scholarly journals Learning Inequality in Francophone Africa: School Quality and the Educational Achievement of Rich and Poor Children

2020 ◽  
Vol 93 (3) ◽  
pp. 256-276
Author(s):  
Rob J. Gruijters ◽  
Julia A. Behrman
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
School Quality ◽  
Educational Achievement ◽  
Family Background ◽  
Well Being ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Unequal Distribution ◽  
Family Socioeconomic Status

Influential reports about the “learning crisis” in the global South generally pay insufficient attention to social inequalities in learning. In this study, we explore the association between family socioeconomic status and learning outcomes in 10 francophone African countries using data from the Programme for the Analysis of Education Systems, a standardized assessment of pupils’ mathematics and reading competence at the end of primary school. We start by showing that learning outcomes among grade 6 pupils are both poor and highly stratified. We then develop and test a conceptual framework that highlights three mechanisms through which family socioeconomic status might contribute to learning: (1) educational resources at home, (2) health and well-being, and (3) differences in school quality. We find that most of the effect of family background on learning outcomes operates through school quality, which results from a combination of the unequal distribution of resources (such as teachers and textbooks) across schools and high socioeconomic segregation between schools. On the basis of these results, we suggest that most countries in the region could improve equity as well as overall performance by “raising the floor” in school quality.

scholarly journals Family Representations of Preschool Age Children Living in Families of Different Socio-Economic Status

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 83-101
Author(s):  
A.A. Shvedovskaya ◽  
T.Yu. Zagvozdkina
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Preschool Age ◽  
Family Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Her Family ◽  
Financial Anxiety ◽  
Economic Well Being ◽  
Family Representation

A child’s family representation is one of the crucial factors of psychological and social development in older preschoolers. The article emphasizes that the relationships between a child’s family socioeconomic status (SES) and family representation are mediated. Family members’ perception and evaluation of their socioeconomic status are conditioned with subjective economic well- being. It influences family functioning which, in its turn, conditions particular characteristics of a child’s emotional experiences in family situation and his/her family representations. The analysis of relationships between subjective economic well-being of family members and a child’s family representations demonstrates the trend to increase in severity of poor well-being markers in case of increase of parental markers of financial stress, financial deprivation and financial anxiety. An empirical classification of family representation types in children from families with various SES is provided. It includes positive family representation “Favorable family”, family representation with some elements of disharmony “Unstable family”, representation of a distant family “Distant family”, conflict family representation “Conflict family”, negative family representation “Unfavorable family”.

scholarly journals Retirement as a lens for socioeconomic differences in Cognition and well-being

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefanie König ◽  
Magnus Lindwall ◽  
Georg Henning ◽  
Boo Johansson
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Work Role ◽  
Socioeconomic Differences ◽  
Health Aging ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Life Course

This study conceptualizes retirement as a lens with regard to patterns of social inequality across the life course. It investigates if socioeconomic differences in well-being and cognitive performance differ between older workers and retirees, using data from the HEARTS (Health, Aging and Retire- ment Transitions in Sweden) study. The results provide evidence for retirement as a positive lenswith regard to cognition, following the ‘use it or lose it’ hypothesis. We also find evidence for retire- ment as a negative lens with regard to well-being, supporting the cumulative (dis-)advantages theory.We test different aspects of socioeconomic status, that is, education, income, occupationalgroup, and subjective work aspects and find the strongest effects for education. Hence, this studycontributes with an understanding of mechanisms behind social inequalities over the life-course by using retirement and the loss of the work role as a marker for potential change

Resilience and Socioeconomic Status as Predictors of Life Satisfaction and Psychological Well-Being in Colombian Older Adults

2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 269-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria-Fernanda Reyes ◽  
Encarnación Satorres ◽  
Juan C. Meléndez
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Cultural Aspects

Well-being is a complex construct related to sociodemographic and cultural aspects that vary across cultures. Latin America is a region with high social inequalities among population groups, although this varies significantly depending on the country. This article proposes a model that seeks to establish the relationship between psychosocial variables, psychological well-being, and life satisfaction in a sample of Colombian older adults. The model explores associations between resilience, socioeconomic status, life satisfaction, and psychological well-being. A study with a sample of 617 Colombian older adults was conducted. A structural equation modeling technique was performed. The results showed a model in which life satisfaction is positively explained by psychological well-being and resilience, whereas psychological well-being is explained by a higher socio-economic status. The results contribute to the evidence about how well-being is determined by psychosocial and cultural factors. The evidence found represents novel information about older adults in Colombia.

scholarly journals Family Socio-Economic Status, School Location and Students’ Eco-Friendly Knowledge, Attitude and Practices in Nigeria

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 174-185
Author(s):  
Ramoni Afolabi Olubela
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Environmental Education ◽  
Family Background ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Attitude Scale ◽  
Analysis Of Covariance ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Income Source ◽  
School Location ◽  
Family Socioeconomic Status

The school system, regardless of the level of operation, is generally accepted as a major agent of education. It provides avenues for interaction between students and teachers on subject matters. However, the location of the school determines many students’ knowledge, attitude and practices.  Also, there is an increasing awareness of the importance of the parents’ role in the progress and educational development of their children. Family background as an important and weighty factor in determining the academic performance attained by the student needs to be investigated. This study adopted a pre-test-post-test control group quasi-experimental design. Intact class of Junior Secondary School II Social Studies students in each of the six schools in Oyo state were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. Three validated instruments were used in this study, and they are the Environmental Education Knowledge Test (EEKT), Environmental Education Attitude Scale (EEAS) and Environmental Education Practice Questionnaire (EEPQ). The data were analyzed using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) with the pretest scores used as covariates. All the null hypotheses were tested at a P < .05 level of significance. The study showed a significant two-way interaction effect of family socioeconomic status and school location on students’ eco-friendly knowledge, attitude and practices. It was recommended that schools should be kept safe and parents should develop more streams of income, as a single income source has become a great economic challenge in Nigeria. Keywords:  family socioeconomic status, school location, students’ eco-friendly knowledge, students’ eco-friendly attitude, students’ eco-friendly practices, school security, alternative income

scholarly journals Association between positive mental health and family background among young people in Finland

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
K Appelqvist-Schmidlechner ◽  
N Tamminen ◽  
P Solin
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Young People ◽  
Family Structure ◽  
Family Background ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Positive Mental Health ◽  
School Level ◽  
Intact Family ◽  
Targeted Interventions

Abstract Background Positive mental health (PMH) is an important construct for understanding the full continuum of mental health. The aim of this study was to examine the association of family background with the level of PMH among adolescents and young adults in Finland. Methods Data from population-based Finnish School Health Promotion Study targeted at year 8. and 9. students of comprehensive school and year 1. and 2. students of upper secondary school and vocational schools was used (n = 134684) for the study. PMH was measured with short Warwick-Edinburgh-Mental-Wellbeing-Scale (SWEMWBS) and examined on a continuum from languishing (low level of positive mental health) to moderate to flourishing mental health (high level of positive mental health). Associations between flourishing/languishing mental health and family background variables were analysed with logistic regression analysis, school level and gender were adjusted. Results Flourishing mental health was associated with intact family background, higher education of parents and better financial situation of family. In contrast, languishing was associated with non-intact family conditions (single parent family, parents divorced, stepfamily) and parents’ unemployment, lower level of education and financial problems. Conclusions Family structure and socioeconomic status of parents have an impact on PMH of young people. Young people with non-intact family structure and/or poorer socioeconomic status may lack positive sense of well-being, in other words they have challenges to enjoy their life, to believe in their own abilities, to cope with normal stresses of life, to study productively and to enjoy interacting with others. Targeted interventions and promotive actions should be directed for young people with challenging family conditions in particular. Key messages Investigating positive mental health (PMH) is essential for understanding the full continuum of mental health. Family structure and parents’ socioeconomic status have an impact on PMH of young people.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document