School Socioeconomic Status Research Articles

Supporting adolescents’ participation in muscle-strengthening physical activity: protocol for the ‘Resistance Training for Teens’ (RT4T) hybrid type III implementation–effectiveness trial

IntroductionIn Australia, only 22% of male and 8% of female adolescents meet the muscle-strengthening physical activity guidelines, and few school-based interventions support participation in resistance training (RT). After promising findings...

Research on Integration and Application of Ethnic Sports, Folk Sports, and Traditional Sports in School Education among Minority Groups

As ethnic sports can improve students' physical health and cultural heritage, there is increased interest in incorporating them into school curricula. The current literature on this topic doesn't fully examine the basic mechanisms and contextual factors that affect these relationships, especially for minority students. This study aimed to investigate how including ethnic sports in school curricula relates to the cultural identity and physical fitness outcomes of minority students. In addition, the research aimed to explore how cultural identity plays a role in between, and how the school environment and socioeconomic status affect this relationship. The research used a quantitative design and included minority students from various cultural backgrounds as participants. A total of 470 minority students were used in the study to collect data. The researchers used statistical methods like mediation and moderation models and regression analysis to look into the connections and test the ideas. The study's findings showed a statistically significant and favorable relationship between the inclusion of ethnic sports in the academic curriculum and students' levels of physical fitness. Furthermore, it was shown that cultural identity mediated the relationship, suggesting that students' levels of cultural identification contributed to their motivation to exercise. The results showed that the relationship between ethnic sports integration and fitness outcomes was moderated by the educational environment. The present study adds to the extant body of literature by furnishing empirical substantiation regarding the favorable influence of assimilating ethnic sports on the physical fitness outcomes and cultural identity of students.

Understanding the Influence of Teacher-Student Relationship on Mathematics Achievement: Evidence From Korean Students

Learning does not occur through one-way lecturing. Rather, it occurs through reciprocal interactions. This means that a student’s response to a teacher’s guidance is critical in their learning. Moreover, it has been known that student learning can be influenced by school mean SES (socioeconomic status) insofar as it impacts the shared learning environment. In the present study, we examine (1) the relationship between math teacher support and student motivation on student mathematics achievement; and (2) whether student motivation interacts with teacher support in learning mathematics and how those interactions affect student mathematics achievement across various school mean SES (low, medium, high). The Programme for International Student Assessment 2012 survey data for 5,033 South Korean students was used in this research. In this study, the results show that (1) the effects of math teacher support and student motivation differ by school mean SES; and (2) there is no interaction between student motivation and math teacher support. Therefore, the findings of this study indicate that school SES impacts the shared learning environment and has a strong influence on student response to math teacher support and the relationship between student motivation and math achievement. Based on these results, implications for teacher education to improve teacher support are suggested.

The Effect Of School Size, Demographics, And Socioeconomic Status On Headgear Use In Girls Lacrosse

The Effect Of School Size, Demographics, And Socioeconomic Status On Headgear Use In Girls Lacrosse

Exploring the Effects of Student and School Socioeconomic Status on Student Academic Achievement between Rural and Urban Areas in South Korea

Exploring the Effects of Student and School Socioeconomic Status on Student Academic Achievement between Rural and Urban Areas in South Korea

The Dynamics of Access to ICT and Technology Practices of Secondary School Teachers

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of access to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for effective teaching and learning. Access to ICT is a complex and dynamic phenomenon that significantly impacts teachers' technology practices. There is a need for more extensive studies to explore the dynamics of access and teacher technology practices in various contexts. This study explored the influence of access on the technology practices of secondary school teachers in the Western Cape, South Africa. A qualitative online survey was used to explore the lived experiences of teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic. A diverse sample, in terms of gender, age, years of experience of teachers, and socio-economic status of schools, of 22 teachers voluntarily participated in the study. Van Dijk's cumulative model of access to ICT provided a useful lens to explore how and when the dimensions of access supported or hindered teachers' appropriation of ICT. This study found that most respondents were primarily exposed to traditional face-to-face teaching before March 2020. The suspension of in-school teaching, however, caused a dramatic shift in the way teachers interacted with technology, learning materials and learners. Three dimensions of digital inequality, associated with physical access, manifested in South Africa, namely the Virtual Classroom, WhatsApp, and Radio-Television groups. Most participants in this study returned to traditional teaching practices with increased use of technology when schools reopened again. The findings of this study suggest that access to technology is not a linear progression of successive stages that by default culminates in usage. This paper proposes a more holistic contextualised approach to access to create enabling environments for the use of ICT and empower teachers to use ICT in their teaching practices.

Why does school socio‐economic composition matter to adolescents’ academic performance? Role of classroom climate and school resources

AbstractA growing literature has documented the importance of school socio‐economic status (SES) composition to children's academic performance, but the channels through which school SES affects individual achievement remain poorly understood. We investigate differences in 15‐year‐old children's reading performance across schools with different levels of mean SES composition in six European countries where children are sorted into different academic and vocational tracks after the age of 15. This study contributes to the literature on the role of school SES composition for students’ academic achievement by examining the extent to which individual student SES and academic aspirations, classroom climate and school resources account for school SES differences. Multilevel regression analyses of reading literacy scores from PISA 2018 indicate sizeable effects of school SES composition on reading achievement in each of the six countries, even after accounting for student SES. By limiting the analysis to students who had not yet been tracked based on their academic record or aspirations, we can better focus on the link between school SES composition and educational achievement. Our main finding is that school SES composition differences are more than a function of students’ own SES, as they also reflect classroom discipline, teaching practices, peer educational aspirations, and to a lesser extent, school resources.

Violence Against Adolescent Girls During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Quantitative Evidence From Rural and Urban Communities in Maharashtra, India

PurposeWhile the “shadow pandemic” of violence against women during the global health crisis caused by COVID-19 is well documented, little is known about its impact on adolescent girls. This study assesses the pandemic's effect on different forms of violence against girls in Maharashtra, India. MethodsAdolescent girls from rural communities and urban slum pockets in Pune and Sangli, Maharashtra, were recruited between February and April 2022. Girls were eligible for participation if they were aged 13–18 years, irrespective of additional characteristics such as school attendance, caste or socioeconomic status. Quantitative data on health-related and socioeconomic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, family violence, and intimate partner violence (IPV; for married/partnered girls) were collected using audio- and computer-assisted self-interview techniques. We estimated a multivariable logistic regression model to assess the pandemic's impact on violence risk. ResultsThree thousand forty-nine adolescent girls were recruited into the study, 251 (8.2%) of whom had been married as children. Two thousand and three (65.7%) girls reported exposure to at least one form of family violence in the preceding year and 405 (71.7%) partnered girls reported incidents of IPV. Domestic violence risk increased significantly in households that suffered greater economic harm (odds ratio = 1.19, 95% confidence interval 1.13–1.26) and negative health consequences (odds ratio = 1.76, 95% confidence interval 1.54–2.02) from the pandemic. Similarly, greater detrimental health and economic impacts were associated with higher IPV risk. DiscussionThe COVID-19 pandemic has substantially increased girls' vulnerability to violence. Preventive measures and concerted, youth-focused policy efforts to extend support services to adolescent violence survivors are urgently needed.

How the Medicine and Science programmes can overcome the impacts of low SES secondary school educational disadvantage

ABSTRACT This study focuses on educational attainment in New Zealand’s undergraduate programmes in medicine and science (N = 750 and N = 4722, respectively), by following four student cohorts over the course of their degree. This research aimed to identify the extent to which studying in competitive academic programmes (Medicine and BSc) attenuate educational disparity related to schools’ socio-economic backgrounds. We found that Science students coming from the lowest Socioe-conomic Status (SES) schools had lower attainment in their first tertiary year but their achievement improved throughout the programme while outperforming all other students in their third year. However, medicine students from lowest SES schools had lower attainment in their first year but from their second year, their attainment was not significantly different from their counterparts coming from higher SES schools. This study’s findings, support the selection processes for these programmes, allowing students from disadvantaged secondary schools to enrol and succeed in competitive academic programmes.

Recurrent headache, stomachache, and backpain among adolescents: association with exposure to bullying and parents' socioeconomic status.

Recurrent pain is a prevalent and severe public health problem among adolescents and is associated with several negative health outcomes. In a representative sample of adolescents this study examined 1) whether exposure to bullying and low socioeconomic status (SES) were associated with recurrent headache, stomachache and backpain, 2) the combined effect of exposure to bullying and low SES on recurrent pain and 3) whether SES modified the association between bullying and recurrent pain. Data derived from the Danish contribution to the international collaborative study Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC). The study population was students in three age groups, 11-, 13- and 15-year-olds from nationally representative samples of schools. We pooled participants from the surveys in 2010, 2014 and 2018, n=10,738. The prevalence of recurrent pain defined as pain 'more than once a week' was high: 11.7 % reported recurrent headache, 6.1 % stomachache, and 12.1 % backpain. The proportion who reported at least one of these pains 'almost every day' was 9.8 %. Pain was significantly associated with exposure to bullying at school and low parental SES. The adjusted odds ratio (AOR, 95 % CI) for recurrent headache when exposed to both bullying and low SES was 2.69 (1.75-4.10). Equivalent estimates for recurrent stomachache were 5.80 (3.69-9.12), for backpain 3.79 (2.58-5.55), and for any recurrent pain 4.81 (3.25-7.11). Recurrent pain increased with exposure to bullying in all socioeconomic strata. Students with double exposure, i.e.,to bullying and low SES, had the highest OR for recurrent pain. SES did not modify the association between bullying and recurrent pain.

Global hotspots and trends in research on preschool children's motor development from 2012 to 2022: a bibliometric analysis.

Motor development plays an important role in human development throughout the lifespans, from conception to death, and has received increasing scholarly attention in recent years. However, valuable comprehensive reviews and literature analysis on this topic are still lacking. Here, this bibliometric study aimed to identify global motor development research hotspots and trends on preschool children's motor development from 2012 to 2022. CiteSpace 6.1.R4 was used to visualize and analyze general bibliometric characteristics, research hotspots, and trends through a review of 2,583 articles on the motor development of preschool children, which were published from 2012 to 2022 and included in the Web of Science Core Collection. Research on motor development in preschool children has been carried out into a phase of rapid development. The top five frequently occurring keywords were physical activity (n = 489), performance (n = 319), intervention (n = 222), health (n = 196), and executive function (n = 165); The top five keywords in terms of centrality are academic achievement (0.22), low birth weight (0.16), association (0.14), brain (0.13), and cerebral palsy (0.13). Thirteen keyword clusters were produced from the log-likelihood ratio (Q = 0.74, S = 0.88), and five research topics has been received focused attention in recent years. The keywords with the strongest citation bursts in the last 5 years are developing country (S = 5.92), school-aged children (S = 5.86), middle-income country (S = 3.46), efficacy (S = 5.41), readiness (S = 3.21), motor proficiency (S = 3.6), and screen time (S = 3.3), indicating newly emerging research trends. The results indicated that interventions involving fundamental movement skills, cognitive function, 24-h movement behaviors, neurodevelopmental disorders, and health-related fitness were hot topics in the field of motor development over the last decade. Emerging research trends generally center on school readiness, socioeconomic status, motor proficiency, and screen time.

Active school transport routines during school transitions: Socio-structural predictors of changes from childhood into early adulthood.

The purpose of this study is to investigate socio-structural predictors of active school transport (AST) change and to explore the stability and changes of transport modes during school transitions and into early adulthood in Germany. School transport mode, urbanicity level, socioeconomic status, and migration background were assessed in 624 children (8.9±1.1 years, 51% female) and 444 adolescents (14.9±1.7 years, 48% female) which were followed up longitudinally six years later. The results of multinomial logistic regressions and transition probability calculations indicated that residing outside of rural areas at baseline and follow-up predicts retaining or switching to AST in adolescence. Similarly, higher socioeconomic status at baseline predicted retaining or switching to AST in early adulthood. This research suggests that transition periods are crucial understanding AST behavior and may provide new opportunities for tailored AST promotion programs for different age groups.

Clima escolar y consumo de sustancias en una muestra de adolescentes chilenos

Despite the importance of school climate for positive student health outcomes, there is still little research addressing its potential effects on substance use. The aim of this study was to examine whether dimensions of school climate: respectful treatment, discrimination, rules, safety and harassment relate to alcohol, tobacco and marijuana use in a sample of Chilean students. The sample comprised 182.066 year 10 students in 2.907 schools, who completed the Questionnaire of Quality and Context of Education as part of the SIMCE evaluation in 2017. Statistical analyses included Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), multilevel logistic regression and the estimation of predicted probabilities. Models were adjusted for sex and school socioeconomic status. The results showed that school climate was associated with adolescent alcohol, tobacco and marijuana use. Negative treatment of students, discrimination, poorly-defined school rules, inadequate security, and perceived bullying were associated with an increased risk of substance use. School interventions addressing adolescent substance use should consider the influence of school climate on risk behaviors.

The effectiveness of a school mindfulness-based intervention on the neural correlates of inhibitory control in children at risk: A randomized control trial.

Interest in the applications of mindfulness practice in education is growing in the scientific community. Recent research has shown that mindfulness practice in schools may be beneficial for executive functions (EFs) which are abilities crucial for healthy development. The study of the effects of mindfulness practices on children's neural correlates of EFs, particularly inhibitory control, may provide relevant information about the impact and mechanisms of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) in children. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of a MBI in elementary school children on the neural correlates of inhibitory control via a randomized controlled trial. Children from two 4th grade classrooms and two 5th grade classrooms located in a school identified as having low socioeconomic status in Santiago de Chile were randomly assigned to either receive a MBI or serve as active controls and receive a social skills program. Both before and after the interventions, electroencephalographic activity was recorded during a modified version of the Go/Nogo task in a subsample of children in each group. Additionally, teachers completed questionnaires of students' EFs and students completed self-report measures. Results revealed increases in EFs assessed by questionnaires together with improved P3 amplitude associated with successful response inhibition in children who received the MBI compared to active controls. These results contribute to the understanding of the ways in which mindfulness practices can promote the development of inhibitory control together with EF improvement, factors identified as critical for children's social and emotional development and positive mental health. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: This study investigated the effects of a mindfulness-based intervention in children from a low socioeconomic status school on neural correlates of EFs. Children performed a Go/Nogo task while electroencephalographic activity was recorded and completed questionnaires before and after a MBI or an active control program. Improvements in EFs assessed by questionnaires together with an increased Nogo-P3 activity associated with successful inhibition in children who received the MBI were found. The results could contribute to understand how mindfulness practice can promote the development of inhibitory control in children from vulnerable populations.

The role of school socioeconomic status in school-wide technology integration in the U.S.

This study aimed to examine the relations between first-order and second-order barriers and ICT (information and communications technology) integration across schools with different SES (socioeconomic status) levels in the US. This study was based on a nationally representative sample of public elementary and secondary schools included in the fast response survey system (FRSS)–educational technology in the US public schools. Multiple-group path modeling was employed as the main analytic method. The results showed that in advantaged schools, first-order and second-order barriers demonstrated additive effects on ICT integration. However, in disadvantaged schools, first-order and second-order barriers showed multiplicative effects on ICT integration. This study suggests that in advantaged schools, eradicating second-order barriers can compensate for the constraints on ICT integration imposed by first-order barriers. However, in disadvantaged schools, removing second-order barriers will not be effective if first-order barriers are not addressed first. This study contributes to the literature by highlighting the role of school SES in planning school-wide ICT integration. Also, a contextualized model is proposed to capture the differential relations between barriers and ICT integration in specific school contexts.

Air quality and individual-level academic performance in Brazil: A nationwide study of more than 15 million students between 2000 and 2020

Studies have shown that living and studying in places with poor air quality is associated with cognitive deficits. However, there is still a limitation in the literature in terms of study design and geographic location. Also, only a few studies have looked at the effects of more than one air pollutant. To address this research gap, in this study we estimated the association between air pollution (considering three criteria air pollutants – PM2.5, NO2, and O3) and academic performance (a proxy of cognitive performance) at the student level in Brazil between 2000 and 2020. We assessed academic performance data from a nationwide high school exam. The data included 15,443,772 students who took this national test between 2000 and 2020 in Brazil.Air pollution data was derived from satellite remote sensing observations. We fit mixed-effects regression models with a state-specific random intercept and adjusted for school characteristics, spatio-temporal factors, and socioeconomic status. We performed sub-group analyses by stratifying the analysis by type of school management (private or public), location of the school (urban or rural), sex, and periods. Our findings suggest air pollution exposure was associated with drops in the students’ marks varying from 0.13% to 5.39%. To our knowledge, this is the first study that estimates the association between air pollution and individual-level academic performance in Brazil. This study is of substantial environmental and educational importance by supporting policymakers to improve the air quality surrounding schools.

Speech-language disorder severity, academic success, and socioemotional functioning among multilingual and English children in the United States: The National Survey of Children's Health.

Research points to negative associations between educational success, socioemotional functioning, and the severity of symptoms in some speech-language disorders (SLDs). Nonetheless, the majority of studies examining SLDs in children have focused on monolinguals. More research is needed to determine whether the scant findings among multilinguals are robust. The present study used parent report data from the U.S. National Survey of Children's Health (2018 to 2020) to gain a better understanding of the impacts of SLD severity on indicators of academic success and socioemotional functioning among multilingual (n = 255) and English monolingual (n = 5,952) children with SLDs. Tests of between-group differences indicated that multilingual children evidenced more severe SLDs, had lower school engagement, and had lower reports of flourishing than English monolingual children with SLDs. Further, a greater proportion of multilingual children with SLDs missed more school days than English monolinguals. However, multilinguals were less likely to bully others or have been bullied than monolinguals. While the previous between-group differences were statistically significant, they were small (vs ≤ 0.08). Increased SLD severity predicted an increased number of repeated school grades, increased absenteeism, and decreased school engagement, when age and socioeconomic status were controlled. Increased SLD severity also predicted greater difficulty making and keeping friends and decreased flourishing. The effect of SLD severity on being bullied was statistically significant for the monolinguals but not multilinguals. There was a statistically significant interaction for SLD severity and sex for school engagement and difficulty making and keeping friends for monolinguals but not multilinguals. The interactions indicated that school engagement decreased more for females than for males while difficulties making and keeping friends increased more for males than females as one's SLD severity increased. While some findings were specific to monolinguals, tests of measurement invariance indicated that the same general pattern of relations among the variables were evident across the groups of multilinguals and monolinguals. These final findings can inform the interpretation of the results from both the current and future studies, while the overall findings can inform the development of intervention programs, thereby improving the long-term academic and socioemotional outcomes of children with SLDs.

Childhood obesity inequality in northeast China: joint effect of social economic status and school neighborhood environment

BackgroundObesogenic environment is important in driving obesity epidemic. Children spend large amount of their time in schools. School neighborhood environment, as well as its interaction with socioeconomic status (SES) needs to be explored to provide evidence for children obesity prevention policies.MethodsObjective anthropometric measurement, a household structured questionnaire, and school geospatial analyses were carried out on 3670 children (aged 9–12 years) of 26 schools in northeast China. Interaction between SES inter-categorical intersectionality group and school neighborhood environment was tested for the effect on children’s body mass index z scores (z-BMI) and waist–hip ratio z scores (z-WHR), following formulation of SES inter-categorical intersectionality group based on household wealth, parental education, and parental occupation.ResultsSES groups formed by household wealth, parental education and parental occupation was associated with z-BMI and z-WHR for girls. Those from moderate wealth & self-employed (M&S) families had the highest adjusted z-BMI and z-WHR among all SES groups. School neighborhood environment factors interacted with SES groups in association with WHR for girls. Number of school neighborhood supermarkets and residential sites were negatively associated with z-WHR for girls from M&S families (β= -0.45 (95%CI: -0.76, -0.15) for supermarkets; β= -0.01 (95%CI: -0.03, 0.00) for residential sites). Number of school neighborhood convenience stores and public transport stops were positively associated with z-WHR for girls from M&S families (β = 0.02 (95%CI: 0.00, 0.03) for convenience stores; β = 0.23 (95%CI: 0.15, 0.31) for public transport stops). While non-significant association was found for number of vegetable stores.ConclusionGirls from moderate wealth & self-employed families may be the group susceptible to school neighborhood environment. Local policies targeted at improving the school neighborhood environment may be one avenue for reducing socioeconomic disparities in obesity especially for girls.

Foundation Phase teachers’ knowledge on common visual problems affecting children

Background: Vision disorders are a public health problem as they cause a delay in academic progress and affect learners’ future career. Teachers spend most of the time with children at school and can help in the early identification and referral of children with visual problems.Aim: To evaluate the knowledge of Grade R to Grade 3 teachers on children’s visual problems before and after educating them on the different visual disorders that affect learners in the classroom.Setting: Low socio-economic status (Quintile 1) schools in Bloemfontein, South Africa.Methods: Convenience sampling was carried out to include Grade R to Grade 3 teachers from 11 Quintile 1 schools. In this quantitative study, two questionnaires with nine items each were administered to determine the teachers’ knowledge. A 45-min educational session on common vision disorders was presented by the researcher. The teachers were classified as having good knowledge if they obtained seven or more correct answers in each questionnaire.Results: Thirty-six female teachers participated in the study. Most of the participants (72.22%) were in the age group of 36 years and older, and 44.44% had been teaching for more than 10 years. Thirty-four participants (94.44%) obtained an overall score of seven and higher before the educational session, and all participants obtained a score of seven and higher after the educational session. There was a statistically significant difference (p 0.0001) between the scores of participants before and after the educational session.Conclusion: The Foundation Phase teachers had adequate knowledge about common visual problems. The educational session was beneficial as it enhanced the teachers’ knowledge.

Psychological Interventions Implemented to Improve Job Satisfaction of Schoolteachers in South Africa: A Scoping Review

Job satisfaction levels of South African school teachers are currently impeded by various contextual factors and affect the education system of South Africa. This research study aimed to review the extent of available scientific literature on interventions to improve job satisfaction in South African schoolteachers. A scoping review was conducted to search, appraise, synthesize, and analyze scientific literature on interventions to improve the job satisfaction of South African schoolteachers. The search was conducted between January 2022 and May 2022, and only two studies were synthesized using thematic analysis. Various antecedents influence job satisfaction. Two main themes were identified that included internal school factors (the needs within each specific school(s) and socio-economic status of school and access to resources) and external school factors (monetary rewards, the South African Department of Basic Education, job security, and positive external factors). Due to the complexity of job satisfaction, the formulation of effective interventions should consider various antecedents that accompany the construct. A need for interventions is prevalent, however, the level and strategy of intervention concerning the contextual elements of schools should be highlighted. The research study adds to the current literature regarding the complexity of job satisfaction. Moreover, the lack of scientific literature further highlights the need for interventions.