What factors influence my child’s ability to learn?

What factors influence my child’s ability to learn?

[mme_highlight] The way a child experiences learning, particularly in early years, can influence the child’s global health and ability for further learning, as well as confidence, motivation and self-esteem. Factors such as a low socio-economical status, male gender, low maternal education, speech defects and low birth weight were found to raise the likelihood for grade retention.  [/mme_highlight]

Children are constantly learning, however they may have different ways and rhythms to incorporate knowledge and there are many factors which may affect a child’s ability to learn in the complex interplay between child, family, environment, educators and community. Entering kindergarten is an important developmental milestone not only for the child, but for the family as a whole.
The way a child experiences learning, particularly in early years, can influence the child’s global health and ability for further learning, as well as confidence, motivation and self-esteem. It is estimated that about 32 to 50% of children entering kindergarten have at least one risk factor to further experience difficulty in learning and approximately 15% have more than one risk factor.

What are the risk factors that can impair the ability to learn?

School readiness is a common worry among parents. However, little is known about what are the associations between children health and environment with school success and failure.  An interesting study tried to investigate health and social factors associated with early grade retention in a nationally representative sample of children in the United States, revealing that approximately 8 percent of children repeat kindergarten or first grade.
Results obtained after logistic regression analysis are shown in the table below. In this study, factors such as a low socioeconomical status, male gender, low maternal education, speech defects, low birth weight, enuresis and exposure to smoking were found to raise the likelihood for grade retention.

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Factors independently associated with increased risk of grade retention (logistic regression analysis)

(Study design: study conducted to investigate health and social factors associated with early grade retention in a nationally representative sample of 10000 children in the United States.)

·        Poverty: 1.7 times more risk for grade retention (OR 1.7 – 95% CI 1.4-2.1)

·        Male gender: 1.5 times more risk for grade retention (OR 1.5 – 95% CI 1.3-1.9)

·        Low maternal education: 1.4 times more risk for grade retention

(OR 1.4 – 95% CI 1.1-1.8)

·        Speech defects: 1.7 times more risk for grade retention (OR 1.7 – 95% CI 1.1-2.6)

·        Low birth weight: 1.6 times more risk for grade retention (OR 1.6 – 95% CI 1.2-2.2)

·        Enuresis: 1.6 times more risk for grade retention (OR 1.6 – 95% – CI 1.1-2.2)

·        Exposure to household smoking: 1.4 times more risk for grade retention

(OR 1.4 – 95% CI 1.1-1.7)

 

OR – Odds Ratio; CI – Confidence Interval
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What are the factors that enhance the ability to learn?

It is consensual that a good learning environment as well as positive early learning experiences enhance a child’s ability to learn. In fact, such learning opportunities at an early age establish a solid basis for future academic success and general well-being. School readiness is thus a result of interactions between health and social, language, emotional, cognitive and social development. The study described above found that factors such as a high maternal education and living with both biological parents decrease the likelihood for grade retention.

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Factors independently associated with decreased risk of grade retention (logistic regression analysis)

(Study design: study conducted to investigate health and social factors associated with early grade retention in a nationally representative sample of 10000 children in the United States.)

·        High maternal education: decreases the risk for grade retention by 40%

(OR 0.6 – CI 0.4, 0.9)

·        Residence with both biological parents at age 6 years: 1 decreases the risk for grade retention by 30% (OR 0.7, CI 0.6, 0.9)

OR – Odds Ratio; CI – Confidence Interval
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Getting the whole picture…

Child development is a major determinant of health throughout life. Risk and protective factors play an important role influencing the ability of a child to learn, however the cumulative experience of buffers or burdens is a more powerful determinant than any of these factors alone.

Summary and Recommendations

  • A child’s ability to learn can be influenced by different factors in the interplay between child, family, environment, educators and community.
  • Approximately 8 percent of children repeat kindergarten or first grade.
  • A good learning environment as well as learning experiences at an early age enhance a child’s ability to learn; studies have shown that factors such as a high maternal education and living with both biological parents decrease the likelihood for grade retention.
  • Poverty, male gender, low maternal education, speech defects, low birth weight, enuresis and exposure to smoking were found to be independently linked to a higher likelihood for grade retention.
  • The cumulative experience is a more powerful determinant for learning than any risk or protective factor alone.

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References

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