School Completion Research Articles

Exploring how and why a sports-based multi-component intervention works for disengaged students: a longitudinal realist evaluation

ABSTRACT School dropout is associated with numerous detrimental consequences including prolonged unemployment, poverty, a wide range of psychological and physical health problems, and premature mortality. As such, designing and implementing interventions to prevent school dropout and ensure successful school completion is crucial. The purpose of the current study was to conduct a longitudinal realist evaluation to understand how, and under which circumstances, a multi-component intervention delivered through the charitable foundation of a professional sports team may impact the developmental outcomes of disengaged students. The intervention comprised one-to-one mentoring, classroom-based learning, sport and physical activity. Participant observations and fifty-two interviews were conducted with teachers and students over a ten-month period to form context-mechanism-outcome configurations (CMOCs) and to refine initial programme theories. The CMOCs developed highlighted the importance of students developing healthy conflict resolution skills and emotional regulation strategies, the potential of sporting content to re-ignite interest in academic learning, the powerful effects of deviant peer contagion, the synergistic impact of a multi-component intervention, and the role of pre-existing and ongoing contextual factors in determining whether interventions can create sustainable and lasting desirable outcomes among students. The findings provide practical recommendations for future sport-framed intervention design, implementation, and evaluation.

Assessing Africa's child survival gains and prospects for attaining SDG target on child mortality.

This study assessed Africa's child survival gains and prospects for attaining Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) target 3.2. We analysed multiple country-level secondary datasets of 54 African countries and presented spatial analysis. Results showed that only 8 out of the 54 African countries have achieved substantial reductions in under-5 mortality with an under-five mortality rate (U5MR) of 25 deaths per 1,000 live births or less. Many countries are far from achieving this target. Results of the predictions using supervised machine learning on the Bayesian network reveal that the probability of achieving the SDG target 3.2 (i.e., having U5MR of 25 deaths per 1000 live births or less) increases (from 21.6% to 100%) when the contraceptive prevalence increases from 49.8% to 78.5%; and the use of skilled birth attendants increases from 44.8% to 86.3%; and percentage of secondary school completion of female increases from 42.5 to 74.0%. Our results from Local indicator of spatial autocorrelation (LISA) cluster maps show that 7 countries (mainly in West/Central Africa) formed the high-high clusters (hotspots for U5M) and may not achieve the SDG target 3.2 unless urgent and appropriate investments are deployed. As 2030 approaches, there is a need to address the problem of limited access to quality health care, female illiteracy, limited access to safe water, and poor access to quality family planning services, particularly across many sub-Saharan African countries.

Children’s Sleep and Human Capital Production

Abstract This paper uses exogenous variation in sleep induced by sunset time to present the first human capital estimates of (i) the effects of child sleep from the developing world and (ii) the long-run effects of child sleep in any context. Later sunset reduces children’s sleep: when the sun sets later, children go to bed later but fail to compensate by waking up later. Sleep-deprived children study less and increase nap time and indoor leisure activities. Short-run sleep loss decreases children’s test scores. Chronic sleep deficits translate into fewer years of education and lower primary and middle school completion rates among school-age children.

Inclusion of vulnerable youth in school or work – How can individually tailored professional support contribute?

Researchers and policymakers are worried about the marginalisation of vulnerable youth who drop out of school and work, as a long range of policies and measures developed in many countries have not solved the problem. Several studies suggest individually tailored support as a vital measure, but the details of how such support contributes to inclusion remain unclear. This article explores how individually tailored support can contribute to the inclusion of vulnerable youth in school or work as well as its limitations. Qualitative data from four support processes were drawn from a Norwegian pilot project aimed at the inclusion of vulnerable youth in schools or work. While none of the youth fully completed school or found sustainable work during the observation period, several minor or temporary achievements – often ‘soft’ outcomes such as trustful relationships or better management of emotions – were reached. These achievements were experienced as vital and important to the youth, their families and to other support organisations involved. Using the capability approach as a lens, I found that individually tailored professional support contributes to bringing forward internal and external resources and transforming these resources into possibilities and capabilities. These contributions take place as ongoing processes. Further transformation of capabilities into achieved functionings, such as stable work, school completion and often other ‘hard’ outcomes, seems to be more difficult.

Navigating the Impact of Foreign Aid: A Holistic View of Educational Aid Disbursements in Developing Nations

Background: Foreign aid is a fundamental instrument of international cooperation, intended theoretically to ameliorate the disparities in saving-investment dynamics, knowledge acquisition, and foreign exchange within developing nations. Despite over half a century of endeavours to evaluate its efficacy, the ongoing discourse on whether aid engenders predominantly positive outcomes in recipient countries remains inconclusive. Consequently, the nuanced impact of foreign aid on addressing challenges in developing nations remains a topic necessitating comprehensive and rigorous analysis. Objective: The primary aim of this study is to augment the existing body of knowledge within the domain of foreign aid by scrutinising the impact of education aid on improving educational achievements, particularly at the primary and secondary education tiers, by focusing on the overall, gender-wise, income level-wise, and donor-wise effect. This study focuses on delineating the influence of aid on the Primary Completion Rate (PCR), recognising its role as a precursor to shaping the Secondary School Level Net Enrollment Rate (SERNet). Method: This study utilised recent data on education aid disbursements across 50 low—and lower-income countries over 19 years (2002-2020). It specifically examined the cross-sector effects of this aid within the education sector, focusing on its impact on both the PCR and the SERNet. The analysis was conducted using the two-stage least squares methodology using the instrumental variables (IV-2SLS). Result: The findings revealed a statistically significant and positive correlation between education aid and the PCR, while no substantial relationship was observed with the SERNet. This discrepancy indicates that aid to improve primary school completion may not necessarily lead to enhancements in secondary school enrollments. Additionally, the analysis demonstrated that economic factors, governance, and school-related structural variables also play crucial roles in improving educational outcomes in developing countries. Conclusion: These outcomes suggest that the efficacy of foreign aid exhibits variance across different scenarios. The challenges concerning PCR and SERNet likely diverge, implying that assessing aid impacts singularly might be inadequate. Tailoring an aid to address specific issues could yield more favourable outcomes. Paper Type: Research Paper

Street Mathematics as an Applied Technique in Solving Problems of the Market Vendors in the Municipality of Talavera, Nueva Ecija: A Case Study

This study aimed at identifying and analyzing the techniques applied in street mathematics in solving problems. It involved a total of ten(10) market vendors selling different products in the public market of Talavera, Nueva Ecija. Using the Descriptive Case Study Design, the following were the findings of the study: (1) The salt, shoe and utensil vendors did not finish elementary; chicken vendor completed elementary; fish and fruit vendor were not able to finish high school; vegetable and cloth/RTW vendor were high school completers; grocery/cooking oil vendor have reached college; and school supply vendor finished college. (2) The techniques used by the participants in solving problems are learned through their personal experiences, which include mental computations, finger counting, arithmetic, computations by pattern, question analysis, guess and check method, and written computations; (3) The market vendors’ calculations, sometimes, end up with wrong summation of the total amount of items. However, it can be overcome through written computations; (4) The instructional module can be used as a teaching guide to teach students the strategies for using street mathematics to solve mathematical problems. So that, students will discover the beauty of mathematics and learn how to approach problems in an informal way. In view of the aforementioned findings, the following conclusions are drawn; (1) Regardless of the educational background, the participants have mastered the principles of street mathematics which they apply when they perform calculations while selling. (2) The selected market vendors solved the given problems in pragmatic way. (3) The problem-solving skills of the market vendors have limitations because not all the techniques taught in school can be learned through their experiences in their workplace. (4) The instructional module will help the students learn some other strategies in solving mathematical problems independently, not only through formal approach but through informal approach as well.

Can mothers' time preferences predict their children's educational outcomes?

AbstractThis paper studies parents' time preferences and adolescents' future educational outcomes. We combine time preference data on adolescents and mothers, measured in 1966 and 1968, with register data on education and labor outcomes up to 2015. Results show that children of patient mothers have higher grades, are more likely to be enrolled in academic elementary school tracks, and are more likely to attain post‐secondary education. However, the mother's time preferences are not significantly associated with the adolescent's choice of upper secondary school program or completion. The unique Swedish data also allow us to shed some light on potential mechanisms.

Exploring Community-Based Interventions in Boys’ Education: Keeping Boys in School and Fighting Irregular 'Backway' Migration

The study is an in-depth qualitative exploration of the factors contributing to school dropout rates among boys in Serrekunda, particularly in the context of the allure of irregular migration via the 'Backway'. Data was collected through semi-structured virtual interviews with key stakeholders in boys’ education in the Gambia and the United States. Using thematic analysis and triangulation, the findings reiterate the need for an integrative approach to address socio-economic, educational, and cultural factors to keep boys in school and fight irregular migration. The study uncovers best practices and evidence-based community-driven interventions to keep boys in school and increase school completion rates. The interventions include quality monitoring and mentoring, revitalizing after-school programs, enhancing the relevance of schoolwork to future career paths, school-community partnership, providing vocational training, and strengthening parental engagement. Recommendations include ways to explore community-based initiatives and adopt of best practices to keep boys in school and fight irregular migration in Gambia’s Serrekunda Metropolis by empowering boys with skills, knowledge, and opportunities for socio-economic advancement within their communities.

Mid-life sleep is associated with cognitive performance later in life in aging American Indians: data from the Strong Heart Study.

Sleep-related disorders have been associated with cognitive decline and neurodegeneration. American Indians are at increased risk for dementia. Here, we aim to characterize, for the first time, the associations between sleep characteristics and subsequent cognitive performance in a sample of aging American Indians. We performed analyses on data collected in two ancillary studies from the Strong Heart Study, which occurred approximately 10 years apart with an overlapping sample of 160 American Indians (mean age at follow-up 73.1, standard deviation 5.6; 69.3% female and 80% with high school completion). Sleep measures were derived by polysomnography and self-reported questionnaires, including sleep timing and duration, sleep latency, sleep stages, indices of sleep-disordered breathing, and self-report assessments of poor sleep and daytime sleepiness. Cognitive assessment included measures of general cognition, processing speed, episodic verbal learning, short and long-delay recall, recognition, and phonemic fluency. We performed correlation analyses between sleep and cognitive measures. For correlated variables, we conducted separate linear regressions. We analyzed the degree to which cognitive impairment, defined as more than 1.5 standard deviations below the average Modified Mini Mental State Test score, is predicted by sleep characteristics. All regression analyses were adjusted for age, sex, years of education, body mass index, study site, depressive symptoms score, difference in age from baseline to follow-up, alcohol use, and presence of APOE e4 allele. We found that objective sleep characteristics measured by polysomnography, but not subjective sleep characteristics, were associated with cognitive performance approximately 10 years later. Longer sleep latency was associated with worse phonemic fluency (β = -0.069, p = 0.019) and increased likelihood of being classified in the cognitive impairment group later in life (odds ratio 1.037, p = 0.004). Longer duration with oxygen saturation < 90% was associated with better immediate verbal memory, and higher oxygen saturation with worse total learning, short and long-delay recall, and processing speed. In a sample of American Indians, sleep characteristics in midlife were correlated with cognitive performance a decade later. Sleep disorders may be modifiable risk factors for cognitive impairment and dementia later in life, and suitable candidates for interventions aimed at preventing neurodegenerative disease development and progression.

EFFECT OF FOREIGN DEBT ON LITERACY RATE IN KENYA

&lt;p&gt;This paper investigated the effect of foreign debt on literacy rate in Kenya. In the fiscal year 2021/2022, public debt as a percentage of gross domestic product was 67 per cent, which was higher than the debt ceiling of 55 per cent of gross domestic product. External debt accounted for 52% of this total debt as of 2022, exhibiting a consistent increase since 2013, surpassing domestic debt. The burden of servicing foreign debt may subsequently pose a challenge to the government in fulfilling its commitments in the education sector. Consequently, lower literacy rates impede a nation's socio-economic progress as literacy is critical for promoting peace and adopting new technologies, both of which drive development. This study used the primary school completion rate as a proxy for literacy. Secondary data published in international and national organizations from 1990 to 2021 was employed for analysis. The study’s theoretical framework was pegged on a consumer utility maximization of a merit-good education constrained by the government's financing. The relevant time series and diagnostic tests were performed on the data series and models. Auto Regressive Distributed Lag model was used for estimation using ordinary least squares. The findings were that foreign debt hurt literacy rate in the long run and had a positive effect in the short run. The study recommends prudent management of foreign debt, so that it can facilitate improvements in the education sector.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;JEL:&lt;/strong&gt; I25; H63; O55; C22&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; Article visualizations:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="/-counters-/soc/0771/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

What I really want: Policy maker views on education in Southeast Asia

This paper reports the views and perceptions of randomly selected education policy makers in Southeast Asia, based on surveys of 651 senior public officials in 14 middle-income countries globally. The findings show that officials tend to prioritize increasing secondary school completion over improving learning quality, despite global evidence suggesting that improving learning quality is more crucial for economic growth. Additionally, the surveyed Southeast Asian officials severely underestimate learning poverty and do so at twice the rate of officials from other countries. Officials were most likely to cite system capacity as the primary constraint to improving learning. The findings show that officials’ support for gender equality and disability inclusion is high. Interviewed officials prefer to invest in in-service teacher training or early-grade reading compared to other options such as EdTech or inclusion for students with disabilities. This mix of alignment and misalignment between policy makers’ goals and the stated goals of development partners can inform future engagement in policy dialogue, analysis, and information campaigns.

Determinants of Financial Inclusion in Kenya: A Demand-Side Perspective

This study sought to analyze the underlying financial inclusion determinants in Kenya. The study applies ordinal logit regression to examine the effect of the residential area, gender, education level, marital status, and employment type on financial inclusion. Financial inclusion is measured by developing a financial inclusion index for ten binary financial services variables. From the index, three financial inclusion levels are designed. These include low financial inclusion with scores of zero to three, medium with scores of four to six, and high level with scores of seven to ten. The estimates of the ordinal model are statistically significant for all factors considered except gender. Area of residence, age, education type, income, and marital status positively affect the log odds of financial inclusion, while employment is negatively linked. Education, employment, and marital status have interaction effects on financial inclusion. This study recommends that the Kenyan government formulate and strengthen policies to tackle challenges such as gender disparity, rural bank infrastructure development, fostering an environment conducive for entrepreneurship to address unemployment and income disparities, advocating for secondary school completion, and addressing social issues impacting family stability, including separation or the absence of marriage.

The Experiences Of Three Students With Learning Disabilities as they Transition from High School to Postsecondary Education

This qualitative study examines the transition to life after high school of three young men with learning disabilities (LD). The research focuses on their individual journeys from the end of grade 12 in June, to the end of May the following year and provides overarching themes as to their lived experiences during this year of transition. Using case study design, a series of four in-depth interviews were conducted with each of the three participants. The findings showed that although the students had unique experiences over the year, there were several commonalities in their stories including readiness, emotions, the importance of social connections, coping skills, changes over time, accessing supports, and learning online. We discuss the stories of the participants based on these overarching themes and make recommendations for support and services offered to students with LD to support them after completion of high school.

Cross-substance Effects of Adolescent Exposure to Alcohol Content in Popular Movies on Cannabis Initiation.

Alcohol is the most frequently depicted substance in the media, and adolescent exposure to alcohol in the media predicts alcohol use. There is relatively little research on exposure to cannabis in the media, but exposure to alcohol content may exert cross-substance effects on cannabis use. Given the social and health risks associated with early cannabis use, the present study aims to assess the cross-substance effects of exposure to alcohol media content on age of cannabis initiation. A sample of 830 middle school students (53% female) reported on movie alcohol exposure and cannabis initiation longitudinally until high school completion. Discrete-time survival models examined whether movie alcohol exposure predicted subsequent initiation among students who were cannabis-naïve at baseline, controlling for demographic, social, and behavioral covariates. The interaction between sex and movie alcohol exposure was also explored. One third (33%) of participants reported cannabis initiation with a mean of 5.57 estimated hours (SD = 4.29) of movie alcohol exposure. A 1-hour increase in movie exposure predicted a significant 16% increased probability of cannabis initiation in models adjusted for demographic variables and a significant 14% increase in models adjusted for demographic, behavioral, and social variables. No differences were observed across sex. Greater adolescent exposure to alcohol content in the media was associated with earlier cannabis initiation above and beyond other etiologically relevant demographic, behavioral, and social variables. The influence of cross-substance media exposures warrants further exploration and should be taken into consideration in the development of preventive interventions for youth substance use.

The Effectiveness of Dropout Intervention Programs Among K-12 Students: A Meta-Analysis

This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of dropout intervention programs among K-12 students. A total of 26 empirical studies published between 2010 and 2022 were included, from which 31 effect sizes were extracted. The average effect size for the dropout intervention programs on increasing high school completion was estimated as 0.19 (95% CI: 0.10, 0.28). We found that both nonrandomly assigned but matched designs and randomly assigned designs tended to have larger effect sizes compared to nonrandom designs. Behavioral interventions (ES = 0.33) and combined interventions that implemented at least two kinds of intervention strategies (ES = 0.31) performed better than programs focused on academics alone (ES = 0.12) in terms of preventing dropout and promoting graduation rate. We suggest educators and policymakers include behavioral components when developing intervention programs.

Heterogeneous neighbourhood effects on the educational attainments of native Norwegian and immigrant-descendant female and male young adults

Using longitudinal register data from Oslo, Norway, this article examines how cumulative childhood exposure to family and neighbourhood contexts influences the educational attainments of young adults, paying special attention to how these determinants vary by gender and immigrant status. Specifically, we examine how neighbourhood socioeconomic and immigrant context experienced during childhood affects the completion of secondary school and university enrolment during young adulthood. We assess the extent of effect heterogeneity for three immigrant status groups stratified by gender. We control for geographical selection using a recently developed technique that first models parental selection of neighbourhood attributes and then uses the resulting predicted probabilities of selection as instruments in the neighbourhood-effects-on-education model. We find that neighbourhood affluence, educational levels and non-Western immigrant composition have important impacts on young adult educational outcomes, though results differ sharply by gender and immigrant status.

The role of adolescent social inclusion in educational attainment among vulnerable youth.

Completing high school enables access to educational and employment opportunities associated with better physical and mental health and improved quality of life. Identifying modifiable factors that promote optimal educational trajectories for youth experiencing disadvantage is an important research focus. Social inclusion has been theorised to play a role in promoting better educational outcomes for this priority population, however limited research has examined this relationship. This study used three waves of data from the state-representative Australian arm of the International Youth Development Study (IYDS) (youngest cohort, N = 733; 54% female, 95% Australian born) to examine the extent to which vulnerability in primary school (Grade 5; Mage = 10.97, SD = 0.38) and social inclusion in mid-adolescence (Year 10; Mage = 15.50, SD = 0.53), were associated with school completion in young adulthood (post-secondary; Mage = 19.02, SD = 0.43). Regression models identified an interaction between social inclusion and vulnerability (OR = 1.37, 95% CI [1.06, 1.77], p = .016), indicating that the association between vulnerability and school completion varied as a student's level of social inclusion increased. Higher social inclusion was beneficial for youth with lower levels of vulnerability but did not appear to influence school completion for the most vulnerable students. For many young people, promoting social inclusion may support engagement in education and play a protective role. However, further research is needed to better understand the role of social inclusion for highly vulnerable youth, particularly the mechanisms via which social inclusion may have differential effects on school completion.

School completion and progression to higher education in adolescents with social anxiety: a linkage between Young-HUNT3 and national educational data (2008-2019), Norway.

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) most commonly develops in adolescence-a period of life that includes a transition to upper secondary school. The aim of this study is to investigate the extent to which social anxiety in adolescence is associated with the completion of upper secondary school and progression to higher education. This longitudinal study includes 8,192 adolescents aged 13-19 years who participated in the Norwegian Young-HUNT 3 population-based study. Social anxiety is measured employing (1) diagnostic interview screening questions (interview) and (2) a self-reported symptom index (questionnaire). Notably, we define the cohorts based on these two methods. Using national educational data (2008-2019), we follow educational attainment among the cohorts until they turn 25 years of age. We found that adolescents who screened positive (SP) for SAD had a predicted probability of upper secondary school completion at 21 years of age that was 14% points lower than those who screened negative (SN). Further, differences remained when looking at completion rates at age 25 years. Moreover, predicted probabilities for completion were inversely associated with increasing levels of self-reported social anxiety symptoms. Similarly, the proportion of the completers of an academic program in the SP group that were enrolled in higher education by 25 years of age, were lower than for the SN group (87 vs. 92%). Social anxiety in adolescence, both self-reported symptoms and diagnostic screening, has long-term negative impact on upper secondary school completion and to some extent enrollment to higher education.

Falling behind in school: Mother’s economic empowerment and its association with children’s grade progression in Malawi

Malawi has experienced slow and uneven progress in school progression and completion rates, thus there is need to rethink the approaches needed for reforming education systems. Mothers are more likely to invest in children’s nutrition and well-being and take primary responsibility for children’s education. However, the association between women’s economic empowerment and their offspring’s school progression rates is not systematically understood in Malawi, or elsewhere. We investigate how economic empowerment of mothers is associated with children’s progression through grades at appropriate ages. Using the 2016/17 Malawi Integrated Household Survey data, we show that women’s economic empowerment is positively associated with being on-time for grade, with a steeper slope for girls than boys, particularly at secondary school level. The stronger association for girls in secondary school, who otherwise typically experience a higher risk of dropping out of school than boys, implies higher education attainment, and probably lower teen pregnancies and early marriage. We conclude that investment in women’s economic empowerment can significantly enhance school progression and completion rates and can contribute to human capital development and poverty reduction in Malawi and elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa.

Efficacy of Behavioral Economic Nudges to Assist Teen Mothers: the Healthy Adolescent Transitions Randomized Controlled Trial.

Communities may often lack the resources to deliver intensive programs to assist teen mothers, and many eligible adolescents may decline participation in lengthy interventions. Therefore, alternative approaches involving less resource and time may be needed. Behavioral economics (BE) can inform the development of such novel interventions. BE often feature low-intensity approaches designed to "nudge" people to help them reach their long-term goals. Nudges can include giving reminders, making the desired behavior more convenient, and optimizing the verbal presentation of recommended options. Three hundred thirty-one American adolescents (ages 14 to 19) who were 22 to 35weeks pregnant were enrolled in the present trial. One hundred sixty-six participants were randomly assigned to the intervention condition featuring a three-month BE intervention delivered by a registered nurse and social worker. The remaining 165 youths were assigned usual care. Surveys were completed at baseline, 3months, 12months, and 18months. Data collection occurred from 2017 to 2021. Qualitative feedback indicated that the BE intervention was well-received by adolescents. However, there were no significant differences between the intervention and control groups at any time point regarding repeat pregnancy, contraceptive usage, financial literacy, school completion, job attainment, HPV vaccinations, nicotine usage, perception of having a medical home, urgent care/ED usage, and nutritional intake (all p > .05). Our findings suggest that a BE-based intervention may not be sufficient to facilitate change for teen mothers. Future programs should consider lasting longer, featuring a higher dose, and/or incorporating systems-level changes. This trial was prospectively registered (NCT03194672 clinicaltrials.gov).