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Ten Hypotheses about Socioeconomic Gradients and Community Differences in Children's Developmental Outcomes
... Different disciplines, adopting diverse conceptualisations and theoretical frameworks, have variously defined and measured the social experiences and economic characteristics of families. Terms such as social class, social stratification, social inequality, social status, socioeconomic status (SES) and socioeconomic position (SEP) have all been used to describe access to, and control over, resources derived from educational attainment, occupational status and income (Mueller & Parcel 1981;Willms 2003;Willms & Shields 1996). Following the social epidemiology approach suggested by authors such as Lynch and Kaplan (2000), Krieger, Williams and Moss (1997) and Singh-Manoux, Clarke and Marmot (2002), this paper uses the term 'socioeconomic position' to refer to the relative position of families regarding the social and economic resources available to family members, including to children. ...
... The socioeconomic position that families hold has important implications for the wellbeing of family members, including children. While socioeconomic position is related to a wide range of outcomes across the lifecycle (Currie & Stabile 2002;Mayer, Duncan & Kalil 2004;Singh-Manoux, Clarke & Marmot 2002;Willms 2003;Yang & Gustafsson 2004), family socioeconomic position may be particularly important for the wellbeing of young children in particular (Jencks & Mayer 1990;Louis & Zhao 2002). Essential to healthy development in early childhood are sufficient support and stimulation for their development. ...
... The experiences of families at different positions along the socioeconomic gradient are of significant interest to policy makers, and improving family resources has been a major focus of policy intervention. Better knowledge of the drivers of socioeconomic position and the association between socioeconomic position and children's outcomes, as well as their responsiveness to policy interventions, is a key research need (Willms 2003). Indicators of socioeconomic position are therefore important as both explanatory and control variables in social policy research. ...
... Different disciplines, adopting diverse conceptualisations and theoretical frameworks, have variously defined and measured the social experiences and economic characteristics of families. Terms such as social class, social stratification, social inequality, social status, socioeconomic status (SES) and socioeconomic position (SEP) have all been used to describe access to, and control over, resources derived from educational attainment, occupational status and income (Mueller & Parcel 1981;Willms 2003;Willms & Shields 1996). Following the social epidemiology approach suggested by authors such as Lynch and Kaplan (2000), Krieger, Williams and Moss (1997) and Singh-Manoux, Clarke and Marmot (2002), this paper uses the term 'socioeconomic position' to refer to the relative position of families regarding the social and economic resources available to family members, including to children. ...
... The socioeconomic position that families hold has important implications for the wellbeing of family members, including children. While socioeconomic position is related to a wide range of outcomes across the lifecycle (Currie & Stabile 2002;Mayer, Duncan & Kalil 2004;Singh-Manoux, Clarke & Marmot 2002;Willms 2003;Yang & Gustafsson 2004), family socioeconomic position may be particularly important for the wellbeing of young children in particular (Jencks & Mayer 1990;Louis & Zhao 2002). Essential to healthy development in early childhood are sufficient support and stimulation for their development. ...
... The experiences of families at different positions along the socioeconomic gradient are of significant interest to policy makers, and improving family resources has been a major focus of policy intervention. Better knowledge of the drivers of socioeconomic position and the association between socioeconomic position and children's outcomes, as well as their responsiveness to policy interventions, is a key research need (Willms 2003). Indicators of socioeconomic position are therefore important as both explanatory and control variables in social policy research. ...
The journal publishes current research and analysis on a broad range of issues topical to Australia's social policy and its administration. Regular features include major articles, social policy notes and book reviews.
... This may be an important source of obesity affecting rural youth. If so, then obesity, as a health risk would be another component of the "socioeconomic gradient" in health outcomes, including having a healthy body weight, which recognizes that persons with more resources will have better health than their otherwise equal who has fewer resources (see Deaton, 2002;Willms, 2003). Other influences such as dietary intake patterns and organized physical recreation activities will likely be different between rural and urban youth due to limited access of recreational facilities and grocery stores and likely influence body weight (Boehmer et al., 2006;McIntosh and Sobal, 2004;Morton et al., 2004). ...
... According to the socioeconomic gradient hypothesis, the higher the SES level a person has, the better their health. Conversely, the greater the inequality attributed to SES, the more variation of health outcomes will exist (Willms, 2003). However, research has shown that the relationships between income and mortality/morbidity are curvilinear and at the high end incomes do not provide additional benefits against mortality or morbidity (Ecob and Smith 1999;Finch, 2003). ...
... The hypothesis that these differences may be due to the lower socioeconomic composition of the rural population---yet another manifestation of the "socioeconomic gradient" in health (see Deaton, 2002;Willms, 2003;Sobal and Stunkard, 1989) ----is where we turn now through the use of regression models. There are four specific model specifications in this phase of the analysis. ...
Adolescent obesity has increased threefold in the U.S. during the last three decades. While this trend is well-known, relatively little is known about differences in obesity across the rural-urban continuum. This research addresses that gap by testing for such a relationship across time while accounting for variations in familial socioeconomic status. Using 1986-2004 Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey data, we estimate recent trends in rural-urban body weight, also testing for potential differences among the rural, small town, and urban high school seniors along socioeconomic gradients. Statistically significant differences disfavoring rural high school seniors in their BMI, their risk for the onset of obesity, and obesity itself over the past decade are identified, with significant interactions between demographics and parental education levels driving the largest disparities. These findings are rich and speak directly to the allocation of public health resources aimed at addressing issues associated with the adolescent obesity epidemic.
... The social outcome in this study example is students' reading performance and a socio-economic gradient is defined as the relationship between reading achievement and socio-economic status for individuals in a specific jurisdiction, such as a school, a province or state, or a country (Willms, 2003). The PISA measure of socio-economic status (SES) was derived from survey reports of parental education, occupation and possessions in the home. ...
... However, the PISA results for 15-year-olds for the more selective systems were all below the OECD mean (a notable exception is Hong Kong its scores in PIRLS and PISA were comparable to those of New Zealand, even though its system is quite selective). Thus, this analysis of reading supports the claim that school composition affects students differently at different ages (Willms 2003(Willms , 2006. ...
... 1 Understanding what contributes to variability in outcomes for children exposed to the same disadvantage trajectory will also help to more precisely define target population groups for intervention. 20,47 It will be important to quantify the potential return on investment for intervening on the most powerful causal drivers, or combinations of drivers, to help prioritize policy interventions. ...
... International Journal of Epidemiology, 2018, Vol.47,No. 5 ...
Background:
Understanding the relationship between different aspects of disadvantage over time and domains of child development will facilitate the formulation of more precise policy responses. We examined the association between exposure to aspects of disadvantage over the childhood period (from 0-9 years) and child development at 10-11 years.
Methods:
We used data from the nationally representative birth cohort of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (n = 4979). Generalized linear models with log-Poisson link were used to estimate the association between previously derived disadvantage trajectories (in each of four lenses of sociodemographic, geographic environments, health conditions and risk factors, and a composite of these) and risk of poor child developmental outcomes. Population-attributable fractions were calculated to quantify the potential benefit of providing all children with optimal conditions for each developmental outcome.
Results:
Trajectories of disadvantage were associated with developmental outcomes: children in the most disadvantaged composite trajectory had seven times higher risk of poor outcomes on two or more developmental domains, compared with those most advantaged. Trajectories of disadvantage in different lenses were varyingly associated with the child development domains of socio-emotional adjustment, physical functioning and learning competencies. Exposure to the most advantaged trajectory across all lenses could reduce poor developmental outcomes by as much as 70%.
Conclusions:
Exposure to disadvantage over time is associated with adverse child development outcomes. Developmental outcomes varied with the aspects of disadvantage experienced, highlighting potential targets for more precise policy responses. The findings provide evidence to stimulate advocacy and action to reduce child inequities.
... Para evitar esta falta de exhaustividad puede considerarse el nivel socioeconómico como una variable que, aunque no puede ser medida directamente, organiza el patrón de características de una persona o familia alrededor de un grupo de indicadores económicos, sociales y culturales; a este tipo de variable se le conoce como variable latente o constructo (Willms, 2006). La tendencia en las evaluaciones internacionales es conformar una variable latente del nivel socioeconómico, en la que se han empleado recurrentemente indicadores como la escolaridad u ocupación parental, el número de libros en casa y algún tipo de indicador económico, usualmente el ingreso familiar (Willms, 2003(Willms, , 2001, o bien posesiones en casa como las culturales y los recursos educativos en el hogar (Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económico, 2010); aunque puede ser sustituido por la participación de la familia o el alumno en programas gubernamentales (National Assessment of Educational Progress, 2003). ...
... Los indicadores sobre la escolaridad de los padres y al trabajo de la madre poseen los coeficientes más elevados en el constructo cultural. Este resultado justifica el por qué del uso recurrente de estos indicadores en el diseño y elaboración de las variables compuestas destinadas a medir el nivel socioeconómico o sociocultural de los alumnos (Dills, 2006;National Assessment of Educational Progress, 2003;Willms, 2003Willms, , 2001Hansen et al., 2001;Ma y Klinger, 2000). ...
Because of its importance, socioeconomic status has been defined using different indicators, which establishes the benefit of separating the various effects that economic, social and cultural aspects have on students' learning. This study evaluates the different effects that economic, social and cultural factors have on scholastic achievement. The data analyzed come from the Quality and Scholastic Achievement Tests given to third-level preschool students (Excale-00) in the 2006-2007 school year. Through the modeling of structural equations, the theoretical relationships among a group of 15 indicators and three latent variables were analyzed, as well as each factor's contribution to scholastic achievement. Both factors have a positive association with learning, although the cultural factor has more influence than economic. The model suggested includes only a few indicators of both factors; further research should consider evaluating more indicators, and including other latent variables in the model.
... According to Willms (2006Willms ( , 2003, the socioeconomic gradient represents the association between a social outcome and socioeconomic status for individuals in a specific community (in this case, schools). He describes the social outcome as any measurable trait-in this study the three civic capacities are the relevant outcomes of interest. ...
... The same is true in schools where students have more positive beliefs about the school's collaborative community, a relationship that is the opposite of what was proposed in the study. Although it is difficult to explain these relationships, it should be noted that both schools might be thought of as less equitable if we assume that a weaker relationship between socioeconomic status and civic outcomes is desirable (Willms, 2003). Given the conceptual framework adopted by this study, these moderating effects are worthy of further investigation. ...
... According to this study, especially the compositional ECEC centre characteristics seemed relevant for the BMI. Previous studies have mainly examined the age [29,30] and gender composition [31] of groups. These studies have -for example -shown that the gender composition of the ECEC centre group had a significant impact on the development of boys, but not of girls [32]. ...
Background:
The number of obese children is rising worldwide. Many studies have investigated single determinants of children's body mass index (BMI), yet studies measuring determinants at different potential levels of influence are sparse. The aim of this study is to investigate the independent role of parental socioeconomic position (SEP), additional family factors at the micro level, as well as early childhood education and care (ECEC) centre characteristics at the meso level regarding BMI.
Methods:
Analyses used the baseline data of the PReschool INtervention Study (PRINS) including up to 1,151 children from 53 ECEC centres. Multi-level models first estimated the associations of parental SEP indicators (parental school education, vocational training, and household income) with the children's standard deviation scores for BMI (SDS BMI, standardised for age and gender). Second, structural (number of siblings), psychosocial (strained family relationships), and nutrition behavioural (soft-drink consumption, frequency of fast-food restaurant visits) family factors at the micro level were included. Third, characteristics of the ECEC centre at the meso level in terms of average group size, the ratio of overweight children in the group, ECEC centre type (all-day care), and the location of the ECEC centre (rural vs urban) were included. All analyses were stratified by gender and adjusted for age, migration background, and parental employment status.
Results:
Estimates for boys and girls appeared to differ. In the full model, for boys the parental SEP indicators were not related to SDS BMI. Factors related to SDS BMI in boys were: two or more siblings; B = -.55; p = 0.045 [ref.: no sibling]), the characteristics of the ECEC centre in terms of average group size (20 - 25 children; B = -.54; p = 0.022 [ref.: < 20 children]), and the ratio of overweight children (more overweight children B = -1.39; p < 0.001 [ref.: few overweight children]). For girls the number of siblings (two and more siblings; B = .67; p = 0.027 [ref.: no sibling]) and average group size (> 25 children; B = -.52; p = 0.037 [ref.: < 20 children]) were related to SDS BMI.
Conclusions:
The BMI of preschool children appears to be associated with determinants at the micro and meso level, however with some gender differences. The identified factors at the micro and meso level appear largely modifiable and can inform about possible interventions to reduce obesity in preschool children.
... The baseline model (Model 1) contained only neighborhood median income to characterize the social gradient in each developmental outcome by income. Due to the potential non-linearity of the relationship between income and early childhood development (Case et al., 2008;Ecob & Davey Smith, 1999;Willms, 2003), we tested addition of the log-transformation of the neighborhood income variable in the model. Model 2 additionally included social capital to examine how social capital independently predicts each developmental outcome. ...
Social capital is thought to buffer the negative effects of low income on health and thereby flatten the social gradient. Child development research on social capital has suggested that social networks of adults and children in a neighborhood may play a protective role in children’s outcomes. Yet little is known about how this relationship applies to diverse developmental outcomes in early childhood. This study examines whether the presence of role model adults and the willingness of neighbors to help keep children safe moderates the relationship between neighborhood income and five developmental outcomes for children in kindergarten: (1) physical health and well-being, (2) social competence, (3) emotional maturity, (4) language and cognitive development, and (5) communication and general knowledge. We linked neighborhood-level data on child development from two Canadian provinces, British Columbia (BC, n = 100) and Ontario (n = 482), to neighborhood-level data on social capital from the Ontario Kindergarten Parent Survey, and the BC Social Capital Study; and income data from the 2006 Canadian Census. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine the main and interaction effects of social capital and income in relation to child development outcomes. In Ontario, higher levels of social capital were associated with better child outcomes on all five developmental domains. Similar trends were observed in BC. Higher levels of social capital flattened the income gradient in language and cognitive development in both provinces, and social competence in Ontario. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
... Second, most studies on the subject have been conducted in the U.S. It has been shown that the societal context, which is shaped by social and economic policies, both of which are country-specific, could be related to academic achievement. For example, children growing up in countries with greater economic equality have better academic achievement compared to those growing up in countries with weaker economic equality (Irwin et al., 2007;Willms, 2003). Namely, the impact of family SES on academic achievement over time varies by country and societal context. ...
Family socioeconomic status (SES) has a significant influence on children’s academic success and is related to parents’ attitudes towardeducation. Moreover, according to the expectancy-value theory, parental expectations are linked to their children’s perceptions of school,which, in turn, influences the way their children invest themselves in education. In this study, we aimed to test a part of the theoricalexpectancy-value family socialization model that links family SES and parental expectations and explore their influences on children’smathematics self-concept and achievement. This study was conducted in the Chilean context, which is characterized by strong neoliberaleducational policies that induce a strong relationship between family economic resources and children’s educational trajectories. Weutilized a longitudinal design, and our study sample (N¼157,814 Chilean students) came from a national assessment that was conductedfrom 2007 to 2013 when students were in their 4th, 8th, and 10th grades. Our results showed that, while controlling for children’sprevious mathematics achievement, their final mathematics achievement was influenced by children’s mathematics self-concept, the familysocioeconomic and educational context, and parental expectations regarding their children’s academic achievement. Our findings alsohighlighted that Chilean parents base their expectations on parents’ capacity to support their children’s education as much as on theirchildren’s previous academic achievement.
... De cualquier forma, lo importante es comprobar que, en contextos educativos altamente segregados, el establecimiento al que asiste un joven tiene un efecto determinante en sus resultados esperados, los cuales pueden exceder al ámbito académico. Puede afirmarse entonces que los alumnos provenientes de contextos familiares vulnerables se ven expuestos a un doble riesgo educativo (Willms, 2003): por un lado, su origen social dificulta su desempeño exitoso en la escuela; por el otro, tienen una alta probabilidad de asistir a un centro con un alumnado en similares condiciones, donde los efectos de pares son desfavorables, lo cual implica un impacto negativo adicional en sus logros. La situación contraria se espera para aquellos alumnos de mayor estatus socioeconómico, quienes en general pueden beneficiarse tanto de sus propias condiciones favorables para el estudio como de efectos de pares positivos. ...
Los sistemas educativos latinoamericanos se posicionan entre los más segregados del mundo: los grupos de estudiantes provenientes de distinto contexto social se distribuyen de forma desigual entre sus escuelas, con escasa interacción entre sí. Empleando datos de PISA 2018, el trabajo evalúa la existencia de efectos compañero sobre el desarrollo de competencias en las áreas de Lectura, Matemática y Ciencia y sobre la expectativa ocupacional de los alumnos de 15 años de edad en la región. Para ello, se estiman modelos de regresión multinivel multivariados. Se constata la presencia de efectos significativos de la composición socioeconómica escolar sobre dichos resultados, lo cual permite afirmar que la situación de segregación tiende a reforzar la inequidad educativa y social. Esto es así porque los alumnos de origen social más desfavorecido suelen asistir a escuelas cuyo alumnado se encuentra en similares condiciones, potenciando su desventaja inicial. Lo contrario ocurre para aquellos de mayor nivel socioeconómico. La evidencia aportada se encuentra en línea con los antecedentes disponibles para América Latina, contribuyendo a visibilizar el fenómeno de la segregación social escolar como un problema central de sus sistemas educativos. Se insta a las autoridades y a toda la comunidad educativa a pensar y consensuar estrategias para mitigarlo.
... In particular, higher-SES schools offer higher instructional quality, higher curricular relevance and comprehensiveness, more instructional time and more challenging assignments (Willms, 2010). Students from higher SES families are more likely to excel in these schools because of their access to home educational resources and more highly educated parents who can help them use these resources optimally (Willms, 2002). The second reason is that countries with higher socioeconomic gradients may have education systems that are vertically segregated (Willms, 2010); that is, schools provide different educational offerings to students according to their academic abilities (e.g., streaming and tracking). ...
This chapter highlights the immense research possibilities for cultural capital researchers to use PISA data to examine the relationships between cultural capital and students’ academic achievement. It recognizes the burgeoning trend of sociologists to employ quantitative methods and analyze data from international large-scale assessments in their research designs. It then introduces PISA as a source of open-access “big data” in international large-scale assessment in educational research. It provides an objective evaluation of the influence of and criticisms against the role of PISA in education policymaking in many education systems worldwide. After that, it outlines the benefits of PISA in contributing to educational development and scholarship. In particular, it explicates the different cultural capital variables that are available for analysis from Student Questionnaire, Student ICT Questionnaire, Student EC Questionnaire, and Parent Questionnaire in PISA. This summary of PISA variables will be a useful resource for researchers open to exploring PISA data for their research on educational inequality.
... In particular, higher-SES schools offer higher instructional quality, higher curricular relevance and comprehensiveness, more instructional time and more challenging assignments (Willms, 2010). Students from higher SES families are more likely to excel in these schools because of their access to home educational resources and more highly educated parents who can help them use these resources optimally (Willms, 2002). The second reason is that countries with higher socioeconomic gradients may have education systems that are vertically segregated (Willms, 2010); that is, schools provide different educational offerings to students according to their academic abilities (e.g., streaming and tracking). ...
This chapter reviews the published literature examining PISA data to derive three key insights on how cultural capital contributes to students’ academic achievement. The first insight provides support for the argument that cultural capital is a complex construct that can be measured using different indicators, that manifests in myriad ways in different societies, that have different influences on students’ learning, and that comprises both highbrow cultural consumption and parental familiarity with school evaluation standards and future job requirements. The second insight highlights the importance of understanding the relationships between cultural capital and students’ academic achievement in a nomological framework comprising cultural capital, habitus, and social fields. The third insight is that different cultural capital variables operate conjunctively, rather than separately, to influence students’ academic achievement. More specifically, they may be mutually reinforcing each other to engender synergy, exhibiting different patterns of association with students’ academic achievement depending on the profiles of students and their families, or compromising each other in their effects.
... In particular, higher-SES schools offer higher instructional quality, higher curricular relevance and comprehensiveness, more instructional time and more challenging assignments (Willms, 2010). Students from higher SES families are more likely to excel in these schools because of their access to home educational resources and more highly educated parents who can help them use these resources optimally (Willms, 2002). The second reason is that countries with higher socioeconomic gradients may have education systems that are vertically segregated (Willms, 2010); that is, schools provide different educational offerings to students according to their academic abilities (e.g., streaming and tracking). ...
This chapter argues for a refined understanding and appreciation of the conceptual richness of the cultural capital construct. To this end, it elaborates on the complexity of the construct and its inextricable association with social fields. The construct sophistication of cultural capital is evident in its properties, namely being present in three states (objectified, institutionalized, and embodied), assuming different meanings beyond the original highbrow cultural consumption as explicated in Bourdieu’s early writings, being represented by a proliferation of indicators in research studies (e.g., home educational and cultural resources, cultural participation, parental involvement, reading habits, parent–child discussions, educational expectations, and parental educational attainment), being produced by individuals who know the rules of the game, and being conceptually coherent by virtue of the embodiment of habitus. The inextricable associations between cultural capital and social fields are underpinned by the need to convert cultural resources to cultural capital, relational value of cultural capital, and the idea of relational stratification.
... In particular, higher-SES schools offer higher instructional quality, higher curricular relevance and comprehensiveness, more instructional time and more challenging assignments (Willms, 2010). Students from higher SES families are more likely to excel in these schools because of their access to home educational resources and more highly educated parents who can help them use these resources optimally (Willms, 2002). The second reason is that countries with higher socioeconomic gradients may have education systems that are vertically segregated (Willms, 2010); that is, schools provide different educational offerings to students according to their academic abilities (e.g., streaming and tracking). ...
This chapter complements the previous chapter by demonstrating other nuances of cultural capital. It continues the review of the extant literature where researchers have taken advantage of the rich data on cultural capital and students’ academic achievement in PISA datasets to examine research questions pertaining to how different aspects of cultural capital are associated with students’ reading, mathematics, and science achievement. More specifically, it discusses results from published studies harnessing PISA data demonstrating how cultural capital levels and effects may vary across groups of students with various characteristics. These characteristics are namely, gender gaps and cross-national gaps in student achievement. In particular, cross-national attributes are exemplified by the degree of masculinity and Confucian values, and socioeconomic gradients of countries. Results from these studies underscore the moderating influences of student-and societal-level factors in the cultural capital-student achievement relationship.
... There is a long tradition, also, of using the slope as an indicator of socio-economic inequality (see, for example, Willms 2003;Schütz, Ursprung, and Wößmann 2008;or Hauser 2009). For these reasons, in this paper, we examine the implications of using either the ESCS slope or the ESCS R-squared as an indicator of socio-economic inequality of educational outcomes in comparisons between countries and over time. ...
This paper assesses two approaches to the measurement of educational inequality in international comparisons between countries and over time. We analyse reading literacy performance of 15-year-old students using data from PISA 2009 and 2015 for 37 EU and OECD countries. We show that inequality of outcome and inequality of opportunity do not necessarily co-vary; they can go in opposite directions both across countries and over time. Our results suggest that indicators of variation in educational outcomes are more suitable to the types of problems that affect international comparisons of educational achievement than the more common approach of measuring of inequality of opportunity.
... Uurimustes tavatsetakse sotsiaal-majandusliku staatuse 3 mõistet defineerida sageli mitme indikaatori kaudu (nt sissetulek, haridustase ja tööalane prestiiž). Sellistes hiljutistes töödes domineerib arvamus, et isegi kui liitindeksil (nt haridustaseme mõju sissetulekule 4 ) on väärtus, tuleks siiski uurida ka komponentide mõju eraldi (Bornstein jt 2003;Willms, 2003). Seejuures on haridustaset seostatud kõige enam kõne loomu ja stiiliga, mis mõjutavad otseselt lapse sõnavara arengut (Hoff 2003(Hoff , 2006 Ellis, Wells 1980;Barnes jt 1983). ...
... Real estate agents are quick to point out "preferred school districts" and new families tend to move onto streets where they feel comfortable (Davis, 2016;Elgart, 2016). School location or postal code is one of the critical factors influencing student success and research confirms that it contributes to inequality in student achievement (Willms, 2003;Brownell et al., 2006;Pekoskie, 2014b;Owens, 2018). ...
Where children live in the Halifax region does have a strong bearing on the quality of their education, this AIMS research report demonstrates, using data gleaned from published school-by-school student results. School district policies from 2009 to 2018, such as “Good Schools to Great Schools” and the “Priority Schools” initiative, addressed the the educational inequities, but little changed in the trajectory of student achievement. Based upon a comparative analysis of reported test results in 119 Primary to Grade 9 schools, the study not only identifies the top performing schools, struggling schools, and most improved schools, but proposes more effective ways of raising student standards and closing the gap affecting students in disadvantaged school communities.
... For instance, researches have studied the family cultural mechanisms underlying SES achievement inequalities (Pokropek et al. 2015;Tramonte and Willms 2010), the mediating role of home learning environment in SES achievement gaps (Caro 2015;Park 2008a), changes in the associations between family SES and student achievement (Yang Hansen et al. 2011), regional differences in education inequality (e.g., Caro and Mirazchiyski 2012), whether the association between academic achievement and parent-child communication varies across levels of family SES (Caro 2011;Park 2008b), whether teacher characteristics interact with the student SES (Caro et al. 2016;Luschei and Chudgar 2011), whether family SES accounts for the achievement gap between students with and without migration background (Shapira 2012), and whether the school SES composition has a role in student achievement in addition to the student SES (Caro and Lenkeit 2012;Willms 2003Willms , 2006. ...
This paper examines the mediating role of parental literacy and numeracy involvement before the child entered school in the relationship between family socio-economic status (SES) and students’ interest in reading and mathematics. Causal mediation analysis is applied to international assessment data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study-Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 2011 combined study. Results provide weak support for the subject-specific parental cognitive involvement mediating mechanism in the association between family SES and subject-specific interest. In general, the total association with family SES is not strong and the direct role of parental cognitive involvement in students’ interest appears to be more relevant than its role via family SES.
... On leitud, et kõrgema sotsiaalmajandusliku staatusega vanemate lapsed edestavad madalama sotsiaalmajandusliku staatusega vanemate lapsi mitme keelelise näitaja poolest (sealhulgas näiteks hääldus, lausete pikkus, eri sõnaliikide kasutamine ja kõne hulk), mis mõjutab nii keele omandamist kui ka keelelisi oskusi kooliteed alustades (Glegg, Ginsborg 2006). Mahukad pikiuuringud (vt nt Hart, Risley 1995, 2003 sotsiaalmajandusliku staatuse ja keele seostest näitavad, et erinevus perede vahel on tingitud paljuski sellest, kui palju vanemad oma lastega räägivad, kui suur on teemadering, mille üle arutletakse, kui rikast sõnavara kasutab ema lapsega rääkides ja kui sageli vastab ema lapse küsimustele (Hart, Risley 1995: 181). Marc H. Bornstein (1998) rõhutab, et laste sõnavara kasv on seotud tugevalt ema sõnavaraga ning viisiga, kuidas lapsega rääkida. ...
Studies on the acquisition of vocabulary of preschoolers and the relationships between social environment and child vocabulary are relatively scarce in Estonia. The goal of the article is to describe, on the basis of recorded everyday conversations (six hours of recorded material in total), the vocabulary and the use of word classes in six-year-old Estonian-speaking children and to demonstrate how the vocabulary of a child depends on the vocabulary of the parent. This study is the first attempt to describe the vocabulary of Estonian children belonging to a specific target group (the children's mothers have all higher education). The results indicate that the vocabulary, distribution of word classes and frequency of words of a specific word class of six-year-old children are closely related to the language use of the parent. The vocabulary of children consisted of about 415-498 lexemes within a recording, whereas the mothers interacting with their children used 557-798 lexemes during the same time span. Like their parents', the preschoolers' vocabulary is in general verb- or adverb-based. Although the parents used somewhat more verbs than their children, child-directed speech proovides children with a general distribution of word classes and the frequency of words inside a specific word class, that is, children's distribution of word classes are similar to their parents'. Both the parents and the children used very few adjectives, whereas there are even less adjectives in the parents' than in the children's speech. The amount of parent speech (measured in tokens) in the recording was 47% greater than the amount of child speech. © 2017 Eesti Teaduste Akadeemia, Emakeele Selts. All rights reserved.
... The SEP variable combines information on three elements of a family's socio-economic position (parental education, family income and occupational prestige). Although these different elements can be considered separately, these indicators are interrelated (Lynch and Kaplan 2000;Willms 2003). ...
Drawing on data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC), this chapter reports on the use of electronic games by young children (8–9 years old) and the associations with cognitive self-regulation, academic performance (mathematics, language and literacy) and emotional difficulties 2 years later when children were 10–11 years of age. Results indicated that, compared to children who played electronic games for 120 min or less per week, playing games for between 121 and 240 min per week was associated with better scores on Language and Literacy and Mathematical Thinking at 10 to 11 years of age. Conversely, the use of electronic games for more than an hour per day (more than 421 min per week) was associated with lower cognitive self-regulation and an increase in emotional difficulties at 10–11 years of age.
... El sistema educativo y la reproducción de desigualdades sociales Es muy importante considerar, sin embargo, que el aprendizaje no se explica exclusivamente por variables vinculadas de modo directo a la experiencia escolar. Como lo muestra abundantemente la literatura internacional y nacional desde hace varias décadas (Coleman y otros 1966, Cueto 2007, Duarte y otros 2010, Guadalupe y Villanueva 2013, OCDE 2013, Minedu 2006, Unesco 2016, Willms 2003y 2006, factores extraescolares, entre los que destacan el nivel socioeconómico del hogar y el contexto local, tienen un rol muy importante. Así, si se controla el efecto de las condiciones socioeconómicas, a efectos de tener una mejor aproximación al desempeño de las instituciones educativas como tales, en el Perú se encuentra que las diferencias entre el desempeño de las estatales y las no estatales desaparecen o se revierten, tal como lo evidencia la evaluación muestral del 2013 en las áreas mencionadas (Minedu 2016a: 96). ...
... 9 The type of secondary schools-''high school'' (liceo), ''technical high-school'', ''vocational school'', ''regional vocational school''-is a particularly important variable given that the various types of school in Italy strongly differ in terms of student achievement (Barone and Schizzerotto 2006;Gui et al. 2014). The socio-economic composition of a school has been shown to influence educational outcomes over and above student-level socio-economic status (Bratti et al. 2007b;Chiu and McBride-Chang 2006;Cosgrove and Cunningham 2011;Willms 2002). Finally, the proportion of girls in a school is used as an indicator of school composition, following the literature (for example Chiu and Khoo 2005;Dronkers and Robert 2008;Ma 2008). ...
This study investigates the importance of information and communication technology (ICT) use in the mathematics achievement scores of Italian secondary school students, with particular attention paid to the role of gender in the ICT-maths performance relationship. Data from the 2012 Programme for International Student Assessment study allow to describe (a) how the type and intensity of ICT use are associated with high or low maths achievement and (b) how the association varies according to gender. These issues are examined with respect to different maths domains. The results of multilevel models show a complex scenario. A positive association between ICT use and mathematics achievement occurs only when computers are used for some, not all, activities. In other cases, the association is negative. In general, the ICT-maths performance association is weaker for girls. Some exceptions to this general trend are the benefits of certain ICT applications, only for girls, in Shape and Space and in Uncertainty and Data subscales of mathematics.
... A simple and convenient tool for the analysis of inequality is the analysis of regression. It allows us to evaluate not only the strength of the relationship between socio-economic status, but also to determine the level of students' skills and the slope of the regression curve, which illustrates the differences between students with a low and high levels of SES (see: Willms, 2003). I also included additional information in the analyses: the grade attended by a student and his or her sex. ...
In his text published in Edukacja, 141(2), 2017 („Education reform and inequality: fifteen years of new lower secondary schools in Poland”), Zbigniew Sawiński analyses data from the 2000 to 2012 editions of the OECD PISA study and argues that lower secondary school reform has not reduced educational inequalities in Poland. The importance of students’ social origin remained at the same level as before the reform, the impact of social origin on the choice of type of secondary school remained the same, and an increasing differentiation of lower secondary schools did not lead to an increase in educational inequalities. I present methodological arguments and the results of a re-analysis of PISA data, indicating changes in wider educational inequalities. Between 2000 and 2012: (a) the strength of association in the performance of 15-year-olds with the socio-economic status of students’ families did not change, but (b) the variation of results decreased, which was mainly due to the improved performance of the lowest performing students, (c) the differences between students of high and low socio-economic status decreased, (d) the influence of social origin on the choice of the type of upper secondary school decreased. The effects of socio-economic status on upper secondary school choice is largely direct: it is not mediated by the educational achievements of students. The commentary also highlights the complexity of lower secondary school reform, which was not limited to the introduction of such schools. I indicate the role of factors that make it difficult to interpret the results of the reform in causal terms – particularly the role of unobserved variables related to the changes in the learning environments of subsequent cohorts of students.
... Su influencia se potencia o se debilita al entrar en contacto con los demás, especialmente cuando el estudiante interactúa con sus compañeros (Efecto par). Aunque una interacción puede ser muy benéfica o puede hacer que el estudiante quede aún más relegado (Willms, 2003)Finalmente, la esfera gubernamental se refiere a las políticas educativas de orden nacional, departamental o municipal. Por otro lado, el ámbito institucional posee una alta heterogeneidad en el país, pues parece existir una relación centro – periferia, en donde el centro goza de un cierto grado de desarrolla e inclusión política y social, mientras en la periferia se manifiesta la ley del más fuerte y las instituciones son altamente extractivas (Robinson, 2015)Las elites en el centro deben conceder ciertos derechos y garantías civiles a sus ciudadanos para mantenerse en el poder, en la periferia esto no es necesario y el único interés de la elite es preservar el sistema y extraer el máximo beneficio de sus ciudadanos (Acemoglu & Robinson, 2012), esto implicaría que en aquellos municipios con instituciones extractivas, los políticos no tienen entre sus prioridades mejorar la calidad de la educación y en general poco les importa mejorar el bienestar de sus ciudadanos, por lo que se espera que exista una correlación negativa entre la calidad de las instituciones y el rendimiento académico.Efectos correlacionados: los individuos y el grupo en el que están inmersos tienden a comportarse de manera similar pues enfrentan el mismo entorno familiar y/o institucional. ...
This aims of this research is to assess the relevance of the municipal context on individual achievement, this builds on Vivas (2007) and Manski (1993). Micro data from ICFES and aggregate information from the CEDE are used. From this the municipal incidence is evaluated by means of variables associated with institutional quality, including infant mortality rate (IMR), violence and land conflicts of the twentieth century, among other. All this under a multilevel stage and considering interactions between different contexts. Among the results the limited impact of municipal context on individual performance stands out, is also evidence for the hypothesis triple risk of Willms (2003) and there are a strong relationship between the school effect and the socioeconomic composition of the classroom
... The SEP variable combines information on three elements of a family's socio-economic position (parental education, family income, and occupational prestige). Although these different elements can be considered separately, these indicators are interrelated (Lynch & Kaplan, 2000;Willms, 2003). In the analyses reported in this paper, the sample was classified into three categories of SEP: low SEP (25%), moderate (50%) and high (25%). ...
THIS PAPER PRESENTS ANALYSES of gender differences in classroom behaviours (e.g. attentiveness and task persistence) and early academic outcomes. Data is drawn from Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian children (LSAC). In these analyses, data from Wave 1 data collection (2004) and Wave 2 data collection (2006) for the Kindergarten Cohort are used. A sample of 2315 children who were in Year 1 of school at Wave 2 data collection are the focus for the analyses reported. The analyses draw on teacher ratings of children’s literacy and language competence and mathematical thinking in Year 1 of school; as well as ratings of children’s self-regulatory behaviour in the classroom and level of problem behaviours. Girls were rated by their teachers as having better literacy and language outcomes that were predicted by more positive classroom behaviours. Results are discussed with respect to the influence of children’s classroom behaviours on academic learning at the beginning of formal schooling.
... Pozwala ona ocenić nie tylko siłę związku między statusem społeczno--ekonomicznym, lecz także wnioskować o poziomie umiejętności uczniów oraz onachyleniu krzywej regresji, ilustrującej różnice między uczniami o niskim i wysokim poziome wskaźnika SES (zob. Willms, 2003). W analizach uwzględniłem też inne informacje: klasę, do której uczęszczał uczeń, oraz informację o jego płci. ...
Zbigniew Sawiński w tekście opublikowanym w EDUKACJI („Gimnazja wobec nierówności społecznych”, Edukacja, 135(4), 2015) twierdzi na podstawie analiz danych programu OECD PISA z lat 2000–2012, że reforma gimnazjalna nie spowodowała zmniejszenia nierówności w polskiej edukacji: znaczenie pochodzenia społecznego dla osiągnięć uczniów utrzymywało się na podobnym poziomie jak przed reformą, nie zmniejszył się znacząco wpływ pochodzenia społecznego na wybór szkoły średniej, a obserwowane w Polsce różnicowanie się gimnazjów nie doprowadziło do wzrostu nierówności edukacyjnych. W artykule przedstawiono argumenty metodologiczne i wyniki powtórnej analizy danych PISA wskazujące na zmiany w szerzej rozumianych nierównościach edukacyjnych. Między 2000 a 2012 r. (a) nie zmieniła się wprawdzie siła związku wyników osiąganych przez piętnastolatków ze statusem społeczno-ekonomicznym rodzin uczniów, ale: (b) zmniejszyło się zróżnicowanie wyników, co było przede wszystkim zasługą poprawy wyników najsłabszych uczniów; (c) zmniejszyły się różnice między uczniami o niskim i wysokim statusie społeczno-ekonomicznym; (d) zmniejszył się wpływ pochodzenia społecznego na wybór szkoły ponadgimnazjalnej. Wpływ ten jest w dużej mierze bezpośredni: nie jest zapośredniczony przez osiągnięcia edukacyjne uczniów. W polemice podkreślono także złożoność tzw. reformy gimnazjalnej, która nie ograniczyła się jedynie do wprowadzenia gimnazjów. Wskazano na rolę innych czynników, które utrudniają analizowanie efektów reformy gimnazjalnej w kategoriach przyczynowo-skutkowych, w tym przede wszystkim na rolę nieobserwowanych w badaniu PISA zmiennych dotyczących zmian zachodzących w środowisku uczenia się kolejnych kohort uczestniczących w badaniu.
... As suggested by Willms (2003) the relationship between socioeconomic status and achievement may be understood as less or more equitable based on the behaviour of its components (the level, the slope and force of the relationship). We follow this idea and test through a seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) whether there has been a shift in the level and strength of the between effect across waves for students from poorer schools. ...
... Adding FSES_E (SES based on indicators), also results in a significant improvement of the model ( p<.001). This finding is in line with Willms's (2003) hypothesis that there non-linear relationship between SES and academic performance. In a second step, demographic student variables were added to the model. ...
The acquisition of mathematical literacy in primary school is a complex process that is influenced by a large set of variables. A multilevel model was applied to identify significant predictors of mathematics performance in Chinese primary schools. Data were obtained from 10,959 students of six grades from primary schools in rural/urban areas, within five provinces with different developmental levels. At the school level, the aggregated socioeconomic status of a school is a significant predictor of math performance (x 2=4.3, df=1,p<.05), until the individual reading level is included. At the class level, grade is a significant predictor. Teacher's graduation level predicts performance (x 2=4.84, df=1,p=.03), until individual students' metacognition level is added. At the student level, reading performance (x 2=434.87, df=1,p<.00), mathematics self-efficacy (x 2=392.62, df=1,p<.00) and metacognition (x 2=756.62, df=1,p<.00) play a large and significant role. Socioeconomic status of family is a weak and polynomial predictor. The results reveal that individual background variables are important predictors and explain 46.67% of the total variance in math performance. After controlling for student characteristics, school and class level variables disappear as predictors, implying an interaction between contextual and individual variables. The present research findings have - next to theoretical implication - also policy implications for Chinese mathematics education. Firstly, the educational quality between provinces seem to be balanced, but the school quality within a province does not seem to be balanced. Secondly, there seems to be a need for a quality control related to the output of open teacher training institutions. Thirdly, remedial or intervention programs have to be put in place, to be proactive as to difficulties of students with different language backgrounds.
... Beni culturali. Una serie di teorie sostengono che i beni culturali si traducano in capitale culturale per lo studente, e che questi a loro volta esercitino un'influenza sui livelli di performance degli studenti (Willms, 2003). L'indice di possesso di beni culturali si rivela un predittore di performance più consistente del più generale indice di status socio-economico e culturale. ...
... Socioeconomic status (SES) can be defined as the 'relative position of a family or individual on a hierarchical social structure, based on their access to, or control over, wealth, prestige, and power. It is usually operationalised as a composite measure of income, level of education, and occupational prestige' (Willms, 2003: 3). Family SES, as we said before, has been identified as a factor that is strongly related with educational outcomes. ...
This article focuses on analysing the effect of educational differentiation policies of OECD educational systems on socioeconomically disadvantaged students, based on data from PISA 2009. The analysis is conducted on the basis of a definition of two subgroups of disadvantaged students: those that achieve high scores, and those obtaining scores that are significantly below the average for their country. Educational systems are classified in four models following the classification proposed by N. Mons. Results show that the more integrated the educational system, the greater the number of disadvantaged high achievers, and the lower the number of disadvantaged low achievers.
... A meta-analysis by Sirin (2005) including over 101,000 students from 74 independent samples reported a medium to large positive correlation between socioeconomic status and academic achievement. The relationship between family socioeconomic status and academic achievement is commonly referred to as the socioeconomic gap or socioeconomic gradient because the gap gradually increases across lower to higher socioeconomic statuses (Willms, 2002(Willms, , 2003. Moreover, this relationship is stronger among White students than students of other ethnicities (Sirin, 2005). ...
High school students with high long-term educational expectations attain higher levels of education than those with lower expectations. Less studied is the role of students' short-term college enrollment expectations for the year after high school graduation. The purpose of the current study was to examine the costs and benefits of ambitious short-term expectations and the impact of falling short of these expectations on mental health, motivation, and educational outcomes. Over 1000 youth with expectations to attend college were surveyed during their senior year of high school, one year later, and four years later. Participants who did not achieve their short-term expectations had lower educational attainment four years later but were not less satisfied with their educational progress. The negative consequences of falling short of one's expectations were restricted to individuals with less ambitious short-term expectations. Thus, the benefits of ambitious short-term expectations for youth may outweigh the costs.
... Cross-sectional studies commonly have difficulty in controlling for potential biases, particularly socio-economic status (SES). SES remains the strongest predictor of academic achievement [16] and is also one of the strongest predictors of PA participation in children (e.g. in Canada [17]; Italy [18] and Estonia [19]). Cross-sectional studies generally indicate a positive association with academic achievement. ...
... Some factors, such as the economic, social and cultural index, are statistically significant in explaining differences in students' Science test results (Willms, 2001(Willms, , 2003. ...
... In her view, student variability in science achievement was influenced more at the level of student and classroom than by geographical location. To explain this result further, Williams (2002) suggests that, while Young (1998) considered community-level SES, it is critical to distinguish this from school-level SES, which is overlooked in the majority of research studies. ...
The majority of literature in rural education tends to focus around identifying the factors contributing to the significant variations that exist in relation to student achievement between rural and urban schools. In reviewing this research from an international perspective, an interesting inconsistency emerges. At one extreme, some studies support the notion of a ‘deficit model’ of rural schooling, whereas conflicting evidence attributes a high degree of success to these schools in relation to student achievement. This chapter attempts to explore and unravel these discrepancies by considering the available research in relation to the definitions used to define ‘rurality’, the ways in which achievement is measured so that comparisons are possible, and the potential limitations of these prior studies. By ‘stepping back’ from the literature and contemplating the research findings more holistically, it is possible to identify major themes that provide a solid basis upon which to build a framework for future research in the area.
... A este respecto, se debe reconocer el impacto de las diferencias socioeconómicas y culturales en el rendimiento de los estudiantes de Baja California y del propio sistema educativo mexicano al igual que ocurre en otros países y sistemas educativos. De la misma manera, se confirma también el efecto contextual (Willms, 1986;Rumberger & Willms, 1992;Willms, 2003;Willms, 2004;Tajalli & Opheim, 2004;Howley & Howley, 2004;Warschauer et al., 2004;Willms, 2006;Lizasoain y otros, 2007) de forma que el nivel socioeconómico medio (NSE) de las escuelas tiene mucho peso a la hora de explicar las diferencias de rendimiento. ...
El objetivo de este estudio es elaborar y validar un modelo explicativo del rendimiento académico en Lengua Española para una muestra aleatoria de estudiantes de tercero de secundaria de Baja California (México). Para ello, mediante técnicas de árboles de decisión, se obtienen subgrupos de alumnos y escuelas y posteriormente se realiza un estudio diferencial de los mismos. Con los resultados obtenidos de esta primera fase de análisis se elabora y ajusta un modelo jerárquico lineal que explica el rendimiento en función de diversas variables tanto del nivel del estudiante como del centro escolar. Adicionalmente, los resultados apuntan a que, dadas las acusadas diferencias socioeconómicas existentes, los predictores y las variables relevantes son distintas en los grupos con valores extremos. En función de ello se elabora un modelo de regresión específico para estos grupos extremos. Para el diseño y puesta en marcha de acciones y programas de mejora es muy importante tomar en consideración este efecto diferencial siendo necesario considerar estas variables que operan como oportunidades de aprendizaje sólo en algunos subgrupos aunque sean pequeños y extremos, porque en caso contrario para estos sectores de la población (que son los más desfavorecidos) las acciones de mejora que se puedan diseñar estarán desenfocadas y por tanto no resultarán de utilidad.
This research is focused on telling the stories of the student sakadas' highs and lows in working on sugarcane plantations. It also includes the challenges that they face , as well as their aspirations as they go on with their education.
Drawing on Dweck and Leggett’s (1988) implicit beliefs of intelligence framework, the present study explored the incremental belief of intelligence (IBI) and how it correlated to metacognitive skills that reflected vocational students’ project design engagement. Data were collected from students from 2 vocational high schools involved in project design for a national invention exhibition. In all, 196 useful returns were subjected to confirmatory factor analysis with structural equation modeling. Study results indicated that there was a positive relationship between IBI and the three types of metacognitive skills: planning and thinking strategies, being aware and monitoring, and evaluating and revising. Moreover, planning and thinking strategies as well as being aware and monitoring were positively related to project design engagement, but no significant relationship could be found between evaluating and revising and project design engagement. Vocational school teachers may refer to this study to encourage their students to practice metacognitive skills in device design so as to reach a high level of behavioral engagement in finding and solving problems during the invention process.
Determining the ethnic differences in academic performance among immigrant students is important in terms of adapting them into the system they live in. Examining the variables related to students’ performance will be a guide in overcoming the issue. The purpose of this study is to examine the direct effect of economic, social, and cultural status (ESCS) on science performance and the indirect effect of ESCS on the relationship between science dispositions and science literacy in Canadian immigrant students using hierarchical linear modeling. Data were obtained from Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015 science literacy test and student questionnaire and data sets were provided from the official website of PISA. The results of the research show that ESCS had a direct and indirect effect through science dispositions with medium to large on science performance of immigrant students. The impacts of significant variables were discussed and implications for further research were provided.
Despite a consensus that children's socio-economic status (SES) is linked to their educational outcomes, research is inconsistent. Differing variables are used to quantify SES; this can artificially boost its explanatory power. Policy-makers are encouraged to infer overly optimistic potential for redistributive tools. The PISA survey dataset was interrogated. The association between academic performance and two variables, parental educational attainment, and household income – was analysed. Results indicated that their link to academic performance was modest. Parental educational attainment was more important. Collapsing these into one single concept, rather than clarifying patterns of academic performance, concealed important differences between wealthy and poorer countries. The discussion proposes eschewing the unitary concept of SES.
Zusammenfassung. Zielsetzung: Der Beitrag untersucht die Bedeutung der besuchten Schulform und des schulischen Wohlbefindens für den Tabakkonsum von Jugendlichen und prüft erstmals, ob sich dieser Zusammenhang im Sinne einer doppelten Benachteiligung auf den Tabakkonsum auswirkt. Methodik: Datenbasis bildet der deutsche Survey der europäischen SILNE-Studie „Tackling socioeconomic inequalities in smoking: learning from natural experiments by time trend analyses and cross-national comparisons“ (Schüler der 8. und 9. Klasse) in Hannover (n = 1.190). In bi- und multivariaten Analysen werden die Zusammenhänge zwischen den Merkmalen des schulischen Wohlbefindens (Schulengagement, Schulverbundenheit und Burnout), der besuchten Schulform und dem Tabakkonsum überprüft. Ergebnisse: Jugendliche mit niedrigem Schulengagement, geringer Schulverbundenheit sowie erhöhtem schulbezogenen Burnout zeigen eine erhöhte Wahrscheinlichkeit zu rauchen, ebenso wie Schüler, die eine andere Schulform als das Gymnasium besuchen. Belege der doppelten Benachteiligung für den Tabakkonsum von Jugendlichen konnten nicht gefunden werden. Gymnasiasten besitzen im Vergleich zu Schülern anderer Schulformen eine erhöhte Wahrscheinlichkeit zu rauchen, wenn sie über schulbezogenes Burnout berichten. Schlussfolgerungen: Unsere Ergebnisse geben wichtige Hinweise für schulformspezifische Maßnahmen der Gesundheitsförderung, um das schulische Wohlbefinden zu fördern und dem Tabakkonsum im Jugendalter entgegenzuwirken.
The aim of this paper is to to analyze what PISA has allowed to know and understand the functioning of the national educational system. To this end it is proposed to expose some results which arise from participation of Uruguay in PISA during a decade, and highlight some characteristics of Uruguayan educational system from a comparative perspective with other states of same region. By the other hand, they are shared some local reflections about contributions of an international assessment such as PISA, its approach, and its role in the mark of the system of information and evaluation of national learning, and also, about how it should analyze, interpret and use its results.
RESUMEN
En este trabajo se examina la evolución, desde Dakar, del impacto sobre el aprendizaje de las desigualdades económicas
intraescuela y entre escuelas para seis países de Latinoamérica utilizando datos de PISA 2000 y 2012. Empleamos
un análisis multinivel para evaluar la variabilidad del rendimiento imputable al estudiante, a los factores escolares y
la heterogeneidad de las desigualdades entre escuelas a través de las escuelas y el tiempo. Además estimamos, para
las escuelas pobres, cambios en el nivel e intensidad de los gradientes de riqueza de la escuela. Encontramos que de
la variación total, cerca del 40% es atribuible a la composición económica de la escuela y el 10% restante a factores
individuales y escolares adicionales. La desigualdad económica entre escuelas es el determinante más fuerte del rendimiento
en las dos ondas. Entre las escuelas más pobres, encontramos algún progreso en el nivel y la menor intensidad
de la desigualdad escolar para la lectura. Resultados para toda la región muestran una convergencia en los niveles
de los gradientes y el rendimiento promedio de los países, con un notable trade-off entre mejor rendimiento y mayor
desigualdad en el caso de matemáticas pero no en lectura. Nuestros resultados sugieren que las políticas destinadas a
aumentar el acceso a la educación por sí solas son insuficientes para alcanzar los objetivos de aprendizaje de Educación
para Todos por lo que debieran estar acompañados por medidas que disminuyan la desigualdad económica entre las
escuelas más pobres.
Palabras clave/ Educación para Todos; América Latina; desigualdad económica entre escuelas; análisis multinivel; datos PISA.
ABSTRACT
This paper examines the evolution of the impact of the within and between school wealth inequalities on learning for
six Latin American countries since Dakar by using PISA data for 2000 and 2012. We employ a multilevel analysis to
assess the variability of achievement accounted for student and school factors and the heterogeneity of between school
inequalities across schools and time. We also estimate changes on the level and strength of school wealth gradients for
poor schools. We find that of the total variation, around 40% was attributable to school wealth composition and a further
10% to additional individual and school factors. Between school wealth inequality is the strongest determinant on achievement
in both waves. Among poorest schools, we find some progress on the level and lower strength of school wealth
inequality for reading. Results for the whole region show a convergence on the levels of gradients and countries’ average
performance, with a noticeable trade-off between larger performance and more inequality for math but not for reading.
On the policy front, our results suggest that education policies increasing access alone are insufficient to achieve EFA’s
learning goal and should be accompanied by measures tackling wealth inequalities among poorer schools.
Keywords/ Education for All; Latin America; economic inequality between schools; multilevel analysis; PISA data.
En este trabajo se examina la evolución, desde Dakar, del impacto sobre el aprendizaje de las desigualdades económicas intraescuela y entre escuelas para seis países de Latinoamérica utilizando datos de PISA 2000 y 2012. Empleamos un análisis multinivel para evaluar la variabilidad del rendimiento imputable al estudiante, a los factores escolares y la heterogeneidad de las desigualdades entre escuelas a través de las escuelas y el tiempo. Además estimamos, para las escuelas pobres, cambios en el nivel e intensidad de los gradientes de riqueza de la escuela. Encontramos que de la variación total, cerca del 40% es atribuible a la composición económica de la escuela y el 10% restante a factores individuales y escolares adicionales. La desigualdad económica entre escuelas es el determinante más fuerte del rendimiento en las dos ondas. Entre las escuelas más pobres, encontramos algún progreso en el nivel y la menor intensidad de la desigualdad escolar para la lectura. Resultados para toda la región muestran una convergencia en los niveles de los gradientes y el rendimiento promedio de los países, con un notable trade-off entre mejor rendimiento y mayor desigualdad en el caso de matemáticas pero no en lectura. Nuestros resultados sugieren que las políticas destinadas a aumentar el acceso a la educación por sí solas son insuficientes para alcanzar los objetivos de aprendizaje de Educación para Todos por lo que debieran estar acompañados por medidas que disminuyan la desigualdad económica entre las
escuelas más pobres.
This chapter presents results of research that targeted the development of language and literacy skills in elementary level children whose parents immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia. The performance of Ethiopian Israeli children in grades 1, 2, 4, and 6 was compared to that of their classmates, whose families were not from an Ethiopian background. All participating schools were located in low SES neighborhoods. However, on various indices (for example, crowded living conditions, parental employment and literacy levels) the Ethiopian families were more destitute than the families of the non-Ethiopian children. In this chapter we examine cultural literacy, cognitive, linguistic, and literacy development across the grades, and compare the Ethiopian and Non-Ethiopian groups with regard to development on these dimensions. We also examine the extent to which the performance of the Ethiopian Israeli children can be better understood by considering their language and literacy resources in Amharic. Results indicate that there were either no gaps or the gaps disappeared on low level processing components such as phonemic awareness and decoding skills. However, the gaps between the groups persisted or increased on higher-level aspects of literacy that involve cultural knowledge, language skills and reading comprehension. Given this worrisome pattern, it is not surprising that Ethiopian children struggle with academic demands of high school. The results underscore the importance of providing early and consistent language and literacy enrichment to these children. Policy implications and implication for instruction are discussed.
Previous studies reveal small effects of school contexts on educational outcomes and tend to dismiss their importance in the educational attainment process. During the '60s, Israeli primary schools were very dissimilar in their student-body compositions. In addition, about half the schools practiced ability grouping, whereas the others did not group students. Analyzing data for the population of Jewish male students who attended the last grade of primary school during the late '60s, we find very large contextual effects on grades and expectations in the schools which did not group students. In schools which did group, contextual effects on expectations are very small.
This prospective longitudinal study examined the developmental paths toward high school graduation or dropout for a cohort of 1,242 Black first graders from an urban community who were at a high risk for school dropout. Over half those with school records did not graduate. Dropouts were compared with graduates in their first-grade school performance, family background, family environment, and educational hopes and expectations. Both low grades and aggressive behavior in first grade led to later dropout for males. The impact of maternal education and poverty was through their interaction with individual characteristics. The links between early school performance and later high school graduation were not as strong for those from backgrounds of poverty as for those who were not poor. Having a mother with at least a high school education increased the likelihood that males who performed poorly in first grade or who had low educational expectations as adolescents would graduate. Being from a mother-father family was protective for the girls. Strict rules regarding school reported during adolescence helped the females compensate for early poor performance.
The effects of tracking in high schools depend in part on the way tracking is organized: To the extent that the structure of tracking varies across schools, tracking's impact on achievement also varies. I examine four structural characteristics of tracking systems: selectivity, electivity, inclusiveness, and scope. I predict that differences in these characteristics lead to variation in between-track inequality (the achievement gap between tracks) and school productivity (average achievement of students in the school), net of the composition of the student body. In addition, I hypothesize that Catholic schools have less inequality between tracks and higher productivity overall than public schools. I test the hypotheses using data from High School and Beyond, a national survey of high schools and their students. The results show that schools vary significantly in the magnitude of track effects on math achievement, and they differ in net average achievement on both math and verbal tests. Schools with more mobility in their tracking systems produce higher math achievement overall. They also have smaller gaps between tracks in both math and verbal achievement when compared to schools with more rigid tracking systems. Moderately inclusive systems also have less between-track inequality in math; and overall school achievement tends to rise in both subjects as inclusiveness increases. The hypotheses about Catholic schools are also supported, especially for math achievement. The way Catholic schools implement tracking partially accounts for their advantages.
This study, which is based on a longer report by Willms and Somers (2000), employs hierarchical linear regression models to examine the relationships between 3 schooling outcomes (language and mathematics achievement, and time to complete primary schooling) and family background, as well as various school policies and practices. The analyses employ data from the Primer Estudio Internacional Comparativo ( PEIC ; UNESCO, 1998), which includes data for 13 Latin American countries, with samples of approximately 100 schools in each country, and 40 grades 3 and 4 pupils sampled in each school. The study finds that the relationship between schooling outcomes and family background varies among countries. The most successful country, Cuba, has uniformly effective schools, and relatively small inequities along social class lines and between the sexes. Across all countries, the most effective schools tend to be those with: high levels of school resources; classrooms which are not multigrade, and where students are not grouped by ability; classrooms where children are tested frequently; classrooms and schools with a high level of parental involvement; and classrooms that have a positive classroom climate, especially with respect to classroom discipline. The article concludes with a discussion about how we might improve capability to monitor school performance in low-income countries.
The recent literature on the determinants of adolescent health is reviewed. Four definitions of adolescent health are presented: successful transition to adulthood, successful coping, lack of mortality and morbidity, and healthy behaviors and risk avoidance. The review of determinants of health is presented within a framework focused upon adolescent characteristics, aspects of adolescents' immediate environments, and adolescents' ongoing activities and aspirations. An expanded framework which considers societal and structural factors and adolescent health is considered and a proposed research agenda presented.
A very simple technique has been used to shed light on a number of questions about the influence of economic level on national mortality trends and differentials. Scatter-diagrams of the cross-sectional relation between national income per head and life expectancy are developed for three decades during the twentieth century. The relations established appear to shift systematically during the century. In general, in order to attain a certain life expectancy between 40 and 60, a nation requires an income level almost three times greater in the 1930s than in the 1960s. This shift is corroborated by a changing structure of mortality by cause of death for populations at equivalent mortality levels. The magnitude of the shifts, combined with regional income data, suggests that some 75-90 per cent of the growth in life expectancy for the world as a whole over these three decades is attributable to factors exogenous to a nation's contemporary level of income. Through similar techniques, improved nutrition and higher literacy can also be ruled out as important contributors. Nevertheless, the cross-sectional relation between income and life expectancy remains strong, and there is some suggestion that mortality is now more responsive to variations in income levels among countries with national incomes below $400 (1963 dollars) than it was in the 1930s. However, population size appears to respond so slowly to the mortality declines that typically result from income growth that these mortality effects present little impediment to the process of economic development. Some of the variability in the cross-sectional mortality-income relation is doubtless due to variation in income distributions. Life expectancy in Venezuela, Mexico, and Columbia, countries with wide disparities in incomes, falls short of levels expected on the basis of their mean incomes. On the other hand, life expectancy in Soviet-bloc countries, where income equality is expected to be greater than average, also falls short of expected levels. Western and non-Western countries alike profited from the activity of `exogenous' medical and public health factors. Differences between the two types of countries have been exaggerated by concentration on movements between equivalent mortality levels rather than during equivalent time periods. Recent work in historical demography suggests that the importance in Western mortality trends of endogenous factors consequent to rising standards of living has been overstated for earlier periods as well.