North Cooc

Children with disabilities have lower rates of physical activity than peers without disabilities, a key factor in obesity and other chronic health problems. To better inform health interventions and policies, this study examined when disparities in physical activity emerge, how these gaps change over time, and differences by social contexts and disability type. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010–11 (ECLS-K:2011), we analyzed two complementary outcomes: parent-reported general physical activity and teacher-reported physical education at school. Results show children with disabilities participated in 0.25 to 0.44 fewer days of physical activity per week than children without disabilities, with disparities evident from kindergarten through Grade 5, particularly among children with autism spectrum disorder or speech-language impairment. In contrast, rates of physical education at school were similar for children with and without disabilities across grade levels. These findings highlight that disparities in total physical activity are established early and persist over time, reflecting factors beyond school-based access and policies.

The dearth of teachers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds is a long-standing social justice issue. Their missing knowledge and perspectives in schools have consequences for all students. To understand the international scope of this disparity and teacher pipeline challenge, we examine student demographic changes and teaching career expectations across 24 countries and nearly 1 million 15-year-olds from 2000 to 2022. We show that although the share of students who are of immigrant, language minority, or both backgrounds has steadily increased in most countries, their teaching career expectations (<4%) are consistently lower relative to peers.

As children with refugee backgrounds continue to enroll in schools worldwide, attention to their educational needs and experiences has increased. In this study, we analyze the extent that schools and classrooms provide refugee students with equitable educational opportunities compared to students who are not refugees, and whether their teachers feel prepared for and engaged in culturally responsive instructional practices. Using survey data on 130,803 teachers and 8,054 schools sampled from 41 predominantly distant resettlement host countries in the 2018 Teaching and Learning International Survey, we find lower levels of resources, safety, and social inclusion for refugee students but higher levels of preparation and instructional practices in multicultural education among their teachers. The results have policy implications for supporting students with refugee backgrounds in different school contexts.

Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students often experience systemic barriers to academic success, especially low expectations of what they know and can do. Longitudinal data analysis is critical to understanding how academic achievement for DHH students progresses over time and where they may need additional support on their academic journey to achieve at the level of their hearing peers. This study provides an analysis of NWEA MAP® Growth™ data from grades 2 to 8 across seven reading and mathematics domains over a period of 5 years. Results indicate that both DHH and hearing students continue to build skills through this period, and that DHH students, contrary to many previously held assumptions, do not necessarily plateau in the elementary grades.

Studies examining seasonal variation in academic skills for children have focused on learning loss or stagnation during the summer, particularly for students from low-income or minoritized ...

Global migration in recent decades means more schools enrol students from diverse cultural backgrounds than before. Such trends highlight the international importance of multicultural education within schools. This study reviews the evolution of multicultural education as a framework for addressing the education of immigrant students and examines the current extent to which teachers feel prepared for and are attentive to culturally responsive practices. Analyses of data on lower secondary teachers (n = 151,122) in 46 countries from the Teaching and Learning International Survey of 2018 reveal few teachers overall feel prepared for teaching culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms. However, teacher preparation and practices in multicultural education tend to be higher in classrooms with a greater percentage of students from immigrant backgrounds. The results present policy and research implications for teacher preparation in multicultural education, as well as creating more equitable education systems internationally.