Birth rank as a determinant of academic achievement:results from a European survey of primary school children |
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Authors: | Husnain Arshad Mathilde M. Husky Dietmar Goelitz Adina Bitfoi Mauro Giovanni Carta Ceren Koç |
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Affiliation: | 1. EHESP Rennes, Sorbonne Paris Cite , Paris, France https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0045-2192;2. Laboratoire de Psychologie EA4139, Université de Bordeaux , Bordeaux, France https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5314-1403;3. Social Sciences and Theology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universitaet Erlangen-Nuernberg Faculty of Humanities , Nunberg, Germany;4. The Romanian League for Mental Health , Bucharest, Romania;5. Centro di Psichiatria di Consulenza e Psicosomatica Azienda Ospedaliero, Universitaria di Cagliari , Cagliari, Italy;6. Yeniden Health and Education Society , Istanbul, Turkey |
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Abstract: | ABSTRACT The present study investigates the relationship between birth rank and academic achievement of children in a cross-country study to examine whether firstborn children perform better in primary school than later-born children when controlling for individual, social and parental characteristics. Data were drawn from the School Children Mental Health in Europe (SCMHE) study, which included samples from Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Lithuania, Romania and Turkey (n = 7,518). Children’s academic performance in reading and mathematics was evaluated by teachers and parents reported sociodemographic variables including birth rank and parental attitudes. Controlling for individual, sociodemographic variables and parental attitudes in multinomial regressions, first- or second-born children displayed greater performance in mathematics and in reading as compared to children whose birth rank was third or above. Children from large families, especially when they are not first- or second-born appear to be at greater risk for academic difficulties and should benefit from targeted prevention efforts. |
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Keywords: | Birth rank birth order academic performance children cross-country |
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