Aboriginal Language and School Outcomes: Investigating the Associations for Young Adults

Being taught an Aboriginal language at school has generally been associated with positive school outcomes for Aboriginal children but not adults. This study attempted to understand this discordance by examining three possible explanations: (a) confounding variables, (b) a cohort effect, and (c) differences in the timing and duration of Aboriginal language instruction. Confounding variables (school attendance on reserve, parental education, and family residential school attendance) and duration of Aboriginal language instruction (six of more grades) were important contributors; whereas the presence of a cohort effect and the timing of Aboriginal language instruction were not found to be significant. Future studies of Aboriginal language instruction should consider family educational experiences, location of schooling, and the duration of Aboriginal language instruction.

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The Developmental and Educational Impact of Hearing Impairment in Aboriginal Children Living in Remote Australia – A Data Linkage Study

International Journal for Population Data Science ◽

10.23889/ijpds.v5i5.1550 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 5 (5) ◽

Author(s):

Md Shajedur Rahman Shawon,

Keyword(s):

Academic Achievement ◽

Early Childhood ◽

Hearing Impairment ◽

Early Childhood Development ◽

School Attendance ◽

Childhood Development ◽

Effect Sizes ◽

Attendance Rates ◽

Confounding Variables ◽

Aboriginal Children

IntroductionHigh prevalence of otitis media (OM) and hearing impairment (HI) in Aboriginal children in Australia’s Northern Territory (NT) is well documented. HI may be associated with poorer outcomes in early childhood development, school attendance and academic achievement. However, these associations have not been investigated in this population. Objectives and ApproachRetrospective cohort studies were conducted to investigate the association between HI and three education-related outcomes in Aboriginal children living in remote NT communities. The explanatory variable for all studies was audiometrically determined hearing levels. The outcome measures were Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) results, representing developmental outcomes at around age 5 years; Year 1 school attendance rates; and, National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) results for Year 3 for academic achievement. Relevant confounding variables from available linked datasets were controlled for in the statistical analyses. ResultsCompared with normal hearing children, after adjustment for selected confounding factors, children with HI had higher risk for being developmentally vulnerable in two or more of the five AEDC domains (adjusted odds ratio 1.69); lower AEDC domain score sum (-1.60~-2.40); scoring lower in Numeracy (by 15.2 points), Writing (by 13.4-15.6 points) and Spelling (by 5.0 points) domains of NAPLAN; and having lower attendance rates (attending 4.0-5.6 fewer days in Year 1). Severer HI categories generally yielded greater effect sizes. Notably, across the studies, some confounding variables included in the analysis yielded substantially greater effect sizes. Conclusion / ImplicationsOM-related HI has a negative impact on early childhood development, Year 1 school attendance and academic achievement in Year 3 in Aboriginal children living in remote NT communities. To improve the developmental and educational outcomes it is important to detect HI at an early age and provide effective educational support, in addition to clinical and audiometric management.

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The effect of parental residential school attendance and parental involvement on Indigenous youth’s participation in sport and physical activity during school

International Journal of Indigenous Health ◽

10.32799/ijih.v14i2.31929 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 133-149

Author(s):

Piotr Wilk ◽

Alana Maltby ◽

Martin Cooke ◽

Janice Forsyth

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Parental Involvement ◽

Parental Education ◽

Maternal Education ◽

School Attendance ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Residential School ◽

Sampling Weights ◽

School Activities ◽

Positive Effect

Introduction: The objective of this study was to assess the effect of parental residential school attendance on youth's participation in sport and physical activity (S/PA) at school and to explore the potential role that parental education and parental involvement in school activities may play in mediating this relationship. Methods: This cross-sectional study used the 2012 Aboriginal Peoples Survey and included youth ages 12-17 (N=4,840). Structural equation modeling techniques were used for models with observed and latent variables. Sampling weights and bootstrap weights were used for all analyses. Results: The results indicate 62.87% of youth participated in S/PA; 27.54% at school; 31.52% outside of school, and 40.94% in school and outside school. Mothers who attended residential schools had lower levels of educational attainment. Maternal education had a positive effect on parental involvement in school activities in dual parent households and parental involvement had a positive effect on S/PA. The indirect effects of residential school attendance on parental involvement and participation in S/PA were significant only for youth living with both parents and only for the effect of maternal residential school attendance. Maternal residential school attendance had a negative effect on parental involvement and on participation in S/PA. Discussion: The findings from this study indicate that interpersonal factors and historical contexts shape Indigenous youth's participation in S/PA.

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‘What about me?’ Stories of the educational experiences of care-experienced children and young people in a Scottish local authority

Adoption & Fostering ◽

10.1177/03085759211011736 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 45 (2) ◽

pp. 173-190

Author(s):

Daniela Mercieca ◽

Duncan P Mercieca ◽

Leisa Randall

Keyword(s):

Academic Achievement ◽

Young People ◽

Local Authority ◽

School Attendance ◽

Educational Experiences ◽

Influential Factors ◽

Background Characteristics ◽

Children And Young People ◽

Looked After Children ◽

Home And School

This qualitative study explores the educational experiences of looked after children and young people in one Scottish local authority. The preoccupations of government are academic achievement and school attendance, but these are not the prime concerns of the children, carers and professionals involved. Moreover, they can be both enhanced and restricted by the background characteristics and care situations of the young people and the responses of schools to their needs and behaviour. Five influential factors emerged from interviews and focus groups with professionals, carers and young people: behaviour; school attendance; carers as educators; friendships; and communication between home and school. Each of them is discussed with extended quotations that convey the voices of participants.

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Can Intentional Distractions Affect Endurance Performance Positively?

Diversity of Research in Health Journal ◽

10.28984/drhj.v4i1.337 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 15

Author(s):

Roger Couture

Keyword(s):

Perceived Exertion ◽

Endurance Performance ◽

Residual Effects ◽

Ratings Of Perceived Exertion ◽

Future Studies ◽

Performance Time ◽

Performance Change ◽

Confounding Variables ◽

Improved Performance ◽

Active Distraction

Distractions are often associated with negative outcomes however, distractions can also benefit people. Using the hypothesis of internal-external distractions in the competition for cue, this study examined the effects of an active (controlled) and passive (uncontrolled) distraction on three endurance tasks. Participants (N=42), aged 20 to 23 years were assigned to three groups. Tasks and conditions were counterbalanced across groups to minimize the residual effects of fatigue, learning an intervention and other confounding variables. Performance time, heart rate, ratings of perceived exertion and perceived fatigue were measured. Results showed that active distraction significantly improved performance and lowered Rate of Perceived Exertion in one task. As expected, the active distraction group was the least accurate for estimating time spent. Passive distraction caused minimal performance change. More investigation is needed to understand why an active distraction only affected one trial. Future studies should delve into means for better understanding the hypothesis of competition for cue.

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Mapping inequalities in school attendance: the relationship between different dimensions of socioeconomic status and forms of school absence

10.31235/osf.io/9jrqx ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Markus Klein ◽

Edward Sosu ◽

Shadrach Dare

Keyword(s):

Parental Education ◽

Census Data ◽

School Attendance ◽

Socioeconomic Background ◽

Housing Status ◽

School Absence ◽

Parental Class ◽

School Truancy ◽

The Relationship ◽

School Records

In this paper, we investigated whether and to what extent dimensions of socioeconomic background (parental education, parental class, free school meal registration, housing status, and neighborhood deprivation) predict overall school absences and different reasons for missing school (truancy, sickness, family holidays and temporary exclusion) among 4,620 secondary pupils in Scotland. Participants were drawn from a sample of the Scottish Longitudinal Study comprising linked Census data and administrative school records. Using fractional logit models and logistic regressions, we found that all dimensions of socioeconomic background were uniquely linked to overall absences. Multiple measures of socioeconomic background were also associated with truancy, sickness-related absence and temporary exclusion. Social housing and parental education had the most pervasive effect across these forms of absenteeism.

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Hearing and justice: The link between hearing impairment in early childhood and youth offending in Aboriginal children living in remote communities of the Northern Territory, Australia

Health & Justice ◽

10.1186/s40352-019-0097-6 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Vincent Yaofeng He ◽

Jiunn-Yih Su ◽

Steven Guthridge ◽

Catia Malvaso ◽

Damien Howard ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Early Childhood ◽

Child Maltreatment ◽

Hearing Impairment ◽

Fixed Effects ◽

School Attendance ◽

Univariate Analysis ◽

Northern Territory ◽

Childhood And Youth ◽

Aboriginal Children

Abstract Background High prevalence of chronic middle ear disease has persisted in Australian Aboriginal children, and the related hearing impairment (HI) has been implicated in a range of social outcomes. This study investigated the association between HI in early childhood and youth offending. Method This was a retrospective cohort study of 1533 Aboriginal children (born between 1996 and 2001) living in remote Northern Territory communities. The study used linked individual-level information from health, education, child protection and youth justice services. The outcome variable was a youth being “found guilty of an offence”. The key explanatory variable, hearing impairment, was based on audiometric assessment. Other variables were: child maltreatment notifications, Year 7 school enrolment by mother, Year 7 school attendance and community ‘fixed- effects’. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to estimate the association between HI and youth offending; and the Royston R2 measure to estimate the separate contributions of risk factors to youth offending. Results The proportion of hearing loss was high in children with records of offence (boys: 55.6%, girls: 36.7%) and those without (boys: 46.1%; girls: 49.0%). In univariate analysis, a higher risk of offending was found among boys with moderate or worse HI (HR: 1.77 [95% CI: 1.05–2.98]) and mild HI (HR: 1.54 [95% CI:1.06–2.23]). This association was attenuated in multivariable analysis (moderate HI, HR: 1.43 [95% CI:0.78–2.62]; mild HI, HR: 1.37 [95% CI: 0.83–2.26]). No evidence for an association was found in girls. HI contributed 3.2% and 6.5% of variation in offending among boys and girls respectively. Factors contributing greater variance included: community ‘fixed-effects’ (boys: 14.6%, girls: 36.5%), child maltreatment notification (boys: 14.2%, girls: 23.9%) and year 7 school attendance (boys: 7.9%; girls 12.1%). Enrolment by mother explained substantial variation for girls (25.4%) but not boys (0.2%). Conclusion There was evidence, in univariate analysis, for an association between HI and youth offending for boys however this association was not evident after controlling for other factors. Our findings highlight a range of risk factors that underpin the pathway to youth-offending, demonstrating the urgent need for interagency collaboration to meet the complex needs of vulnerable children in the Northern Territory.

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Researching “Black” Educational Experiences and Outcomes: Theoretical and Methodological Considerations

Educational Researcher ◽

10.3102/0013189x07312661 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 36 (9) ◽

pp. 541-552 ◽

Cited By ~ 63

Author(s):

Carla O’Connor ◽

Amanda Lewis ◽

Jennifer Mueller

Keyword(s):

Black Students ◽

Racial Discrimination ◽

Educational Experiences ◽

Future Studies ◽

Black Experience ◽

Recent Scholarship ◽

Methodological Considerations

This article delineates how race has been undertheorized in research on the educational experiences and outcomes of Blacks. The authors identify two dominant traditions by which researchers have invoked race (i.e., as culture and as a variable) and outline their conceptual limitations. They analyze how these traditions mask the heterogeneity of the Black experience, underanalyze institutionalized productions of race and racial discrimination, and confound causes and effects in estimating when and how race is “significant.” The authors acknowledge the contributions of more recent scholarship and discuss how future studies of Black achievement might develop more sophisticated conceptualizations of race to inform more rigorous methodological examinations of how, when, and why Black students perform in school as they do.

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