Grade repetition and bullying victimization in adolescents: A global cross-sectional study of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) data from 2018

Background Grade repetition is practiced worldwide and varies considerably across the globe. Globally, around 32.2 million students repeated a grade at the primary education level in 2010. Although a large body of research has documented grade repetition’s academic and non-academic effects, the limited evidence on associations between grade repetition and school bullying is inconsistent and ambiguous. This study aimed to investigate the global association of grade repetition with bullying victimization in a large-scale school-based cross-sectional study. Methods and findings We used the latest global data from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018. PISA 2018 was conducted between March and August 2018 in 80 countries and economies among students aged 15–16 years attending secondary education. The students reported their experiences of repeating a grade at any time point before the survey and of being bullied in the past 12 months. The outcome measures were 6 types of bullying victimization. We accounted for the complex survey design and used multivariate logistic regression models to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of grade repetition with bullying victimization after adjusting for potential confounders (sex; age group; migrant status; school type; economic, social, and cultural status; and parental emotional support). This study included 465,146 students (234,218 girls and 230,928 boys) with complete data on grade repetition and bullying victimization in 74 countries and economies. The lifetime prevalence of grade repetition was 12.26%, and 30.32% of students experienced bullying at least a few times a month during the past 12 months. Grade repetition was statistically significantly associated with each type of bullying victimization. The OR (95% CI) of overall bullying victimization for grade repeaters compared with their promoted peers was 1.42 (95% CI 1.32–1.52, p < 0.001). The sex-specific analysis produced similar results in both boys and girls. Furthermore, girls who repeated a grade had higher risks of being made fun of, being threatened, having possessions taken away, and being pushed around than boys. The major limitation is that this study only included students attending schools and therefore may be subject to possible selection bias. In addition, the cross-sectional design hinders us from establishing causality between grade repetition and bullying victimization. Conclusions In this study, we observed that, globally, both boys and girls who repeat a grade are at increased risk of being bullied compared with promoted peers, but girls may experience higher risks than boys of specific types of bullying associated with repeating a grade. These findings provide evidence for the association of grade repetition with bullying victimization. Sex differences in risk of experiencing some types of bullying suggest that tailored interventions for girls who repeat a grade may be warranted.

School Grade Repetition in Brazil: History of the Configuration of a Political and Educational Problem

This article intends to argue that the movement of students through the Brazilian mandatory school only acquires signs of an educational political problem from the 1930’s on. It indicates that the current sense of the notion of student failure came to be defined only in the twentieth century, although it was possible to fail students since before. It intends to show further that, in articulation with political and cultural changes in education – such as the emergence of compulsory school, the definition of grade-based model of school, and the primacy of homogeneity of classes – the emergence of better and systematic statistics after 1931 contributed decisively in defining the conditions for the possibility of inclusion of student failure as a problem on the political agenda.

Grade Repetition and School Dropout

The issue of grade repetition is relevant for policy and practice in every education system around the world—and yet it is rarely the topic of research in low-income countries. Typically, grade repetition is coupled with a second concern: early school dropout. Together, they are believed represent a constraint upon access to education—preventing children from progressing through school. On the other hand, repetition often intends to emphasize standards and enforce the quality of education. In this way, the issue of grade repetition represents the possible tension between access and quality, but methodological challenges associated with the study of repetition make it difficult to draw any definitive conclusions. This chapter investigates the association between repeating a grade and dropping out of school, the defining theme of existing literature on repetition in low-income countries. Empirical analysis in the sample of Ugandan schools brings to light two other concerns: age of entry into primary school and language of instruction.

Introduction

The fact that millions of children around the world are unable to read, write, or perform basic mathematics has come to be called the “Global Learning Crisis.” Delayed but ever-increasing recognition of the crisis has made it a primary concern, if not the primary concern of the field of international education and the Education for All movement. Work to address the crisis in many ways depends upon how it is understood. This introductory chapter argues that a key theme of the discourse on the Global Learning Crisis is that it is the result of a disconnect or negative association between access to education and education quality. This chapter lays out how the book investigates this idea by conducting a case study of Ugandan primary education, with empirical analysis of three issues: grade repetition, private primary schools, and school fees, viewing each issue as an illustration of the connection between access and quality.

Conclusion

This book uses empirical analysis of grade repetition, private primary schools, and school fees in a single sample of Ugandan primary schools in order to examine the association between access to education and education quality. This concluding chapter reviews the results of this empirical research and advances the conclusion that there does not have to be a trade-off between efforts to improve access to education and efforts to improve education quality: there can be a positive association between the two. This finding can be used to inform how the Global Learning Crisis is defined and addressed. In addition, it can be seen as an example of research on complexity. This chapter emphasizes the importance of viewing primary education as a complex adaptive system, and offers some insights into education systems and complexity.

Is educational wellbeing associated with grade repetition and school dropout rates among Indian students? Evidence from a panel study

Despite the Indian government’s continuing efforts to encourage children to attend school, levels of educational wellbeing among some groups of children during their elementary schooling remain low. High school dropout and grade repetition rates are among the negative and deleterious outcomes of poor educational wellbeing in children that are rarely discussed as policy issues. Using the panel dataset of the India Human Development Survey (IHDS) conducted in 2005 and 2012, this study explores the effects of educational wellbeing on children’s later educational outcomes, as measured by their school dropout and grade repetition rates. Variation in the educational outcomes of children across states was also examined. The results show that the children whose educational wellbeing index was below average during their elementary schooling were more likely to drop out of school or repeat a grade in early adolescence. For policymakers, this study highlights that the experiences of children during their elementary schooling merit more attention.

Equally Performing, Unfairly Evaluated The social determinants of grade repetition in Italian high schools

Grade repetition requires students with lower performance in comparison with their peers to repeat the same grade for an additional year. Educators and parents generally favour such policy. The distribution of grade repetition among different levels of education varies across educational systems, but, in general, all European countries rely on grade repetition to improve performance of students. Yet, little attention has been paid to the link between grade repetition and inequality in educational opportunities. By relying on an ad-hoc large panel dataset which collects the population of secondary school students in three northern Italian regions, the present paper asks to which extent disadvantaged students (in terms of parents’ educational title and migration background) incur in grade repetition on top of prior performance differences. The paper also contributes to further the understanding of the interaction between school context (in terms of track and social composition) and family background in determining a grade repetition. Italy is a relevant case study in the European context; as in other southern European countries, grade repetition typically occurs during high school, significantly fluctuates across tracks, and teachers have a high degree of discretion in implementing this remedial policy. This paper suggests to carefully use grade repetition - especially with regard to students with a disadvantaged economic and social background. Among students with comparable (poor) performance, the risk of grade repetition is substantially higher for students with low educated or migrant parents. By contrast, grade repetition for students with highly educated parents is smaller in academic tracks and schools with a large share of students with tertiary-educated parents. The paper critically assesses likely justification for the observed inequalities in grade repetition such as differences in parents’ support and teachers’ expectations.