Concentrated pockets of under-resourced neighbourhoods and schools exist in urban areas in which there are overwhelming numbers of children labelled ‘at-risk.’ Structural equation modelling was used to predict the associations between family social capital in kindergarten and third-grade learning and development outcomes for low-socioeconomic children in urban areas. Data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey-Kindergarten Class of 2010–2011 were analyzed. Child outcomes included third-grade language/literacy, cognitive development/problem-solving, and approaches to learning. Findings indicate that family social capital has a significant longitudinal impact on children’s development and learning. Early factors influencing children’s later development and learning can inform intervention strategies, potentially moderating gaps in these areas between socioeconomic groups. Findings can be used to inform practice and policy for children and families.
Parents’ involvement and engagement with their child’s school and learning are important in children’s educational outcomes and their overall life successes, and both parental involvement and engagement are seen to be socioeconomically distributed. This paper aims to explore to what extent and how parents from areas of socioeconomic deprivation are involved in their children’s school and engaged in their children’s learning. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with children, parents, and school staff from four schools in areas of socioeconomic deprivation across Wales. These interviews primarily explored parental involvement with schools and parental engagement with learning. Findings revealed that parents were involved in a range of parental involvement activities and events. However, there were differences in the levels of parental engagement reported by families and schools, with schools reporting limited parental engagement with learning. Variations stemmed from differences in how parents and schools conceptualised “learning”. Barriers to parental involvement and engagement showed schools’ limited understanding and consideration of the poverty faced by families, and deficit approaches towards parents were evidenced. To understand parental engagement with learning further, there is a need for a broader conceptualisation of learning and its value, to encompass non-academic and less formal development opportunities. Further research to explore and assess the impact of parental engagement with learning, both formal and informal, on children’s academic and non-academic outcomes is recommended. In addition, the research recommends schools attempt to further understand the complexities of families and their wider environment to tailor involvement and engagement approaches.
Statistical learning, a fundamental skill to extract regularities in the environment, is often considered a core supporting mechanism of the first language development. While many studies of statistical learning are conducted within a single domain or modality, recent evidence suggests that this skill may differ based on the context in which the stimuli are presented. In addition, few studies investigate learning as it unfolds in real-time, rather focusing on the outcome of learning. In this protocol, we describe an approach for identifying the cognitive and neural basis of statistical learning, within an individual, across domains (linguistic vs. non-linguistic) and sensory modalities (visual and auditory). The tasks are designed to cast as little cognitive demand as possible on participants, making it ideal for young school-aged children and special populations. The web-based nature of the behavioral tasks offers a unique opportunity for us to reach more representative populations nationwide, to estimate effect sizes with greater precision, and to contribute to open and reproducible research. The neural measures provided by the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) task can inform researchers about the neural mechanisms engaged during statistical learning, and how these may differ across individuals on the basis of domain or modality. Finally, both tasks allow for the measurement of real-time learning, as changes in reaction time to a target stimulus is tracked across the exposure period. The main limitation of using this protocol relates to the hour-long duration of the experiment. Children might need to complete all four statistical learning tasks in multiple sittings. Therefore, the web-based platform is designed with this limitation in mind so that tasks may be disseminated individually. This methodology will allow users to investigate how the process of statistical learning unfolds across and within domains and modalities in children from different developmental backgrounds.
Julie M. Schneider, Anqi Hu, Jennifer Legault et al.
The Hospital School Program (HSP) is a quality educational model ensuring the right to education for hospitalized children. To explore how hospitalized children participating in a Hospital School Program (HSP) manifest competencies related to the LifeComp framework, particularly in the personal, social, and learning-to-learn domains. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study combined quantitative (LifeComp-based survey) and qualitative (thematic analysis) methods in a cohort design. Quantitative results from 37 exposed and 37 non-exposed patients showed significant correlations in the personal area for self-regulation (p = 0.024), flexibility (p < 0.001), and well-being (p = 0.006, p = 0.024). In the social area, significant correlations were found for empathy (p = 0.013), communication (p = 0.013), and collaboration (p < 0.05). In learning-to-learn, correlations were identified for growth mindset (p < 0.05), critical thinking (p = 0.017, p = 0.018), and learning management (p < 0.05). Qualitative analysis highlighted the program's contribution to children's personal, social, and learning-to-learn competencies. These exploratory findings suggest that the HSP may be associated with LifeComp development and provide a preliminary, reproducible model for supporting educational and socio-emotional outcomes in pediatric hospital settings.
Jhon Camacho‐Cruz, Elizabeth Ortiz Delgado, Manuela Gómez Hurtado et al.
A contentious debate in academic as well as policy circles relates to the growth in private schooling in the Global South. While proponents highlight the superior learning outcomes of pupils in private schools, others have argued that this is merely a reflection of the more advantaged family background of private school pupils, rather than an effect of private schooling itself. We contribute to this debate by providing estimates derived from household fixed-effect models, which control for any observed or unobserved differences between government and private school pupils at the household level. We argue that these can be interpreted as an upper bound estimate of the effect of private schooling on learning. We rely on large-scale, comparable household survey data from Kenya, Uganda, India, and Pakistan, focusing on children enrolled in grades 2–6 of primary school. Private school attendance ranges from 12 percent in Kenya to 33 percent in rural India, with substantial within-household variation. The findings show that controlling for family background almost eliminates the positive effect of private schooling in rural Pakistan and reduces it by around half in rural India, Kenya, and Uganda, to about a quarter of a standard deviation. Subgroup analyses show that the effect of private schooling is similar for children from poor and wealthier families. We argue that the benefits of private schooling are unlikely to outweigh its social costs.
Rob J. Gruijters, Benjamin Alcott, Pauline M. Rose
Abstract The purpose of conducting this research was to examine the influence of learning motivation and interest of students and parents’ attention on learning outcomes during distance learning. This research used quantitative method with a correlational approach. The population was all students of the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades in SDN 117 Pekanbaru, while the sample was 128 students selected using probability sampling. The instrument was a questionnaire by giving a series of questions to students. The data were analyzed using statistical data analysis with multiple regression. The results indicated a clear partial or simultaneous relevance of learning motivation, parental attention, and interest in learning to student learning outcomes. Therefore, teachers need to increase students’ motivation and interest in learning at school and establish communication with parents to increase their attention to their children.
BACKGROUND: School closure created difficulties for parents, who were asked to care for their children and help them with schooling, while working at home. We aimed to explore the experiences in organising school for children at home and its implications on children's psychological well-being and educational progress during the quarantine for the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A nationwide online survey of mothers of primary and middle school students was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Demographic data and information on distance learning organisation and children's attitudes and behavioural changes were collected. RESULTS: 2149 mothers completed the survey, with a final sample of 1601 subjects. Large differences between primary and middle school emerged: lessons were less organised and routines were more instable for the youngest, who could not pay attention for more than 20 min (28.3%) and needed breaks every 10 min (21.6%), with lower quality of learning (40.6%), increased restlessness (69.1%), and aggressiveness (33.3%). A large use of screens was reported, with an abuse in screen time in 2%. Two thirds of mothers did not approve of distance learning (72.2%) because of their role in replacing teachers (77.8%), the effort required (66%), and the great commitment required (78.3%). CONCLUSIONS: Distance learning increased educational deprivation and social inequalities, especially for the youngest children, who lost almost one year of school. The situation was even worse for children with disabilities, who were neglected by the institutions. This period should be considered as an opportunity to correct the weaknesses of our school system.
Francesca Scarpellini, Giulia Segre, Massimo Cartabia et al.
This article aims to raise awareness that it is important to collaborate between schools and parents in the education of blind children. Researchers will explain the definition of cooperation, the proper implementation of cooperation, constraints, and solutions that must be done when experiencing problems. This study uses field studies at SLB PGRI Sentolo, interview methods, and also literature studies. The results of this study prove that cooperation between schools and parents is needed in learning for blind children. The researcher also explained the findings that, in this collaboration, there must be some obstacles. But everything can be overcome by the tactics of teachers and parents.
Rosyada Ayu Fatimah, Wahyu Sugiarto, Olvy Mailandari et al.
This systematic review protocol outlines the background, methodology and inclusion and exclusion criteria for a systematic review of how effective are school-based wellbeing interventions for improving the academic and non-academic outcomes of children and young people in mainstream schools? The proposed systematic review will be conducted in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for systematic reviews of effectiveness evidence. It will complement system-wide strategic imperatives for health and wellbeing promotion by providing robust evidence to inform policy and practice supporting student wellbeing. The review will only involve interventions that report impact on academic achievement for a population of students in mainstream schools between 5 and 18 years, who receive an intervention in the mainstream school setting. This includes children with learning difficulties. The review will consider experimental, and quasi-experimental designs including randomised and non-randomised controlled trials, where a comparison group are involved.
Katherine Dix, Syeda Kashfee Ahmed, Shani Sniedze-Gregory et al.
Abstract Background Outdoor education (OE) is a teaching method aiming to promote children’s learning, physical activity (PA) and wellbeing. OE in green areas may further increase positive effects. There is little knowledge on use of OE and its possible effects in a Finnish context. Also, there is a need to evaluate OE from a teacher perspective. The aim of the LärMiljö-study is to: a) survey the use of OE in Swedish-language primary schools and investigate factors related to its use; b) investigate the associations between OE and PA, wellbeing, nature relations and learning among children aged 9-13 years, considering other related factors. Methods The self-determination theory (SDT) is used as theoretical framework. Data is collected via electronic surveys in Swedish-language primary schools, including: a) national surveys among principals and teachers; b) surveys among children and guardians. Children’s PA is measured for a 7-day period via accelerometers and a diary is kept. Teachers keep a class diary on OE provided. Academic tests are performed. Data will be analyzed using quantitative methods. Results This abstract describes the study protocol. The investigation of associations between OE and outcomes among children is mainly done by comparing classes that regularly use OE with classes that do not. Main outcomes are PA, psychosocial wellbeing, academic performance and nature connectedness; secondary outcomes are school motivation, social relations and sleep. Teachers’ experience and use of OE is explored, as is perceived effects of and barriers to OE use. Based on SDT, associations between OE and need satisfaction at work, competence, motivation and work engagement are studied. Conclusions The study represents a unique opportunity to explore OE use in primary schools, its effects among children and teachers, and what the supporting and hindering factors for its use are. The study contributes knowledge that can be used to promote learning and wellbeing in school. Key messages • Outdoor education in primary school may promote schoolchildren’s learning, physical activity, wellbeing and nature relation, but more knowledge is needed, including the perspective of teachers. • The LärMiljö-study will broaden the understanding of the potential effects of OE in primary education and school health promotion, and on factors supporting and hindering its use.
