Effects of special educational needs and socioeconomic status on academic achievement
- Germany is continuously expanding its inclusive education system. Research provides evidence that students with special educational needs (SEN) in inclusive school settings show lower academic achievement and come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds than their peers without SEN. Identifying to what extent the disadvantages originating from both characteristics are confounded in predicting academic achievement, has been neglected in the German educational context. Using data of 1711 primary and secondary school students from a longitudinal study in the state of Brandenburg, this study evaluates to what degree SEN (in the areas of learning and emotional-social difficulties) and socioeconomic background (SES) are confounded in predicting academic initial achievement in reading and mathematics as well as their development over time. Using multilevel modelling techniques that nest three measurement points into students and students into classes, results identify SES and SEN as relevant predictors of achievement status and growth in bothGermany is continuously expanding its inclusive education system. Research provides evidence that students with special educational needs (SEN) in inclusive school settings show lower academic achievement and come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds than their peers without SEN. Identifying to what extent the disadvantages originating from both characteristics are confounded in predicting academic achievement, has been neglected in the German educational context. Using data of 1711 primary and secondary school students from a longitudinal study in the state of Brandenburg, this study evaluates to what degree SEN (in the areas of learning and emotional-social difficulties) and socioeconomic background (SES) are confounded in predicting academic initial achievement in reading and mathematics as well as their development over time. Using multilevel modelling techniques that nest three measurement points into students and students into classes, results identify SES and SEN as relevant predictors of achievement status and growth in both subjects. Only few and small mediation effects of SES were found, indicating that both SES and SEN remain independent risk factors for achievement. Understanding the origins of student disadvantage can help teachers to make better informed choices for designing support measures and aid policymakers' reasoning for resource allocations.…
Author details: | Jenny LenkeitORCiDGND, Anne HartmannORCiD, Antje EhlertORCiDGND, Michel KniggeORCiDGND, Nadine SpörerORCiDGND |
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DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2022.101957 |
ISSN: | 0883-0355 |
Title of parent work (English): | International Journal of Educational Research |
Subtitle (English): | Separate or confounded? |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Place of publishing: | Oxford |
Publication type: | Article |
Language: | English |
Date of first publication: | 2022/03/29 |
Publication year: | 2022 |
Release date: | 2024/01/03 |
Tag: | Hierarchical linear modelling; Longitudinal; Multiple disparities; Socioeconomic background; Special educational needs |
Volume: | 113 |
Article number: | 101957 |
Number of pages: | 20 |
Organizational units: | Humanwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Strukturbereich Bildungswissenschaften / Department Grundschulpädagogik |
DDC classification: | 3 Sozialwissenschaften / 37 Bildung und Erziehung / 372 Primar- und Elementarbildung |
Peer review: | Referiert |