학술논문
Birth rank as a determinant of academic achievement:results from a European survey of primary school children.
Document Type
Article
Author
Source
Subject
*SCHOOL children
*PARENT attitudes
*PRIMARY schools
*EDUCATIONAL surveys
*CROSS-country skiing
*PERFORMANCE in children
*PARENT-teacher relationships
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Language
ISSN
1740-5629
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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]