Disadvantaged Backgrounds Research Articles

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] CHALLENGES CONFRONTING MULTI-CAMPUS INSTITUTIONS GIVEN SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT LACUNA

This qualitative study examines the experiences of undergraduate students at the University of The Free State to ascertain ICT teaching-learning challenges resulting from the abrupt switch to e-learning in developing countries vis-à-vis the effects of social development lacuna. The finding revealed a lack of learning devices by some students, internet connectivity issues, high data cost, need to upgrade the technological knowhow of education participants, limited classroom engagements due to large classes, and a lack of foundational social development facilities that can augment smooth transition into the post-pandemic predictable future of education. The study recommends that (1) disadvantaged background students lacking learning devices be assisted; (2) the University continue to strengthen blended learning; ICT upskilling for the students and staff; increase investment in ICT and maintain continuous training to improve staff’s technological skills; (3) reduce large class sizes; and (4) indulge in more collaboration towards solving the problems of resource constraints. The also recommends that the mental health of students be monitored frequently given the pressure of enduring hectic COVID-19-induced challenges relating to the abrupt switch to e-learning. The study anticipates setbacks regarding the use of ICT in teaching and learning going into the post-pandemic. It, therefore, recommends an upgrade of social development, especially in the area of ICT infrastructure and digitalisation in developing nations.

ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL AND FAMILY ENVIRONMENT OF STUDENTS FROM A SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED ENVIRONMENT.

In this paper we analyze the social and family environment of students from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. We developed a record sheet in which we surveyed the living conditions of students and their families in two areas. We focused on the issues of housing and education of parents and in the second part on the environment in which the student grows up. We obtained interesting information that suggests ways to improve the living conditions of these interviewed families.

The Active Ageing Index and policy making in Italy

AbstractAlthough the active ageing concept generally has positive connotations, with expected benefits at the micro, meso and macro levels, the application of this concept in terms of policy making presents challenges and risks to be avoided (for instance, a predominantly productivist interpretation and a top-down imposition with limited possibilities for bottom-up exchanges; or a disregard for the risk of excluding older people with more disadvantaged backgrounds). Two crucial strategies to minimise risks are the implementation of policies by considering and respecting territorial diversity, and the involvement of all the relevant stakeholders in a participatory consultative and co-decisional approach. This paper entwines both strategies together by focusing on Italian in-country differences in terms of active ageing, and employing the Active Ageing Index for policy-making purposes. This activity is part of a governmental national pilot project aimed at promoting multilevel co-managed co-ordination of active ageing policies across Italy. The analysis identified five groups of regions that differ from the classical, geographic and socio-economic division between the North, Centre and South. Additional in-group analyses were conducted to investigate within-cluster differences. This study will inform a large multilevel stakeholder network for evidence-based policies and their monitoring at both the national and regional levels, in line with the perspective of mainstreaming ageing.

Patterns of postgraduate transitions amongst care-experienced graduates in the United Kingdom

ABSTRACT Those who have spent time in state care as children, and are therefore ‘care-experienced’, are known to have lower life chances than the general population. While we know that care-experienced young people are significantly underrepresented in Higher Education nationally and internationally, little is known about their progression to postgraduate level study. Using data from the national Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey, this paper explores patterns of postgraduate progression for care-experienced graduates in the United Kingdom. As postgraduate qualifications have been found to provide numerous benefits, this is important to understand; these benefits could be particularly transformative for those with care experience – mitigating their background disadvantages. The authors’ data present a positive picture, showing that care-experienced graduates who successfully access and complete an undergraduate degree are significantly more likely to progress to postgraduate study than non-care-experienced graduates. We propose explanations for these findings, and make recommendations for practice to establish further equality in these patterns of progression.

Desert locust swarms and child health

This study evaluates how in-utero exposure to an insect pest invasion, particularly, the outbreak of desert locust swarms, affects early childhood health in Africa and Asia over the past three decades (1990–2018). Employing the difference-in-differences model, we find that children being prenatally exposed to the outbreak have their height-for-age, weight-for-height, and weight-for-age z-scores lower by 0.159, 0.148, and 0.155 standard deviations, respectively, compared to unexposed children. Our heterogeneity analyses show that the health setbacks disproportionately fall on children of disadvantaged backgrounds, i.e., those born to lower-educated mothers, poorer mothers, and rural mothers. To the extent that poor health in early life exerts long-lasting irreversible consequences over the life cycle, the study calls for effective measures to minimize the pernicious effects of the desert locust swarm outbreak.

Autism Spectrum Disorder – Diagnostic Dilemmas in a Boy with a Doubly Disadvantaged Background

Purpose: we present a case report on a boy with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to illustrate the differential diagnostic questions that can emerge when working with such subjects.
 Case report: ASD is defined with qualitative deficits in social interactions, communications, and interests and activities. In the subject of this report these symptoms are influenced by a doubly disadvantage background. First, the boy belongs to an ethnicity known for its reservedness in communication – not only with strangers but also within their own families. Second, he was further disadvantaged by his specific microfamily environment.
 Conclusion: a doubly disadvantaged background appears to have interfered with the subject's development; consideration of this background was crucial for understanding his condition

Supplemental Material for Thriving Under Pressure: The Effects of Stress-Related Wise Interventions on Affect, Sleep, and Exam Performance for College Students From Disadvantaged Backgrounds

Supplemental Material for Thriving Under Pressure: The Effects of Stress-Related Wise Interventions on Affect, Sleep, and Exam Performance for College Students From Disadvantaged Backgrounds

Compensating the socioeconomic achievement gap with computer‐assisted instruction

AbstractBackgroundAs educational digital technologies are increasingly being used in schools, past research left unanswered the question of these technologies' impact on the socioeconomic achievement gap even when equal access is guaranteed.ObjectivesThe objectives of the present study are to examine whether and how the socioeconomic achievement gap can be reduced through the use of computer‐assisted instruction (CAI).MethodsWe addressed this issue experimentally by comparing CAI to conventional teacher‐led classroom instruction with more than 800 middle and high school students from disadvantaged and highly privileged socioeconomic backgrounds in a range of topics.Results and ConclusionsBoth disadvantaged and highly privileged students taught with CAI outperformed those taught with conventional instruction, thus maintaining the socioeconomic achievement gap constant. However, we also found that disadvantaged students receiving CAI performed as well as highly privileged students receiving conventional teacher‐led instruction.TakeawaysThe positive effects associated with CAI may therefore help compensate the difficulties of students with a disadvantaged background, a still neglected possibility.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion in pathology: Some progress, but room for improvement: Amid a troubling backslide in diversifying medicine, pathologists point to recent successes and remaining challenges in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). In part 1 of a 2-part series, we investigate what has and has not worked in efforts to diversify workforces.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion in pathology: Some progress, but room for improvement: Amid a troubling backslide in diversifying medicine, pathologists point to recent successes and remaining challenges in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). In part 1 of a 2-part series, we investigate what has and has not worked in efforts to diversify workforces.

The Impact of Socioeconomic Factors on Medical School Acceptance Rates.

Purpose: Seventy-five percent of medical students in the United States hail from families in the top 2 income quintiles as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, while 5% of medical students represent the bottom quintile. 1 Analyses to identify potential barriers contributing to this staggering socioeconomic disparity among our future medical workforce are sparse. Characterization of the exacerbating factors and potential bottlenecks along the premedical pipeline can help inform crucial steps toward initiatives to increase representation of medical school matriculants from all socioeconomic backgrounds. This study examined U.S. medical school acceptance rates across familial income and parental education levels and identified applicant factors predictive of medical school acceptance. Approach/Methods: The American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) collects the highest level of parental education and childhood family income for every applicant. De-identified AMCAS data were obtained for all medical school applicants from 2014 to 2019 and included the following applicant characteristics: science and nonscience GPA, Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) 2015 score, age, parental education, family income, race/ethnicity, and the number of medical school acceptances obtained. Descriptive statistical analyses assessed acceptance rates, MCAT averages, and GPA averages, stratified by applicant’s family income and parents’ education. Low income was defined as reporting a childhood family income <$75,000, and first-generation status was defined as having no parent with a bachelor’s degree. Multivariate regression analysis modeled the effects of MCAT, GPA, race/ethnicity, first-generation status, and low-income status on acceptance to at least 1 MD program. Results/Outcomes: AMCAS data from 312,898 applicants were analyzed. Of the total, 34.3% (107,396/312,898) were low-income and 19.3% (60,328/312,898) were first- generation applicants. The overall acceptance rate over the study period was 42.3%. Low-income applicants and first-generation applicants’ acceptance rates were 36.0% (38,674/107,396) and 32.7% (19,701/60,328), respectively. On univariate analysis, acceptance was negatively associated with both family income (OR: 0.602; P < .001; CI: 0.592, 0.612) and parental education (OR: 0.581; P < .001; CI: 0.570, 0.592). On multivariate analysis, among those with MCAT2015 scores (n = 142,961), medical school acceptance was most affected by average science GPA (OR: 6.63; P < .001; CI: 6.345, 6.918), underrepresented in medicine (UIM) identity (OR: 5.119; P < .001; CI: 4.923, 5.323), and MCAT score (OR: 1.186; P < .001; CI: 1.184, 1.189). Low-income status (OR: 0.968; P < .05; CI: 0.938, 0.999) was negatively associated with acceptance; however, first-generation status (OR: 0.994; P = .758) was not significantly associated with acceptance. Discussion: These results reveal that first-generation and low-income medical school applicants have a markedly lower rate of acceptance than the general applicant population. Furthermore, both first-generation and low-income status are significantly negatively associated with medical school acceptance. This effect is mediated by UIM identity and GPA and MCAT metrics. Notably, UIM identity status had a significant effect size in predicting medical school acceptance, which is potentially reflective of beneficial race-conscious admissions practices. Furthermore, the miniscule effect size of first-generation college status and low-income status serves as evidence that disadvantaged backgrounds are not widely considered among admission practices as recommended by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) Standard on Diversity. 2 Additionally, one study’s analysis of group differences in scores on the latest version of the MCAT revealed disparities in scores and use of preparatory materials depending on an applicant attending a school with more or fewer resources. 3 Therefore, first-generation college and low-income applicants’ relatively poorer acceptance rates may be mitigated by early academic support and access to cost-prohibitive MCAT preparatory materials. Significance: First-generation college and low-income applicants experience lower medical school acceptance rates, but high grades and test scores mediate the effect, in combination with UIM status. These applicant populations require increased support and mentorship to achieve proportional representation among medical students.

Leaders and Followers during Sociodramatic Play: A Study of Racial/Ethnic Minority Preschool Children from Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Backgrounds

ABSTRACT Sociodramatic play is considered a critical context within which child leaders and followers may naturally emerge, while their cognitive abilities (e.g., theory of mind) and social competence are developed and applied. This study investigated child leadership and followership during sociodramatic play among 20 racial/ethnic minority 3- and 4-year-olds (70% of whom Spanish-speaking), all from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, in two mixed-age and mixed-gender preschool classrooms. Ten videotaped observations of these children during sociodramatic play were transcribed and analyzed. The findings revealed that the four most prominent leaders were all girls in the older group of 4-year-olds. They were also more cognitively, socially, and linguistically advanced than their peers. Except for one leader who could be characterized as a dominator, the other three as directors, sharing similar leadership characteristics. The four most prominent followers (two boys and two girls) could be characterized as complaisant conformists. Contrary to findings of previous studies, when playing with peers from similar backgrounds, socioeconomically disadvantaged children were capable of participating in sociodramatic play and exhibiting various effectiveness in leadership and followership, reflecting potentially their developmental characteristics, physical ecology, language abilities, social experiences, and theory of mind.

Trends and gaps in precision health research: a scoping review

ObjectiveTo determine progress and gaps in global precision health research, examining whether precision health studies integrate multiple types of information for health promotion or restoration.DesignScoping review.Data sourcesSearches in Medline (OVID),...

Education and “Categorical Inequalities’’: Manifestation of Segregation in Six Country Contexts in Europe

This article deals with the educational arrangements and the multiple inequalities that they reproduce from a comparative perspective. Drawing on a qualitative study conducted in six countries (Austria, Hungary, Netherlands, Portugal, Turkey, and the UK) as part of a multinational research project concerning justice in Europe, the article explores the mechanisms through which education sustains and reproduces “categorical inequalities.” Although equal access to education is granted by constitutional laws as well as by incorporation of international treaties in the national legal frameworks, it is commonly the educational arrangements that identify the features of access to good quality education in a given context. Dealing with different country cases that have their path dependencies in the arrangements of education, the article provides insights on understanding how different features of segregation in education operate as mechanisms of exclusion for students from a disadvantaged background. Hence, the disadvantages manifest themselves concerning socio‐economic status, ethnicity, race, and minority background. By focusing on the country‐based debates around school segregation, which goes together with the segregated character of urban settings and school choice patterns, the article shows how the institutional context with or without residency‐based registration rules and different types of schools with different resources perpetuate multiple inequalities. In a context where educational arrangements operate as a mechanism of sustaining categorical inequalities, identity‐based differences, combined with economic disadvantages lead to a situation where students from vulnerable and minority groups face multiple forms of exclusion.

Minority Languages’ exclusion in the Lesotho School Curriculum: Perceptions of Teachers and Learners

The study sought to know why learners from linguistically disadvantaged backgrounds have low educational morale. A constructivist study was adopted through the use of focus group discussions with 246 learners and 142 teachers in 23 schools located in Botha Bothe, Mohale’s Hoek, Qacha’s Nek and Quthing districts in Lesotho. The findings revealed minimal if not absolute nonrecognition of minority languages in the teaching and learning of learners from these linguistic backgrounds. Therefore, the study concludes that linguistically exclusive curriculum, and teaching and learning practices can reasonably be associated with poor performance of learners. Based on these findings, the paper recommends that Lesotho’s education system recognise the existence of national minority languages. In other words, the curriculum, its implementation and assessment of learners should not be divorced from the linguistic background of learners.

Eye Movements During Reading and Cognitive Skills in 4th Grade Children

Children from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds have poorer learning outcomes. These inequities are a significant public health issue, tracking forward to adverse health outcomes in adulthood. We examined the potential to reduce socioeconomic gaps in children's reading skills through increasing home reading and preschool attendance among disadvantaged children.We drew on data from the nationally representative birth cohort of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (N = 5107) to examine the impact of socioeconomic disadvantage (0–1 year) on children's reading skills (8–9 years). An interventional effects approach was applied to estimate the extent to which improving the levels of home reading (2–5 years) and preschool attendance (4–5 years) of socioeconomically disadvantaged children to be commensurate with their advantaged peers, could potentially reduce socioeconomic gaps in children's reading skills.Socioeconomically disadvantaged children had a higher risk of poor reading outcomes compared to more advantaged peers: absolute risk difference = 20.1% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 16.0%–24.2%). Results suggest that improving disadvantaged children's home reading and preschool attendance to the level of their advantaged peers could eliminate 6.5% and 2.1% of socioeconomic gaps in reading skills, respectively. However, large socioeconomic gaps would remain, with disadvantaged children maintaining an 18.3% (95% CI: 14.0%–22.7%) higher risk of poor reading outcomes in absolute terms.There are clear socioeconomic disparities in children's reading skills by late childhood. Findings suggest that interventions that improve home reading and preschool attendance may contribute to reducing these inequities, but alone are unlikely to be sufficient to close the equity gap.

Armed Conflict and Child Weight in DR Congo

This paper investigates the extent to which armed conflict influences the weight of young children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Exploiting the variation across districts in exposure to armed conflict and the within-district variation in the timing of whether the child was exposed to armed conflict due to birth timing within a difference-in-differences framework, we detect adverse impacts of conflict exposure to child weight. Specifically, experiencing armed conflict makes children weigh less for their age and weigh less for their height by 0.20 and 0.24 standard deviations, respectively. Armed conflict also increases the probability of children being underweight and wasted by 4.7 and 2.7 percentage points, respectively. Our heterogeneity analyses reveal that children of disadvantaged backgrounds, i.e., those born to low-educated mothers, poor mothers, and rural mothers, tend to be disproportionately affected. Our study calls for effective measures to mitigate the detrimental repercussions of armed conflict.

Thriving in adversity: Do life skills programs work for developing world children? A pragmatic randomized controlled trial

The severe adversity experienced by millions of children in the developing world leads to failure to thrive associated with cognitive deficits, emotional management problems, and social impairment. In this pragmatic randomized controlled trial, 909 children (aged 8–15 years) in India with disadvantaged backgrounds took part in a semistructured program involving sports or creative arts activities. The Life Skills Assessment Scale was used to assess the children's life skills before and after taking part in the program. Children who took part in the program showed significant increases in life skills following participation, compared to a control group. This study demonstrates the impact of simple, low-budget programs on cognitive, emotional, and social life skills that are typically delayed by severe adversity. The findings have clear implications for children in other adverse environments, such as conflict zones and settlements for displaced children resulting from war, natural disasters, and emergency events.

Inequality of opportunity in infant mortality in South Asia: A decomposition analysis of survival data

Early-life environments into which newborn babies are born play principal roles in their development. This study explores inequalities in infant mortality that are rooted in household and parental socio-economic backgrounds in five South-Asian countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan. Considering multidimensional aspects of socio-demographic and socio-economic status, this study explores disparities in the trajectory of survival rates across infants with dissimilar circumstantial backgrounds over the first 12 months of their lives. This study proposes a new method to first cluster the data into advantaged and disadvantaged types and explore the differences in survival rates by a clustering approach and a random survival forest. Furthermore, this study extends a Shapley-value decomposition method to explore the determinants of inequality. The results indicate that demographic factors, parental educational background and household living standards are major factors contributing to inequality. In order to ameliorate the inequality of opportunity, priority should be given to protecting marginalised infants by compensating for their disadvantaged backgrounds.

Do Students Prioritize Majors or Specific Colleges? Analyzing the Factors That Influence Preferences in China

China’s college entrance examination has always been regarded as a system that promotes social stability and sustainable development. Students with different characteristics may have dissimilar professional aspirations. Due to the increasing popularity of higher education in China, these characteristics may constitute new influences among students’ professional priorities and educational preferences, and it is interesting to explore how such characteristics, especially family backgrounds, affect these choices. Compared to previous investigations, this study conducted a more systematic and quantitative empirical examination of family background. Accordingly, we used data obtained through a survey on higher education reform conducted by the Graduate School of Education at Peking University. Results showed that family backgrounds significantly influenced student priorities when deciding whether majors or specific colleges were most important. When deliberating over the “unpopular majors” offered at higher-level colleges/universities and the “popular majors” offered at relatively lower-level colleges, students with comparatively advantageous family backgrounds were more likely to prioritize specific colleges; that is, they were more willing to choose higher-level colleges than “popular majors” at lower-level colleges. Conversely, students with relatively disadvantaged family backgrounds were more likely to prioritize majors; that is, they were more willing to forego higher-level colleges/universities in favor of “popular majors” at relatively lower-level colleges.

Advantages, Challenges and Limitations of Audit Experiments with Constituents

Audit experiments examining the responsiveness of public officials have become an increasingly popular tool used by political scientists. While these studies have brought significant insight into how public officials respond to different types of constituents, particularly those from minority and disadvantaged backgrounds, audit studies have also been controversial due to their frequent use of deception. Scholars have justified the use of deception by arguing that the benefits of audit studies ultimately outweigh the costs of deceptive practices. Do all audit experiments require the use of deception? This article reviews audit study designs differing in their amount of deception. It then discusses the organizational and logistical challenges of a UK study design where all letters were solicited from MPs’ actual constituents (so-called confederates) and reflected those constituents’ genuine opinions. We call on researchers to avoid deception, unless necessary, and engage in ethical design innovation of their audit experiments, on ethics review boards to raise the level of justification of needed studies involving fake identities and misrepresentation, and on journal editors and reviewers to require researchers to justify in detail which forms of deception were unavoidable.