The multiple relationships between health and environment risk factors and school performance: A longitudinal investigation of urban elementary students.

Format:

Book

Thesis/Dissertation

Author/Creator:

Tighe, Erin Ann.

Contributor:

McDermott, Paul A., 1945- advisor.

University of Pennsylvania.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Clinical psychology.

Developmental psychology.

Educational psychology.

0525.

0620.

0622.

Penn dissertations--Education.

Education--Penn dissertations.

Local Subjects:

Penn dissertations--Education.

Education--Penn dissertations.

0525.

0620.

0622.

Physical Description:

138 pages

Contained In:

Dissertation Abstracts International 62-02B.

System Details:

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

text file

Summary:

Our nation is arguably amidst an educational crisis marked by the declining school performance of America's students. Despite national mandates calling to improve students' educational attainment, there is a noticeable lack of empirical studies in the literature documenting what places children at risk for difficulty in school. Important health and environmental risk factors have been identified in the literature, and include low birth weight, lead poisoning, inadequate prenatal care, out-of-home placement, history of homelessness, birth to an adolescent mother, birth to a single mother, mothers' low education, parity, and school mobility. Measures of school performance that have received attention in the literature include group-administered standardized achievement tests, teacher-assigned grades, daily school attendance, receipt of special education services, and promotion standards information. The purpose of the proposed study was to explore the longitudinal relationship among the aforementioned risk factors and school performance, as well as among nonstandardized measures of school performance and standardized reading and mathematics achievement. Participants were drawn from a population-based cohort of children born in a large urban school district (N = 10,008). Multiple logistic regression analysis and repeated measures ANOVA were utilized to explore relationships among variables. Results revealed significant relationships between the risk factors and each of the school performance measures, and between each of the nonstandardized school performance measures and standardized reading and mathematics achievement. Risk factors were shown to have a differential relationship to each of the school performance outcomes as a function of time, as were low performance on nonstandardized school performance measures to standardized achievement. Implications of findings for research, policy, and practice were discussed.

Notes:

Thesis (Ph.D. in Education) -- University of Pennsylvania, 2001.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 62-02, Section: B, page: 1101.

Supervisor: Paul A. McDermott.

Local Notes:

School code: 0175.

ISBN:

9780493134543

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.