between child's caregiver military status and challenges of school success: lack of school engagement measured through caring about school and completing schoolwork, school absenteeism, and grade repetition (n = 60,599). Weighted to be nationally representative, bivariate analyses used chi-squared tests to examine estimates between selected variables and caregiver military status. Multivariable regression analyses were used to examine the association between caregiver military status and challenges of school success measures. In both unadjusted and adjusted analyses, we found that children of military families were more likely to not be engaged in school (adjusted odds ratios 1.35; 95% CI 1.19-1.53) and more likely to repeat a grade (adjusted odds ratios 1.33; 95% CI 1.09-1.64) than their civilian counterparts. There were no statistically significant differences in school absenteeism between children of military families and of civilian families. This study extends beyond previous research findings that have focused primarily on academic achievement by including school engagement, attendance, and grade repetition for a more holistic and complete understanding of school success of children in military families. Our findings can be informational for school systems and policymakers to create educational and connective interventions for children in military families to improve school success.

Student profiles of physical activity, screen time, sleep quality and dietary habits and their association with mental health and school satisfaction: An exploratory study

AbstractThe interrelated nature of mental health and indicators of school success in children and adolescents has been under‐investigated from a person‐centered perspective. In this exploratory study, we examined patterns of health behavior in relation to mental health and school satisfaction. A convenience sample of 315 students (Mage = 11.39; SD = 2.045) from two British schools in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates participated in an online survey that included self‐report measures of physical activity, screen time, sleep quality, dietary habits, mental health, and school satisfaction. Based on latent profile analysis, we identified four distinct health behavior profiles: high, low, average, and poor sleep and diet. Significant variation across profiles was evident for mental health subscores, age, and gender, although the results for gender were due to a high number of participants identifying as “other” or preferring not to say their gender. Profile membership was significantly associated with mental health and school satisfaction with students in the high health behavior profile reporting the highest scores on these outcomes. This study presents novel findings about students' health behaviors and school satisfaction and provides impetus for continuing research in this area of inquiry from a person‐centered perspective.

Examining the malleability of young children's flexible attention to numerical and spatial magnitudes

Math ability is critical to children's future school and career success, and prior studies show that flexible attention to magnitudes (FAM) predicts children's future math abilities over and above other early math skills. FAM broadly refers to the ability to switch flexibly between attending to different dimensions of magnitude (e.g., size and numerosity). In the current study, we created an intervention using number books to test, for the first time, the malleability of children's FAM ability. A randomized experiment was conducted with 116 preschool-age children (Mage = 55.6 months; 54.3 % female) to test our hypothesis that FAM ability is malleable and can be trained using number books. The intervention included four conditions to which children were randomly assigned: size-to-number, mixed, conventional counting, and non-numerical. The experimental conditions were size-to-number and mixed, while the conventional counting and non-numerical conditions served as controls. Consistent with our hypothesis, children significantly improved in FAM task performance from pre- to post-intervention within the experimental groups, but not within the control groups. Furthermore, children in the two experimental conditions combined significantly improved number line estimation scores from pre- to post-intervention, unlike the combined two control conditions. Implications of these findings on the development of future FAM interventions are discussed.

The Impact of Type 1 Diabetes on the Family and Related Factors

Objective: This study was conducted to determine the impact of Type 1 diabetes mellitus and related factors on children and families. Methods: The descriptive study was conducted with the parents of 175 children aged 6-18 years with Type 1 diabetes mellitus. The data were collected using the "Child and Family Information Form" and the "Diabetes Family Impact Scale (DFIS)." pResults:It was determined that the parents' total median DFIS score was 21.42 (9.52-35.71) and the highest median score was 33.33 (11.11-66.66) in the "finances" sub-dimension score. There was a significant difference between the child's school success and the parents' "school" sub-dimension median scores, the mother's employment status and the "work" sub-dimension median scores, and the family's income level and the DFIS total median scores (pConclusions and Recommendations:It was concluded that diabetes mostly adversely affected the family in terms of "finances." It was also determined that the negative impact of diabetes on the family was higher in children with poor school success and in families where mothers were unemployed and whose income was less than their expenses. The negative impact of diabetes on the family increased as the ages of the child, mother, and father and the duration of diagnosis decreased and the HbA1c level increased. In line with the research findings, one should be aware of the factors (child's age, child's school success, parental age, parental employment status, family income level, duration of diagnosis, HbA1c level) that affect the negative effects of diabetes on the family. In addition, it is recommended to plan and implement the necessary initiatives to prevent the negative effects of diabetes on the family (especially in the financial field) since the child's diagnosis of diabetes.

Reprint of: Homelessness and child protection involvement: Temporal links and risks to student attendance and school mobility

BackgroundThe experience of homelessness and child protection involvement pose risks to children's school success. Elucidating processes by which these interrelated systems affect child well-being is important for guiding policy and practice. ObjectiveThis study examines the temporal relation between emergency shelter or transitional housing use and child protection involvement among school-aged children. We evaluated effects of both risk indicators on school attendance and school mobility. Participant and settingUsing integrated administrative data, we identified 3278 children (ages 4 to 15) whose families used emergency or transitional housing in Hennepin and Ramsey County of Minnesota during the 2014 and 2015 academic years. A propensity-score-matched comparison group of 2613 children who did not use emergency or transitional housing. MethodThrough a series of logistic regressions and generalized estimating equations, we tested the temporal associations of emergency/transitional housing and child protection involvement as well as how both experiences affected school attendance and mobility. ResultsExperiences of emergency or transitional housing often proceeded or occurred concurrently with child protection involvement and increased the likelihood of child protection services. Emergency or transitional housing and child protection involvement posed risks for lower school attendance and greater school mobility. ConclusionsA multisystem approach to assist families across social services may be important for stabilizing children's housing and bolstering their success at school. A two-generation approach focused on residential and school stability and enhancing family resources could boost adaptive success of family members across contexts.

A re‐examination of the Italian parental monitoring scale: Development, validation, gender, and school success measurement invariance

AbstractParental monitoring (PM) is a key construct in research on children's well‐being and healthy development referring to the attention parents pay to their children's activities and whereabouts. However, existing literature suggests that the psychometric properties of its measurement tools are still perfect. For this study, a revised Italian parental monitoring scale (I‐PM‐R) was developed and validated with data from 835 participants (63% females), aged between 10 and 20 years old. The sample was divided into two sub‐samples. One was used for parallel and exploratory factor analyses, and the other was used for confirmatory factor analysis. A total of eight factors were thus identified. The scale exhibited invariance in relation to children's gender and school success, and associations with demographic variables and school performance. The I‐PM‐R contributes to the need to move toward psychometric quality advances in the measurement of PM.

Cognitive Development.

Cognitive development in children begins with brain development. Early life exposures may both positively and negatively influence cognitive development in children. Infants, toddlers, and children learn best in secure, nurturing environments and when attachment to a consistent caregiver is present. Pediatricians can screen for both social determinants of health and developmental milestones at office visits to address barriers to care and promote positive cognitive and learning outcomes. Pediatricians may model developmental stimulation during office visits to talk with an infant/child, asking questions of a child, singing and pointing to pictures in books, and modeling responsive listening. Pediatricians may support caregivers to talk with their children, read to their children, and avoid/reduce screen time. Pediatricians can help point caregivers to resources for parent training, Head Start, and quality preschool programs. School readiness has both pre-academic and socioemotional components and can have long-term effects on a child's school success, health, and quality of life. School readiness depends on both the child and the caregiver being ready for school, taking into account caregiver and child health and mental health and child cognitive development.

Teachers' self-efficacy and perceptions of school climate are uniquely associated with students' externalizing and internalizing behavior problems

Early externalizing and internalizing problems undermine children's school success and long-term well-being. Leveraging a large, U.S.-representative dataset (N ≈ 14,810), we examined how kindergarten teachers' self-efficacy and school climate perceptions were linked to students' behavior problems in kindergarten and first grade. Teachers' self-efficacy and school climate perceptions were uniquely linked to kindergarteners' externalizing and internalizing behaviors, after controlling for demographic covariates and children's executive functions. Kindergarten teachers' higher self-efficacy predicted lower levels of children's externalizing problems in first grade, while teachers' positive school climate perceptions predicted children's lower internalizing problems in first grade. Longitudinal models demonstrated that teachers' perceived school climate and self-efficacy were uniquely associated with decreases in children's externalizing and internalizing behaviors from kindergarten to first grade. Findings highlight the importance of teachers' self-efficacy and school climate for children's socio-emotional development and underscore an urgent need to determine how best to support teacher well-being to optimize children's outcomes.

'Somali parents feel like they're on the outer': Somali mothers' experiences of parent-teacher relationships for their autistic children.

Good relationships between parents and schools can improve autistic children's school success. There are many reasons why families from different cultural backgrounds find it harder to develop good relationships with schools, such as language barriers, discrimination and unfamiliarity with education systems. We know little about what 'good relationships' look like for these families. Here, we worked with a team of autistic and non-autistic researchers as well as an Advisory Group of Somali parents to conduct interviews with 15 Somali mothers of kindergarten and school-age autistic children. We asked mothers about their experiences of their child's education, communication with teachers and what a good relationship with schools would look like. We also asked how they felt the Somali community understood autism. We looked for common things that mothers said. We found that mothers were very proud of their children. They had high expectations, particularly about what children could do by themselves. Mothers found it frustrating that teachers had low expectations, that schools were not good at communicating with them and that autism-specific skills and experience were uncommon in schools. They also reported racist attitudes towards their children. Mothers experienced stigma and lacked resources, but support was gained from their daughters and their religion. Mothers themselves were proactively increasing community awareness and knowledge about autism in the hope that they and their autistic children would be valued and better supported. Our work has implications for how teachers and schools can work together with Somali parents to forge better futures for autistic children.

Teacher efficacy and expectations of minority children: The mediating role of teachers’ beliefs about minority parents’ efficacy

We investigated an exploratory model regarding the ways in which teachers’ beliefs about minority parents’ efficacy influenced the relationship between personal teacher efficacy (PTE) and their expectations of minority children's school success. A sample of 149 teachers completed the questionnaire that we had developed. Based on confirmatory factor analysis, we identified constructs representing the teachers’ beliefs. Data analysis using structural equation models showed that PTE directly predicted teachers’ doubts about minority children's school success. However, when teachers’ respect for minority parents’ efficacy was entered as a mediating factor, PTE positively predicted teachers’ high expectations of minority children's school success and negatively predicted teachers’ doubt about minority children's school success. Ways to develop teachers’ beliefs about minority parents’ efficacy are discussed.

Роль контроля поведения в успеваемости и социальной компетентности младших школьников

Background. Self-regulation ability plays an important role in the school success of children — their academic performance and social competence. However, little is known about the specific aspects of self-regulation contributing to this or that competence. Purpose. The study had its purpose to reveal the contribution of behavior control as a subjective regulatory function to the progress of younger schoolchildren and their social competence. Methods: BRIEF questionnaire to assess behavior control, sociometry to assess social competence, additionally — a questionnaire for teachers to reveal the teacher's attitude towards the child as a factor that can also influence the variables under study. Sample. 75 children 9–10 years old, 34 are girls, students of grades 3–4. Results. Regression analysis showed that behavior control contributes to academic performance (R2 = 0.341, p = 0.022 for the Russian language; R2 = 0.425, p = 0.006 for mathematics). The teacher’s assessment of the child’s popularity also predicts academic performance (β = 0.588 for the Russian language and β = 0.623 for mathematics). Apart from that, behavior control predicts the likelihood of a child being accepted by peers (R2 = 0.260, p = 0.028). And, additionally, schoolchildren's acceptance is predicted by their academic performance. Conclusions. The study revealed significant contribution of behavior control to the academic success and social competence of the younger schoolchildren. Further work will be focused on clarifying the role of emotional control and initiative of a child in the academic performance and social competence of the primary school students.

PD55 Evidence-Based Practices To Support Well-Being And School Success Of Children And Youth In Out-Of-Home Care

IntroductionChildren and youth in out-of-home care face many challenges regarding their development and general well-being. It is necessary to put in place best practices to support them where they are most vulnerable. Providing recommendations to health and social services for best practices regarding social and academic success interventions, this study puts forward a synthesis method that combines empirical data and the expertise of key practitioners in the context of Quebec social services.MethodsA systematic review was first undertaken to identify the most effective interventions. Included studies (n = 31) were analyzed according to their methodological quality, collaboration processes, and type of care (foster home vs. residential care). To ensure the applicability of the recommendations made in the context of Quebec social services, contextual data, and clinical expertise were collected. Contextual data was gathered through local research reports, administrative data, and government documents. The expertise of multiple stakeholders was obtained in follow-up committees and semi-structured interviews (n = 4). In addition, to ensure their relevance and scope, recommended guidelines were debated in a deliberation committee.ResultsThe analysis between expert, contextual and empirical data led to several recommended evidence-based practices. In accordance with expert opinions, experimental and quasi-experimental studies show that various types of collaboration are beneficial for children and youth in out-of-home care. Notably, intersectoral collaborations were warranted in more complex situations (i.e., youth in residential centers), while partnership agreement was sufficient in less complex situations (i.e., children in foster homes). However, even if effective, some interventions are difficult to apply in real life and certain considerations must be taken into account (e.g. confidentiality issues, availability of resources).ConclusionsUtilizing three sets of data, guidelines have been proposed to help health and social services to identify best practices and promote the academic development of out-of-home care children and youth.

Homelessness and child protection involvement: Temporal links and risks to student attendance and school mobility

BackgroundThe experience of homelessness and child protection involvement pose risks to children's school success. Elucidating processes by which these interrelated systems affect child well-being is important for guiding policy and practice. ObjectiveThis study examines the temporal relation between emergency shelter or transitional housing use and child protection involvement among school-aged children. We evaluated effects of both risk indicators on school attendance and school mobility. Participant and settingUsing integrated administrative data, we identified 3278 children (ages 4 to 15) whose families used emergency or transitional housing in Hennepin and Ramsey County of Minnesota during the 2014 and 2015 academic years. A propensity-score-matched comparison group of 2613 children who did not use emergency or transitional housing. MethodThrough a series of logistic regressions and generalized estimating equations, we tested the temporal associations of emergency/transitional housing and child protection involvement as well as how both experiences affected school attendance and mobility. ResultsExperiences of emergency or transitional housing often proceeded or occurred concurrently with child protection involvement and increased the likelihood of child protection services. Emergency or transitional housing and child protection involvement posed risks for lower school attendance and greater school mobility. ConclusionsA multisystem approach to assist families across social services may be important for stabilizing children's housing and bolstering their success at school. A two-generation approach focused on residential and school stability and enhancing family resources could boost adaptive success of family members across contexts.

Effects of parental involvement programs on young children's academic and social-emotional outcomes: A meta-analysis.

Parental involvement is a key ingredient in school policy and various parental involvement programs aim at raising children's school success. Adding to existing meta-analyses summarizing the findings on the effectiveness of parental involvement programs, we included academic and nonacademic outcomes, and analyzed the correspondence between changes in parents' involvement and changes in children's outcomes. We synthesized findings regarding the effectiveness of parental involvement interventions for children's academic and nonacademic outcomes from preschool to third grade. A total of 307 effect sizes were obtained from 39 studies included in the meta-analysis. Using a random-effect approach, the average effect suggested that parental involvement interventions had a positive and moderate effect on children's overall performance, as well as on academic and nonacademic outcomes when considered separately. School-based and home-based interventions were not significantly associated with the overall effect. Further characteristics of the intervention were analyzed as moderators. The effects of the intervention on parental involvement itself were significantly associated with the effect size differences on children's outcomes. Implications for policy and practice are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

A review of the relationship between parental involvement and children's academic achievement and the role of family socioeconomic status in this relationship

Based on Bronfenbrenner's (1986) ecological system theory, Bourdieu's (1997) concept of cultural capital and Coleman's concept of social capital, the present study has examined the relationship between parents' involvement in their children’s education and their academic achievement as well as the role the socioeconomic status plays in this relationship. Results obtained from a re-examination of 42 studies published between 2003 and 2021 revealed that there was a positive correlation between parental involvement and academic achievement of children. Parental involvement at home and at school, such as parents’ reading to their children at home, providing encouragement and support for learning, maintaining high aspirations and expectations for their children’s education and academic success, establishing communication, discussing school issues with their children, all have positively impacted the academic achievement of children. Socio-economic status (SES) affected the relationship between parental involvement and school success of children and played a mediating role in this relationship. Children of families with higher socioeconomic status made better use of their parents' involvement thanks to their parent’s greater cultural capital. Nevertheless, the educational involvement that parents with lower socioeconomic status can demonstrate is important in that it reduces or eliminatates the disadvantages that children from poor and lower educated families may encounter and the risk of academic failure. The impact of increased parental involvement on poor and lower SES children was greater, and these children made better use of parental involvement and were able to boost their academic achievement to a certain extent.  &nbsp

Social Construction of the of Nowadays School Success from the Perspective of the Family Involvement in Educational Act

The notion of “school success” is generally approached in antonymy with that of “school failure” and represents the superior performance that the student obtains in the learning activity, in correlation with the requirements of the school programs and with the aims of the national educational programs. Most of the time the student's school success is related to the activity of the school, as an institution providing education, but we must not lose sight of the fact that the factors that determine the student's education refer not only to the pedagogical influence of the school but also to the family, in the psycho-socio-physiological development of the student. In this sense, we carried out sociological research, on a sample of 24 subjects from Iaşi County, which had as fundamental objective the social construction of the notion of school success from the perspective of parents. The questions underlying the research were established in accordance with the objectives of the research and considered, in addition to defining school success, revealing the concrete ways in which the family is involved in achieving the child's school success and the relationship they establish with the school, in order to optimize school results. The research instrument was the comprehensive interview with the 24 subjects who participated in the research. Following the processing of the data obtained from the interviews, models were developed on the basis of which the theory was progressively developed.

Kronik Hastalığı Olan Çocukların Algıladıkları Sosyal Desteğin Okul Başarısına Etkisi

This study was carried out to assess the effect of the perceived social support by chronic diseased students on their school success. This cross-sectional and descriptive research was conducted with hospitalised chronic diseased children aged between 10-16 years. Data of the study was collected by using Perceived Social Support Scale. The research has been conducted with a questionnaire method. School life of children with diagnosed chronic disease is interrupted by; frequent hospitalizations, controls, treatment approaches and medicational side effects. The children who participated the survey were determined to fall behind in their lessons and had decreased school success when compared to peers. While these factors affect children’s school adaptation and success, social support has been shown have positive effects on these topics. While chronic diseases were detected to have negative effects on children's school success, perceived social support has been determined to have positive effects. Besides, children stated that existence of a school nurse would not only help in their treatment and make them feel safer at school but also would prevent absenteeism. Social support and existence of a school nurse are important factors in the school success of chronic diseased children.

Kindergartens education influence on primary school students' educational success in the parent's assessments

The article examines the influence of kindergarten education on primary school students' success in the students' parents' assessments. The research relevance is explained by the need to comprehend the family factor in the educational process at the early stages of personality development. The following issues are discussed: family ideas about primary school student educational success, the relationship between school choice and kindergarten attendance, parental involvement in kindergarten, and primary school education of children. In the study's empirical part, 40 informal interviews were conducted with informants whose children studied in public and private kindergartens. The author presents a parental assessments comparative analysis of kindergarten education effectiveness. When studying the interviews, Russian computer programs for processing unstructured texts were used. It was found that the majority of parents believe that kindergarten education has a positive impact on the child's school success in primary grades. Parents who have sent their children to a private kindergarten rate the education benefits they receive most highly. The main criteria for the primary school student's success in the family are the child's academic performance. Among other indicators of success, the interviewed parents named friendship with classmates, respect for the first teacher, work in study clubs, participation in an intellectual academic competition, and a child's good mood for attending classes. No connection was found between school choice and the preschool education type. The school choice is influenced by the parental involvement style in the child's education in the early educational socialization stages: mentoring or liberal. It turned out that families whose children attended a public kindergarten tended to be mentoring behavior, as opposed to a more liberal attitude towards the children education of parents who chose a private kindergarten. The prospect of the study is to expand the empirical base of the project and include in the sample informants who choose to homeschool their children.

Association Between Physical Activity, Screen Time and Sleep, and School Readiness in Canadian Children Aged 4 to 6 Years.

School readiness is strongly associated with a child's future school success and well-being. The primary objective of this study was to determine whether meeting 24-hour movement guidelines (national physical activity, sedentary behaviors, and sleep recommendations) was associated with school readiness measured with mean scores in each of the 5 developmental domains of the Early Development Instrument (EDI) in Canadian children aged 4 to 6 years. Secondary objectives include examining the following: (1) the association between meeting 24-hour movement guidelines and overall vulnerability in school readiness and (2) the association between meeting individual physical activity, screen use and sleep recommendations, and overall school readiness. A prospective cohort study was performed using data from children (aged 4-6 years) who participated in a large-scale primary care practice-based research network. Of the 739 participants (aged 5.9 + 0.12 years) in this prospective cohort study, 18.2% met the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines. Linear regression models (adjusted for child/family demographic characteristics, number of siblings, immigration status, and annual household income) revealed no evidence of an association between meeting all 24-hour movement guidelines and any of the 5 domains of the EDI (p > 0.05). Adjusted linear regression models revealed evidence of an association between meeting screen use guidelines and the "language and cognitive development" (β = 0.16, p = 0.004) domain, and for the sleep guideline, there was a statistically significant association with the "physical health and well-being" (β = 0.23, p = 0.001), the "language and cognitive development" (β = 0.10, p = 0.003), and the "communication skills and general knowledge" (β = 0.18, p < 0.001) domain. Early lifestyle interventions targeting screen use and sleep may be beneficial for improving a child's readiness for school.

Does the timing of kindergarten absences matter for children's early school success?

Although we know that children who are more frequently absent from school do less well academically, we know little about whether absences matter for other domains of development and whether the timing of their absences matter. In order to address these gaps in knowledge, we examined the experiences of 1,131 kindergartners (64% Hispanic, 7% Black, 17% Asian/other, 12% White) from a mid-Atlantic state. Covariate-adjusted regression analyses showed that children who missed school more frequently did less well in terms of their academic achievement and executive function skills both in kindergarten and through the end of first grade. Importantly, however, there were no consistent differences in children's social behavior nor did outcomes vary as a function of whether their absences occurred in the fall as compared with spring. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).