Disadvantaged and visible minority students may be less likely to benefit from supportive relationships with teachers

Children’s success at school helps to lay the groundwork for career and personal success; the continued underperformance of disadvantaged and racial minority students is therefore of great concern to policymakers. In new research using data from a longitudinal child development survey in Quebec, Caroline Fitzpatrick and her co-authors found that race and appearance contribute to academic adjustment problems regardless of how academically talented students are, and that this may at least partially stem from conflict with, and lack of support from, their teachers

In Canada, where children attend school may have an effect on their health and the choices that are available to them

Many schools in socio-economically disadvantaged communities struggle to provide their students with healthy food environments. In a study analyzing almost 500 children in 246 schools the Canadian province of Quebec, Caroline Fitzpatrick finds that that 10-12 year olds attending the least healthy schools had comparatively higher central body fat than those attending healthier schools, where students had easy access to quality food. The author argues that preventative strategies towards obesity and chronic metabolic disease is best to counter this effect

Ready or not : Kindergarten classroom engagement as an indicator of child school readiness

Children’s preparedness for school is an important predictor of their eventual academic attainment, health, and personal success well into adulthood. Although kindergarten knowledge of numbers and vocabulary represent robust indicators of children’s readiness to learn at school entry, theory and research suggest that self-directed learning skills are also important in meeting the challenges of the elementary school classroom. This review examines evidence related to the potential benefits (e.g. improving children’s academic outcomes) of targeting classroom engagement skills, a person-environment fit characteristic reflecting task-orientation and industriousness. Reviewed studies suggest that classroom engagement skills are malleable and robust predictors of later elementary school achievement. Research also suggests that cognitive control skills in the form of executive functions are likely to underlie individual differences in classroom engagement. This paper provides evidence that developing pre-school and kindergarten curriculum that target cognitive control can be a useful strategy for enhancing student engagement behaviour. Developing early interventions that bolster school readiness can then help circumvent risks for later academic and social impairments in childhood and adolescence

Making teens feel safer at school could help improve their achievement

Classroom engagement is an important influence on how well students perform academically at school. In new research, Carolyn Côté-Lussier and Caroline Fitzpatrick find that how students engage in class can be affected by their environment – students who reported that they felt safer were more engaged . They write that teens might feel unsafe at school because of poverty at home, and if their school has a poor neighbourhood environment, such as a lack of green spaces

Professional Action Sport Athletes’ Experiences with and Attitudes Toward Concussion: A Phenomenological Study

This study examined the lived experiences and subsequent attitudes of freestyle BMX and motocross athletes relative to suffering concussions. Eleven professional athletes were interviewed using a semi-structured protocol. All cited a significant personal history with concussion and those personal accounts, along with their observations of others who experienced similar head injuries, shaped the athletes’ attitudes towards concussion. Both intrinsic and extrinsic factors contributed to each athlete’s acceptance of concussion risk inherent in their respective sport. Generally, athletes accepted concussion risk as part of their sport, but were largely unfamiliar with what concussion was and what long-term effects could result from a history of concussion. Additionally, athletes knew of no concussion protocols or guidelines in their sport and cited an overall lack of organized medical care accessible to them on an ongoing basis, as is the case with mainstream sports

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on French-Canadian adolescents' academic motivation : a follow-up study

We previously shared results suggesting that the academic motivation of a sample of French-Canadian adolescents remained stable from few weeks before the first wave to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. We here examine if this pattern persisted using data collected at a third time point

Kindergarten classroom engagement skills : the road to academic success in elementary school

Les caractéristiques de l’enfant à la maternelle prédisent le succès des transitions à travers les premières années scolaires ainsi que la poursuite académique à l’âge de 22 ans. Les habiletés en mathématiques et langagières à la maternelle sont étroitement liées au rendement scolaire. Cependant, il est également important de tenir compte du rôle de l’autocontrôle et de la maîtrise de soi dans la réussite académique. Spécifiquement, la capacité de suivre des instructions et travailler de manière autonome pourrait faciliter l’adaptation des enfants en milieu scolaire. La présente thèse examine la valeur potentielle de cibler l’engagement scolaire à la maternelle, sous forme d’orientation vers la tâche, pour améliorer l’ajustement académique des enfants au cours du primaire. Une première étude, a examiné si l’engagement scolaire à la maternelle est associé à un meilleur niveau de réussite scolaire et d’ajustement psychosocial à la quatrième année du primaire. Les résultats suggèrent que les habitudes de travail dès l’entrée à l’école représentent des prédicteurs robustes du rendement académique quatre ans plus tard. Un plus haut niveau d’engagement prédit également moins de comportements externalisés et de victimisation par les pairs en quatrième année. Ces résultats sont demeurés significatifs suite au contrôle statistique des habilités en mathématique, langagières et socio-émotionnelles des enfants ainsi que de facteurs de risques familiaux. Une deuxième étude a examiné l’origine de l’engagement scolaire au primaire. Cette étude a permis d’observer que le niveau de contrôle cognitif des enfants d’âge préscolaire représente un prédicteur significatif de l’engagement scolaire à la maternelle. Ces résultats suggèrent l’existence d’une continuité développementale du contrôle cognitif de la petite enfance à la maternelle, et que celle-ci pourrait servir de base pour le développement de bonnes habitudes de travail au primaire. Finalement dans une troisième étude, des analyses centrées sur la personne ont été effectués. Trois sous-groupes d’enfants ont été identifiés dans notre échantillon. Les résultats obtenus indiquent des trajectoires d’engagement bas, moyen et élevé respectivement, au primaire. Le faible contrôle cognitif et les facteurs de risques familiaux ont prédit l’appartenance à la trajectoire d’engagement faible. Dans l’ensemble, les résultats de ces trois études soulignent l’importance de tenir compte de l’engagement dans les évaluations de la maturité scolaire à la maternelle. Cette recherche pourrait également informer le développement de programmes d’interventions préscolaires visant à augmenter la préparation scolaire ainsi que la réduction des écarts au niveau de la réussite académique des enfants.How children begin school is an important predictor of their eventual academic attainment. Although kindergarten knowledge of numbers and vocabulary represent robust indicators of children’s readiness to learn at school entry, theory and research suggest that self-directed learning skills are also important for helping children meet the challenges of the elementary school classroom. In the present thesis, three papers examine the potential benefit of targeting classroom engagement skills in terms of task-orientation and industriousness to improve children’s academic outcomes. In Paper 1, kindergarten classroom engagement skills were found to predict later academic performance and psychosocial adjustment. These results remained significant even after adjusting for kindergarten mathematics, verbal, and attention skills and established child and family risk factors. Paper 2 addresses the origins of classroom engagement and shows that early childhood cognitive control skills represent robust predictors of school entry classroom engagement skills. These findings suggest that developmental continuity in cognitive control may culminate in better school entry engagement skills. Finally in Paper 3, person-centered analyses were used to identify three subgroups of children showing low, moderate, and high patterns of engagement across elementary school. Belongingness to the low engagement trajectory was predicted by early childhood cognitive control skills and parental risk factors. Taken together these results underscore the importance of considering classroom engagement skills in school readiness assessments. This research also has implications for the development of early interventions designed to bolster school readiness in order to circumvent later academic and social impairments

Childcare enrollment and higher education

Abstract : This study examined the associations between childcare attendance among 550 children from 24 to 36 months of age and their enrollment in higher education in young adulthood. We conducted a propensity score matching analysis to control the selection bias for childcare attendance and estimated the average treatment effect for the treated on the odds of enrollment in higher education. Children who attended informal childcare (i.e., with a relative or nanny) were more likely to pursue higher education in young adulthood relative to children in formal childcare (i.e., center-based or licensed home-based childcare). However, heterogeneity in our sample revealed that attending formal childcare increased the probability of enrollment in higher education for children from low-income and non-employed families. This study suggests that attending informal childcare in Canada in 1994–1995 benefited all children over 20 years later, whereas attending formal childcare appears to be protective for children from more disadvantaged families

Rater Perceptions of Bias Using the Multiple Mini-interview Format: a Qualitative Study

Introduction The Multiple Mini-Interview (MMI) format appears to mitigate individual rater biases. However, the format itself may introduce structural systematic bias, favoring extroverted personality types.  This study aimed to gain a better understanding of these biases from the perspective of the interviewer. Methods A sample of MMI interviewers participated in a series of primary and follow-up one-on-one semi-structured interviews.   Interviews pursued subjects of perception of biases (including norming; applicant personality, appearance and behavior; and interviewer personality) associated with the MMI process.  Emergent qualitative data analysis was performed using the constant-comparative method. Results A number of perceived biases were identified by subjects, sub-grouped into cultural factors, personality factors, perception of prior preparation, concerns with norming, and biases associated with specific applicant characteristics. Discussion While the MMI appears to help mitigate individual rater biases, our analysis suggests that raters perceive structural systematic biases may be introduced by the question type and format of the MMI itself.  Whether rater awareness of these biases mitigates them, and whether these herald other unconscious biases is unknown