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Children at Risk of Poor Educational Outcomes: In Search of a Transdisciplinary Theoretical Framework

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Abstract

In most western countries, the number of ‘children at risk’ for poor educational outcomes seems to have been increased in recent years. Nearly 20 % of the students in those countries meanwhile fail to acquire the levels of literacy, mathematics and science achievement that are required to effectively participate in today’s knowledge-based society. Thus, there is a strong need to extend research focusing on the identification of risk factors associated with these undesired educational outcomes in children. Although attempts have been made to conceptualize the issue of ‘children at risk’ for poor educational outcomes from the perspective of different scientific disciplines, the interplay of multiple risk factors located on the different levels focused by different disciplines has been rarely addressed. Thus, we advocate for more transdisciplinary activities integrating multiple scientific perspectives on the concept of ‘children at risk’ for poor educational outcomes. These activities should include at least three dimensions affecting developmental trajectories being important for children’s individual academic outcomes: (1) individual characteristics including both biological as well as psychological features, (2) contextual factors, as well as dynamics defined by (3) time changes and interactions between individual and contextual categories of risk factors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Research on Individual Development and Adaptive Education of Children at Risk (IDeA), Frankfurt, Germany

    Marcus Hasselhorn, Sabine Andresen, Birgit Becker, Tanja Betz, Marianne Leuzinger-Bohleber & Johanna Schmid

  2. German Institute for International Educational Research (DIPF), Schloßstraße 29, 60486, Frankfurt, Germany

    Marcus Hasselhorn

  3. Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany

    Sabine Andresen, Birgit Becker, Tanja Betz & Marianne Leuzinger-Bohleber

  4. Sigmund Freud Institute, Frankfurt, Germany

    Marianne Leuzinger-Bohleber

  5. Eberhard Karls Universität, Tübingen, Germany

    Johanna Schmid

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  1. Marcus Hasselhorn
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Hasselhorn, M., Andresen, S., Becker, B. et al. Children at Risk of Poor Educational Outcomes: In Search of a Transdisciplinary Theoretical Framework. Child Ind Res 8, 425–438 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-014-9263-5

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