Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T12:07:33.716Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Grade repetition and boys’ risk of being repeated in early schooling in Queensland, Australia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2020

Robyn Anderson Open the ORCID record for Robyn Anderson [Opens in a new window]  and
Carla Anderson
Robyn Anderson*
Affiliation:
James Cook University, Singapore
Carla Anderson
Affiliation:
James Cook University, Singapore
*
*Corresponding author. Email: robyn.anderson@jcu.edu.au
Get access

Abstract

Despite the fact that many research studies (Canon & Lipscomb, 2011; Jimerson, 2001a, 2001b, 2004; Martin, 2011) have shown that grade repetition offers few benefits to students, it continues to be used as an early intervention practice to address students’ low levels of readiness for school or early school failure. The study contributes to the evidence-based research on grade repetition in Australian schools by drawing on, and analysing, the most recent data on grade repetition from Queensland’s state education department, the Department of Education and Training. Descriptive statistics and relative risk ratio, used to analyse the data, found that boys aged 5 years are overrepresented in grade repetition in the first year of schooling, ‘Prep’, in Queensland state schools. Possible reasons for the disproportionate overrepresentation of boys aged 5 years repeated in Prep are discussed, together with recommendations for future policy and practice.

Keywords

grade repetitionboysearly interventionearly childhood education
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools , Volume 30 , Issue 2 , December 2020 , pp. 146 - 158
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderson, R. (2008). Ready, Set, Don’t go: Pre-school retention practices that restrict children’s access to school (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). James Cook University of North Queensland, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.Google Scholar
Alloway, N. (1995). Foundation stones: the construction of gender in early childhood. Melbourne, Australia: Curriculum Corporation.Google Scholar
Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority (ACECQA). (2011). Legislation, ratings and standards information on the National Quality Framework (NQF). Retrieved from https://education.gov.au/legislation-ratings-and-standards-information-national-quality-framework Google Scholar
Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). (2013). National report for 2013. Retrieved from http://www.nap.edu.au/results-and-reports/national-reports.html Google Scholar
Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). (2015). The Australian Curriculum. Retrieved from https://www.acara.edu.au/curriculum Google Scholar
Australian Early Development Census. (2014). About the AEDC. Retrieved from http://www.aedc.gov.au/researchers Google Scholar
Australian Government Department of Education and Training (AGDET). (2010). The early years learning framework for Australia. Retrieved from https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/belonging_being_and_becoming_the_early_years_learning_framework_for_australia._v5_docx.pdf Google Scholar
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. (2011). Australian professional standards for teachers. Retrieved from https://www.aitsl.edu.au/docs/default-source/apst-resources/australian_professional_standard_for_teachers_final.pdf Google Scholar
Blakemore, J. E. O., Berenbaum, S. A., & Liben, L. S. (2009). Gender development. New York, NY: Taylor and Francis.Google Scholar
Canon, J. S., & Lipscomb, S. (2011). Early grade retention and student success evidence from Los Angles. Retrieved from http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/report/R_311JCR.pdf Google Scholar
Childs, G., & McKay, M. (2001). The influence of family background on teachers’ ratings of children starting school. Australian Journal of Psychology, 49, 33–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Choi, A., Gil Izquierdo, M., Mediavilla, M., & Valbuena, J. (2018). Predictors and effects of grade repetition. Revista de Economía Mundial, 48, 21–42.Google Scholar
Connolly, P. (2004). Boys and Schooling in the Early Years. London: Routledge Falmer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davoudzadeh, P., McTernan, M. L., & Grimm, K. J. (2015). Early school readiness predictors of grade retention from kindergarten through eighth grade: A multilevel discrete-time survival analysis approach. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 32, 183–192.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Department of Education and Training (DET). (2017). Corporate data warehouse: Grade Repetition. Brisbane, Australia: Author.Google Scholar
Department of Education, Training and the Arts (DETA). (2007). Set for prep 2007: Fast facts: Queensland’s new preparatory year. Retrieved from http://education.qld.gov.au/etrf/docs/prepfastfacts.pdf Google Scholar
Department of Education, Training and Employment (DETE). (2014). Supporting successful transitions: School decision-making tool. Retrieved from http://dete.qld.gov.au/earlychildhood/pdfs/transition-to-school-decision-making-tool.pdf Google Scholar
Dockett, S., & Perry, B. (2013). Trends and tensions: Australian and international research about starting school. International Journal of Early Years Education, 21, 163–177.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Education Queensland, Townsville North and West District Office, Department of Education, Training and the Arts (DETA). (2006). Tele-conference regarding the introduction of the Prep year in 2007.Google Scholar
Graham, L. J. (2012). Disproportionate over-representation of Indigenous students in New South Wales government special schools. Cambridge Journal of Education, 41, 163–176.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hatte, J. (2017). 252 influences and effect sizes related to student achievement. Retrieved from http://visible-learning.org/hattie-ranking-influences-effect-sizes-learning-achievement/ Google Scholar
Holmes, C. T. (1989). Grade level retention effects: A meta-analysis of research studies. In Shepard, L. A. &Smith, M. L. (Eds.), Flunking grades: Research policies on retention (pp. 16–33). London: Falmer Press.Google Scholar
Holmes, C. T., & Matthews, K. M. (1984). The effects of nonpromotion on elementary and junior high school pupils: A meta-analysis. Reviews of Educational Research, 54, 225–236.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hong, G., & Raudenbush, S. (2005). Effects of kindergarten retention policy on children’s cognitive growth in reading and mathematics. Education Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 27, 205–224.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hong, G., & Yu, B. (2006, May). Kindergarten retention and children’s cognitive growth in reading and mathematics: Four years of follow-up. Paper presented at the Public Policies and Child Well-Being Conference, Evergreen Marriott Conference Centre, Stone Mountain Park, Atlanta, GA.Google Scholar
Hong, G., & Yu, B. (2008). Effects of kindergarten retention on children’s social–emotional development: An application of propensity score method to multivariate, multilevel data. Developmental Psychology, 44, 407–421.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hughes, J. N., Chen, Q., Thoemmes, F., & Kwok, O. (2010). An investigation of the relationship between retention in first grade and performance on high stakes test in 3rd grade. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 32, 166–182.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jimerson, S. R. (2001a). A synthesis of grade retention research: Looking backward and moving forward. California School Psychologist, 6, 47–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jimerson, S. R. (2001b). Meta-analysis of grade retention research: Implications for practice in the 21st century. School Psychology Review, 30, 420–437.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jimerson, S. R. (2004). Is grade retention educational malpractice? Empirical evidence from meta-analyses examining the efficacy of grade retention. In Walberg, H. J., Reynolds, A. J., &Wang, M. C. (Eds.), Can unlike students learn together? Grade retention, tracking, and grouping (pp. 71–96). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.Google Scholar
Manacorda, M. (2012). The cost of grade retention. The Review of Economic and Statistics, 95, 596–606.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manea, C. N. (2013). Gender stereotypes. A comparative analysis: Preschool children from Romania and France. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 78, 16–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martin, A. J. (2011). Holding back and holding behind: Grade retention and students’ non-academic and academic outcomes. British Educational Research Journal, 37, 739–763. doi: 10.1080/01411926.2010.490874 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGrath, H. (2006). To repeat, or not to repeat. Words, 26, 39–46.Google Scholar
Meisels, S. J. (1999). Assessing readiness. In Pianta, R. C. & Cox, M. J. (Eds.), The Transition to Kindergarten (pp. 39–66). Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.Google Scholar
Mesman, J., & Groenveld, M. (2017). Gendered parenting in early childhood: Subtle but unmistakable if you know where to look. Child Development Perspectives, 12, 22–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education (NAECS-SDE). (2000). Still unacceptable trends in kindergarten entry and placement (Position paper). Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/Psunacc.pdf Google Scholar
National Association of School Psychologists (NASP). (2011). NASP position statement on student grade retention and social promotion. Retrieved from http://www.nasponline.org/research-and-policy/professional-positions/white-papers Google Scholar
Queensland Government. (2017). Prep enrolments. Retrieved from https://www.qld.gov.au/education/earlychildhood/prep/enrolments Google Scholar
Queensland Government Department of Education. (n.d.). Enrolment age requirements: Prep. Retrieved from https://www.qld.gov.au/education/schools/find/enrolment/age Google Scholar
Queensland Government Department of Education. (2018). Foundation paper: Age appropriate pedagogies for the early years of schooling. Retrieved from https://qed.qld.gov.au/earlychildhood/about-us/age-appropriate-pedagogies Google Scholar
Queensland Studies Authority. (2006). Early Years Curriculum Guidelines. Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority. Retrieved from https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/downloads/p_10/ey_cg_06.pdf Google Scholar
Reback, R. (2008). Teaching to the rating: School accountability and the distribution of student achievement. Journal of Public Economics, 92, 1394–1415.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Son, S., Lee, K., & Sung, M. (2013). Links between preschoolers’ behavioral regulation and school readiness skills: The role of child gender. Early Education and Development, 24, 468–490. doi: 10.1080/10409289.2012.675548 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Warren, J., Hoffman, E., & Andrew, M. (2014). Patterns and trends in grade retention rates in the United States, 1995–2010. Educational Researcher, 43, 433–443.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Winsler, A., Hutchison, L., De Feyter, J., Manfra, L., Bleiker, C., Hartman, S., & Levitt, J. (2012). Child, family, and childcare predictors of delayed school entry and kindergarten retention among linguistically and ethnically diverse children. Developmental Psychology, 48, 1299–1314. doi: 10.1037/a0026985 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wu, W., West, S., & Hughes, J. (2008). Effect of retention in first grade on children’s achievement trajectories over 4 years: A piecewise growth analysis using propensity score matching. Journal of Educational Psychology, 100, 727–740.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wu, W., West, S., & Hughes, J. (2010). Effect of grade retention in first grade on psychosocial outcomes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102, 135–152. doi: 10.1037/a0016664 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Xia, C., & Glennie, C. (2005). Grade retention: The gap between research and practice. Policy brief: Part three of a three part series on grade retention. Retrieved from www.childandfamilypolicy.duke.edu Google Scholar
Yang, M-Y., Chen, Z., Rhodes, J., & Orooji, M. (2018). A longitudinal study on risk factors of grade retention among elementary school students using a multilevel analysis: Focusing on material hardship and lack of school engagement. Children and Youth Services Review, 88, 25–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yelland, N. (2005). Critical issues in early childhood education. Berkshire, UK: Open University Press.Google Scholar