Life Educational Attainment Research Articles

Early life determinants of social disparities among young adults: A longitudinal study in vulnerable communities in South Africa

South Africa has achieved major poverty reductions in the post-Apartheid era, but substantial variations in progress between population groups have been documented, and inequalities between poor Black communities and other parts of South Africa persist. Similarly, life chances and inter-generational mobility vary with proximal early life economic environments. The long-term interrelationships of different aspects of these environments are not well understood.Using prospective data from the Birth to Thirty (Bt30) cohort, we assess the relative importance of early life family and neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) for later life educational attainment and criminality among Black children from low-income communities in Soweto-Johannesburg, South Africa. We follow a multi-step nonparametric adjusted regression approach to reduce assumptions about the nature of the relationships between outcomes and exposure variables, and we express interactions as nonlinear marginal effects.Our study finds that both childhood home SES and neighborhood SES are predictive of more favorable outcomes later in life. Home SES appears generally more predictive of young adulthood outcomes than neighborhood SES, particularly for educational outcomes. Girls fare substantially better both in terms of educational attainment and in terms of lower criminal engagement. These pro-female gaps appear to be particularly large in higher SES homes for educational attainment.Our findings highlight the critical importance of children’s home environments in general, and particularly for children’s educational attainment. Further support for programs to reduce socioeconomic inequalities in the current adult population can likely contribute substantially to reducing inequalities in future generations.

Age and gender difference in ICT literacy and biometrics knowledge

Accelerated digitalization during the COVID-19 pandemic and the transition from mobile phones to smartphones have increased the need for ICT literacy among the general public, including knowledge of the potential risks and their management. Generally, it is assumed that some population groups are more at risk of being left behind. Original empirical data collected in autumn 2020 as part of the PRECOBI project were used to identify the sociodemographic groups at risk of insufficient knowledge of biometrics and ICT safety. The novelty Biometrics Knowledge and ICT Safety Index (BIKIS index) was constructed to identify these and analyzed in the context of the Czech Republic. The OLS regression shows that the combination of higher age and lower education is associated with the highest risk of digital illiteracy, potentially resulting in digital exclusion. Regarding biometrics and ICT safety knowledge, the age of 50 is the cut-off point, with those with elementary and lower secondary education at a disadvantage compared to those with higher levels of education. The results show that in terms of ICT literacy, old age starts considerably earlier than in other societal contexts, which is important to note when designing ICT and biometrics-related risk mitigation strategies. The role of early life educational attainment should be supported to ensure ICT literacy in later life.

Within-Individual Changes in Impulsivity and Sensation Seeking from Childhood to Early Adulthood and Educational Attainment.

Developmental perspectives recognize the importance of the development of impulsivity and sensation seeking for later life educational attainment. The current study examines the effect of developmental trajectories of impulsivity and sensation seeking across adolescence and into young adulthood on educational attainment in adulthood. The study sample consists of N = 5529 youth from a population-based sample from the United States (48.96% female; 46.95% Black or Hispanic). Latent growth curve models are used to examine associations between within-individual changes in impulsivity and sensation seeking and educational attainment. The findings point to the existence of multiple forms of risk taking during different developmental stages, with some offering a positive long-term effect on overall educational attainment.

Education and Occupational Attainment of Australian Youth

In this paper, the effects of education and personal characteristics on the probability of occupational success were examined using Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) 95 cohort data which involved the students who were at year 9 in 1995 and were re-interviewed annually. The education-occupation dynamics may provide us with the means to produce industry based education to meet future occupational needs. We utilized multinomial logit model and ordered probit model with sample selection. Results suggest that higher educational level leads to better occupations. Also there is evidence that early life educational attainment directly relates to occupational success. Family background and in-school working experience proved to be important factors for occupational attainment. These results may help at directly pointing some important policy implications to ensure the fulfillment of certain educational skills in Australia.