Children's Educational Outcomes Research Articles

Educational Outcomes in Children and Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes and Psychiatric Disorders

Research shows that children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D), compared with their peers without diabetes, have a greater risk of psychiatric disorders. However, no study has comprehensively examined whether having psychiatric disorders is associated with educational outcomes in children and adolescents with T1D. To investigate educational outcomes in children and adolescents with T1D with and without psychiatric disorders. This cohort study used data from multiple Swedish registers. The main study cohort included individuals born in Sweden between January 1, 1973, and December 31, 1997, who were followed up from birth through December 31, 2013. Data analyses were conducted from March 1 to June 30, 2022. Type 1 diabetes and psychiatric disorders (including neurodevelopmental disorders, depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, bipolar disorder, psychotic disorder, and substance misuse) diagnosed before 16 years of age. Achieving educational milestones (completing compulsory school [primary and lower secondary education], being eligible to and finishing upper secondary school, and starting and finishing university) and compulsory school performances. Of 2 454 862 individuals (51.3% male), 13 294 (0.5%; 53.9% male) were diagnosed with T1D (median [IQR] age at diagnosis, 9.5 [6.0-12.5] years), among whom 1012 (7.6%) also had at least 1 psychiatric disorder. Compared with healthy individuals (without T1D and psychiatric disorders), individuals with T1D alone had slightly lower odds of achieving the examined educational milestones. However, those with both T1D and any psychiatric disorder had much lower odds of achieving milestones, including completing compulsory school (odds ratio [OR], 0.17; 95% CI, 0.13-0.21), being eligible for (OR, 0.25; 95% CI, 0.21-0.30) and finishing (OR, 0.19; 95% CI, 0.14-0.26) upper secondary school, and starting (OR, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.29-0.46) and finishing (OR, 0.30; 95% CI, 0.20-0.47) university. They also showed lower grade point averages for compulsory school subjects. These findings remained similar in sibling comparison analyses, suggesting independence from familial confounding. In this cohort study of Swedish-born children and adolescents, those with T1D alone had minor difficulties with their educational outcomes, whereas those with both T1D and psychiatric disorders had universal long-term educational underachievement. These findings highlight the importance of identifying psychiatric disorders in pediatric patients with T1D and the need for targeted educational intervention and support to minimize the education gap between the affected children and their peers.

Intergenerational Transmission of BMI and Educational Outcomes in Children and Adolescents.

Individual differences in educational attainment (EA) and physical health, as indexed by body mass index (BMI), are correlated within individuals and across generations. The aim of our study was to assess the transmission of these traits from parents to their offspring in childhood and adolescence. We analyzed BMI and EA in 13,916 families from the Netherlands. Data were available for 27,577 parents (mean age 33) and 26,855 of their offspring at 4 and 12 years of age. We employed structural equation modeling to simultaneously estimate the phenotypic transmission of BMI and EA from parents to offspring, the spousal correlations, and the residual child BMI-EA associations after accounting for intergenerational transmission and testing for gender differences therein. We found a significant intergenerational transmission of BMI to BMI in childhood (age 4; standardized regression coefficient β = .10) and adolescence (age 12; β = .20), and of EA to academic achievement in adolescence (β = .19). Cross-trait parent-to-offspring transmission was weak. All transmission effects were independent of parent or offspring gender. We observed within-person EA-BMI correlations that were negative in parents (∼-.09), positive in children (∼.05) and negative in adolescents (∼-.06). Residual EA-BMI were positive in children (∼.05) and insignificant in adolescents. Spousal correlations were .46 for EA, .21 for BMI, and ∼-.09 cross-trait. After accounting for spousal correlations, the intergenerational transmission for BMI and EA is mainly predictive within, but not across, traits. The within-person correlation between BMI and EA can change in direction between childhood and adulthood.

Neighborhood–School Structures: A New Approach to the Joint Study of Social Contexts

Robust literatures separately estimate school effects and neighborhood effects on children's educational, economic, health, and other outcomes that measure well-being. A growing body of research acknowledges that both contexts matter and considers neighborhoods and schools jointly. In this review, we synthesize the array of results that emerge from these studies and critique the tendency for researchers to evaluate which matters more, neighborhoods versus schools. We propose a reorientation of this scholarship that incorporates research on neighborhood and school selection and segregation processes. We argue that contextual effects research would be enriched by considering local neighborhood–school structures: the ways that families choose neighborhoods and schools and that neighborhoods and schools mutually and cyclically constitute one another. We conclude with recommendations for bringing neighborhood–school structures to bear on both outcomes-oriented studies of neighborhood and school effects as well as studies of contextual selection and segregation.

Parental Perception of the Importance of Friendship and Other Educational Outcomes in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in China.

This study examined parental perception of the importance of friendship and five other educational outcomes from 101 Chinese parents of children with autism spectrum disorders between the ages of 3 and 12 years. Results showed Chinese parents considered friendship less important than social skills, emotional development, and physical skills and motor development. Unlike the results from previous studies, Chinese parents ranked friendship as the second least important outcome. Children's age rather than educational setting impacted parental perceptions. The findings suggested cultural contexts may have influenced parental perceptions of the importance of different educational outcomes, and future research on the influence of cultural contexts is warranted.

Prevalence and Determinant Factors of Intestinal Parasitic Infections and Undernutrition among Primary School Children in North-Central Ethiopia: A School-Based Cross-Sectional Study.

Intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) are a major public health problem with high morbidity and mortality in developing countries. Undernutrition is a major health problem among school children and affects their cognitive development, psychological development, motor skills, and academic achievements. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence and determinant factors of IPIs and undernutrition among primary school children. Cross-sectional study was conducted among 450 children from February to March 2021 at selected primary schools in Dessie town, North-central Ethiopia. Participants were selected using a stratified sampling technique. Pretested questionnaires were used to collect sociodemographic and nutrition-related data. Stool samples were used to diagnose IPIs. Participants' height and weight were measured and body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Nutritional assessment was done using WHO AnthroPlus software. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 26 software. P-values <0.05 were considered statistically significant. The overall prevalence of intestinal parasites was 28.9%. The prevalence of intestinal protozoa and helminths were 19.1% and 9.8%, respectively. Entamoeba histolytica/dispar was the most prevalent parasite (9.3%) followed by Giardia intestinalis (7.6%), Enterobius vermicularis (2.9%), and Ascaris lumbricoides (2.7%). The prevalence of intestinal parasites was higher in male (16.5%) than in female (12.4%) participants. Children whose mother's level of education is illiterate, 6-11 years old, have a habit of eating raw/undercooked fruits and vegetables, untrimmed and dirty fingernails, and sickness in the past week were significantly associated with IPIs. The prevalence of underweight, stunting, and wasting were 22.4%, 26.2%, and 20.7%, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression showed gender, family size, meal frequency, and breakfast were significantly associated with undernutrition. IPIs had a statistically significant association with underweight, stunting, and wasting. The study showed that IPIs and undernutrition are still major health problems among children in North-central Ethiopia. Periodic deworming, community health, and school health education will be valuable to improve the health, growth, and educational outcome of children.

The Relationship Between Involvement and Perceived Social Support among Parents of Preschool Children

Parental involvement plays a key role in preschoolers' development and can contribute to children's educational outcomes. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between perceived social support and involvement among parents of preschool children. Participants included 256 parents (198 mothers, 58 fathers) of children aged 3 to 6 years old. Two instruments were used to measure parental involvement and parental perceived social support. Results found that parental involvement and parental perceived social support were moderately high, with mothers reporting higher levels of involvement than fathers and higher levels of involvement for parents with higher education. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed a positive predictive effect of perceived social support on parental involvement.

Entwined life events: The effect of parental incarceration timing on children's academic achievement

Parental incarceration has negative effects on children's educational outcomes. Past studies have only analyzed, and therefore only treated as consequential, parental incarceration that occurs during childhood rather than prenatally. Such analyses that emphasize the importance only of events that occur during one's lifetime are common in life course studies. This paper introduces an "entwined life events" perspective, which argues that certain events are so consequential to multiple persons' lives that they should be analyzed as events within multiple independent life courses; parental incarceration, whenever it occurs, is entwined across and shapes both parents' and children's lives. Drawing on data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, we find that parental incarceration, both prenatal and during childhood, significantly influences children's academic ability measures and years of completed schooling. Our results show heterogeneous effects by children's race. We find that the absolute magnitude of parental incarceration effect estimates is largest for White children relative to estimates for Black and Hispanic children. At the same time, outcome levels tend to be poorer for Black and Hispanic children with parental incarceration experience. We explain this racial heterogeneity as confounded by the many other social disadvantages that non-White children encounter, resulting in the individual effect of parental incarceration not being extremely disruptive to their academic growth.

The Impact of Parents' Role on the Motivation and Achievement of Gifted Children with Special Needs: A Review

Background: Some unusual children experience prolonged distracted stress or risk factors that prevent them from maximizing their potential without specific treatment or support. Therefore, it appears that studying parental motivation and its impact on gifted children is very important.&#x0D; Objectives: The primary goal of this paper is to determine the impact of parental involvement on the development and motivation—of gifted children with special needs education (double exceptional). The paper also indicates the impact of parental involvement on children's educational outcomes.&#x0D; Results: The findings of this paper indicate that parental involvement significantly influences the motivation of children with special needs in terms of their achievement in the arts and how much they affect the academic achievement of double-exceptional students related to various aspects of science and life.&#x0D; Conclusion: As we found that parents are the initiators of double-differentiation in their children, future studies could explore knowledge and awareness of double-differentiation in parents. But our study reading how parents came to know their children twice unusually is essential as a first step in assessing parental thinking.

Parental background and daughters' and sons' educational outcomes - application of the Trivers-Willard hypothesis.

This study uses Trivers-Willard hypothesis to explain the differences in daughters' and sons' educational outcomes by parental background. According to the Trivers-Willard hypothesis (TWH), parental support and investments for sons and daughters display an asymmetrical relationship according to parental status because of the different reproductive advantage of the sexes. It predicts that high-status parents support sons more than daughters, and low-status parents support daughters more than sons. In modern societies, where education is the most important mediator of status, the TW hypothesis predicts that sons from high-status families will achieve higher educational outcomes than daughters. Using cohorts born between 1987 and 1997 from the reliable full population Finnish register data that contain the data of over 600.000 individuals, children's educational outcomes were measured using data on school dropout rate, academic grade point average (GPA), and general secondary enrollment in their adolescence. OLS and sibling fixed-effect regression that permitted an examination of opposite-sex siblings' educational outcomes within the same family were applied. Sons with high family income and parental education, compared to daughters of the same family, have lower probability of dropping out of school and are more likely to enroll into academic secondary school track. In families with low parental education or income daughters have lower probability for school dropout and enroll more likely to academic school track related to sons of the same family. The effect of family background by sex can be interpreted to support TWH in dropout and academic school track enrollment but not in GPA.

Developmental cascades and educational attainment.

Developmental cascades describe how systems of development interact and influence one another to shape human development across the lifespan. Despite its popularity, developmental cascades are commonly used to understand the developmental course of psychopathology, typically in the context of risk and resilience. Whether this framework can be useful for studying children's educational outcomes remains underexplored. Therefore, in this chapter, we provide an overview of how developmental cascades can be used to study children's academic development, with a particular focus on the biological, cognitive, and contextual pathways to educational attainment. We also provide a summary of contemporary statistical methods and highlight existing data sets that can be used to test developmental cascade models of educational attainment from birth through adulthood. We conclude the chapter by discussing the challenges of this research and explore important future directions of using developmental cascades to understand educational attainment.

Safe-zone schools and the academic performance of children in mixed-status households: Evidence from the 'between the lines' study.

In response to the intensification of immigration enforcement in the interior of the USA, some school districts have implemented 'safe-zone' policies to protect students' academic progression and well-being. Using primary data from a sample of US-born children of unauthorized migrants, we document the detrimental effect of stricter immigration enforcement on children's educational outcomes and the benefits of safe-zone policies. Our analyses show that restricting immigration authorities' access to schools and providing counseling on immigration-related issues are crucial policy components in strengthening children's focus, effort, expectations, parental involvement, and relationships. These findings highlight the damaging impact of immigration enforcement on US-citizen children in mixed-status households and advance our understanding of the role of local policies in mitigating these effects.

Repercussions of a Raid: Health and Education Outcomes of Children Entangled in Immigration Enforcement

AbstractInterior immigration enforcement in the U.S. has rapidly increased over the past two decades, including increased Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity and the revival of workplace raids under the Trump administration. We contribute to the body of research that aims to better understand the consequences of immigration enforcement for children in targeted communities, including on their education, health, and socioemotional well‐being. We employ a mixed methods research design to investigate the effects of the sweeping April 2018 Morristown, Tennessee immigration raid on children's health and education outcomes. We utilize linked, longitudinal health and education data on children and a quasi‐experimental design to analyze the effects of the raid on those residing in close proximity to the raid. Interview data from community members and organizations in the affected area aid in better understanding how the raid unfolded and the mechanisms through which a community trauma such as this might affect children both directly and indirectly. Our results indicate negative effects across multiple education and behavioral health outcomes for children of immigrants living in the area targeted by the raid, including a substantial spike in absences from school in the month of the raid and significant increases in exclusionary disciplinary actions and in diagnoses of substance use disorder, depression, self‐harm, suicide attempts or ideation, and sexual abuse in the year following the raid.

Does productive microcredit improve rural children's education? Evidence from rural Vietnam

Whether increasing access to microcredit results in better educational outcomes for children’s education in rural areas remains an important but inconclusive topic in development literature. This paper contributes to this strand of research both theoretically and empirically. We develop a theoretical model where a representative household uses microcredit to fund its family business and maximises its lifetime utility. Based on the outcomes of its business, the parents make an optimal decision on the level of their children’s schooling investment. Solving the maximisation problem, we show that a household’s optimal education for its children is directly related to the level of microcredit. Empirically, we utilise the Vietnam Access to Resources Household Survey (VARHS) dataset from 2008 to 2016 to estimate the impact of microcredit on rural children’s schooling. We find that microcredit borrowing by rural households negatively affects their children’s education, which is more profound for boys than girls. Policymakers need to be aware of such side effects in designing microcredit policy and adopt auxiliary measures, such as incorporating a clause on children's education in the borrowing terms, to alleviate the negative impact on children’s educational outcomes.

Parental disability and children's educational, labor market and marital outcomes: Evidence from Nepal

BackgroundThe extent to which parental disability affects children's educational, employment, and marital outcomes in low-income countries is poorly understood, limiting the countries' efforts to design and implement disability-inclusive policies. ObjectiveTo assess the association between parental disability and children's education, employment, and marital outcomes in Nepal, and variations in these associations by sex. MethodUsing a nationally representative 15% sample of the 2011 census, we examine the relationship between parental disability and children's outcomes in a regression framework, controlling for potential confounders. We also test if the associations vary by the individual's sex. ResultsFather's disability is not associated with any of the outcomes for boys except enrolment status. However, for girls, it is associated also with lower chances of being at the appropriate grade and higher chances of being employed. Mother's disability is associated with lower chances of being at the appropriate grade, lower educational attainment, higher chances of being employed, and earlier marriage for boys. For girls, it is associated only with lower chances of being at the appropriate grade and being employed. ConclusionsAdverse effects of parental disability can last across generations in a low-income setting and can vary by the individual's sex. Further research is needed to ascertain causal pathways and intervening mechanisms.

The Unhomely of Homeschooling

Despite increasing global popularity perceptions of homeschooling remain problematic. It resists trends towards mass compulsory education and the promotion of children’s rights; it challenges the state’s authority to educate citizens; and raises concerns about child protection issues and educational outcomes. Contemporaneously many homeschoolers identify their fears of risks and failings in mainstream schooling as the reason they homeschool. This article explores how discomfort and fear is ingrained within meanings associated with homeschooling often related to its domestic practice. It develops Freud’s account of unheimlich (the unhomely) as a useful addition to the sociological analysis of the multiple renditions of meaning attached to homeschooling. These include the conflation of homely and unhomely accounts; the significance of anecdotal accounts as a means of restating class biases and racisms; and the ambiguous relationship between family and state. It argues both policymakers and homeschoolers need to acknowledge these ambiguities.

Building a Bridge to Learning: The Critical Importance of Teacher Aide–Student Relationships in the Primary School Classroom

AbstractTeacher–student relationships are critically important for student engagement and learning. Increasingly, children with additional behavioural, physical, communication, and learning needs are supported in the classroom by teacher aides working alongside teachers. Although the teacher aide role is often described as relational, few studies have explicitly examined the nature of the teacher aide–child relationship. This exploratory study in primary schools in Aotearoa New Zealand addresses this gap. Seven teacher aides were interviewed, and thematic analysis was used to construct common themes. The findings show that aides have time to individually know and care for each child and so develop a special relationship that is distinct from other relationships at school. In addition, the relationship is seen as essential to meet the child’s needs and thus enable them to engage in their learning. The teacher aides impact positively on the child’s sense of belonging, emotions, and wellbeing, which act as pathways to student engagement. Further research is needed to explore how these special and essential relationships can be optimised, and, in collaboration with teachers, improve the short- and long-term psychological, social, and educational outcomes for children.

Postpartum Job Loss: Transitory Effect on Mothers, Long-run Damage to Children

The first year after childbirth involves dramatic changes to parents’ lives and is crucial for children's development. Using plausibly exogenous job loss from mass layoffs and establishment closures, we provide novel evidence on the effect of adverse shocks in the first postpartum year on mothers and children. Our results reveal that effects of adverse labor shocks among females are significantly larger in the first postpartum year. No such differential effects are present among males. Additionally, we find long-lasting harm to children's educational outcomes 15 years after the displacement event took place. The child effects are not present among those who experience paternal labor shocks. To better understand these results, we investigate several potential mechanisms, including income, mobility, spousal labor supply responses, fertility, and marital dissolution.

Comparison of educational performance between the only children and children in two-child families

This paper estimates the causal effect of only-child status on educational performance among junior high school students from only-child and two-child families in China. It uses the dataset of the China Education Panel Survey 2013–14. The results show that the only children's educational outcomes are significantly low than students from two-child families. Only children's willpower and extraversion are weaker than children's from two-child families. The scale economies effect is strong and the resource dilution effect is weak when sibling size is small.

Adult Child Schooling and Older Parents' Cognitive Outcomes in the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE): A Quasi-Experimental Study.

A growing body of research suggests that adult child educational attainment benefits older parents' cognitive outcomes via financial (e.g., direct monetary transfers) and nonfinancial (e.g., psychosocial) mechanisms. Quasi-experimental studies are needed to circumvent confounding bias. No such quasi-experimental studies have been completed in higher-income countries, where financial transfers from adult children to aging parents are rare. Using data on 8,159 adults aged ≥50 years in the Survey for Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (2004/2005), we leveraged changes in compulsory schooling laws as quasi-experiments. Each year of increased schooling among respondents' oldest children was associated with better verbal fluency (β = 0.07, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.12) scores; overall associations with verbal memory scores were null, with mixed and imprecise evidence of association in models stratified by parent gender. We also evaluated associations with psychosocial outcomes as potentially important mechanisms. Increased schooling among respondents' oldest children was associated with higher quality-of-life scores and fewer depressive symptoms. Our findings present modest albeit inconsistent evidence that increases in schooling may have an "upward" influence on older parents' cognitive performance even in settings where financial transfers from adult children to their parents are uncommon. Associations with parents' psychosocial outcomes were more robust.

Associations between maternal exposure to surgery or pregnancy exposure to fluorinated anesthetics and children's cognitive development and educational outcomes.

A transgenerational, epigenetic effect of anesthesia, particularly fluorinated agents, has been examined in rat models, but translation to humans is unclear. This study examined associations of maternal lifetime exposure to anesthesia and pregnancy exposure to fluorinated anesthetics with child cognitive and educational outcomes. Women in the US Collaborative Perinatal Project (1959-1963) reported lifetime history of surgeries, and the obstetric record captured pregnancy exposure to anesthetics. Children were followed to age 7 for global cognitive ability and educational outcomes (n=47,977). Logistic and linear regressions were adjusted for maternal and child birth years, race and ethnicity, smoking, education, parity, study site. Many outcomes were not associated with exposure to maternal surgery that occurred at various life stages. However, maternal surgery in early childhood was associated both with being in a special school or not in school (adj OR=1.42; 95% CI 1.02, 1.98) and with slightly better cognitive ability across childhood (e.g., WISC IQ (adj β=0.59; CI 0.13, 1.04) (especially among boys)). Maternal surgery in puberty was associated with slightly lower IQ (adj β= -0.42; CI -0.79, -0.05) and poorer spelling at age 7. Children's prenatal exposure to fluorinated anesthetics was associated with slightly better spelling ability (adj β = 1.20; CI 0.02, 2.38) but lower performance IQ at age 7 (only among boys, adj β=-1.97; CI -3.88, -0.06). This study shows inconsistent evidence of effects of maternal exposure to surgery or prenatal exposure to fluorinated agents on child developmental and educational outcomes Residual confounding by indication and socioeconomic status may explain observed associations.