Educational Psychology
Volume 38, Issue 8, 2018, Pages 1050-1067

Early emotional and communication functioning predicting the academic trajectories of refugee children in Canada (Article)

Gagné M.* , Janus M. , Milbrath C. , Gadermann A. , Guhn M.
  • a School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
  • b School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Vancouver, Canada
  • c School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
  • d School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
  • e School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

Abstract

We examined how emotional and communication functioning at kindergarten predicted the academic trajectories of refugee children. Drawing from a population-based Canadian cohort, the study followed 629 refugee children from age 5 to 13 and (i) modeled kindergarten, Grade 4, and Grade 7 academic trajectories via group-based trajectory modeling and (ii) investigated to what extent teacher ratings of kindergarten emotional and communication functioning predicted academic trajectory group membership. Three groups were identified: ‘Average’ (n = 438), ‘Declining’ (n = 119), and ‘Low-But-Improving’ (n = 72) groups. Logistic regression analyses revealed that, in comparison to the Average trajectory, lower emotional functioning at kindergarten was associated with an increased likelihood of a Declining academic trajectory, whereas lower communication functioning at kindergarten was associated with a greater likelihood of a Low-But-Improving trajectory (versus an Average trajectory). The findings indicate that refugee children are more likely to overcome early communication challenges versus emotional challenges to achieve academically, and this has important implications for early mental health support. © 2018, © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Author Keywords

Migration academic achievement communication emotional development Refugee

Index Keywords

[No Keywords available]
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85053912730&doi=10.1080%2f01443410.2018.1475627&partnerID=40&md5=d4738787b2a3ceca859d89410ad44a1c
DOI: 10.1080/01443410.2018.1475627
ISSN: 01443410
Cited by: 2
Original Language: English