Persistent social and cognitive difficulties associated with poor GCSE results

Persistent social and cognitive difficulties associated with poor GCSE results

The combination of poorly developed social and cognitive skills during childhood is associated with poor test results at age 16, with those for whom these problems persist throughout childhood online in theArchives of illnesses in childhood.

The results, based on a large range of nationally representative data, suggest that cognitive and behavioral problems in childhood are behind 17% of General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) examiners.

"Years in school, not only for test results, but also for skills and capacity development. It is this development that influences employment, economic well-being, social support and health behaviors that ultimately impact health," they point out.

“Furthermore, test results at age 16 improve financial, vocational and social-emotional outcomes in early adulthood, regardless of later educational attainment, and further support the importance of skills in school,” they explain.

While the development of cognitive skills such as thinking, learning, memory and reasoning, as well as socio-emotional behavior such as social skills and self-control during childhood, have been independently associated with educational outcomes, the potential impact of their co-development is not 'now'. T clear.

To investigate this further, researchers analyzed long-term data from 9,084 children who took part in the large nationally representative Millennium cohort study in the UK.

Childhood cognitive and behavioral problems were classified into 4 previously identified patterns: no problems (76.5%); delayed onset of socioemotional problems from age 7 (10%); early onset of cognitive and socioemotional problems between 3 and 7 years (just over 8.5%); and persistent cognitive and socioemotional problems aged 3 to 14 years (5%).

Cognitive development was measured using standard cognitive tests and socioemotional behavior was described by parents in questionnaires when their children were 3, 5, 7, 11, and 14 years old.

The researchers then looked at which of these children achieved a standard pass (grade 4) in 5 or more GCSE subjects by the age of 16, adjusting for potentially influential factors such as the child's gender, the mother's ethnicity and the household's educational status and income. .

The odds of achieving a standard pass in at least 5 GCSEs were higher for girls than boys and increased along with mother's education level and mother's income level. However, childhood behavior was strongly associated with test scores.

Compared to the No Problem group, the Late Problems group and the Early Cognitive and Socioemotional Problems group were 2.5 times more likely to fail a standard GCSE pass.

And those with persistent cognitive and socio-emotional problems throughout childhood were almost 4.5 times more likely to achieve a standard pass in at least 5 GCSE subjects.

The researchers extrapolated these results to the population as a whole and estimated that around 17% of poor examinations in adolescence could be due to cognitive and socioemotional behavioral problems in childhood.

This is an observational study and as such no firm conclusions can be drawn about causality. Further research is needed to better understand the associations found, the researchers emphasize.

However, the results prompt them to say the following: "Rather than focusing on lifting the highest ability out of poverty by using that ability to achieve the highest levels of education such as university degrees, our results support reducing adverse development in all children regardless of ability level."

They add: "Another policy implication is the need to move away from the politics of children's health and education to transcend policy development and recognize the interdependent and interconnected nature of these two key determinants of children's futures."

Inequalities in educational outcomes for children in England are “sharp and increasing”, indicating that the difference in average English and maths GCSE under-16s between children eligible for free school meals and those who are not is the highest it has been in over a decade.

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