Poor Educational Outcomes Research Articles

Supporting the educational success of children in foster care: the educational advocacy program

ABSTRACT Children in foster care face a heightened risk of poor educational outcomes, yet published research on programs designed to improve outcomes remains scant. Findings from an evaluation of the Educational Advocacy Program (EAP) that works with foster and adoptive caregivers and educators to address unmet educational needs are presented to help fill this gap. Youth, services data, and contact information for caregivers and educators were drawn from EAP files for cases closed during 2018–2019 (n = 234). Surveys of identified educators and caregivers as well as district foster care liaisons were conducted. Youth information was linked to state administrative data on foster care placements. Descriptive and bivariate analyses of program outcomes, program satisfaction, and placement stability were completed. Caregivers and educators perceived benefits for themselves and youth served. EAP staff ratings of post-service youth function were congruent with caregiver ratings of youth school outcomes. Statistically significant decreases in youth placement moves were found during and after services compared to before EAP onset. While not a causal design, results indicate that EAP holds promise for supporting caregiver and educator collaboration and improving youth school and placement outcomes. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Adapting a human sexuality curriculum for students with disabilities

Background: The US Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires that children with disabilities receive a free appropriate public education. However, it does not specifically include the subject of health education. Currently, 30 US states require public schools to teach sexuality education as a part of the health education curriculum, but 36 do not include youth with disabilities in their sexuality education requirements. Objective: The current situation is particularly concerning due to the higher rates of unplanned pregnancy, sexual abuse, and sexually transmitted infections experienced by teenagers with disabilities. Students from across several disability groups report societal barriers, physical barriers, and poor educational outcomes with respect to sexuality education. Results: This review article sought to investigate the current state of sexuality education for students with disabilities, as well as best practices to support the learning of sexuality education content. Conclusion: Focusing sexuality education classes on practical ways so as to develop relationships, promote self-advocacy and self-determination, and incorporate privacy messages, can support students with disabilities to make healthy choices.

De-centring inclusion: Discussing the meaning and place of inclusive education in international and European law through the case of children with autism

This paper aims to contribute to the current legal reflections on the meaning and place of inclusive education within the conception of the right to education. While the recent progress on inclusive education have contributed to enhance the realisation of the right to education for many disabled children, it has had mixed results for others. Autistic children in particular appear to still suffer from poor educational experience and outcomes. This paper argues that better fulfilling the right to education of autistic children will entail abandoning the conception of inclusive education as exclusively realised in mainstream schools. Instead, it appears important to offer a variety of settings and to refocus the discussions on the notions of non-discrimination and substantial equality, quality education, and children's rights.

Exploring the Experiences of Children in Kinship Care in Scotland: A Sequence Analysis of Care Journeys, Characteristics and Outcomes

Objective and ApproachAn increasing proportion of children in care in Scotland are formally living with extended family or friends – known as kinship care. To gain an enhanced understanding of experiences within kinship care, sequence analysis methods were applied to determine distinct patterns in care journeys throughout their first 5 years in care. Through linkage to education and health data, associations between these distinct types of care journey and children’s characteristics and outcomes were assessed. ResultsUsing a sample of 2987 children born between 2008 and 2014 who had experienced kinship care, we identified four ‘typical’ care journeys which best describe their experiences in terms of the type, number and duration of care placements. Our analysis found that children who entered care as infants were more likely to experience short-term kinship care, while those with a disability were more likely to spend extended periods in foster care than kinship care. Those living mainly in kinship care had poorer educational outcomes than those living mainly in foster care. ConclusionsSequence analysis can provide a more holistic view of children’s experiences over time than annual ‘snapshot’ data. The approach enabled us to identify different types of care journey, the characteristics of children who may be likely to have these experiences, and what their outcomes may be. ImplicationsThese findings have implications for the commissioning and design of support services for families who experience kinship care, and highlight the importance of consistent, long-term data collection to facilitate longitudinal analysis.

Life outcomes in adults living with FASD in a rural South African community: A follow-up study.

Even though adults with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) are at risk of negative life outcomes, there is no published evidence of this in South Africa, which has the highest estimated FASD prevalence rate globally. The purpose of the study was to describe and compare the life outcomes of adults with FASD and adults without FASD in a South African rural community, 16 years after diagnosis. Participants were examined and interviewed regarding their biographical information, knowledge of FASD, information on their family, relationships, home circumstances, education, work and medical history. Adults with FASD were less likely to be in a relationship and more likely to have poor educational outcomes and to be exposed to violence as victim or perpetrator than their peers who did not have FASD. None of the participants with FASD completed secondary school successfully. No differences were found for independent living, employment, health, substance use and legal outcomes, between the foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) or partial foetal alcohol syndrome (PFAS) and control group. While significant differences existed in certain aspects, differences are not as stark as one would expect between individuals with FASD and controls. This study highlights the importance of considering the social context in which a FASD diagnosis is made. The comparative negative impact of an FASD diagnosis and the associated challenges on life outcomes may be less pronounced in rural communities where everyone has fewer opportunities and resources. This can also make the unique needs of persons with disabilities less visible.

Punishing mayors who fail the test: How do voters respond to information about educational outcomes?

This paper explores the electoral effects of providing information on the educational outcomes of municipal schools when the mayor is running for reelection. We designed and implemented an experiment in Chile whereby we sent 128,033 letters to voters in 400 randomly selected polling stations prior to the 2016 municipal elections. The letters included information on past test scores for local public schools (levels and changes), and either average or maximum outcomes for comparable municipalities. Our findings do not reveal a relevant average impact of the letters, but when they contain poor educational outcomes, voter turnout decreases, translating almost one to one in decreases in votes for the incumbent mayor. Voters respond to educational results in levels and to letters that have average results as a benchmark. The results are especially strong when poor educational outcomes come as bad news to voters. We also find spillover effects in the municipal council election. Overall, our findings suggest that voters hold politicians accountable when faced to certain (but not all) types of information on their performance. JEL Codes: D72, H75, I25.

The early educational environment at five years of age in a European cohort of children born very preterm: challenges and opportunities for research

BackgroundEarly childhood education offers opportunities for stimulation in multiple developmental domains and its positive impact on long-term outcomes and wellbeing for children is well documented. Few studies have explored early education in children born very preterm (VPT; <32 weeks of gestation) who are at higher risk of neurodevelopmental disorders and poor educational outcomes than their term-born peers. The purpose of the study is to describe and compare the educational environment of children born VPT in European countries at 5 years of age according to the degree of perinatal risk.MethodsData originated from the population-based Screening to Improve Health In very Preterm infants (SHIPS) cohort of children born VPT in 2011/2012 in 19 regions from 11 European countries. Perinatal data were collected from medical records and the 5-year follow-up was conducted using parental questionnaires. Outcomes at 5 years were participation in early education (any, type, intensity of participation) and receipt of special educational support, which were harmonized across countries.ResultsOut of 6,759 eligible children, 3,687 (54.6%) were followed up at 5 years (mean gestational age 29.3 weeks). At 5 years, almost all children (98.6%) were in an educational program, but type (preschool/primary), attendance (full-time/part-time) and use and type of school support/services differed by country. In some countries, children with high perinatal risk were more likely to be in full-time education than those with low risk (e.g. Estonia: 97.9% vs. 87.1%), while the inverse pattern was observed elsewhere (e.g. Poland: 78.5% vs. 92.8%). Overall, 22.8% of children received special educational support (country range: 12.4–34.4%) with more support received by children with higher perinatal risk. Large variations between countries remained after adjustment for socio-demographic characteristics.ConclusionsThere are marked variations in approaches to early education for children born VPT in Europe, raising opportunities to explore its impact on their neurodevelopment and well-being.

The interplay between ADHD and school shift on educational outcomes in children and adolescents: A cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis.

Many countries implement a double-shift schooling system, offering morning or afternoon shifts, driven by diverse factors. Young people with ADHD may face educational problems attending morning shifts compared to afternoon shifts. To investigate this, we used data from a Brazilian school-based cohort (n = 2.240, 6-14 years old, 45.6% female; 50.2% in the morning shift; 11.2% with ADHD). ADHD was determined by child psychiatrists using semi-structured interview. Educational outcomes were measured cross-sectionally and three years later (80% retention) and included reading and writing ability, performance in school subjects, and any negative school events (repetition, suspension, or dropout). Generalized regression models tested the interaction between ADHD and school shift and were adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, intelligence, parental education, socioeconomic status, and site. Attrition was adjusted with inverse probability weights. We used two dimensional measures of attentional problems as sensitivity analysis. ADHD and morning shift were independently associated with lower reading and writing ability and with higher odds for negative school events cross sectionally. ADHD independently predicted lower performance in school subjects and higher negative school events at follow-up. Interaction was found only at the cross-sectional level in a way that those studying in the afternoon present better educational outcomes compared with those studying in the morning only if they have lower ADHD symptom. Thus, ADHD was not associated with poorer educational outcomes among those studying in the morning. However, participants studying in the afternoon with lower levels of attentional problems presented better educational, despite these associations fade away over time.

Comparing the healthy development of youth Australian Rules Footballers across talent development and community settings

ObjectivesThis study aimed to compare talent development athletes to community-level athletes in Australian Rules Football across various markers of healthy youth development.MethodsSurvey data were collected from 363 youth athletes (126...

Educational trajectories for residential care experienced young people are complex. A lived experience perspective from a PhD study in Scotland

PurposeResearch highlights that residential care experienced children and young people in Scotland have poorer educational outcomes than their peers within the wider population. Despite this, poor educational attainment is not inevitable, and further research is needed to increase the understanding of long-term trajectories. This paper aims to address a gap in contemporary literature that is of benefit to practitioners, academics and policymakers. Despite experiencing adversity, attachment, separation and loss, school attainment data on leaving care only reflects part of the educational journey.Design/methodology/approachUsing a mixed methodology and social constructionist theoretical framework, a practitioner-led PhD study gathered data from questionnaires and qualitative information from 13 semi-structured interviews with young people who had experienced residential care in Scotland. Recruitment was through a gatekeeper within a national third-sector organisation. The educational trajectories for young people with experience of residential care in Scotland are complex. A lived experience perspective from a PhD study illustrates that statistical data only captures part of the journey and the author needs to reconsider how success is measured.FindingsOf the 13 participants in the study, 12 achieved success educationally, although for the majority of those interviewed, attainment continued after leaving compulsory education. Barriers to greater success included placement uncertainty and movement, stigma, low expectations, pressure to not become a statistic, procedural obstacles and inconsistency or poor relationships.Research limitations/implicationsSupportive relationships and stable placements can create circumstances conducive to effective learning, but evidence reflects that support is necessary throughout the life course if children, young people and adults with care experience are to reach their full academic potential.Originality/valueResearch into the educational outcomes for those with experience of residential care in Scotland is limited. This paper, from a PhD, provides lived experience accounts from a practitioner-led study.

The Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Educational Outcomes in Adolescents

This paper's purpose is to review past literature on the effect of adverse childhood experiences on the educational outcomes of adolescent learners. Over the past few years, literature pieces through various researchers and writers have identified the great need to sensitize the reasons for the outcomes that adolescents get when they go through school. Most researchers have also focused on the possible solutions that could be used in addressing adolescents' different needs and challenges. One of the challenges that most researchers still need to identify is the early childhood experiences that adolescents go through even before they get to school. In this study, the researcher discussed academic effects related to early childhood adverse experiences. The family background and the different environmental issues that affect the mental state of adolescents as they grow up have been identified in this study as contributing factors to the adverse effects that lead to poor educational outcomes among adolescent learners. In addition, this study has found that adverse childhood experiences affect the students' learning outcomes by impacting different elements of the academic life of the learners. It influences the academic engagement of the learners, their level of achievement, and attendance to their studies in schools.

Layered vulnerability and researchers’ responsibilities: learning from research involving Kenyan adolescents living with perinatal HIV infection

BackgroundCarefully planned research is critical to developing policies and interventions that counter physical, psychological and social challenges faced by young people living with HIV/AIDS, without increasing burdens. Such studies, however, must navigate a ‘vulnerability paradox’, since including potentially vulnerable groups also risks unintentionally worsening their situation. Through embedded social science research, linked to a cohort study involving Adolescents Living with HIV/AIDS (ALH) in Kenya, we develop an account of researchers’ responsibilities towards young people, incorporating concepts of vulnerability, resilience, and agency as ‘interacting layers’.MethodsUsing a qualitative, iterative approach across three linked data collection phases including interviews, group discussions, observations and a participatory workshop, we explored stakeholders’ perspectives on vulnerability and resilience of young people living with HIV/AIDS, in relation to home and community, school, health care and health research participation. A total of 62 policy, provider, research, and community-based stakeholders were involved, including 27 ALH participating in a longitudinal cohort study. Data analysis drew on a Framework Analysis approach; ethical analysis adapts Luna’s layered account of vulnerability.ResultsALH experienced forms of vulnerability and resilience in their daily lives in which socioeconomic context, institutional policies, organisational systems and interpersonal relations were key, interrelated influences. Anticipated and experienced forms of stigma and discrimination in schools, health clinics and communities were linked to actions undermining ART adherence, worsening physical and mental health, and poor educational outcomes, indicating cascading forms of vulnerability, resulting in worsened vulnerabilities. Positive inputs within and across sectors could build resilience, improve outcomes, and support positive research experiences.ConclusionsThe most serious forms of vulnerability faced by ALH in the cohort study were related to structural, inter-sectoral influences, unrelated to study participation and underscored by constraints to their agency. Vulnerabilities, including cascading forms, were potentially responsive to policy-based and interpersonal actions. Stakeholder engagement supported cohort design and implementation, building privacy, stakeholder understanding, interpersonal relations and ancillary care policies. Structural forms of vulnerability underscore researchers’ responsibilities to work within multi-sectoral partnerships to plan and implement studies involving ALH, share findings in a timely way and contribute to policies addressing known causes of vulnerabilities.

Developing anti-crisis strategic for an educational organization

This study analyzes and projects performance of a private K-11 school in the city of Sebastopol experiencing poor educational outcomes, as well as proposes anti-crisis strategic recommendations to this organization. The authors developed a compound methodology, encompassing both qualitative and quantitative econometric methods, that is a theoretical basis of the study mentioned above. At its first stage an analytical profile of this educational organization is formed as a result of analysis and forecast of the main performance indicators. That is, key features, main characteristics, “problem points”, and competitive advantages of the school at the market of educational services are identified. At the second stage of the study, based on the results of the analysis and forecast, we formulate a set of anti-crisis strategies for the educational organization; the developed strategies optimally correspond to the previously identified "problem points" according to the suggested methodology. The implementation of the strategic alternatives formulated in this way contributes to improving the effectiveness of the troubled educational organization in question.

Adolescent alcohol and cannabis use and early adulthood educational attainment in the 1986 Northern Finland birth cohort study

BackgroundHeavy alcohol and cannabis use during adolescence have been previously described as risk factors not only for morbidity in adulthood, but also social problems including adversities in educational attainment. Attempts to consider overlapping risk factors and confounders for these associations are needed.MethodsUsing weighted multivariable models, we examined prospective associations between age at first drink (AFD), age at first intoxication (AFI), frequency of alcohol intoxication, as well as self-reported alcohol tolerance (i.e., number of drinks needed for the subjective experience of intoxication), and lifetime cannabis use at age 15/16 years with subsequent educational attainment obtained from comprehensive registers until age 33 in the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 (6,564 individuals, 49.1% male). Confounding variables including sex, family structure (intact vs. non-intact), maternal and paternal education level, behavioural/emotional problems in school at age 7/8 years, having a history of illicit substance use in adolescence, having any psychiatric diagnosis before age 16, and parental psychiatric diagnoses, were adjusted for.ResultsIn this large birth cohort study with a 17-year follow-up, younger age at first intoxication, higher frequency of alcohol intoxication, and high self-reported alcohol tolerance at age 15/16 years were associated with poorer educational outcomes by the age of 33 years. These associations were evident regardless of potential confounders, including parental education and childhood behavioural/emotional problems. The association between adolescent cannabis use and educational attainment in adulthood was no longer statistically significant after adjusting for confounders including frequency of alcohol intoxication at age 15/16.ConclusionsAssessments of age of first alcohol intoxication, high self-reported alcohol tolerance and frequency of intoxication during adolescence should be included when implementing screening strategies aimed at identifying adolescents at risk for subsequent social problems.

Values and Educational Growth

Values---the individual’s or group’s general tastes regarding results or courses of actions deemed appropriate or otherwise, have a synergetic relationship with educational growth. Ordinarily, the values espoused by individuals or groups engender specific types of attitudes that elicit precise sorts of behaviours that open the horizon for definite sorts of educational growth. Conversely, the quality and quantity of educational growth of a nation influence the behaviours of the citizens which generate attitudes that ultimately create values. This rectangular-like bidirectional correlation has a very strong causational angle to it: right values lead to positive educational growth; wrong ones elicit growth deficits in education, and vice versa. This essay establishes the correlation between values and educational growth using Nigeria as a case study. Through textual criticisms, it highlights the causative influence of bad values on the poor educational outcomes in the country and recommends value reorientation to reverse the ugly tide.

Ways to Implement Translanguaging for Turkish-Dutch Children

Even though research says that not providing heritage language support to bilingual minority children leads to poor educational outcomes (for a review, see Potowski, 2021), Dutch primary schools provide no Turkish support to Turkish-Dutch children (Extra &amp; Yağmur, 2004). One of the consequences of this is “a vicious circle that connects bilinguals’ language knowledge, language use and language anxiety” (Sevinç &amp; Backus, 2017, p. 1). These children feel anxious about their Turkish abilities which decreases their use of Turkish and since they do not use Turkish, this limits the growth of their Turkish abilities and as their Turkish skills are low, this increases their anxiety about using Turkish (Sevinç &amp; Backus, 2017). Seals and Olsen-Reeder (2020) propose that translanguaging, which “aims to normalize multilinguals’ transgressive performances as natural communicative acts” (Tian et al., 2020, p. 8), and translingual books can be a beneficial resource for heritage language speaking children. When translingual books created by them were employed in education settings, heritage language use increased among the children (Amosa Burgess &amp; Fiti, 2019). While waiting for the educational policies to catch up with decades of research, I propose that translanguaging can be used to alleviate Turkish-Dutch children’s current predicament. Particularly, I put forward several translanguaging activities for parents and teachers to utilize such as using holidays or festivals to bring different cultures, traditions and vocabulary together (e.g. Tian, 2022) or using books with multiple languages (e.g. a Turkish-Dutch translingual book prepared by the author) to encourage children to use both Turkish and Dutch (e.g. Amosa Burgess &amp; Fiti, 2019).

Phenotypic and Genetic Associations Between Preschool Fine Motor Skills and Later Neurodevelopment, Psychopathology, and Educational Achievement

BackgroundFine motor skills are heritable and comprise important milestones in development, and some evidence suggests that impairments in fine motor skills are associated with neurodevelopmental conditions, psychiatric disorders, and poor educational outcomes. MethodsIn a preregistered study of 9625 preschool children from TEDS (Twins Early Development Study), fine motor assessments (drawing, block building, folding, and questionnaires) were conducted at 2, 3, and 4 years of age. A cross-age fine motor score was derived using principal component analysis. Multivariate regression analysis was used to examine the relationships between the fine motor score and neurodevelopmental traits, psychopathology, and educational outcomes at 3 later ages (7–8, 12, and 16 years) and cross-age psychopathology composite scores. Polygenic scores (PGSs) were created for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, schizophrenia, anxiety, major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and years of education. We ran single-PGS models and a multi-PGS model. ResultsFine motor skills were negatively associated with neurodevelopmental traits and psychopathology across childhood and adolescence and positively associated with educational achievement in adolescence (β = 0.25, p < .001). Superior fine motor skills were associated with a higher years-of-education PGS (β = 0.07, p < .001), a lower ADHD PGS (β = −0.04, p = .011), and a higher anxiety PGS (β = 0.03, p = .040). Similarly, the multi-PGS model retained the PGSs for years of education (β = 0.07), ADHD (β = −0.03), and anxiety (β = 0.01). A non-preregistered analysis in an independent preschool sample replicated the ADHD PGS association, but not the years of education or anxiety PGS associations. ConclusionsFine motor skills are linked genetically and phenotypically to later neurodevelopment, psychopathology, and educational outcomes. Future work should investigate the mechanisms that underlie the role of fine motor development in later outcomes.

Internet gaming disorder in medical students: Is it a risk factor for poor educational outcomes?

Background: Today, computer games have taken a prominent place in the lives of children and teenagers, and statistics indicate that online gaming constitutes the majority of computer usage. Numerous studies have explored the detrimental effects of internet gaming on individuals. However, to date, no comprehensive research has been conducted specifically investigating the effect of online gaming on academic performance within a medical education context. To address this gap, we have conducted this study, focusing on the impact of online gaming on the academic performance of Iranian medical students. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 185 medical students from four disciplines ((basic sciences, Physiopathology, extern, intern) were selected through a multi-stage sampling method at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. Internet gaming disorder (IGD) test as well as the grade point average (GPA) of the last academic semester, the average study hours on normal days and near the exam, the efficiency of study hours, the number of failed semesters, and academic satisfaction were assessed. Results: In this study, a total of 185 medical students participated, of which 62.2% (115 students) were females. The prevalence of IGD was found to be 3.8%. Interestingly, the prevalence of IGD was approximately four times higher in males than in females (7.1% vs. 1.7%, P=0.106). Furthermore, both the overall daily study time (P&lt;0.001) and the daily study time on days near exams (P=0.031) were found to be significantly higher in students without IGD compared to those with IGD. However, factors such as age, gender, being native to Mashhad, discipline level, last GPA, number of failed semesters, and satisfaction with education showed no correlation with IGD. Conclusion: These findings may serve as a cautionary signal for educational authorities within the Iranian medical education system. However, to obtain more robust results, further investigations are recommended, particularly in other academic majors.

Why Did Kath, Mary and Kim Get So Little Education (and Is There Hope for Their Children)?

This paper seeks to understand the reasons why there is such a strong relationship between poverty and poor child educational outcomes. It reports preliminary findings of in-depth interviews with three women who have spent most of the past five years on the DPB and live in the poorest part of Christchurch. The focus of this paper is on these women

Auditory neural processing in children living with HIV uncovers underlying central nervous system dysfunction.

Central nervous system (CNS) damage from HIV infection or treatment can lead to developmental delays and poor educational outcomes in children living with HIV (CLWH). Early markers of central nervous system dysfunction are needed to target interventions and prevent life-long disability. The frequency following response (FFR) is an auditory electrophysiology test that can reflect the health of the central nervous system. In this study, we explore whether the FFR reveals auditory central nervous system dysfunction in CLWH. Cross-sectional analysis of an ongoing cohort study. Data were from the child's first visit in the study. The infectious disease center in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. We collected the FFR from 151 CLWH and 151 HIV-negative children. To evoke the FFR, three speech syllabi (/da/, /ba/, /ga/) were played monaurally to the child's right ear. Response measures included neural timing (peak latencies), strength of frequency encoding (fundamental frequency and first formant amplitude), encoding consistency (inter-response consistency), and encoding precision (stimulus-to-response correlation). CLWH showed smaller first formant amplitudes ( P < 0.0001), weaker inter-response consistencies ( P < 0.0001) and smaller stimulus to response correlations ( P < 0.0001) than FFRs from HIV-negative children. These findings generalized across the three speech stimuli with moderately strong effect sizes (partial η2 ranged from 0.061 to 0.094). The FFR shows auditory central nervous system dysfunction in CLWH. Neural encoding of auditory stimuli was less robust, more variable, and less accurate. As the FFR is a passive and objective test, it may offer an effective way to assess and detect central nervous system function in CLWH.