The impact of cerebral visual impairment on scholastic competence tests in grade 1 children

Scientific Conference (2023, July 25)

Purpose: Cerebral vision impairment (CVI) refers to a disturbance in visual processing related to damage to the visual areas in the brain and/or visual pathways. It is commonly assumed that CVI underlies ... [more ▼]

Purpose: Cerebral vision impairment (CVI) refers to a disturbance in visual processing related to damage to the visual areas in the brain and/or visual pathways. It is commonly assumed that CVI underlies functional vision difficulties, affecting the way individuals use their visual skills and abilities to perform daily tasks. Recent research estimated that around 3% of mainstream educated elementary school children have CVI. Experimental research shows that CVI negatively impacts specific learning processes linked to mathematics and reading. This study aimed to clarify how CVI impacts children’s performance at school, in children’s natural educational environment. Methods: As part of the Luxembourgish school monitoring program, the complete cohort of first graders (N = 5536) participated in three standardized pen and paper competence tests administered by the teacher in their classrooms. The stimuli were visually displayed for the areas of mathematics and early literacy. For listening comprehension, the stimuli were presented via an audio file. The complete cohort also completed questionnaires collecting motivational and background information (gender, home language). Parents further provided information on migration background, socio-economic status and parental education. Next, a representative sample of this cohort (n = 1129) individually participated in a visual competences’ screening led by a team of clinical experts. The screening included a neuro-visual assessment (Evaluation of Visuo-Attentional Abilities battery, including 9 subtests) as well as optometric and orthoptic assessments. Based on the experts’ clinical screening outcome, the sample was split into children with CVI (n = 38), children with optometric and orthoptic diagnoses (n = 201) and children without CVI (n = 890). Results: The analyses focused on the comparison between typically developing and CVI children. The results from multiple regressions showed that CVI children obtained significantly lower scores than children without CVI for mathematics and early literacy but not for listening comprehension, when controlling for background characteristics (gender, socio-economic status, migration background, parental education, and home language). Listening comprehension was however a significant predictor for mathematics and early literacy for both groups when controlling for background measures. More concretely, the explained variance of these models was higher for CVI children suggesting that they highly depend on auditory compensation strategies to complete written achievement tests. Conclusions: The prevalence rate for CVI was 3% within the representative sample confirming internationally reported rates. These results confirm the impact of CVI on learning processes in a school related environment and emphasize the need for the implementation of an early systematic identification of children at risk. The results on the use of compensatory auditory strategies stress that these children would benefit from an alternative presentation of their school material, allowing to build on these students’ strengths and provide them with a fairer assessment. [less ▲]

Mathematics Achievement at Primary and Secondary School Level: A Comparison Between Curricula

in European Public School Report 2023: Preliminary Results on Student Population, Educational Trajectories, Mathematics Achievement, and Stakeholder Perceptions (2023)

The impact of cerebral visual impairment in school related competences in elementary school children

Scientific Conference (2023, May 22)

Cerebral vision impairment (CVI) refers to a disturbance in visual processing related to damage to the visual areas in the brain and/or visual pathways. It is often assumed that CVI underlies functional ... [more ▼]

Cerebral vision impairment (CVI) refers to a disturbance in visual processing related to damage to the visual areas in the brain and/or visual pathways. It is often assumed that CVI underlies functional vision difficulties. Previous research estimated that around 3% of mainstream educated elementary school children have CVI, potentially compromising these students’ school related performance. This study aimed to clarify how CVI impacts children’s performance in school competence tests. As part of the Luxembourgish school monitoring, the complete cohort of first graders (N = 5536) participated in three competence tests (mathematics, early literacy and listening comprehension) and student/parent questionnaires (background information). From this cohort, a representative sample (n = 1129) also participated individually in a visual competences’ screening (Evaluation of Visuo-Attentional Abilities battery, optometric measures). For this study, the sample was divided into children with CVI (n = 38) and children without CVI (n = 890) based on the clinical screening outcome. Children with other diagnoses were excluded from the sample (n = 201). Results from multiple regressions showed that CVI children obtained significantly lower scores than children without CVI for mathematics and early literacy but not for listening comprehension, when controlling for background characteristics (gender, socio-economic status, migration background, parental education, and home language). Listening comprehension was however a significant predictor for mathematics and early literacy for both groups when controlling for background measures. More specifically, the explained variance of these models was higher for CVI children suggesting that they highly rely on auditory compensation strategies to complete written achievement tests. The prevalence rate for CVI was 3% within the representative sample confirming internationally reported rates. These results show the impact of CVI on school related performances and the need for the implementation of a systematic early identification of children at risk. [less ▲]

Implementation of a large-scale functional vision screener in early childhood at a national level

Scientific Conference (2022, November 10)

Functional vision refers to the way in which an individual uses visual skills and abilities to perform everyday tasks. Limitations on the functional use of vision can interfere with school achievements if ... [more ▼]

Functional vision refers to the way in which an individual uses visual skills and abilities to perform everyday tasks. Limitations on the functional use of vision can interfere with school achievements if left undetected. Early detection is thus key to offer appropriate aids to avoid a negative impact on learning processes. To screen for functional vision impairments at a national level, we developed a set of items measuring visual skills that can be administered in a classroom setting to be included in the yearly school monitoring tests ‘ÉpStan’ in grade 1. Children identified as being at risk will be followed by the Centre pour le Développement des compétences relatives à la Vue (CDV, MENJE). Based on a theoretical model of visual perceptual processing (Humphreys and Riddoch, 1987), we developed 35 items that were pretested. The same first graders (n = 1034) were administered group tests with the newly developed items and existing standardized individual tests (by CDV clinicians). Based on the clinical outcome of the CDV, the items which best predicted functional vision impairments were selected to be implemented in the Luxembourgish school monitoring in grade 1, together with a validated short parent questionnaire (Gorrie et al., 2019). This talk will focus on the development of the screener and on the characteristics of the children with functional vision impairments. [less ▲]

Subjektives Wohlbefinden in der 5. und 9. Schulklasse: gibt es einen Zusammenhang mit dem Bildungsweg und der schulischen Leistung?

Scientific Conference (2022, March 09)

Der Bildungsauftrag unserer heutigen Wissensgesellschaft vereint ein vielseitiges Spektrum an Kompetenzen, die den Schüler*innen vermittelt werden sollen. Die Lernziele beinhalten nicht nur akademischen ... [more ▼]

Der Bildungsauftrag unserer heutigen Wissensgesellschaft vereint ein vielseitiges Spektrum an Kompetenzen, die den Schüler*innen vermittelt werden sollen. Die Lernziele beinhalten nicht nur akademischen Erfolg, sondern auch schulisches Wohlbefinden. In der Bildungsforschung haben affektive und sozio-emotionale Faktoren sowie deren Einfluss auf das Erreichen von Lernzielen über die letzten Jahrzehnte an Interesse gewonnen (s.a. Hascher et al., 2018). Subjektives Wohlbefinden (SWB) ist ein komplexes, multidimensionales Phänomen, welches emotionale, soziale und kognitive Facetten umfasst (Hascher & Edlinger, 2009). Das SWB wird als Grundlage für erfolgreiches Lernen betrachtet (Hascher & Hagenauer, 2011), wobei der Zusammenhang je nach Entwicklungsstadium der Schüler*innen variieren kann. Ergebnisse einer Metaanalyse (Bücker et al., 2018) zeigten eine statistisch signifikante mittlere Effektstärke für den Zusammenhang zwischen SWB und Leistung, wobei diese Ergebnisse über verschiedene Ebenen soziodemografischer Merkmale, SWB-Domäne und Indikatoren der Leistung hinweg stabil waren. Außerdem zeigten Gutman und Voraus (2012) in einer längsschnittlichen Studie mit einer Kohorte von Schüler*innen zwischen 7 und 13 Jahren, schwache bis mittlere Korrelationen zwischen unterschiedlichen Dimensionen des Wohlbefindens und aktueller sowie späterer akademischer Leistung. In dieser Studie haben wir den Zusammenhang zwischen verschiedenen Dimensionen des SWB und standardisierten Kompetenztestergebnissen zu verschiedenen Zeitpunkten (5. und 9. Schulkasse) untersucht. Ein erstes Ziel bestand darin, die Unterschiede des Wohlbefindens in Bezug auf das Entwicklungsstadium zu untersuchen, wobei wir auch den Einfluss von Klassenwiederholung und Schulzweig betrachteten. Ein weiteres Ziel der Studie bestand darin, den Zusammenhang zwischen SWB und Leistung unter Berücksichtigung sozio-demografischer Variablen zu ermitteln. Die Ergebnisse basieren auf den Daten der gesamte Kohorte von Fünft- und Neuntklässler*innen (N=5159 bzw. N=6279), die im Rahmen des nationalen Schulmonitoring (Luxembourg School Monitoring Programm „Épreuves Standardisées“; Martin et al., 2015) im November 2018 in Luxemburg erhoben wurden. Im Rahmen dieser Erhebung wurden sowohl standardisierte Schulleistungstests als auch ein Fragebogen zu soziodemographischen und sozio-emotionalen Aspekten durchgeführt. Vier Domäne des SWB wurden erfasst: Selbstkonzept, Schulangst, soziale- sowie emotionale Inklusion. Die standardisierten Leistungstests umfassten Leseverstehen in Deutsch und Französisch sowie Mathematik. Zusätzlich wurden über einen Schüler- oder Elternfragebogen weitere sozio-demographische Merkmale erfasst. Der Zusammenhang zwischen SWB und Entwicklungsstadium (Schulklasse) unter Einbeziehung von Klassenwiederholung und Schulzweig wurde mittels zwei mixed model Analysen überprüft. Die Ergebnisse zeigten, dass Schüler*innen in der 5. Klasse höhere Werte von SWB angaben als Schüler*innen in der 9. Klasse, F(8,121164)=180.61, p<.001. Zusätzlich wurde das SWB negativ beeinflusst durch Klassenwiederholung, F(8, 63989)=17.75, p<.001. Neuntklässler*innen in anspruchsvolleren Schulzweigen gaben höhere Werte von SWB an als Schüler*innen in niedrigeren Schulzweigen, F(2,40219)=15.71, p<001. Die Schulleistung wurde über eine schrittweise Regression vorhergesagt: zunächst wurden sozio-demographische Hintergrundvariable (Geschlecht, Migrationshintergrund, HISEI der Eltern) dem Model hinzugefügt und, in einem zweiten Schritt, Indikatoren des SWB. Die Ergebnisse zeigten, dass in der 5. Klasse 13% und in der 9. Klasse 19% der Varianz in der Schulleistung durch soziodemografische Variablen vorausgesagt werden kann. Sowohl für Fünft- als auch für Neuntklässler*innen, erklärten die Dimensionen des SWB zusätzliche 6% bzw. 4% der Varianz. Die Ergebnisse dieser Studie zeigten, dass Entwicklungsstadium, Klassenwiederholung und Schulzweig einen Einfluß auf das SWB der Schüler*innen haben. Darüber hinaus zeigten die Ergebnisse, dass das SWB über soziodemografische Merkmale hinaus zur Erklärung der schulischen Leistung beiträgt. In Anbetracht ihrer Ergebnisse, kann diese Studie auch die Diskussion um Klassenwiederholung als pädagogische Intervention und um die Praxis der Aufgliederung von Schüler*innen nach Leistungsniveau innerhalb und zwischen Schulformen bereichern. Während sich die meisten Studien zu den Effekten dieser Interventionen auf die schulische Leistung konzentrierten, zeigt die vorliegende Studie, dass diese Maßnahmen auch das SWB betreffen. Weitere (längsschnittliche) Studien könnten darauf eingehen, inwieweit es letztendlich zu einem kumulativen Effekt auf die schulische Leistung kommen kann oder ob und inwiefern das SWB den Zusammenhang zwischen diesen Faktoren und der schulischen Leistung beeinflussen kann. [less ▲]

Academic Achievement and Subjective Well-being: A Representative Cross-sectional Study

in Heinen, Andreas; Samuel, Robin; Vögele, Claus (Eds.) et al Wohlbefinden und Gesundheit im Jugendalter (2022)

Formal education is a very important, time-intensive, and highly consequential aspect of adolescents’ everyday life. School as well as education can influence adolescents’ well-being in both the short ... [more ▼]

Formal education is a very important, time-intensive, and highly consequential aspect of adolescents’ everyday life. School as well as education can influence adolescents’ well-being in both the short- and long-term. In return, adolescents’ well-being in- and outside school may affect their educational achievement. The objective of the present study is to investigate how self-reported dimensions of adolescents’ subjective well-being (SWB) in an educational context (i.e., academic self-concept, school anxiety, social and emotional inclusion) relate to educational pathways (regular vs. irregular school transitions; attendance of more vs. less prestigious secondary school tracks) and standardized assessment scores in key academic areas (i.e., mathematics and languages). Drawing on representative data emerging from the Luxembourg School Monitoring Programme “Épreuves Standardisées” (academic year 2018/2019), the relationship between academic achievement and students’ self-reported well-being was analysed cross-sectionally for the entire student cohorts of 5th and 9th graders. Result indicated that grades and educational pathways affect SWB, whereby in general lower ratings of SWB were observed in older students, students that experienced grade retention and students in lower secondary school tracks. Furthermore, ratings of SWB explained a significant proportion of variance in academic achievement in bot Grade 5 and Grade 9. These findings highlight the importance of student´ SWB in education. SWB may not only affect academic achievement, but also impact motivation and engagement and hence long-term educational success. Implications of the findings for research and educational debate are discussed. [less ▲]

Nouveaux résultats longitudinaux issus du monitoring scolaire national ÉpStan en première et troisième année scolaire (cycles 2.1 et 3.1) : tendance négative au niveau du développement des compétences et redoublements inefficaces

in LUCET; SCRIPT (Eds.) Rapport national sur l’éducation au Luxembourg 2021 (2021)

Résultats du monitoring scolaire national ÉpStan dans le contexte de la pandémie de COVID-19

in LUCET; SCRIPT (Eds.) Rapport national sur l’éducation au Luxembourg 2021 (2021)

Befunde aus dem nationalen Bildungsmonitoring ÉpStan vor dem Hintergrund der COVID-19 Pandemie (Supplement)

in LUCET; SCRIPT (Eds.) Nationaler Bildungsbericht Luxemburg 2021 (2021)

Development of a large-scale screener for functional vision impairments in early childhood

Scientific Conference (2021, October 21)

Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI) is a term used to designate a neurological disorder of the visual pathways impacting visual processes at any given level (Lueck et al., 2019). Due to the advances in ... [more ▼]

Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI) is a term used to designate a neurological disorder of the visual pathways impacting visual processes at any given level (Lueck et al., 2019). Due to the advances in perinatal and medicinal care, CVI’s occurrence has increased significantly over the last years (Chokron & Dutton, 2016). The condition almost always entails aggregated functional vision impairments, i.e., limitations on the use of binocular vision during everyday tasks (Dutton, 2015). CVI can have effects on school achievements if undetected. Early detection is thus key to offer appropriate aids to avoid a negative impact on learning processes. The aim of this project is to develop a large-scale screener at the beginning of formal schooling, to identify functional vision impairments early on. For this reason, a set of items assessing different visual functions will be incorporated into the Luxembourgish school monitoring program. Based on a theoretical model of visual perceptual processing (Humphreys and Riddoch, 1987), we developed timed and non-timed items that can be administered in a large-scale classroom setting which target different stages of visual perceptual processing. Furthermore, we included visual functions connected with both dorsal and ventral streams, visual spatial processing, visual exploration and visual memory. We will present the design of the large-scale screener in relation to the theoretical model, as well as the rationale used to include or exclude various perceptual visual functions in the final test. Furthermore, we will explain the planned data collection and tool validation processes. [less ▲]