Policy Implications of Achievement Testing Using Multilevel Models: The Case of Brazilian Elementary Schools

Oral Health Literacy, Sense of Coherence and Associations With Poor School Performance

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to investigate the associations of oral health literacy (OHL), sense of coherence (SOC) and other covariates with self-reported school performance (SRSP) in adolescents enrolled in public schools in Brazil.

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional study conducted with adolescents aged from 14 to 18 years enrolled in 6 public schools in Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil. Researchers carried out data collection at schools using a self-administered structured questionnaire. The dependent variable was SRSP. The explanatory factors included were sociodemographic characteristics, OHL, SOC, self-rated oral health, health behaviors, and experience of bullying. Analyses included simple and multiple logistic regression models.

RESULTS

The final sample consisted of 385 adolescents with a mean age of 16 years. Poor school performance was associated (95%CI) with being male, with more than 1 sibling, individual whose last visit to the dentist was due to dental pain, with a lower level of OHL and SOC.

CONCLUSIONS

OHL and SOC were important factors associated with SRSP performance together with other sociodemographic and oral health-related variables in high school students. Our findings reinforce the importance of intersectoral actions between the health and education sectors to promote better school performance among adolescents, including actions to improve OHL and SOC.

Parent involvement and children's academic achievement: Evidence from a census of public school students in Brazil

In order to broaden findings beyond high-income countries, this study used path models to test associations between parent involvement and student achievement in Brazil using a 2017 census of public school students in fifth grade (N = 2,167,729, M_age  = 11, 49 % female, 44% Parda, 29% White, 11% Black, 3% Asian, 3% Indigenous) and ninth grade (N = 1,782,899, M_age  = 15, 51% female, 46% Parda, 29% White, 12% Black, 4% Asian, 3% Indigenous). Parent involvement showed positive associations with student reading and math achievement for fifth graders (βs = .11 & .09) but essentially null associations for ninth graders (βs = -.01). Students' homework completion mediated associations in both grades (βs = .03). Parent education was not a strong moderator of associations.

Psychometric validation of the audio-guided rBVQ instrument for bullying evaluation among students

Abstract The revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire (rBVQ) is an internationally used instrument to identify bullying, but due to Brazilian students’ low proficiency in reading and writing, it had to be adapted for audio-guided use through smartphones. We investigated construct validity, using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), under a two-correlated factor solution. Participated 1,742 fifth graders and 2,316 seventh graders from 30 public schools in the city of São Paulo. We found excellent fit indices models for both grades (fifth grade: CFI=0.985, RMSEA=0.020; seventh grade: CFI=0.990, RMSEA=0.015), as well as factor loading higher than 0.4 for all items, indicating their relevance to the construct. The rBVQ demonstrated excellent psychometric properties and may help future studies that aim to investigate bullying in populations with similar profiles. In addition, this study innovates by evaluating an audio-guided instrument and using mobile technology.