Exposure to violence, teacher support, and school delay amongst adolescents in South Africa

Bibliographic Data

ID9616295
AuthorsRocio Herrero Romero (0000-0002-2879-6499, Department of Social Policy and Intervention University of Oxford UK, corresponding author), James Hall (0000-0001-8002-0922, Southampton Education School University of Southampton UK), Lucie D Cluver (0000-0002-0418-835X, University of Cape Town), Lucie Cluver (Department of Social Policy and Intervention University of Oxford UK)
Year2019
Volume89
Issue1
Pages1-21
Publication date2019-03-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueBritish Journal of Educational Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0007-0998 • E-ISSN: 2044-8279
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/bjep.12212
PMID29336474
OpenAlexW2784159573
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited52

BACKGROUND: Many adolescents in South Africa are exposed to multiple types of violence, socio-economic disadvantage, and low-quality education: all risk factors for educational outcomes including school delay (grade enrolment below that which is age-appropriate). Supportive teacher-student relationships are known to be associated with improved academic outcomes in high-income contexts. AIMS: To investigate whether the academic and emotional support provided by teachers can protect against school delay for adolescents exposed to multiple types of violence and socio-economic disadvantage in South Africa. SAMPLE: High-risk sample of 503 adolescents aged 10-18 exposed to multiple types of violence and socio-economic disadvantage at home, in school, and in their communities. METHODS: Multilevel aggregated structural equation modelling was applied to pre/post-RCT data. This investigated whether associations between adolescent exposure to violence and school delay could be lessened by having teachers who were academically and/or emotionally supportive. RESULTS: More frequent exposure to 'poly-violence' and receiving more emotional support from teachers were independently associated with greater school delay. On the contrary, higher academic support from teachers was associated with lower school delay. Neither academic nor emotional teacher support was found to moderate the relationship between more frequent exposure to 'poly-violence' and an increased risk of adolescent school delay. CONCLUSION: Adolescents' academic support from teachers is low in poorly resourced school contexts in South Africa. School-based secondary prevention programmes assisting teachers with more training and academic support in deprived contexts have potential to reduce the impact of violence and socio-economic disadvantage on adolescents' school delay

Academic achievement · Developmental psychology · Disadvantage · Emotional support · Environmental health · Injury prevention · Multilevel model · Poison control · Political science · Population · Social support · Socioeconomic status · Sociology · Suicide prevention · Bullying, Victimization, and Aggression · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development · Demography · Human Factors and Ergonomics · Medicine · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare · Psychology · Social Psychology

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