tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/peer-relationships-42174/articlesPeer relationships – The Conversation2023-08-11T12:37:58Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2107562023-08-11T12:37:58Z2023-08-11T12:37:58ZBuilding relationships is key for first-year college students – here are 5 easy ways to meet new friends and mentors<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540206/original/file-20230731-235681-npzrog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=188%2C107%2C5802%2C3880&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Research shows that campus employment and relationships with peers help college students succeed. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/new-friends-walking-on-university-campus-royalty-free-image/874140162?phrase=college+students&adppopup=true">Ariel Skelley/DigitalVision via Getty Images </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>What’s the best advice you can give to a new college student? Connections are everything. </p>
<p>Research <a href="https://www.wiley.com/en-us/How+College+Affects+Students%3A+A+Third+Decade+of+Research%2C+Volume+2-p-9780787910440">for decades</a> has shown that the relationships students cultivate in college – with professors, staff and fellow students – are key to success. Simply put, human connections matter for learning and well-being in college – they also set students up for <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Good-Life/Robert-Waldinger/9781982166694">professional and personal fulfillment after they graduate</a>.</p>
<p>College students confirmed the importance of connections when we interviewed more than 250 students at three dozen colleges and universities throughout the U.S. for our new book, “<a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/oa_monograph/book/111986">Connections Are Everything: A College Student’s Guide to Relationship-Rich Education</a>.” The book is free to read online.</p>
<p>Although no two had the same story to tell, what they told was surprisingly similar – and reinforced the research on the power of relationships. What can college students do to harness this power to support their academic success and personal well-being? Here are five steps recommended by students and scholars:</p>
<h2>1. Talk to a professor</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2004.0061">quality and frequency of student-faculty interactions</a> play a major role in learning. Approaching a faculty member can feel intimidating. Still, it can be done in <a href="https://www.centerforengagedlearning.org/books/connections-are-everything/resources/small-steps-to-connect-with-your-professor/">simple ways</a>.</p>
<p>Introduce yourself before or after class. Visit during your professor’s in-person or online <a href="https://www.centerforengagedlearning.org/books/connections-are-everything/resources/office-hours-101/">office hours</a>, which is time set aside for students to meet with their instructor.</p>
<p>You don’t need to connect with every professor right away. Start with one in the first week of the term. You can seek help in or guidance about the class, or you can ask the professor about their professional background.</p>
<p>José Robles, a nursing student at Nevada State College, told us about being surprised at the connections he built with a professor in a required science course that he thought would be “as boring as rocks.” This professor’s teaching inspired him to love geology – and to get excited about learning in general. Jose’s experience is not unusual. A national poll of college graduates found that <a href="https://theconversation.com/mentors-play-critical-role-in-quality-of-college-experience-new-poll-suggests-101861">60% met their most influential faculty mentor</a> in college during their first year.</p>
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<img alt="A student meets with their professor in a classroom." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541047/original/file-20230803-29-los2z2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541047/original/file-20230803-29-los2z2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541047/original/file-20230803-29-los2z2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541047/original/file-20230803-29-los2z2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541047/original/file-20230803-29-los2z2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541047/original/file-20230803-29-los2z2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541047/original/file-20230803-29-los2z2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Research shows that the quality of student-professor interactions can help learning.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/teenager-student-studying-with-a-teacher-in-the-royalty-free-image/1356577362?phrase=meeting+with+a+professor++college&adppopup=true">FG Trade/E+ via Getty Images</a></span>
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<h2>2. Make a friend in class</h2>
<p>First-year students often feel alone in big introductory courses and in online classes, but those can be <a href="https://theconversation.com/mentors-play-critical-role-in-quality-of-college-experience-new-poll-suggests-101861">opportunities</a> to connect with students who will help you succeed.</p>
<p>Chloe Inskeep, a <a href="https://firstgen.naspa.org/">first-generation student</a> at the University of Iowa, told us about her strategy for making connections even when classes had almost as many students as the population of her hometown: “Lots of students go to class and then they leave or log out as soon as it ends. For me, just staying after a little bit to chat with other people really helps me find people who I have something in common with.”</p>
<p>Research shows that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/07468342.1992.11973486">students who study together</a> tend to do better academically than students who study alone. They also tend to be less stressed by their classes.</p>
<p>A guide from the Learning Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill recommends that students <a href="https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/study-partners/#:%7E:text=Many%20students%20find%20it%20helpful,of%20a%20comprehensive%20study%20plan.">form small groups of committed individuals</a> who meet at least once weekly, whether online or on campus.</p>
<h2>3. Use the resources that are there for you</h2>
<p>Colleges have many programs and offices to support student learning, development and well-being. These range from writing and tutoring programs to student organizations, counseling centers, and resource hubs for students who identify as LGBTQ+, first-generation, students of color, or who have a disability.</p>
<p>Mirella Cisneros Perez met both welcoming peers and a critical mentor, Dean Sylvia Munoz, after a friend introduced her to the Latinx Student Union at Elon University.</p>
<p>“Whenever I would run into them, I knew they believed in me and wanted me to succeed,” Mirella told us. “The connections my peers guided me to helped me find my place at Elon and changed my whole experience in college for the positive.”</p>
<p>Like Mirella, many students we interviewed said a college staff member was their most important first connection on campus. Even one relationship like this can contribute to your success – a first step in building a “<a href="https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315669120">constellation of mentors</a>” that will help you in every dimension of your life.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541051/original/file-20230803-21-idai0c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two students are using a microscope in a laboratory." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541051/original/file-20230803-21-idai0c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541051/original/file-20230803-21-idai0c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541051/original/file-20230803-21-idai0c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541051/original/file-20230803-21-idai0c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541051/original/file-20230803-21-idai0c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541051/original/file-20230803-21-idai0c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541051/original/file-20230803-21-idai0c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Campus jobs and research opportunities can help students combine classroom learning with real-world experiences.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/teenage-student-using-the-microscope-in-the-royalty-free-image/1356638196?phrase=college+research&adppopup=true">FG Trade/E+ via Getty Images</a></span>
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<h2>4. Participate in a ‘relationship accelerator’</h2>
<p>“<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VQOLXICEuU&t=33s">Relationship accelerators</a>” is the term we use to describe campus experiences that help students integrate classroom learning with real-world experiences in <a href="https://www.aacu.org/trending-topics/high-impact">powerful ways</a>. These experiences include internships, undergraduate research, writing-intensive seminars, study abroad, and even campus employment. </p>
<p>For example, your <a href="https://studentlife.uiowa.edu/initiatives/iowa-grow">campus job supervisor</a> can help you learn valuable new skills and can challenge you to integrate your paid work with your academic learning.</p>
<p>Peta Gaye Dixon, a student at LaGuardia Community College in New York City, told us that her campus job supervisor “sees stuff in me that I don’t see in myself.”</p>
<h2>5. Connect with yourself</h2>
<p>New students often experience a bit of <a href="https://time.com/5312483/how-to-deal-with-impostor-syndrome/">imposter syndrome</a> – feeling like you might not be as smart or qualified as other students. That’s completely normal, and it’s also something that can be overcome. First, don’t lose sight of who you are and the many <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vw_W5_NRivk&t=2s">strengths you bring with you</a> to college.</p>
<p>If a bump in the road has you feeling anxious – like if you don’t do as well as you hoped on that first quiz – talk to a professor, tutor or friend. We met Joshua Rodriguez, a student at Oakton Community College near Chicago who considered dropping his Calculus 2 class until his professor advised him to read up on imposter syndrome instead of doing the homework one night.</p>
<p>That opened Joshua’s eyes: “That interaction bolstered my confidence to realize that I’m not alone in this, that everyone has these feelings,” he said. “I went from contemplating dropping out to getting tutoring help – and then getting an ‘A’ in the course.”</p>
<p>Joshua ultimately earned a bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering from Purdue University. </p>
<p>Trusting yourself – and challenging yourself – is vital to your success in school and in life. We promise that if you pursue meaningful relationships, you’ll be setting yourself up well to thrive in college.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210756/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leo M. Lambert has previously received funding from The Pew Charitable Trusts, the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, and the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Isis Artze-Vega, Oscar Miranda Tapia, and Peter Felten do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Forming study groups and reaching out to professors can greatly improve a first-year student’s chances for success.Leo M. Lambert, President Emeritus and Professor of Education, Elon UniversityIsis Artze-Vega, College Provost & Vice President for Academic Affairs, Valencia CollegeOscar Miranda Tapia, PhD Student, Educational Leadership, Policy, and Human Development, North Carolina State UniversityPeter Felten, Assistant Provost for Teaching and Learning and Executive Director, Center for Engaged Learning, Elon UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2105262023-07-27T17:25:24Z2023-07-27T17:25:24ZTo get rid of hazing, clarify what people really think is acceptable behavior and redefine what it means to be loyal<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539622/original/file-20230726-21-ihkl30.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=222%2C90%2C4769%2C3492&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Students often have the wrong idea about what their peers think is acceptable.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/waist-up-of-six-friends-having-fun-and-drinking-royalty-free-image/1290569983?phrase=+party+red+cups&adppopup=true">Anastasiia Korotkova/iStock via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>My husband and I spent a late August day several years ago settling in our oldest child, Andrew, for the start of his first year at college. We went to Walmart to buy a mini fridge and rug. We hung posters above his bed. We attended the obligatory goodbye family lunch before heading to our car to return to a slightly quieter house.</p>
<p>Two weeks later, Andrew called me, his voice breaking. A student in his dorm had just died as a result of head trauma after a fall the young man took while extremely drunk. Media coverage in the months following indicated that instead of seeking help immediately after the fall, the young man’s friends waited nearly 20 hours to call 911. At that point, it was too late for potentially lifesaving medical treatment.</p>
<p>I’m a mom of three and a professor <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=-dCo5lYAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">who studies social norms</a> – the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691619866455">unwritten rules that shape people’s behavior</a>. In my book “<a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674271111">Why We Act: Turning Bystanders into Moral Rebels</a>” I explore the factors that keep people from speaking up in the face of problematic behavior of all types.</p>
<p>I’ve thought about the story of my son’s classmate often as reports recently surfaced of the widespread hazing among players on the Northwestern University football team, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/fourth-lawsuit-northwestern-football-hazing-scandal/">four of whom are suing the institution</a>. Hazing is remarkably common; for instance, one NCAA report states <a href="https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2016/9/26/addressing-student-athlete-hazing.aspx">74% of student-athletes experience it</a>. Thankfully <a href="https://www.hanknuwer.com/hazing-destroying-young-lives/">hazing-related deaths are more rare</a>.</p>
<p>I suspect the root cause of these kinds of tragic situations on college campuses is the same: misperceiving what other students are thinking and feeling.</p>
<h2>Misperceiving that you’re the only one</h2>
<p>Problematic behavior in group settings – from students ignoring signs of a medical emergency to athletes hazing freshman recruits – often continues because people privately feel uncomfortable with what they see happening <a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674271111">yet believe their peers don’t share their concerns</a>.</p>
<p>This perception, regardless of its accuracy, leads people to stay silent because they fear the consequences of speaking up: Will doing so lead to rejection from the group? The most common reason male college students give for failing to speak up in situations involving sexual misconduct is <a href="https://doi.org/10.3149/jms.1601.3">fear of being laughed at or ridiculed</a>. This fear is a normal part of human nature. But it weighs especially heavily when you’re an 18-year-old in a new environment and want desperately to fit in.</p>
<p>Psychologists call this condition <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1089268021995168">pluralistic ignorance</a>: A majority of people privately believe one thing but incorrectly assume that most others feel differently. Pluralistic ignorance explains why most college students feel there’s too much alcohol use on their campus but <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.64.2.243">believe other students are perfectly comfortable</a> with the amount of drinking. It explains why most college men privately find sexually aggressive behavior offensive but <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-008-9446-y">wrongly believe that others endorse it</a>, and why many athletes may privately disagree with hazing but <a href="https://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/sportslaw/vol29/iss2/6">believe that their peers support it</a>.</p>
<p>Why do people fail to recognize that others might in fact share their own beliefs – about hazing or alcohol use or sexual misconduct? It’s because people tend to believe that the behavior of others <a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674271111">reflects their true thoughts and feelings</a>. Thus, if other people aren’t speaking up to share their concerns about hazing, you might assume they must be perfectly comfortable with such behavior – even though you’re aware that your own behavior does not always match your beliefs.</p>
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<img alt="A bunch of beer bottles on the floor next to a person's arm hanging off couch." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539623/original/file-20230726-29-h2u7r6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539623/original/file-20230726-29-h2u7r6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539623/original/file-20230726-29-h2u7r6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539623/original/file-20230726-29-h2u7r6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539623/original/file-20230726-29-h2u7r6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539623/original/file-20230726-29-h2u7r6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539623/original/file-20230726-29-h2u7r6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Research finds some athletes don’t speak out against hazing out fear of being rejected by teammates.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/drunk-man-and-beer-bottles-royalty-free-image/523191212?phrase=drunk&adppopup=true">Bill Varie/The Image Bank via Getty Images</a></span>
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<h2>Shift what it means to be loyal</h2>
<p>So what can parents, coaches and college administrators do to prevent hazing?</p>
<p>Empirical evidence demonstrates that educating students about the psychological factors that lead people to <a href="https://doi.org/10.15288/jsa.2006.67.880">misperceive what others are actually thinking and feeling</a> can make a real difference.</p>
<p>My own research has shown that women have lower rates of disordered eating <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-6133.21.5.519">if they learned as freshmen how campus social norms</a> contribute to unhealthy body image ideals. I’ve found that college students who <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jasp.12489">learn that many of their peers struggle</a> with mental health challenges have a more positive view of mental health services.</p>
<p>So the first step in preventing hazing is to talk to college students about pluralistic ignorance – what it is and how it happens. Understanding the psychological processes that lead them to misperceive what those around them are actually thinking is the first step in helping students <a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-why-some-people-are-willing-to-challenge-bullying-corruption-and-bad-behavior-even-at-personal-risk-140829">speak up in the face of bad behavior</a>.</p>
<p>The next – and crucial – step is to shift norms about what group loyalty means. In tight-knit groups – such as athletic teams – people feel <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/089124389003004004">considerable pressure to show loyalty</a> to other group members. This sometimes translates into staying silent in the face of bad behavior by their peers — sticking together, regardless of right or wrong.</p>
<p>But the same underlying dynamics of peer influence and group cohesion can help create more positive beliefs and behavior. How? By shifting norms about what it means to protect group members.</p>
<p>Instead of staying silent about bad behavior, the expectation becomes stepping in to keep them safe.</p>
<p>This approach to changing their behavior teaches students that a single bad act hurts the reputation of the entire group, that all members of the group have a responsibility to protect their friends. Being a good friend, fraternity brother, or teammate means speaking up, not staying silent.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210526/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Catherine A. Sanderson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>People often privately feel uncomfortable about bad behavior they see around them but mistakenly believe their peers don’t share their concerns.Catherine A. Sanderson, Poler Family Professor and Chair of Psychology, Amherst CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2071402023-06-14T12:28:41Z2023-06-14T12:28:41ZTrans and gender-diverse people in Saskatchewan need better access to primary care<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531890/original/file-20230614-17-ritl1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1116%2C41%2C5030%2C3016&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Trans and gender-diverse people in Saskatchewan face challenges accessing primary care.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Research has demonstrated time and again that the social marginalization and exclusion experienced by many people who are trans and gender diverse are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001%2Fjamanetworkopen.2020.15036">closely tied to having poorer health, including higher rates of chronic illness</a>. </p>
<p>This may be because many trans and gender-diverse people have had negative experiences with health-care providers, or feel that the health-care system is ill-equipped to handle their needs, or are on long waiting lists for care.</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://www.schoolofpublicpolicy.sk.ca/research-ideas/publications-and-policy-insight/policy-brief/access-to-quality-healthcare-for-people-who-are-trans-and-gender-diverse-in-saskatchewan.php">new policy brief</a>, we outline our concerns about access to health care for people who are trans and gender diverse in Saskatchewan. </p>
<p>This work is part of a broader initiative — <a href="https://research-groups.usask.ca/transnavigator/the-project.php">the Trans Research and Navigation Saskatchewan</a> (TRANS) project — that explores the effectiveness of peer navigation for improving the health-care experiences of trans and gender-diverse people in the province. </p>
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<img alt="A person in a purple T-shirt outdoors, looking at the camera," src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531891/original/file-20230614-22-aaakle.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531891/original/file-20230614-22-aaakle.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531891/original/file-20230614-22-aaakle.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531891/original/file-20230614-22-aaakle.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531891/original/file-20230614-22-aaakle.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531891/original/file-20230614-22-aaakle.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531891/original/file-20230614-22-aaakle.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The challenges facing people who are trans and gender-diverse begin from the moment they enter their doctor’s office.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Peer navigators are members of a community — in this case, trans and gender-diverse people — who draw on their own experiences with the medical system to help others overcome barriers to care. </p>
<p>The brief draws on the preliminary research from the project as well as existing research on the experiences of people who are trans and gender diverse in Saskatchewan and elsewhere. It focuses on barriers to primary care, barriers to specialist care and other socio-legal concerns. </p>
<h2>Challenges for trans, gender-diverse patients</h2>
<p>The challenges facing people who are trans and gender diverse begin from the moment they enter their doctor’s office. </p>
<p>In addition to concerns about the use of the right name and pronouns, some people who participated in the focus groups and interviews held by the TRANS project shared accounts of physicians refusing to provide any type of care to trans and gender-diverse people and/or refusing to refer them to another physician. </p>
<p>Given the <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9175996/saskatoon-clinics-close-patients/">lack of family physicians with openings for new patients in Saskatchewan</a>, this leaves some trans and gender-diverse people without a doctor. Furthermore, people whose doctors aren’t willing to provide hormone therapy may feel that the same doctor is unlikely to provide supportive knowledgeable care in other areas.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="stock photo of a transgender person looking at camera with blurred light background" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531892/original/file-20230614-20-bb9fjr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531892/original/file-20230614-20-bb9fjr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531892/original/file-20230614-20-bb9fjr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531892/original/file-20230614-20-bb9fjr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531892/original/file-20230614-20-bb9fjr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531892/original/file-20230614-20-bb9fjr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531892/original/file-20230614-20-bb9fjr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People who are trans and gender diverse may face long wait lists for appointments with doctors who are comfortable providing gender-affirming care.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In other instances, people who are trans and gender diverse reported that their family doctors are generally supportive, but not comfortable — at least not yet — with providing gender-affirming care including prescribing hormone therapy. </p>
<p>Yet hormone therapies are relatively straightforward prescriptions, <a href="https://theconversation.com/gender-affirming-care-has-a-long-history-in-the-us-and-not-just-for-transgender-people-201752">and similar medications</a> are often prescribed for cis-gender men with low testosterone or cis-gender women experiencing menopause. But many family doctors do not feel comfortable providing them to people who are trans and gender diverse, though the reasons for this are unclear.</p>
<p>This leaves people who are trans and gender diverse hoping that their family doctor will refer them to someone else who is comfortable providing hormone therapy. For people in rural areas — <a href="https://saisia.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Final-version-EN-Benefits-of-living-in-Rural-SK-with-crop-marks.pdf">35 per cent of the people in Saskatchewan</a> — these challenges can be compounded by the need to travel for care. </p>
<p>Given that there are very <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/trgh.2020.0181">few family doctors who report that they <em>are</em> comfortable providing hormone therapy in Saskatchewan</a>, there are long wait lists for appointments, and people who are trans and gender diverse are left in the lurch. </p>
<h2>Solutions for improving care</h2>
<p>The solution to this problem is relatively simple: ensuring that more and more family doctors in Saskatchewan are comfortable providing gender-affirming care, including hormone therapy. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A person with a beard and glasses wearing a striped shirt smiling and a second person out of focus" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531893/original/file-20230614-31-dbn8gn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531893/original/file-20230614-31-dbn8gn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531893/original/file-20230614-31-dbn8gn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531893/original/file-20230614-31-dbn8gn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531893/original/file-20230614-31-dbn8gn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531893/original/file-20230614-31-dbn8gn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531893/original/file-20230614-31-dbn8gn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Reducing bottlenecks in primary care is a critical part of improving the health of people who are trans and gender-diverse.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There are many ways to make this happen. The simplest and most cost-effective approach is for willing family doctors to educate themselves <a href="https://www.rainbowhealthontario.ca/TransHealthGuide/">using relevant guidelines</a> carefully developed in other provinces (or <a href="https://bmc1.utm.utoronto.ca/%7Ekelly/transprimarycare/resources.html">other training resources</a>). </p>
<p>Other options, as we outline in the policy brief, could involve family doctors connecting with others who are more experienced in providing gender-affirming care, or receiving support from the peer navigation program initially established by the TRANS research team. </p>
<p>Those involved in medical education — at the University of Saskatchewan and elsewhere — could continue to support <a href="https://www.sma.sk.ca/?tribe_events=trans-inclusive-healthcare-series">medical education opportunities</a> for family doctors and other primary-care providers to become more comfortable in providing gender-affirming care. </p>
<p>There are other straightforward and important interventions that could improve access to care. These include, among others: </p>
<ul>
<li>Continued support for the peer navigation program, </li>
<li>Changing requirements for access to surgical care, </li>
<li>Increasing the availability of mental health supports, </li>
<li>Making it easier to make changes to legal documents and identification, and </li>
<li>Establishing a multidisciplinary network or health centre dedicated to care for people who are trans and gender diverse. </li>
</ul>
<p>Improving access to family doctors who are <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9080967">supportive, competent and confident</a> in providing access to hormone therapy — reducing bottlenecks in primary care — is a critical part of improving the health of people who are trans and gender diverse.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207140/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alana Cattapan receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gwen Rose does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Improving the health of people who are trans and gender diverse means improving access to family doctors who are supportive, competent and confident in providing access to gender-affirming care.Alana Cattapan, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, University of WaterlooGwen Rose, PhD candidate in English and research assistant with the Trans Research and Navigation Saskatchewan (TRANS) project, University of SaskatchewanLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2038252023-05-08T18:02:17Z2023-05-08T18:02:17ZToddlers can engage in complex games as they get to know each other over time<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523939/original/file-20230502-26-1a8jnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=251%2C110%2C3164%2C1734&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">As toddlers form peer relationships, social pretend play and games increase. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A mother wondered about her two-year-old child Oliver’s socialization with peers when he played at his friend’s house or when he was at his child-care centre. Since Oliver is still learning to talk, he cannot describe his social experiences.</p>
<p>This is a fictional situation, but researchers encounter similar challenges when gathering information about very young children’s experiences with peers. Yet, it is important to study young children’s socialization with peers, as <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2018-00748-011">these early, initial interactions set the stage for the quality</a> of later relationships.</p>
<p>In collaboration with colleagues Ayelet Lahat, Holly Recchia, William Bukowski and Jonathan Santo, we used a unique dataset to study how these young children’s relationships form. We included 32 toddlers of two different age cohorts, with children either aged about 20 months or about 30 months. </p>
<p>Each toddler was paired with two same-age, same-gender toddlers. Each pair met for 18 different 45-minute play dates over a four-month period, so each child had a total of 36 play dates. We observed how very young children (20-month-olds) <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/01650254221121854">developed peer relationships</a>, and how they are capable of engaging in complex games as they get to know a peer over time. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two children seen sitting on a carpet playing" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523485/original/file-20230429-16-mnyjxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C17%2C5793%2C3035&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523485/original/file-20230429-16-mnyjxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523485/original/file-20230429-16-mnyjxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523485/original/file-20230429-16-mnyjxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523485/original/file-20230429-16-mnyjxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523485/original/file-20230429-16-mnyjxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523485/original/file-20230429-16-mnyjxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Each child in the study had 18 play dates with two different peers, for a total of 36 play dates, over a four-month period.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Cottonbro Studio/Pexels)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Interaction between two regular playmates</h2>
<p>Our study recruited parents in a mid-sized Canadian city (in Waterloo Region, Ont.) by phone, based on birth announcements in a local newspaper. Most parents in the sample had at least some post-secondary education.</p>
<p>Collecting data was not easy, since parents had to agree to 36 play dates with one of two regular playmates in the study. Having a series of play dates allowed us <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/1130782">to explore the changes in children’s interactions</a> as they formed a relationship with a peer. </p>
<p>Play dates alternated between the toddlers’ homes, and between visits with the two different play partners. All participating parents were mothers. Mothers were asked to allow the children to interact freely with one another and not to direct or organize their play; they were free to respond to the toddlers’ overtures.</p>
<p>A researcher followed the children and dictated all peer-related social actions onto one track of an audio tape recorder. On a second track, the children’s verbal and vocal behaviour was recorded.</p>
<h2>How consistent are children with different peers?</h2>
<p>All children’s interactions were coded into: </p>
<ul>
<li>the type of actions: for example, does the child smile, watch or show another child something?</li>
<li>type of sequences: for example, a conflict, a game or a series of actions made by children in response to an action made by the peer, such as a child offering to share a snack and the other child accepting.<br></li>
<li>type of contributions: if a child initiates or ends a sequence.</li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two children seen sharing a water bottle." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523934/original/file-20230502-4869-rxhhxq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523934/original/file-20230502-4869-rxhhxq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523934/original/file-20230502-4869-rxhhxq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523934/original/file-20230502-4869-rxhhxq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523934/original/file-20230502-4869-rxhhxq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523934/original/file-20230502-4869-rxhhxq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523934/original/file-20230502-4869-rxhhxq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A study coded children’s interactions to understand how children develop relationships with peers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Flickr/Jessica Lucia)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The dataset is complex <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60144-6">to analyze because each child had two play partners</a>, and because the play took place over time. </p>
<p>However, the dataset is unique and valuable because it provides the opportunity to study how young children develop peer relationships and how consistent they are in how they interact with different children. </p>
<h2>Role of age and language ability</h2>
<p>A first study examined the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/01650254221121854">change in interactions over time</a>. We found that as toddlers form peer relationships, positive interactions such as games, social pretend play and relationship-affirming gestures (like greeting or thanking each other, or laughing in delight) further increased, and conflicts or negative actions (such as inflicting bodily harm or disruptive fussing) decreased.</p>
<p>Toddlers’ interactions become increasingly more organized and positive as the relationship evolved. Age and language ability predicted changes in frequency and length of the different types of sequences.</p>
<h2>Importance of initial behaviours</h2>
<p>A second <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0276932">study on positive and negative actions</a> found that toddlers’ behaviours, when they initially meet, set the stage for the relationships they develop. So, it is important for toddlers to have more positive interactions at the beginning of the relationship.</p>
<p>A third study on social pretend play, which is currently in press, indicated that young children are capable of engaging in social pretend play — a form of complex interaction — with peers.</p>
<p>Successful initiations of pretend play increased faster as children got to know one another, towards later play dates. Children’s age and language abilities were positively associated with the frequency and the length of social pretend play.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two children seen running outdoors." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523940/original/file-20230502-22-mz7m14.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523940/original/file-20230502-22-mz7m14.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523940/original/file-20230502-22-mz7m14.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523940/original/file-20230502-22-mz7m14.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523940/original/file-20230502-22-mz7m14.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523940/original/file-20230502-22-mz7m14.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523940/original/file-20230502-22-mz7m14.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Changes in children’s interactions as they get to know one another are complex.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Pexels/ Caleb Oquendo)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Consistent play partners matter</h2>
<p>Changes in children’s interactions as they get to know one another are complex.
Overall, positive interactions tend to increase and early positive interactions predict later positive interactions.</p>
<p>Caregivers and parents should be aware that toddlers develop relationships with peers. Having a consistent play partner is important, as children’s interactions become more involved and sophisticated once they get to know one another. </p>
<p>It is important for young children to have a positive play partner, as a positive peer can promote positive peer interactions and relationships.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two children seen playing with sand." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523484/original/file-20230429-18-tq8yu0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523484/original/file-20230429-18-tq8yu0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523484/original/file-20230429-18-tq8yu0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523484/original/file-20230429-18-tq8yu0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523484/original/file-20230429-18-tq8yu0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523484/original/file-20230429-18-tq8yu0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523484/original/file-20230429-18-tq8yu0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It is important for young children to have a positive play partner.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Pexels/Yan Krukau)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Socially sophisticated play</h2>
<p>These findings suggest several considerations and practices for parents and caregivers and for child policy. </p>
<p>It is important for caregivers and parents to intervene and support children when they experience negative interactions with peers as children get to know one another (during the first few times when two unfamiliar toddlers meet) and to encourage positive interactions between them. If a child doesn’t know how to initiate interactions with a peer, adults may model or encourage the child to invite the peer to play games by sharing toys.</p>
<p>Our study documents that even 20-month-old children are able to engage in socially sophisticated play. Parents and all caregivers and educators should provide materials to enable very young children’s play. </p>
<p>The opportunity to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-012370877-9.00066-9">develop relationships with specific peers can be fostered</a> by regularly attending early childhood education programs or regularly playing with the same children.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203825/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hildy Ross receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michal Perlman receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Lawson Foundation, McCain Foundation and others.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nina Howe receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Concordia University Research Chair in Early Childhood Development and Education. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Zhangjing Luo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A unique dataset from 32 children on 36 different play dates provided the opportunity to study how young children develop peer relationships, and how consistent they are with different children.Zhangjing Luo, Ph.D Student, Developmental Psychology and Education, University of TorontoHildy Ross, Distinguished Professor Emerita, Department of Psychology, University of WaterlooMichal Perlman, Professor of Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of TorontoNina Howe, Professor of Early Childhood and Elementary Education, Research Chair in Early Childhood Development and Education, Concordia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1785782022-09-12T12:13:26Z2022-09-12T12:13:26ZEducators can help make STEM fields diverse – over 25 years, I’ve identified nudges that can encourage students to stay<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483056/original/file-20220906-26-49l9q1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C7951%2C5297&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Connecting studies to the real world, mentoring and building community make all the difference.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/students-dancing-celebrating-in-the-university-royalty-free-image/1282170217">FG Trade/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Jen, a student I taught early in my career, stood head-and-shoulders above her peers academically. I learned she had started off as an engineering major but switched over to psychology. I was surprised and curious. </p>
<p>Was she struggling with difficult classes? No. In fact, Jen’s aptitude for math was so strong, she had been recruited as an engineering prospect. In her first year, her engineering classes were filled with faces of other women. But as she advanced, there were fewer and fewer women in her classes – until one day, she realized she was the only woman in a large lecture class of men. </p>
<p>Jen began to question if she belonged. Then she started to wonder if she cared enough to persist in engineering. Her quest to understand what she was feeling brought her to my psychology class.</p>
<p>Jen’s experience in engineering shows that human behavior is driven by a few fundamental social needs. Key among them is the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.117.3.497">need to belong</a>, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68">need to feel competent</a> and the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037637">need for meaning or purpose</a>. These three motivations influence whether people approach or avoid a range of social situations, including academic ones. </p>
<p>What Jen experienced in engineering is called <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(02)80009-0">social identity threat</a> – negative emotions aroused in situations where individuals feel their valued identities are marginalized or ignored. It raises doubts about belonging and depletes interest, confidence and motivation. In the long run, social identity threat may lead individuals to withdraw from activities altogether. </p>
<p>I am a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=zCt9j34AAAAJ">social psychologist</a> and the founder of the <a href="https://www.umass.edu/diversitysciences/">Institute of Diversity Sciences at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst</a>. For the past two decades, my research has focused on evidence-based solutions: How do we create learning and work environments that fulfill young people’s feeling of belonging, nurture self-confidence and connect their academic and professional pursuits to purpose and meaning? I’m particularly interested in the experiences of girls and women, students of color and working-class college students.</p>
<h2>Connecting to the real world</h2>
<p>With my team, I have been designing and testing interventions in classrooms, labs and residence halls to see if they protect young people against social identity threat in science, technology, engineering and math – or STEM – environments. My work shows that, just as a vaccine can protect and inoculate the body against a virus, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1047840X.2011.607313">features of learning environments can act as “social vaccines”</a> that protect and inoculate the mind against noxious stereotypes. </p>
<p>In one study, we found that when teachers highlight the social relevance of math and connect it to social good, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000377">it makes a big difference to students</a>. We followed almost 3,000 adolescents taking eighth grade algebra and tracked their progress for one academic year. Some teachers in our study illustrated abstract concepts using socially meaningful examples. For instance, exponential decay was explained using depreciation of car values or the dilution of medicines in the bloodstream. Others taught such concepts using abstract equations only. </p>
<p>We found students got excited and motivated when they could apply abstract math to socially meaningful problems. They got better grades, reported math was important to them personally and were more active participants in class. We also found that students working in small collaborative peer groups got better end-of-year grades than those working alone. These benefits were <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000377">especially noticeable for kids of color</a>.</p>
<h2>The importance of role models</h2>
<p>Another low-cost but powerful “social vaccine” is to introduce young people entering a STEM college program to a fellow student who is a couple of years older and shares their identity.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483772/original/file-20220909-12278-xmlyya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two college age women sitting in front of a computer, one explaining something to the other." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483772/original/file-20220909-12278-xmlyya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483772/original/file-20220909-12278-xmlyya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483772/original/file-20220909-12278-xmlyya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483772/original/file-20220909-12278-xmlyya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483772/original/file-20220909-12278-xmlyya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483772/original/file-20220909-12278-xmlyya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483772/original/file-20220909-12278-xmlyya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Near-peer mentoring can yield dramatic results.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/smiling-student-discussing-with-friend-in-computer-royalty-free-image/1339976329">Morsa Images/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We conducted a field experiment in which 150 first-year women interested in engineering were randomly assigned a female peer mentor, a male peer mentor or no mentor. Mentoring relationships were limited to mentees’ first year of college. Mentees’ academic experiences were measured each year through college graduation and one year after graduation.</p>
<p>We found that a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1613117114">one-year mentoring relationship with a female peer mentor</a> preserved first-year women students’ emotional well-being, feeling of belonging in engineering, confidence, motivation to keep going and aspiration to pursue postgraduate engineering degrees. Women with male mentors or no mentors showed a decline on most of these metrics. Women who had female peer mentors were <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1613117114">significantly more likely to graduate with STEM bachelor’s degrees</a> compared with those who had male peer mentors or no mentors. A follow-up study that is under review shows that these benefits endured four years after the mentoring intervention ended. </p>
<h2>A community of peers</h2>
<p>First-generation college students are <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED580935">twice as likely to leave college</a> without earning a bachelor’s degree than students whose parents have college degrees. My team and I combined a cocktail of ingredients to create a strong social vaccine to protect this group of young people. Participants were selected from three incoming classes of first-year students at the University of Massachusetts who were interested in biology. All were working-class, and the majority were students of color.</p>
<p>Eligible students were invited to apply to a living-learning community. From the applicant pool, we randomly selected 86 students to become “BioPioneers,” while the remaining 63 students comprised our no-intervention control group. </p>
<p>BioPioneer participants lived together in the same residential college. They took introductory biology and a seminar as a group. Participants in the no-intervention group took introductory biology in a large lecture class with the general student body. The same instructor taught both classes – the course content, teaching style, assignments and grading system were identical for BioPioneers and the no-intervention group. </p>
<p>We brokered authentic relationships between BioPioneers and faculty instructors and academic advisers. We also provided BioPioneers access to student mentors two years ahead of them in the same major. </p>
<p>Results showed that BioPioneers students developed a stronger sense of belonging in biology than students in the no-intervention group. They were more confident about their science ability, less anxious and more motivated to persist. They also received better grades in biology than the no-intervention group. </p>
<p>One year after the program ended, 85% of BioPioneers participants remained biological science majors compared with 66% of students in the no-intervention group. We also compared BioPioneers with a group of 94 honors students, mostly from middle-class and upper-middle-class families, who were in a different living-learning community. We found BioPioneers closed the achievement gap between first-generation students and honors students in terms of belonging, confidence and retention in biology majors. We are currently preparing to submit our findings to a peer-reviewed journal. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483060/original/file-20220906-4740-a8mhml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Seven diverse college students studying together" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483060/original/file-20220906-4740-a8mhml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483060/original/file-20220906-4740-a8mhml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483060/original/file-20220906-4740-a8mhml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483060/original/file-20220906-4740-a8mhml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483060/original/file-20220906-4740-a8mhml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483060/original/file-20220906-4740-a8mhml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483060/original/file-20220906-4740-a8mhml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">STEM graduates will be tackling some of the world’s biggest problems.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/college-students-studying-together-royalty-free-image/55962362">Andersen Ross Photography Inc/Digital Vision via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I’ve begun to see a pattern in 25 years of research. When educators <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000377">connect science and engineering to social good</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021385">build relationships</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1422822112">create communities</a> that intentionally draw in people who are usually invisible, we automatically attract and advance the talents of people from diverse backgrounds and perspectives. </p>
<p>In my view, not only is this the right thing to do morally, but research shows that <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691138541/the-difference">diverse viewpoints invigorate problem-solving</a>, <a href="https://hbr.org/2016/11/why-diverse-teams-are-smarter">reduce the impact of personal biases</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2200841119">promote higher-impact scientific discoveries</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/178578/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nilanjana Dasgupta receives funding from the National Science Foundation and Reboot Representation, a coalition of technology companies working to close the gender gap in technology. She is a member of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine Committee on Advancing Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in STEM Organizations. </span></em></p>Research shows underrepresented people in STEM studies thrive in learning environments that address their need to belong, feel competent and find meaning in their work.Nilanjana Dasgupta, Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences, UMass AmherstLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1707012021-12-01T13:30:43Z2021-12-01T13:30:43ZSmall-group learning can mitigate the effects of school closures – but only if teachers use it well<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431742/original/file-20211112-15-usg8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=45%2C0%2C5119%2C3356&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">For peer learning to be effective, each child should have a specific task or role.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/students-studying-in-classroom-royalty-free-image/138710922">Jose Luis Pelaez Inc/DigitalVision Collection via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Schools aren’t just where kids go to learn reading, math, science and history. The social skills they learn – like how to build and maintain relationships with peers – are also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/13274-015">critical</a>. This is particularly true as schools grapple with the <a href="https://theconversation.com/students-are-returning-to-school-with-anxiety-grief-and-gaps-in-social-skills-will-there-be-enough-school-mental-health-resources-165279">aftereffects of school closures</a> due to the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>
<p>As an <a href="https://education.uoregon.edu/directory/faculty/all/markv">education researcher</a>, I have dedicated <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=k9pwfZAAAAAJ">my career</a> to understanding how peer relationships affect young people’s behavior, mental health and academic success, and how teachers can enhance peer relationships through the proper use of <a href="https://markvanryzin.medium.com/helping-students-to-cope-with-the-mental-health-and-academic-challenges-of-covid-19-f54ba7a59d97">small-group learning</a>.</p>
<p>Warm and supportive peer relationships have wide-ranging positive effects, most notably on children’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-2018-7_18">academic success</a>. On the flip side, anxiety and depression are often <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/da.22120">preceded by peer indifference or rejection</a> – or, during school closures, by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2020.05.009">social isolation</a>. Drug use and dependence often arise when <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12211">socially marginalized youths band together</a> and experiment with delinquent behavior. Students with few or no friends are often the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2009.08.007">target of bullies</a>, and racial disparities can be at least partially attributed to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12241">discrimination</a> by peers.</p>
<p>These challenges existed long before COVID-19, but the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7657035/">pandemic made them worse</a> – particularly for economically disadvantaged youths, who <a href="https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2020-1440">suffered disproportionately</a> during school closures. </p>
<p>A greater emphasis on <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2018-00748-025">improving peer relationships</a> through small-group learning – what educators refer to as “cooperative learning” or “peer learning” – can go a long way to addressing many of these setbacks. </p>
<h2>How ‘peer learning’ works</h2>
<p>Most parents have likely heard their child complain about a group activity at some point. Their child may have been involved in a group where there were no specified roles, no incentives to help one another and no accountability for individual contributions to group success. In such a lesson there can be conflict within the group or an unfair division of responsibility. This often results in a negative experience, both academically and socially.</p>
<p>Such informal small-group lessons lack the structure of peer learning, which calls for <a href="https://markvanryzin.medium.com/helping-students-to-cope-with-the-mental-health-and-academic-challenges-of-covid-19-f54ba7a59d97">certain design features</a> that make small-group instruction much more likely to be successful. </p>
<p>First, well-designed small-group lessons give each student a unique role or task within the group so that the success of the group depends on each member’s contributions. The teacher designs the lesson with these roles or tasks in mind and ideally assigns them to group members at random.</p>
<p>Second, each student is held accountable for their specific role or task by both the teacher and the members of their group. This can be done by having a grading scheme for each lesson with both an individual grade and the opportunity for group members to earn additional credit tied to the success of the group as a whole.</p>
<p>Third, teachers define and reinforce the social skills that are needed to work successfully in small groups. For example, teachers can define a key social skill at the beginning of the lesson such as “encouraging others to participate in group discussions.” The teacher provides sentence starters – such as “What do you think about … ?” – for students to use and then listens for and reinforces the skill during the lesson.</p>
<p>Finally, teachers allow time at the end of the lesson for group members to reflect on their experience. Group members can pinpoint ways they can work together better next time and also provide one another positive feedback.</p>
<p>These four design features are vital to the <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0033-2909.134.2.223">success of cooperative or peer learning</a> and are relevant whether learning is conducted in person or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12235">online</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="About 20 students walking into high school building" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431746/original/file-20211112-19-1kny4wv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431746/original/file-20211112-19-1kny4wv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431746/original/file-20211112-19-1kny4wv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431746/original/file-20211112-19-1kny4wv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431746/original/file-20211112-19-1kny4wv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431746/original/file-20211112-19-1kny4wv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431746/original/file-20211112-19-1kny4wv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Friendships are good for mental health and academic success.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/students-entering-lowell-high-school-in-lowell-ma-on-news-photo/1235604512">Boston Globe via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Benefits of positive peer relationships</h2>
<p>Studies show that the positive relationships arising from peer learning can lead to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0272431620950474">lower stress levels</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0272431620950474">fewer mental health problems</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s41042-020-00026-8">improved behavior</a>, including less frequent <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.21858">bullying</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2019.101059">drug use</a>.</p>
<p>Peer learning lessons can even serve to <a href="https://markvanryzin.medium.com/addressing-prejudice-and-building-racial-equity-in-schools-31ad34eee683">change attitudes</a> about members of other racial or ethnic groups, which can lead to <a href="https://doi.org/10.4324/9781410605634">less prejudice and discrimination</a> and fewer <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.2020.1806016">racial disparities</a>. And a vast amount of research finds that students simply <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0033-2909.134.2.223">learn better</a> in properly structured small groups as compared with working alone.</p>
<p>Some parents may worry that a focus on improving social relations comes at the expense of academic achievement. But making time for building social skills doesn’t necessarily imply less time for academic learning. In fact, a great deal of research shows that both social relations and academic achievement can be enhanced simultaneously with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.134.2.223">peer learning</a>. </p>
<p>In short, increased use of peer learning can help schools deal with the negative academic, social-emotional and behavioral repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, helping children build a future defined by social acceptance, academic achievement and enduring success.</p>
<p>[<em>More than 140,000 readers get one of The Conversation’s informative newsletters.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?source=inline-140K">Join the list today</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170701/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark J Van Ryzin receives funding from NIAAA. </span></em></p>Small-group learning activities can help students build social skills while enhancing academic achievement. This is particularly important for kids who face bullying or discrimination.Mark J. Van Ryzin, Research Associate Professor in Education, University of OregonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1714002021-11-14T19:06:53Z2021-11-14T19:06:53ZBeing in a class with high achievers improves students’ test scores. We tried to find out why<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431614/original/file-20211112-27-ysw4k6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/diverse-group-students-learning-classroom-740361820">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Who you go to school with matters. Almost all of us, as children or parents of children, have felt the influence of good, and bad, classmates at school.</p>
<p>There is a <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-economics-071813-104217">large body of research</a> showing better peers <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128153918000215">can help increase</a> a child’s test scores. But much less is known about how these peer effects actually take place between classmates. This is because the mechanisms through which peers positively influence other students are difficult to pinpoint.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.iza.org/publications/dp/13938/on-the-mechanisms-of-ability-peer-effects">results of our study</a> get us closer to understanding how peer effects work.</p>
<p>We found parental investment increases when a child is in a classroom with higher performing peers. This could partly explain why test scores increase for students in such classrooms. But we also found while their test scores may go up, little else does. For instance, the amount of time a student spends studying when in a classroom with higher performing peers does not go up. </p>
<p>Our study shows the positive effects of peers seem to occur with no real extra effort from the student.</p>
<h2>Combining rich data and a social experiment</h2>
<p>Our study is the first of its kind to test many of the possible mechanisms underlying the transmission of peer effects. </p>
<p>We tested 19 different ways peers can positively influence their classmates. These fall into three main categories: student behaviour, parental investments and school environment. They cover mechanisms such as students’ study effort and participation in class, aspirations and expectations to go to university, parents’ time, parental support and strictness, and teacher engagement.</p>
<p>We used data from the national <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/314260007_Transition_from_School_to_Work_An_Introduction_to_Taiwan_Education_Panel_Survey_and_Its_Follow-up_Project_-_Taiwan_Education_Panel_Survey_and_Beyond">Taiwanese Education Panel Survey</a> of more than 20,000 students, parents, teachers and school administrators. The data includes student characteristics such as how many hours they spend studying per week, parental education and how much time students spend with their parents. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431630/original/file-20211112-17-1vj202r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Girl studying on her bed." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431630/original/file-20211112-17-1vj202r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431630/original/file-20211112-17-1vj202r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431630/original/file-20211112-17-1vj202r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431630/original/file-20211112-17-1vj202r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431630/original/file-20211112-17-1vj202r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431630/original/file-20211112-17-1vj202r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431630/original/file-20211112-17-1vj202r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Data included how much time students spend studying.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/teenage-girl-using-laptop-do-homework-488084416">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We analysed this data from middle schools in Taiwan (ages 12 to 14, or years 7 to 9 in Australia) where students are assigned to classrooms by chance. This way, we could compare kids in the same school in classrooms with higher- or lower-achieving peers.</p>
<p>Each student takes a standardised test at the beginning of year 7, and another test at the beginning of year 9. We measured the progress these students made. </p>
<p>We compared kids who had the same test scores at the beginning of year 7, and controlled characteristics we know make a difference for test scores. These include parental education, how much time each student spends studying and teacher motivation. The only difference between the students we compared, in terms of influence on academic results, was the classroom they were assigned to by chance.</p>
<h2>Students in top classrooms had higher grades</h2>
<p>For simplicity, we can explain it like this. There are two students in the same school. One is assigned by chance to a classroom where the standardised test scores are the average in the country. And the other is assigned to a classroom where the test scores are the top in the country. Other than that, the two students are identical.</p>
<p>We examined the scores of both these two kids two years later.</p>
<p>In our study, the student assigned to the top classroom has progressed more than the student in the average classroom.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/our-study-in-china-found-struggling-students-can-bring-down-the-rest-of-the-class-149917">Our study in China found struggling students can bring down the rest of the class</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In year 7, both students answered 31 questions out of 75 in the standardised test correctly. Two years later, the student in the average test-score classroom still answered 31 questions correctly, while the student in the top test-score classroom answered nearly 32 questions correctly. This equates to 2.4% more correct answers. </p>
<p>While this may seem like a small difference, it is <a href="https://hbr.org/2016/02/a-refresher-on-statistical-significance">statistically significant</a> and similar to what previous studies have found. However, our study goes beyond this.</p>
<h2>What else we found</h2>
<p>We also showed that two years later, the student in the top test-score classroom was 1.6 percentage points more likely to aspire to go university than the student in the average test-score classroom. And the top classroom student was 2 percentage points more confident in their ability to get into and attend university. </p>
<p>A later finding (which is yet to be published) was that students assigned to the top class had not changed the amount of hours they were spending on study.</p>
<p>However, the parents of the child assigned to a classroom with higher-achieving peers had spent more time with their child, and provided them with more general emotional support, two years later, than the parents of the child in the average test score classroom.</p>
<h2>Reasons for peer effects remain a mystery</h2>
<p>By testing more potential mechanisms than before, our study rules out many possible pathways for peer effects hypothesised in previous work. For example, we found no effects of high-achieving peers on students’ initiative in class, cheating, misbehaving and truancy, nor on parents‘ investments in private tutoring and aspirations for their child to go to university. There was also no difference in students’ perceptions of their school environment and teacher engagement.</p>
<p>While our study shows high-achieving peers positively influence student and parent behaviours, these alone don’t explain much of the positive effects on test scores in our data. In other words, the things that do change – aspirations and expectations, and parental investments – don’t fully account for the benefits of high-achieving peers.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/will-sorting-classrooms-by-ability-improve-marks-it-depends-on-the-mix-94172">Will sorting classrooms by ability improve marks? It depends on the mix</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The fact that our study didn’t deliver a clearer overall picture of how peer effects actually work is a testament to their complexity.</p>
<p>We were able to explore mechanisms due to the rich Taiwanese data combined with the unique experiment where students are randomly assigned to classrooms within schools.</p>
<p>But there were still two notable exceptions not measured, such as direct learning from peers and detailed teaching practices. </p>
<p>Collecting data on peer-to-peer interactions, such as discussing and coordinating tasks, is difficult but could be a key to unlocking the mystery of how higher-achieving peers benefit fellow students. </p>
<p>Data on teaching practices, like pairing students for group work and the amount of material covered in lessons, could also provide new insights.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171400/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexandra de Gendre is affiliated with the School of Economics at the University of Sydney, the IZA Institute of Labor Economics and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicolás Salamanca receives funding from the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course. He is affiliated with the Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research at The University of Melbourne. </span></em></p>Our study is the first of its kind to test many of the possible mechanisms behind the positive effects peers may have on other students.Alexandra de Gendre, Postdoctoral Research Associate in Economics, University of SydneyNicolás Salamanca, Research Fellow, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1689082021-10-25T18:37:41Z2021-10-25T18:37:41ZKids with obesity need acceptance from family and friends, not just better diet tips, to succeed at managing their weight<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/427326/original/file-20211019-17-17zr8vq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C0%2C5742%2C3837&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Obesity intervention programs tend to focus on healthy food and physical activity. But is that enough?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/mother-and-son-laughing-in-the-park-royalty-free-image/487374270"> kali9/E+ Collection via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Hundreds of programs over the past four decades – from the removal of junk food from <a href="https://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/high-school-notes/2013/07/01/junk-food-axed-from-school-vending-machines">school vending machines</a> to Michelle Obama’s “<a href="https://letsmove.obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/">Let’s Move</a>” campaign – have tried to get kids in the U.S. to eat healthier food and exercise more often.</p>
<p>But none of these efforts lowered national child obesity rates. In fact, child obesity has <a href="https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2017-3459">continued to increase</a>. This has been particularly true <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7037a3.htm?s_cid=mm7037a3_w">during the pandemic</a>.</p>
<p>We think we know why. Most programs that seek to lower children’s body mass index, or BMI, focus on healthy food and physical activity. But as child obesity researchers who specialize in <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=z_m-TWIAAAAJ&hl=en">human development</a> and <a href="https://directory.okstate.edu/index.php/module/Default/action/ViewPerson?dirkey=108906&campus=1">family science</a>, we know that slimming down requires much more than attention to diet and exercise. </p>
<p>Those factors are important, but we found that acceptance from family and friends also plays a critical role in slowing the rate of weight gain for children with obesity.</p>
<p>To reach this conclusion, we collaborated with colleagues to follow almost 1,200 children in first through fourth grades in rural Oklahoma to find out more about the lives of kids who are overweight or obese. Our intervention programs allowed us to compare a traditional food and exercise approach to managing child obesity with approaches that also targeted the social and emotional aspects of children’s lives.</p>
<h2>Family and peer acceptance</h2>
<p>We conducted a randomized controlled trial in <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18168744">29 Oklahoma schools</a>. More than 500 first graders who were at-risk for obesity – meaning their BMI was above the 75th percentile – were assigned to either a control group or a group that received a combination of three interventions. </p>
<p>These interventions focused on family lifestyle, family dynamics and the peer group.</p>
<p>[<em>Explore the intersection of faith, politics, arts and culture.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/this-week-in-religion-76/?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=religion-explore">Sign up for This Week in Religion.</a>]</p>
<p>The family lifestyle intervention focused on healthy food and physical activity. Participants learned to use a color-coded food reference guide similar to <a href="https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/wecan/downloads/urwhateat.pdf">this one</a> when selecting food. Parents tracked their children’s food consumption and physical activity, and also learned <a href="https://agris.fao.org/agris-search/search.do?recordID=US9032938">how to avoid conflict over food</a>. This conflict might involve arguing about how much the child is eating, whether the child can have dessert or whether the child has eaten enough of everything else on the table to get a second helping of a favorite food.</p>
<p>The family dynamics intervention added <a href="https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/fchd_facpub/627/">parenting skills</a> and healthy emotion management. Children’s emotion regulation and <a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/diet-and-weight-loss/struggling-with-emotional-eating">emotional eating</a> are <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24131878/">significantly related</a>, so teaching children to manage their feelings may reduce their tendency to eat when they are stressed out or upset. Children were taught how to deal with negative emotions, express their feelings and value their uniqueness. Parents were taught to value their children’s emotions, provide comfort and understanding, support children’s problem-solving and accept their children as they are.</p>
<p>The peer group intervention taught social acceptance in the children’s school classrooms. Our research has shown that the more children weigh, the more their classmates <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12548">tend to dislike them</a>. However we’ve also demonstrated that we can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0885-2006(03)00024-3">decrease the rejection</a> that happens in elementary school classrooms by teaching children to be more accepting of one another.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Group of young kids laugh and smile while holding hands" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428099/original/file-20211023-8398-epmlpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428099/original/file-20211023-8398-epmlpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428099/original/file-20211023-8398-epmlpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428099/original/file-20211023-8398-epmlpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428099/original/file-20211023-8398-epmlpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428099/original/file-20211023-8398-epmlpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428099/original/file-20211023-8398-epmlpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Teaching kids to be more accepting of one another can reduce weight stigma and rejection.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/happy-multiracial-school-children-walking-thru-royalty-free-image/477699830">kali9/E+ Collection via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Effect on obesity</h2>
<p>We measured children’s heights and weights at the beginning of first grade and then after the intervention – in first, second, third and fourth grades. Only those children with obesity who received all three interventions – family lifestyle, family dynamics and peer group – had <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18168744">significant decreases</a> in BMI gains compared with the control group. </p>
<p>Ongoing analysis indicates that the peer group intervention was particularly important for children who were severely obese, with a <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/childrens_bmi/about_childrens_bmi.html">BMI in the 99th percentile</a>.</p>
<p>Our results show that to reduce BMI gains in the early school years, kids need more than healthy food and physical activity. They need parents who encourage their healthy choices and accept their emotions. Knowing you can come home and talk about how angry and sad you are is essential to healthy physical and mental growth. And children must also have friends and peers who accept them for who they are – regardless of how much they weigh.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/168908/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amanda Harrist has received funding from National Institutes of Health, United States Department of Agriculture/National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laura Hubbs-Tait received funding from United States Department of Agriculture/National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Administration on Children, Youth, and Families, and National Institutes of Health. She currently serves as chair of USDA Multistate W3005: "Developing synergistic approaches to healthy weight in childhood through positive relationships, diet quality and physical activity."</span></em></p>A study of over 1,000 children in rural Oklahoma found that social and emotional health may be just as important as diet and exercise in reducing child obesity.Amanda Harrist, Professor in Human Development and Family Science, Oklahoma State UniversityLaura Hubbs-Tait, Professor of Human Development and Family Science, Oklahoma State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1552822021-05-06T14:00:58Z2021-05-06T14:00:58Z5 factors that contribute to students finishing high school<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/396444/original/file-20210422-17-1986i7p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C188%2C5964%2C3431&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Photos of graduating students are seen on lockers during a graduation ceremony at Magee Secondary School in Vancouver, on June 11, 2020. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>This past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted learning for more than <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/dspd/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2020/08/sg_policy_brief_covid-19_and_education_august_2020.pdf">1.6 billion students in over 190 countries</a>. With movement between bricks-and-mortar schools and online learning becoming the “<a href="https://peopleforeducation.ca/our-work/tracking-canadas-education-systems-response-to-covid-19/">new normal</a>,” young people, families, educators and the public are seeking assurance that students are receiving the best education possible. </p>
<p>They are also concerned about <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/education-pandemic-missing-students-1.5971911">students disengaging from school amid these changes</a> and want to know what schools can do to <a href="https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/could-covid-19-s-chaotic-school-year-spark-a-spike-in-dropouts-1.5141813">encourage students to finish high school</a>.</p>
<p>With pivots in how students are learning still possible in <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/news/2021/03/future-vaccine-modificationsthat-respond-to-new-variants-of-covid-19-tobemade-available-quicklyto-canadianswithout-compromising-safety-efficacy-or-.html">the race between COVID-19 vaccines and variants</a>, it’s important <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ontario-online-virtual-school-1.5944407">to look</a> beyond concerns about how <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ontario-online-virtual-school-1.5944407">students attend</a> school to what helps them learn and engage with school. Not surprisingly, success leads to more success. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/high-school-dropouts-cost-countries-a-staggering-amount-of-money-115396">High school dropouts cost countries a staggering amount of money</a>
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</p>
<hr>
<p>Our research team in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Writing-Literature-Reviews-A-Guide-for-Students-of-the-Social-and-Behavioral/Galvan-Galvan/p/book/9780415315746">reviewed more than</a> <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1s8tdJH3ESB8lEXLyxX-SLOpYnBYSQgHl/view?usp=sharing">130 studies that looked for factors</a> related to student engagement, achievement and eventual school completion. </p>
<p>We searched databases for studies from the past decade that referred to school success, student achievement and high school completion or graduation. We’ve summarized our research into five key ideas. We’ve also used this research to provide questions to help school communities talk about what students need now and in a post-pandemic future — and to consider what matters most, whether students are learning online or in-person.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Students in a class." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/396435/original/file-20210422-15-6mibzg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=25%2C0%2C4180%2C2528&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/396435/original/file-20210422-15-6mibzg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/396435/original/file-20210422-15-6mibzg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/396435/original/file-20210422-15-6mibzg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/396435/original/file-20210422-15-6mibzg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=546&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/396435/original/file-20210422-15-6mibzg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=546&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/396435/original/file-20210422-15-6mibzg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=546&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Students in Montréal at Marymount Academy International, November 17, 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Explicit inclusivity</h2>
<p>A commitment to inclusivity and diversity helps equip all students to participate equitably in society. Part of supporting diversity means students have a chance to <a href="https://www.erudit.org/fr/revues/mje/2014-v49-n1-mje01467/1025776ar">develop identities and relationships that positively promote academic expectations</a> through positive relationships and relevant curriculum. Having school leaders <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085911429084">and teachers who develop the critical capacity to challenge stereotypes</a> is important in policy and practice: education scholar Carl James, for example, has highlighted how stereotypes operate in the social construction of Black males as “at risk” students. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/celebrating-diversity-isnt-enough-schools-need-anti-racist-curriculum-140424">Celebrating diversity isn't enough: Schools need anti-racist curriculum</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>An inclusive school climate is essential for engaging those historically marginalized by mainstream schooling, including <a href="https://www.erudit.org/fr/revues/mje/2014-v49-n1-mje01467/1025776ar">Indigenous learners</a>, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0042085911429084">Black</a> and racialized students, LGBTQ+ students and students with disabilities or <a href="http://fcrc.albertahealthservices.ca/health-information/supporting-students-with-special-needs/">behavioural, communication, intellectual, learning or physical challenges</a>.</p>
<p>In an inclusive school climate, schools find ways to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-011-9207-y">allow refugee students to voice their authentic experiences</a>. Schools also give students opportunities to explore socio-political issues that develop critical thinking and thoughtful citizenship, and seamlessly accommodate and support <a href="https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v19i5.694">individual learning needs</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/every-child-matters-what-principals-need-to-effectively-lead-inclusive-schools-114249">Every child matters: What principals need to effectively lead inclusive schools</a>
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<hr>
<p>They use resources that authentically represent students from different backgrounds and create classroom experiences that connect students to each other and their communities. They focus on restorative rather than punitive discipline and examine structures and practices for biases.</p>
<h2>Strong relationships</h2>
<p>Students benefit from teachers who <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858418815661">balance high expectations with empathy and flexibility</a>. When <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09650792.2015.1013047">students describe what contributes to finishing school</a>, strong relationships with teachers and other students is at the top of many of their lists. </p>
<p>A study of Indigenous students in Saskatchewan by education scholars Bonnie Stelmach, Margaret Kovach and Larry Steeves showed that what helps students learn is when teachers <a href="https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/ajer/article/view/56085">listen, use humour, foster dialogue and show interest in them</a>. </p>
<p>Peer and community relationships matter. A study of high-achieving Black female students by education scholars Rowena Linton and Lorna McLean found that the students faced racism, including low expectations from teachers at school, and mobilized “<a href="https://doi.org/10.3167/ghs.2017.100106">community resources and support available to them, including peer relations, as an effective strategy to acquire academic success</a>.” </p>
<p>But strong peer and community relationships and students’ own resourcefulness should not be expected to compensate for students facing racism or biases from teachers. Teachers should affirm students’ strengths and understand and respond to obstacles in student learning. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-curb-anti-black-racism-in-canadian-schools-150489">How to curb anti-Black racism in Canadian schools</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Strong relationships do more than make school a nice place to be. Students benefit from <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/23255730?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents">accepting peers</a> who collaborate in learning and interpersonal problem-solving. Relationships encourage regular attendance and <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-1-4614-2018-7_5">cycles of connection, participation and success</a>. They build students’ social and civic capacities. Strong relationships that include family and community connections are fundamental to student success.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Students cross the street." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/396440/original/file-20210422-17-8ahnpt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/396440/original/file-20210422-17-8ahnpt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/396440/original/file-20210422-17-8ahnpt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/396440/original/file-20210422-17-8ahnpt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/396440/original/file-20210422-17-8ahnpt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/396440/original/file-20210422-17-8ahnpt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/396440/original/file-20210422-17-8ahnpt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Students cross the street at Tomken Road Middle School in Mississauga, Ont., on April 1, 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Comprehensive learning opportunities</h2>
<p>Instruction that promotes complex thinking over memorization is associated with strong class participation, achievement and students setting hopeful, aspirational goals for their educational futures. </p>
<p><a href="https://journals.nipissingu.ca/index.php/cjar/article/view/371">Collaborative, interdisciplinary</a>, <a href="https://www.cjlt.ca/index.php/cjlt/article/view/26977">active and problem-based learning</a> have been found to improve student attendance, course completion and graduation rates.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/stem-learning-should-engage-students-minds-hands-and-hearts-140008">STEM learning should engage students' minds, hands and hearts</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>A comprehensive instructional environment for student success also includes explicit instruction, support for individual needs, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15595692.2019.1652587">culturally affirming tasks</a> and <a href="https://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentId=21756">culturally responsive curriculum materials</a>.</p>
<p>It also includes regular assessment to help guide teachers’ instruction and students’ learning strategies. When teachers regularly assess students, this helps them guide student learning.</p>
<h2>Tracking and transitions</h2>
<p>Student success occurs over time. Some research from the United States suggests there are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00220670903382970">predictors of whether students are on a path to finishing high school by Grade 6</a>. Achievement in language arts and math are important, but overall teacher-assigned grades and patterns of <a href="https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/regions/northwest/pdf/REL_2015079.pdf">attendance</a> are also key indicators of students’ ultimate success in school. Schools need to monitor attendance and achievement across time and avoid simple responses like <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00220670903382970">holding students back a grade</a>. </p>
<p>When students aren’t learning as well as expected, schools need to create <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029189">integrated approaches of support and intervention</a>. They should should involve families, other professionals and community resources, and monitor the impact of supports on students’ progress.</p>
<p><a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1104172">Transitions</a> between grades, types of learning and schools need special attention as changes in social groups, support systems and new environments and expectations can be challenging for any student.</p>
<h2>Flexible systems</h2>
<p><a href="https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/cjeap/article/view/68066">Having flexibility</a> matters in terms of whether students complete their studies. Systems that allow students to recover credits if they fall behind keeps students moving forward.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2017.1365669">How high schools schedule classes</a> can help align course offerings with student needs and interests. It can also create small interdisciplinary groups working together, and encourages supportive relationships and flexible access to instruction. Investments in technology that promote connections to community and complex forms of learning and communication are more effective than those that ask students to practise and demonstrate isolated skills. </p>
<h2>Questions for parents</h2>
<p>If you think about your child’s school:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>What evidence is there of students feeling recognized and connected, and empathetic responsiveness to students’ qualities and circumstances?</p></li>
<li><p>What makes your school inclusive? How are differences and similarities across economics, race, gender and culture incorporated into learning? How are mental-health concerns and learning difficulties supported?</p></li>
<li><p>How are students’ interests and needs included in the design of their learning? How is complex thinking challenged and supported? How do students access support?</p></li>
<li><p>What preventative and responsive systems are in place for patterns of attendance and achievement? How are students supported during times of transition?</p></li>
<li><p>What decisions and structures might be impeding or enhancing students’ opportunities to learn?</p></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED603403.pdf">The factors that support opportunities for student engagement are interconnected and reinforcing</a>. Careful collaborative attention and reflection by all members of a school community make them possible and contribute to students completing school.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/155282/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Relationships, inclusivity, anti-racism and flexibility matter. So does offering students learning opportunities, and supporting and following their transitions over time.Ronna Mosher, Assistant Professor in Education (Curriculum and Leadership), University of CalgaryAmber Hartwell, Doctor of Education candidate, University of CalgaryBarbara Brown, Associate Dean, Teaching and Learning, University of CalgaryLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1595142021-04-29T12:23:06Z2021-04-29T12:23:06Z#MeToo on TikTok: Teens use viral trend to speak out about their sexual harassment experiences<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397693/original/file-20210428-13-1th7r6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=44%2C0%2C4928%2C3280&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Girls face lasting negative effects of sexual harassment.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/sad-girl-in-her-bedroom-royalty-free-image/1051068192?adppopup=true">FatCamera/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A <a href="https://www.cnet.com/news/teen-girls-seek-out-safe-spaces-online-in-their-own-metoo-movement/">recent TikTok video</a> that has been liked by <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@emileegrant1/video/6940756521949089029">almost half a million</a> people encourages girls to record themselves putting one finger down for every time they have been sent unsolicited dick pics, begged for nudes, catcalled, repeatedly asked out after already saying no, and forced to do something sexual when they didn’t want to.</p>
<p>Similar videos about sexual assault posted by young women became popular in 2020. The <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@emileegrant1/video/6940756521949089029">new video</a> is aimed at teens and focuses on sexual harassment. By calling attention to how common sexual harassment is for teen girls, the “Put a finger down: Sexual harassment edition” video has become the 2021 TikTok teen version of the #MeToo movement of 2017.</p>
<p>This trend brings together two nearly universal realities in the lives of teen girls: the ubiquitous presence of social media and the daily barrage of sexual harassment. As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=tuYEhtgAAAAJ&hl=en">developmental psychologist</a>, I think this trend showcases how teens have developed a modern way of coping with a long-standing problem. </p>
<h2>Teens online</h2>
<p>Pre-COVID-19, a Pew Research Center poll found almost half of teens in the U.S. reported <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/05/31/teens-social-media-technology-2018/">being online “almost constantly.”</a> Over the past year as they were stuck at home during <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22295131/social-media-use-pandemic-covid-19-instagram-tiktok">remote schooling</a>, teens relied on social media even more to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2020.0478">cope with the forced social isolation</a>. </p>
<p>Lockdowns and remote learning are <a href="https://theconversation.com/teens-are-wired-to-resent-being-stuck-with-parents-and-cut-off-from-friends-during-coronavirus-lockdown-136435">especially painful for teens</a>, because they are at the developmental stage when the need to connect with peers is at an all-time high. </p>
<p>At the same time that teens are spending <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22295131/social-media-use-pandemic-covid-19-instagram-tiktok">more hours of their day on social media</a>, the content of what is getting posted has become increasingly focused on <a href="https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2020/09/16/covid-19-is-changing-how-why-and-how-much-were-using-social-media/">social issues</a> and “real-life” challenges and worries.</p>
<h2>Epidemic of teen sexual harassment</h2>
<p>It only makes sense then that a popular post on social media addresses one of the biggest sources of stress in teen girls’ lives: sexual harassment. Research with middle school and high school girls has shown that in fifth grade <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2016.11.010">one out of four adolescents have experienced sexual harassment</a> in the form of sexual comments, jokes, gestures or looks. By eighth grade it is one in two. My colleagues and I have found that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2008.01151.x">90% of girls have experienced sexual harassment at least once</a> by the end of high school. </p>
<iframe src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/6940756521949089029?lang=en-US" style="border:0;width:100%;min-height:825px;" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>It occurs so commonly, and in public spaces like hallways and cafeterias, that by middle school almost all students (96%) have <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0272431610396090">witnessed sexual harassment happening at school</a>. If it isn’t in the school building itself, it is on their phones: <a href="https://www.planusa.org/full-report-the-state-of-gender-equality-for-us-adolescents">four out of five teen girls</a> have had at least one friend who has been asked by a boy to send a “sexy or naked” picture.</p>
<p>These sexual harassment experiences don’t leave girls unscathed. Girls <a href="https://www.aauw.org/resources/research/crossing-the-line-sexual-harassment-at-school/">describe sexual harassment as making them feel</a> “dirty – like a piece of trash,” “terrible,” “scared,” “angry and upset” and “like a second-class citizen.” Seventy-six percent of girls report feeling unsafe because they are girls at least once in a while. </p>
<p>The more sexual harassment girls experience, the more likely they are to feel <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.01.006">emotional distress</a>, depression and embarrassment, have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-7795.2007.00523.x">lowered self-esteem</a>, suffer from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-008-9431-5">substance abuse</a> and have suicidal thoughts. Their attitudes about their bodies <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0165025419870292">become more negative</a>, with many girls not liking their own bodies and starting to have the kinds of <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0028247">eating behaviors that can lead to eating disorders</a>. And the more sexual harassment girls experience, the more likely they are to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1077801215599079">suffer in school, be absent more often and disengage from academics</a>.</p>
<p><iframe id="06jZS" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/06jZS/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Coping in isolation</h2>
<p>Yet, despite the damage it is inflicting, girls rarely talk about their experiences. Even though they report feeling scared, angry, helpless and embarrassed, they rarely report the harassment to teachers or parents and rarely tell the harassers to stop – largely because of worries about the social consequences. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.planusa.org/docs/state-of-gender-equality-2018.pdf">More than 60%</a> of teen girls worry about retaliation, “that the other person would try to get back at” them if they confronted or reported the harasser. More than half of girls worry that people wouldn’t like them if they said something, or worry that people will think they are “trying to cause trouble” or “just being emotional.” Half think they won’t be believed. </p>
<p>So, instead of saying something, more than 60% of teen girls say they try to “forget about” or “ignore” the harassment, chalking it up to “just part of life” as a girl. The problem with trying to ignore sexual harassment is that it does not work. Decades of research on the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.127.1.87">most effective ways to cope with stressful events</a> shows that seeking social support and confronting the source of the stress are much more effective coping strategies than trying to downplay or ignore the problem.</p>
<h2>Virtual – but beneficial – connection</h2>
<p>So, while the latest social media hashtag fad might seem trivial, talking about sexual harassment experiences in a TikTok video is likely profoundly beneficial. Teens use social media to connect with others. Research has shown that, although passively scrolling through others’ social media feeds can lead people to negatively compare themselves with others, which can contribute to feeling envious of others’ seemingly better lives, actively using social media – by posting their own thoughts – <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/sipr.12033">can increase a person’s sense of social connections</a>. </p>
<p>Social connection, in turn, leads to greater psychological well-being. This social media effect seems especially true for girls: In studies in which girls used social media to honestly talk about themselves, they perceived greater social support, and their <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2010.0374">well-being and positive feelings got a boost</a>.</p>
<p>This sense of honest social connection is particularly important for teens who have been sexually harassed. Our research has shown that teen girls are more likely to stand up for themselves and confront perpetrators of sexual harassment when they <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.21727">believe their peers support them</a>. If honest disclosures on social media about their experiences help teen girls feel connected with others, they may <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.53.4.464">feel empowered to say something in real life</a>, too.</p>
<h2>Putting a spotlight on sexual harassment</h2>
<p>Beyond helping the girls who make the videos, this recent social media trend likely also benefits the people watching the videos. The 2017 #MeToo movement made <a href="https://www.planusa.org/docs/state-of-gender-equality-2018.pdf">more than half of teen girls</a> feel that they could tell someone about what happened to them. It helped them feel less alone. </p>
<p>It also helps label these pervasive everyday behaviors as problematic. It is good for girls to recognize this doesn’t have to be just a “part of life.” </p>
<p>It is also good for boys to see that girls are not flattered by these behaviors. Our research shows boys sexually harass girls <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12150">largely because their friends do it</a> and because it <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11199-013-0320-1">becomes the norm</a>. They often think this is how boys are supposed to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0743558420933224">express romantic interest</a>. Boys are rarely taught what sexual harassment is, and they often don’t realize how upsetting it is to girls. </p>
<p>Maybe these 45-second videos, instead of being just a fad, can be the public service announcement all teens need.</p>
<p>[ <em><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@theconversation">Follow @TheConversation on TikTok</a>.</em> ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/159514/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christia Spears Brown does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A viral TikTok video is helping girls bear witness to the harassment they experience at school.Christia Spears Brown, Professor of Psychology, University of KentuckyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1499172020-11-12T19:49:48Z2020-11-12T19:49:48ZOur study in China found struggling students can bring down the rest of the class<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368983/original/file-20201112-23-qznikw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/group-middle-school-students-studying-classroom-157595600">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Low-achieving 12-13 year old students can significantly bring down the academic achievement of the rest of their class. But this negative effect largely vanishes in the next two years.</p>
<p>These are the findings of our recent study published in <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00148-020-00780-8">Journal of Population Economics</a>, in which we examined the influence of low-achieving students on their peers in classrooms in China.</p>
<h2>How we conducted our study</h2>
<p>Social interactions at school are believed to be crucial for student learning. Peer influence among students is an important factor to consider for educators, governments and parents. </p>
<p>We used data from the <a href="https://ceps.ruc.edu.cn/index.php?r=index/index&hl=en">China Education Panel Survey</a> conducted during the 2013-14 academic year. The survey is a large-scale, nationally representative survey of students in China’s middle schools. Middle school in China comes after primary school, from grade 7 to grade 9 (the last year before high school).</p>
<p>The survey aims to explain the links between students’ educational outcomes and multiple contexts of family, school processes, communities and the social structure of the school or classroom.</p>
<p>In each school covered in the survey, two classes were randomly chosen from grade 7 (when students are around 12-13 years old) and the grade 9 (when students are around 14-15). Then all students in the selected classes were surveyed to answer questions related to their learning, as well as some background information. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-blame-the-teacher-student-results-are-mostly-out-of-their-hands-124177">Don't blame the teacher: student results are (mostly) out of their hands</a>
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<p>We considered students who repeated a grade in primary school as low achievers. These students had a proven track record of academic failure. In our data, about 13% of students repeated a grade in primary school. </p>
<p>We based students’ academic performance on each middle school’s administrative records of mid-term test scores in three compulsory subjects (Chinese, maths and English).</p>
<p>When compared with non-repeaters, repeaters had lower performance in Chinese, maths and English.</p>
<p>To identify a relationship between low-achieving students and the academic outcomes of their classmates, we focused on middle schools that randomly assigned students to classrooms in grade 7 and did not rearrange classes in grades 8 and 9. </p>
<p>With random student assignment, we ruled out the possibility that peers in the classroom were the choice of students, their parents or schools. </p>
<p>We compared the academic performance of regular students (non repeaters) from two classes in the same grade of the same school. These students shared similar characteristics and the same school environment, except for one thing. One class had a relatively higher proportion of repeaters than the other, due to the randomness of classroom assignment.</p>
<h2>What we found</h2>
<p>We found the share of grade repeaters in the classroom reduced the academic performance of regular students in grade 7. This peer influence was largest when it came to Chinese and smallest with maths. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369011/original/file-20201112-13-1cdcivr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Children in middle school in China." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369011/original/file-20201112-13-1cdcivr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369011/original/file-20201112-13-1cdcivr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369011/original/file-20201112-13-1cdcivr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369011/original/file-20201112-13-1cdcivr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369011/original/file-20201112-13-1cdcivr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369011/original/file-20201112-13-1cdcivr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369011/original/file-20201112-13-1cdcivr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Middle-school in China runs from grade 7 to grade 9.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/xingtai-city-china-november-2016-on-525764788">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The negative effects were larger in big classrooms than in small ones. The lower performing but non-repeating (regular) students in grade 7 were most affected by repeaters. But there was no effect on high-performing students. </p>
<p>Repeaters did not affect their peers’ learning efforts nor the teachers’ pedagogical practices. Instead, they appeared to reduce the results of their peers in grade 7 in two ways.</p>
<p>First, in classes with repeaters, regular students were less likely to make friends with their high-ability and/or diligent classmates. Second, the classroom environments were worse with repeaters present. For example, regular students were less likely to report they regularly participated in class/school activities and that their classmates were friendly if more repeaters were in the class.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/should-you-hold-your-child-back-from-starting-school-research-shows-it-has-little-effect-on-their-maths-and-reading-skills-132874">Should you hold your child back from starting school? Research shows it has little effect on their maths and reading skills</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>The story for students in grade 9 was different. We found no evidence the achievement of regular grade 9 students was impaired by their low-achieving classmates. </p>
<p>As classroom composition stayed unchanged from grade 7 to grade 9, our theory is that short-term negative peer effects found in grade 7 can fade out in the longer run. </p>
<p>By grade 9, academic pressure was piling on ahead of high school entrance exams. </p>
<p>We attributed the changes in the peer effects of low achievers from grade 7 to grade 9 to the adjustments students made to their friendship groups, and the change in the class learning environment under an enhanced level of academic stress. </p>
<p>Repeaters no longer seemed to affect their classmates’ propensity to form friendships with top academic performers and hardworking classmates in grade 9. Relative to repeaters in grade 7, repeaters in grade 9 reported improved class learning environment.</p>
<h2>Implications for Australia</h2>
<p>Low-achieving classmates in Australia may have a similar effect on their peers. But unlike in our study for China, the effect may not vanish in the year before high school. Australian students, culturally, generally do not face the same level of stress as in China — where academic success is a priority.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-some-migrant-school-students-do-better-than-their-local-peers-theyre-not-just-smarter-93741">Why some migrant school students do better than their local peers (they're not 'just smarter')</a>
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</p>
<hr>
<p>The most important implication for Australian educators is to provide more support to struggling students, which will likely lift the performance of their peers. Economists call this the “social multiplier” effect.</p>
<p>The benefits for low-achieving students will subsequently affect the performance of their peers, which in turn will affect the achievement of the former, and so on. Academic support such as a special tutoring program targeted towards struggling students can generate considerable educational benefits.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/149917/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rong Zhu does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Our study of students in middle schools across China found low-achieving 12-13 year old students significantly bring down the academic achievement of the rest of their class.Rong Zhu, Senior Lecturer in Economics, Flinders UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1443892020-09-17T11:24:18Z2020-09-17T11:24:18ZHow to keep teen boys happily singing – instead of giving up when their voices start to change<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357043/original/file-20200908-24-1bx9n9u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C13%2C4583%2C3394&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Helping boys through their voice change can keep the joy of singing alive.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/MacysAnnualGreatTreeLighting/86b33d3b5cf244e186ea0733bc15fedc">Tomas Ovalle/AP Images for Macy's</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Boys like to sing. Adolescent boys around the world report the same thing: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S026505171400031X">They enjoy singing</a> and want to get better at it. </p>
<p>Yet <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/02/13/cincinnati-boychoir-plans-to-examine-science-behind-boys-changing-voices/">many boys stop singing</a> during the transition from childhood to adolescence. There is a misconception that boys stop because their voices start to change. Boys don’t actually say that. What they say is, as their voices develop through puberty, they <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1321103X09344382">become convinced they are no longer good singers</a>. </p>
<p>As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=FLXq7m4AAAAJ&view_op=list_works&gmla=AJsN-F4QskfmkV0fEfSlc3Bn_KtUYPIVRdyw0R8LUKD4dwM8SLMu2ccvDqWpimDXU-MB7oxh6YxA-TMcqC9Yn7yEhFqPMNsXfE2PBIIFL9SKzgly_ShaAiI">music professor and researcher</a>, I’ve interviewed hundreds of boys about why they sing and, more importantly, why they don’t. My goal is to learn what boys want from singing – and how parents and teachers can provide the necessary skills, guidance and support to help them grow into their adult voices.</p>
<h2>Friends and role models</h2>
<p>Adolescent boys are powerfully influenced by peers, family and teachers. These individuals can provide direction and motivation during a boy’s transition from childhood to adolescence, especially if they are supportive and share his goals. It used to be thought that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0027432108321076">boys stopped singing because of peer pressure</a>. While this may remain true for some, many boys report the opposite: The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1321103X09344382">support of their peers</a> is what attracts them to singing and keeps them involved, especially in school choirs.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357033/original/file-20200908-16-1fyyzv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C10%2C3444%2C2536&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Ten boys ranging in age from roughly eight to 16, stand facing the same direction singing." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357033/original/file-20200908-16-1fyyzv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C10%2C3444%2C2536&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357033/original/file-20200908-16-1fyyzv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357033/original/file-20200908-16-1fyyzv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357033/original/file-20200908-16-1fyyzv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357033/original/file-20200908-16-1fyyzv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357033/original/file-20200908-16-1fyyzv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357033/original/file-20200908-16-1fyyzv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">From boys to men.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/SpoletoFestivalUSA/1b2b37dd54854fc4abe59c727429a69a">AP Photo/Bruce Smith</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Older role models are important, because they provide images of what the boy could become in the future. A boy who has a positive role model can make decisions about what he needs to do in order to become like that role model. The <a href="https://doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S39776">adolescent brain makes this kind of forward-oriented thinking possible</a>, marking a change from childhood, when the focus is on the here and now.</p>
<p>If a boy has an older role model who sings, he can envision a future in which he sings, too – possibly even with friends. That idea might lead him to join a singing group or choir in school. <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/patrick_freer_from_bowling_alone_to_singing_together">Better yet, he might decide to do it with a group of buddies</a>. </p>
<h2>Supporting singing through voice change</h2>
<p>Adolescent boys who sing have unique concerns that must be addressed by teachers or supportive adults. </p>
<p>Boys want to know why their voices crack, when they will be able to sing lower pitches and what to expect during the development process. They also want to know they will be protected from embarrassment. </p>
<p>Providing information about vocal anatomy helps boys understand why and how their voices are changing. A <a href="https://acda-publications.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/choral_journals/Thurman.pdf">boy’s voice change occurs in stages</a>, each clearly defined in terms of the range of high to low notes that can be sung in each stage. The <a href="https://acda-publications.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/choral_journals/Thurman.pdf">six stages of voice change</a> correspond with the six stages of male pubertal development.</p>
<p>Instruction should be adapted to the changing needs (and voices) of adolescent boys. For instance, pitches that were easily sung a month ago might not be accessible today, requiring teachers to adjust the repertoire and voice parts they assign. </p>
<p>Boys can be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/8755123318779880">enlisted to discover and chronicle</a> the changes in their own voices. This strategy embraces the autonomy that is so important for adolescent boys. </p>
<p>Adult role models can describe their own voice change, compare notes with the boy and reinforce that older boys and adult men sing. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357047/original/file-20200908-16-1l9z8c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Four Black teen singing together." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357047/original/file-20200908-16-1l9z8c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357047/original/file-20200908-16-1l9z8c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357047/original/file-20200908-16-1l9z8c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357047/original/file-20200908-16-1l9z8c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357047/original/file-20200908-16-1l9z8c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357047/original/file-20200908-16-1l9z8c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357047/original/file-20200908-16-1l9z8c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Singing need not be in a choir.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/teenagers-rehearsing-on-stage-royalty-free-image/105657687">Hill Street Studios/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Building musical skill during adolescence</h2>
<p>Many boys will thrive in a school choir, but others will prefer to sing individually or in self-formed groups with friends. The same dynamic occurs in sports, where some athletes join teams while others focus on individual sports or pickup games. What matters is that the boy is presented with ever-increasing challenges appropriate to his growing level of musical skill. </p>
<p>Developing singers have much to learn, such as mastering breath control; understanding how the larynx will grow and change to enlarge their vocal range; coordinating the muscles that will eventually allow for lower (and often louder) pitches; and reading music written in the bass clef. Instead, boys report they are not taught these fundamental components of musical growth, leading them to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14613808.2015.1014330">give up hope of ever being “good singers” again</a>. </p>
<h2>Performing</h2>
<p>Music teachers are often evaluated by school administrators the way athletic coaches are judged – by the outcome of a choral performance or game. This is problematic, because adolescent boys say they value the <a href="https://www.questia.com/magazine/1P3-3957114091/reclaiming-group-vocal-instruction">process of learning more than the act of performing</a>.</p>
<p>A public celebration of musical achievement, in front of friends and family, at the precise moment a boy feels most vulnerable about his changing voice, is exactly what many boys say they don’t want at the crux of pubertal development. Instead, many boys I’ve spoken with say they would continue singing were it not for the public performance. The obvious question becomes, “Do all choirs need to sing in public?” These boys suggest the answer is, “No – not until I’m more confident.”</p>
<p>The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the spaces where boys sing. <a href="https://theconversation.com/young-musicians-can-perform-on-virtual-stages-when-schools-are-closed-140820">Virtual choirs, like Zoom choirs, have proliferated</a>. Technology has enhanced the ability for boys to connect socially while making music together. Software featuring amazing production tools is free and easily accessible. But even in this environment, boys will benefit greatly from virtual musical guidance and the support of teachers and other adults.</p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>A recent nationwide survey found that <a href="https://www.chorusamerica.org/resource/chorus-impact-study-singing-lifetime">54 million Americans (one in six) sing in choirs</a>, and many more enjoy singing in other settings. Research shows <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-004-0006-9">singing improves mood, lowers stress</a> and <a href="https://www.chorusamerica.org/resource/chorus-impact-study-singing-lifetime">builds community</a>. It is my hope that, with a little understanding, the singing boys of today can become the singing fathers, teachers and buddies of tomorrow – who together can join in song.</p>
<p><em>(Note: In this article, “boys” refers to biological sex, not gender identification. Families may wish to discuss the intersections of biology, gender and singing as related to puberty and adolescent development.)</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/144389/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Patrick K. Freer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Many boys stop singing at adolescence – but with the right support, they can continue to sing through their voice change and emerge as lifetime singers.Patrick K. Freer, Professor of Music Education, Georgia State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1444592020-08-19T17:52:36Z2020-08-19T17:52:36ZFamilies can support kids’ mental health whether they’re learning remotely or at school – here’s how<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/353670/original/file-20200819-25336-1hh3706.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C354%2C4775%2C3301&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Kids learn who they are and how to cope within their families.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/father-in-discussion-with-daughters-before-school-royalty-free-image/671716337">Thomas Barwick/Stone via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The choice between in-person learning, where available, and remote learning is a fraught one for parents. Children experience joy and connection when they learn alongside other kids, but they risk being exposed to the coronavirus. Remote learning at home can protect kids from COVID-19, but does it set back their social-emotional development?</p>
<p>It may feel like a stark <a href="https://www.facebook.com/eeholmes423/posts/10157358309075404">choice between mental or physical health</a>. But as a family therapist and professor of educational psychology who <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=t-lUR98AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">studies resilience in families under stress</a>, I can assure you there’s no single schooling option that guarantees a happy, healthy kid or dooms a child to despair.</p>
<p>In fact, much more than schooling context, children’s mental health relies on high-quality relationships within families.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/353474/original/file-20200818-18-1tlvsct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="two girls wearing backpacks with their arms around each other" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/353474/original/file-20200818-18-1tlvsct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/353474/original/file-20200818-18-1tlvsct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=903&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353474/original/file-20200818-18-1tlvsct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=903&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353474/original/file-20200818-18-1tlvsct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=903&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353474/original/file-20200818-18-1tlvsct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1134&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353474/original/file-20200818-18-1tlvsct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1134&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353474/original/file-20200818-18-1tlvsct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1134&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Children can be missing their school friends but still be doing OK at home.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/1ks9WPyj5fo">Free To Use Sounds/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Spending time with other children can benefit children’s mental health, though it’s not clear that group settings are necessary to achieve those gains. Some research from before the pandemic found that home-schooled children experience <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.2015.1116055">more academic success and better mental health</a> compared to kids in school, especially when families maintain ties to religious institutions and community groups. Other studies show no differences or suggest that home-schooled children <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2014.03.007">fall behind their peers</a>, especially when structure at home is too loose. And of course processes within schools during the pandemic will change how children interact.</p>
<p>No matter what the schooling situation, there are four key components that belong in a child’s mental health toolkit. The good news is that parents can support all of these areas as part of in-person, remote or small-pod learning.</p>
<h2>Connecting mind and body: ‘What I need’</h2>
<p>Mental health and physical health are inextricably linked. Physical activity, good nutrition and sleep are all crucial for both. Children need <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000433">clear bedtime routines</a> and a consistent schedule – especially during times of unease like now. Children need to go to bed <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cppeds.2016.12.001">at a similar time</a> each evening and wake up at a similar time each morning.</p>
<p>This guidance applies across ages. Though it’s normal for sleep schedules to shift in adolescence, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jsr.12373">consistency remains critical</a>. Research increasingly shows that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2006-2089F">poor sleep hygiene</a> is a central issue in symptoms of depression, anxiety and other mental health problems.</p>
<h2>Developing identity: ‘Who I am’</h2>
<p>Children of all ages incorporate information from both family members and peers into their sense of identity.</p>
<p>School exposes students to others with similar and different viewpoints or backgrounds and lets them confront social rules. Research with home-schooled children shows that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0013124516677009">interacting with other home-schooled kids</a> is good for their mental health. Peer relationships, especially in adolescence, are related to self-esteem. Overall, positive peer relationships throughout childhood can help students adjust in school, while <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9780203841198/chapters/10.4324/9780203841198-10">bad experiences leave the strongest mark</a> on mental health. </p>
<p>But it’s kids’ empathy and pro-social behaviors, like helping someone in need – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2004.05.005">characteristics they largely learn in their families</a> – that help them build and maintain their friendships. If you’re worried about kids being isolated while learning remotely, remember that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0143034306073402">parent-child attachment is the most important</a> source of self-esteem and a positive sense of self for children.</p>
<p>Focusing on reciprocity is one way families can help kids explore identity. Parents should ask open-ended questions and show curiosity about children’s opinions and interests. Family rituals, like a special weekly dinner, family game night or a loving bedtime ritual, can support family bonding and help children gain a strong sense of self, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jmft.12293">contributing to better mental health</a>. Parents can try to engage in 20 minutes of joyful, focused interaction with their kids each day and consistently observe and promote their children’s positive attributes.</p>
<h2>Regulating emotions: ‘How I feel’</h2>
<p>Skills that allow children to understand their emotions and make choices about how they respond to them are crucial building blocks of good mental health. Families can practice regulating emotions with their children, supporting strategies to understand and manage frustration, anger and sadness when those feelings become unmanageable. Experiencing <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-006-9015-4">joy and positive emotions</a> supports good mental health.</p>
<p>Children are likely to experience complex emotions in the coming months. At school, kids may have a hard time separating from family or difficulty when confronted with new safety measures and expectations. In addition, existing school-based risk factors like bullying may exacerbate mental health issues. Children at home may feel disconnected and pick up on stress within families facing work and income challenges. Ongoing issues in families like parental mental health problems and family violence can also put children at risk.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/353475/original/file-20200818-16-1af7j5h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Child painting with brush" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/353475/original/file-20200818-16-1af7j5h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/353475/original/file-20200818-16-1af7j5h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=752&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353475/original/file-20200818-16-1af7j5h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=752&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353475/original/file-20200818-16-1af7j5h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=752&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353475/original/file-20200818-16-1af7j5h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=945&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353475/original/file-20200818-16-1af7j5h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=945&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353475/original/file-20200818-16-1af7j5h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=945&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A creative outlet can help children manage emotions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/YKLkzMuEA8Q">Madalyn Cox/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>When children face emotions that are unfamiliar, dysregulated behavior – which can include sleeplessness, aggression or listlessness, for example – may be a first indicator for adults, who can step in with emotion coaching. Parents can regularly check in with children to take their “feelings temperature” and suggest ways to practice coping.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15401383.2010.485090">Outlets for creative expression</a>, like art, music and dance, can support positive emotional development and coping, as well.</p>
<h2>Recognizing interdependence: ‘Who we are’</h2>
<p>A big piece of good mental health is being able to see yourself as a part of a whole.</p>
<p>The parent-child relationship is the context in which children learn to view themselves as interdependent – a person who is connected to previous generations and present networks.</p>
<p>Responses to the pandemic can threaten the usual sense of community. To help make up for any isolation, whether due to remote learning or physical distancing measures, families can provide opportunities for children to consider others’ feelings and practice giving and receiving emotional support.</p>
<p>Parents must attend to their own mental health; research shows that if parents struggle with depression, aspects of children’s social-emotional development – including building empathy skills and engaging socially – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2013.12121597">can also suffer</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/353672/original/file-20200819-14-cffeu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="boy and woman talking over a snack" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/353672/original/file-20200819-14-cffeu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/353672/original/file-20200819-14-cffeu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353672/original/file-20200819-14-cffeu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353672/original/file-20200819-14-cffeu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353672/original/file-20200819-14-cffeu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353672/original/file-20200819-14-cffeu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353672/original/file-20200819-14-cffeu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Parents can use the same tools to support their kids’ mental health no matter what school looks like.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/mother-and-son-eating-and-doing-homework-at-dining-royalty-free-image/1216406560">Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Challenges abound, but the tools are consistent</h2>
<p>Kids who were vulnerable before the pandemic remain vulnerable. But mental health risk factors are largely the same for children whether <a href="https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203841198">in school or learning from home</a>.</p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>Any changes, even happy ones, can create stress. Good mental health is the ability to adapt. The strategies in this toolkit can help children adapt and cope with stress, whether due to the pandemic, economic inequities, racism, unaddressed special needs or interpersonal problems within a family. </p>
<p>Some children <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/reopening-schools.html">need to be in school</a>. Their learning needs may be complex or their homes may not be safe, and they depend on school to buffer problems at home. But the argument that all children in general <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/08/what-weve-stolen-our-kids/615211/">must be at school</a> to ward off a mental health crisis just is not true. Wherever and however kids are learning this year, families can support students so they continue developing as mentally healthy individuals.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/144459/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Erika Bocknek does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Good mental health is the ability to adapt to changes and stress. Whatever school looks like, parents can help keep kids’ social-emotional development on track in these four areas.Erika Bocknek, Associate Professor of Educational Psychology, Wayne State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1320032020-06-25T06:32:23Z2020-06-25T06:32:23ZWhat’s the meaning of life? These students have some answers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343370/original/file-20200623-188904-8zcbat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/blurred-friendship-theme-530421565">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Research <a href="https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195187243.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780195187243-e-064">has found</a> people who have clarity around what provides meaning in their lives tend to be happier, healthier, more satisfied with life and resilient in the face of adversity. </p>
<p>Given the dramatic growth in mental health issues, particularly in young people, <a href="https://youngmindsmatter.telethonkids.org.au/">researchers have recently</a> tried to more deeply understand what gives young people’s lives meaning.</p>
<p>We conducted a research project with 174 students in year seven, where they used photographs to show what was important to them. We found relationships – with friends, family and pets – were what they most believed gave meaning to their life. </p>
<h2>Using the mind’s eye</h2>
<p>A 2013 <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17439760.2013.830760">study in the US</a> explored the meaning of life for college students using what the researchers called “the mind’s eye” technique.</p>
<p>Researchers asked college students to take photos of things that made their lives meaningful and write a short narrative to describe them. The photographs became a record of meaning-in-life sources. The most common photos were of relationships, hobbies and activities, and nature. </p>
<p>The research method also provided a personalised view on why students chose these images. </p>
<p>We <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/sjop.12570">used the same approach</a> in an Australian secondary school to determine what gave 174 year seven students meaning in life – at school and outside of it. </p>
<p>The students took two photos each – of what provides meaning in life at school and out of school – and wrote why they had chosen these images.</p>
<h2>Meaning in life, at school</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343142/original/file-20200622-160711-z4s41v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343142/original/file-20200622-160711-z4s41v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343142/original/file-20200622-160711-z4s41v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343142/original/file-20200622-160711-z4s41v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343142/original/file-20200622-160711-z4s41v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343142/original/file-20200622-160711-z4s41v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=721&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343142/original/file-20200622-160711-z4s41v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=721&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343142/original/file-20200622-160711-z4s41v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=721&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Friends were overwhelmingly what gave children meaning at school.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Students took a variety of images. But overwhelmingly they identified friends as the main source of meaning in life at school, followed by their own learning.</p>
<p>This word cloud highlights the most commonly used words in the students’ narratives, and shows how important friends are in young peoples’ school lives. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343346/original/file-20200622-188886-1q16c0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343346/original/file-20200622-188886-1q16c0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=749&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343346/original/file-20200622-188886-1q16c0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=749&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343346/original/file-20200622-188886-1q16c0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=749&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343346/original/file-20200622-188886-1q16c0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=941&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343346/original/file-20200622-188886-1q16c0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=941&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343346/original/file-20200622-188886-1q16c0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=941&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Photo by a student who said friends gave her life meaning.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Students suggested their friends not only provided meaning because they were fun to be with and shared common interests, but because they provided support as they tackled the challenges of high school. </p>
<p>Of the 151 images devoted to friendships, 31 of the accompanying narratives used the term “they’re always there for me”, suggesting these friendships were built on commitment and emotional support. </p>
<p>One student said friends</p>
<blockquote>
<p>give my life meaning because if I didn’t have them I wouldn’t be the person I am now. Friends are people you learn from, they’re like fun teachers. They teach us what to do and what not to do. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Another student described her friends as inspirational</p>
<blockquote>
<p>[…] they give my life meaning because they are always there to help me and inspire me to do great things. They are positive people who don’t bring me down – they make me feel better about myself.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Meaning in life, outside school</h2>
<p>Students continued the theme of relationships when talking about the sources of meaning in their lives outside school. Their three main sources of meaning were sport, family and pets. </p>
<p>The selection of sport for both boys and girls appeared based more on the friendships in these settings, rather than the sport itself.</p>
<p>For example, this student took a photo of her trophies to represent netball, but said it was “the people you get to meet and the things you get to do that make it meaningful”. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343144/original/file-20200622-160681-1d3p4pi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343144/original/file-20200622-160681-1d3p4pi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343144/original/file-20200622-160681-1d3p4pi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343144/original/file-20200622-160681-1d3p4pi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343144/original/file-20200622-160681-1d3p4pi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343144/original/file-20200622-160681-1d3p4pi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343144/original/file-20200622-160681-1d3p4pi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343144/original/file-20200622-160681-1d3p4pi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sports gave this girl meaning, but it was the friendships she made that meant more than the sport.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Students also found meaning in life from their families. They consistently expressed the importance of being cared for and supported. It was clear that love and togetherness gave their young lives coherence.</p>
<p>Simple things were telling. One student wrote of their family:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>[…] they give my life meaning because they love me, accept me and help me thorough the tough times. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Students also saw pets as part of the family and a strong source of meaning in life. Given students’ desire for loyalty and consistency from their friends, it was not surprising the uncomplicated relationships with pets were so important. </p>
<p>One student wrote:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This is a photo of my dog[…] She gives my life meaning because I love her, and love walking, playing and taking care of her. She is like a sister to me. </p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342873/original/file-20200619-41230-7pdt8n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342873/original/file-20200619-41230-7pdt8n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342873/original/file-20200619-41230-7pdt8n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=673&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342873/original/file-20200619-41230-7pdt8n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=673&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342873/original/file-20200619-41230-7pdt8n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=673&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342873/original/file-20200619-41230-7pdt8n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=845&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342873/original/file-20200619-41230-7pdt8n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=845&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342873/original/file-20200619-41230-7pdt8n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=845&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘She is like a sister to me’</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Others enjoyed creative pursuits. One student took a photo of herself singing and said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It gives my life meaning because I love to do it, it’s fun and helps me to dream big for the future ahead.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>While schools keep a careful eye on their students’ learning, it’s important they ensure academic growth is aligned with meaning and purpose.</p>
<p>Practical research interventions such as the minds-eye can provide schools with a sense of what gives their students meaning. This can direct programs and tailor support around nurturing these sources, and let students “dream big for the future”.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/132003/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John O'Rourke does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A group of year seven students showed that relationships most of all – with friends, family and pets – gave their lives meaning.John O'Rourke, Senior lecturer, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1391802020-06-11T12:25:38Z2020-06-11T12:25:38ZNeighborhood-based friendships making a comeback for kids in the age of coronavirus<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340632/original/file-20200609-21191-163w2ts.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4910%2C3278&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A new social world for children may be right outside their front door.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/kid-with-protective-face-mask-riding-on-kisck-royalty-free-image/1215270958">Martin Novak/Movement via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the weather has warmed in my Midwestern town, my neighborhood is full of children on bicycles pretending to be riding through the Wild West. I can’t walk down the sidewalk without stepping on chalk drawings or hopscotch boards. There are children jumping rope and playing ball. In the eight years I’ve lived here, I’ve never witnessed this before. As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&view_op=list_works&gmla=AJsN-F64KiXiAfp4eayA3X1ZnQ1-uDkYbTE3yMYQkppv7cvXGWWoakSw1DZiCMSm3mC-hLClEjUAn0o9lyj3FMiyJnVMc9t3sQ&user=pZm97h4AAAAJ">clinical psychologist</a> who studies children’s friendships, I am fascinated by this development.</p>
<p>Children’s social <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/03/what-coronavirus-will-do-kids/608608">worlds have been upended</a> by the suspension of school and extracurricular activities due to the pandemic. Many older children and adolescents have been able to <a href="https://mentorinternational.org/blog/2020/03/06/covid-19-social-media/">maintain their friendships over social media</a>. But, for younger children, this approach is less likely to be available to them and less likely to meet their social needs. In some places, a silver lining of COVID-19 may well be the resurgence of childhood friendships in American neighborhoods.</p>
<h2>Shifting locations for play</h2>
<p>Over the last 30 years, children’s friendships have been largely forged in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-2018-7_18">classroom</a> and during <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543075002159">extracurricular activities</a>. That’s because, on average, children spend 6.5 hours a day in school, and 57% of children spend every day or most days <a href="https://www.wcwonline.org/vmfiles/factsheet2009.pdf">involved in extracurricular activities</a>. These settings provide not only an environment for learning, but also opportunities to make friends, learn about what is expected social behavior and build skills for social relationships.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340178/original/file-20200605-176575-18o9r89.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340178/original/file-20200605-176575-18o9r89.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340178/original/file-20200605-176575-18o9r89.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340178/original/file-20200605-176575-18o9r89.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340178/original/file-20200605-176575-18o9r89.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340178/original/file-20200605-176575-18o9r89.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340178/original/file-20200605-176575-18o9r89.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340178/original/file-20200605-176575-18o9r89.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Boys playing marbles in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, 1947.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Boys_Playing_Marbles_Oak_Ridge_1947_%28">Ed Westcott/United States Department of Energy</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But in the not-too-distant past, children’s friendships were formed and maintained within the American neighborhood. Friends on average <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.1933.10880371">lived less than a quarter-mile apart</a> and were <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/h0072359">predominantly from the same neighborhood</a>. Children who <a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/friendship-and-social-relations-in-children/oclc/23290591">lived close to one another</a> were found to have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431685053006">high-quality friendships</a> that were more frequent, emotionally intimate and longer-lasting than those that did not. </p>
<p>Research shows neighborhood-based play may have distinct advantages, as it is often characterized by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.17.4.399">mixed-age peer groups</a>. Having groups of friends with both older and younger playmates <a href="https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-lifespandevelopment/chapter/vygotskys-sociocultural-theory-of-cognitive-development/">may uniquely support children’s development</a> by allowing them to both learn skills from those that are older, while also serving as role models and mentors for children who are younger.</p>
<p>Children who struggle socially may also more easily choose younger friends, which may be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33033-4_6">an adaptive choice that better fits their social needs</a>. At the same time, more socially adept children may interact with older children who share similar capabilities and interests.</p>
<h2>Friendships on military bases</h2>
<p>There are pockets of the U.S., however, that have long maintained the tradition of neighborhood-based friendship. In new, yet-to-be-published research, my colleagues and I found children living on military installations were more likely to form their friendships within their neighborhoods than their civilian peers, with 37% of military-affiliated children forming their friendships in this setting as opposed to only 25% of civilian children. </p>
<p>We hypothesized that for military families, the close proximity of neighbors, the similarity created by their shared mission and the inherent sense of camaraderie involved in military service created a foundation for friendship formation. We observed the physical characteristics of their neighborhoods often include cul-de-sacs, swimming pools and recreation centers that promoted children’s interaction and also allow parents to feel a greater sense of community and safety.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340642/original/file-20200609-21186-1yao7vu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340642/original/file-20200609-21186-1yao7vu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340642/original/file-20200609-21186-1yao7vu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340642/original/file-20200609-21186-1yao7vu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340642/original/file-20200609-21186-1yao7vu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340642/original/file-20200609-21186-1yao7vu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340642/original/file-20200609-21186-1yao7vu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340642/original/file-20200609-21186-1yao7vu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ready to play.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/young-boy-looking-out-the-window-wearing-a-royalty-free-image/1218034701">Yobro10/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The summer of 2020</h2>
<p>The school year is finishing, and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/23/nyregion/nyc-pools-schools-closed-summer.html">many summer camps will be shuttered</a>. Research shows that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0033%E2%80%932909.102.3.357">children with positive friendships</a> feel less lonely, depressed and anxious and are less likely to get into trouble in their communities. In the coming months, encouraging children to find friendships close to home, may combat feelings of social isolation and support feelings of social fulfillment. For some parents, this may feel reminiscent of their own childhoods, when rousing outside games of kick the can or red rover were interrupted only by parents’ shouts from the front porch that it was time for dinner. </p>
<p>Parents can support a shift to neighborhood friendships by helping their children understand how to stay physically distant while socially and emotionally engaged. Parents may <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037//0893-3200.7.3.356">form networks of social relationships</a> with neighbors to help foster their children’s relationships and provide a safety net of monitoring. They may structure their children’s days, suggesting times for indoor and outdoor play as well as old-school games. </p>
<p>These approaches may allow children to ride out this crisis and, in the process, possibly revive the American neighborhood and revitalize the benefits of friendship that are found within it.</p>
<p>[<em>You need to understand the coronavirus pandemic, and we can help.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=upper-coronavirus-help">Read The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/139180/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julie Wargo Aikins received funding relevant to her work on military families from the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program. </span></em></p>In some parts of the US, a silver lining of COVID-19 may be a return to childhood friendships based in neighborhoods.Julie Wargo Aikins, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute, Wayne State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1216272019-09-19T20:55:20Z2019-09-19T20:55:20ZFriday essay: on the ending of a friendship<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292117/original/file-20190912-190065-1dyq9e8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><blockquote>
<p>Friendship is an incomparable, immeasurable boon to me, and a source of life — not metaphorically but literally. </p>
</blockquote>
<ul>
<li>Simone Weil</li>
</ul>
<p>About eight years ago, I went to dinner with a dear friend I had known for more than 40 years. It would be the last time we would see each other and by the end of that evening I was deeply shaken. But more lasting and more unsettling than this has been the feeling of loss without his friendship. It was a sudden ending but it was also an ending that lasted for me well beyond that evening. I have worried since then at what kind of friend I am to my friends, and why a friendship can suddenly self-destruct while others can so unexpectedly bloom.</p>
<p>My friend and I were used to going to dinner together, though it had become an increasingly tricky matter for us. We had been seeing each other more infrequently, and our conversations had been tending towards repetition. I still enjoyed his passion for talk, his willingness to be puzzled by life’s events, our comically growing list of minor ailments as we entered our sixties, and the old stories he fell back on — usually stories of his minor triumphs, such as the time his car burst into fire, was declared a write-off by insurance, and ended in an auction house where he bought it back with part of the insurance payout and only minor repairs to be made. There were stories of his time as a barman in one of Melbourne’s roughest pubs. I suppose in a lot of long-lasting friendships it is these repeated stories of the past that can fill the present so richly.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292730/original/file-20190917-19072-sre9tr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292730/original/file-20190917-19072-sre9tr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292730/original/file-20190917-19072-sre9tr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292730/original/file-20190917-19072-sre9tr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292730/original/file-20190917-19072-sre9tr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292730/original/file-20190917-19072-sre9tr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292730/original/file-20190917-19072-sre9tr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">What do we do when a friendship of 40 years ends?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tim Foster/Unsplash</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Nevertheless, both his opinions and mine seemed to have become too predictable. Even his desire to come up with the most unpredictable viewpoint on any problem was a routine I expected from him. Each of us knew the weaknesses in the other’s thinking, and we had learned not to go too far with some topics, which were of course the most interesting and important ones.</p>
<p>He knew how politically correct I could be, and shrewdly enough he had no time for my self-righteousness, the predictability of my views on gender, race and climate. I understood this. He knew too that his fiercely independent thinking was often just the usual rant against greenies or lefties. Something had begun to fail in our friendship, but I could not properly perceive this or speak of it.</p>
<p>We were a contrasting pair. He was a big man with an aggressive edge to his gregarious nature, while I was lean, short and physically slight next to him, a much more reserved person altogether. I liked his size because big men have been protective figures in my life. At times when I felt threatened I would ask him to come with me to a meeting or a transaction, and just stand next to me in his big way. During one long period of trouble with our neighbours he would visit when the tension was high to show his formidable presence and his solidarity with us.</p>
<p>I was always reading and knew how to talk books, while he was too restless to read much. He knew how to sing, bursting into song occasionally when we were together. He had been unable to work professionally since a breakdown that was both physical and mental. By contrast, I was working steadily, never quite as free with my time as he was.</p>
<p>Nearly two years before our last dinner together his wife had suddenly left him. As it turned out, she had been planning her departure for some time, but when she went he was taken by surprise. I saw a more confused and fragile side of him during those months when we would meet and talk through how he was dealing with their counselling sessions, and then how the negotiations were proceeding over belongings and finally the family house. He was learning to live alone for the first time since he had been a young man, and was exploring what it might be like to seek out new relationships.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/research-check-is-it-true-only-half-your-friends-actually-like-you-63763">Research Check: is it true only half your friends actually like you?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A safe haven</h2>
<p>We had met when I was a first-year university student boarding at my grandmother’s home in an inner Melbourne suburb. I was studying for a Bachelor of Arts, staying up through the nights, discovering literature, music, history, cask wine, dope, girls and ideas. </p>
<p>He lived in a flat a few doors away in a street behind my grandmother’s place, and I remember it was the local parish youth group, or the remnants of one, that used to meet in his flat. In my friend’s flat we would lie around the floor, half a dozen of us, drinking, flirting, arguing about religion or politics until the night was strung out in our heads, tight and thin and vibrating with possibilities. I loved that sudden intimate and intellectually rich contact with people my own age.</p>
<p>My friend and I started up a coffee lounge in an old disused shopfront as a meeting place for youth who would otherwise be on the street. I was the one who became immersed in the chaotic life of the place as students, musicians, misfits, hopeful poets and petty criminals floated through the shop, while my friend kept his eye on the broader picture that involved real estate agents, local councils, supplies of coffee, income and expenditure.</p>
<p>Perhaps the experience helped delay my own adulthood, allowing me time to try out a bohemian, communal alternative lifestyle that was so important to some of us in the early 1970s. My friend, though, was soon married. It was as if he had been living a parallel life outside our friendship, outside the youth group, coffee shop, jug band, drugs and misadventures of our project.</p>
<p>This did not break us up, and in fact after his marriage he became another kind of friend. I was at times struggling to find some steady sense of myself. Sometimes in those years I would not be able to talk or even be near others, and I remember once when I felt like this I went to my newly married friend’s home, and asked if I could lie on the floor in the corner of their lounge room for a few days until I felt better.</p>
<p>They indulged me. I felt it was this haven that saved me then, giving me the time to recoup and giving me a sense that there was somewhere I could go where the world was safe and neutral.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292731/original/file-20190917-19030-1tg40i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292731/original/file-20190917-19030-1tg40i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292731/original/file-20190917-19030-1tg40i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292731/original/file-20190917-19030-1tg40i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292731/original/file-20190917-19030-1tg40i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292731/original/file-20190917-19030-1tg40i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292731/original/file-20190917-19030-1tg40i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Friendship can create a place to feel safe.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Thiago Barletta/Unsplash</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In time, and more bumpily and uncertainly than my friend, I was with a partner raising a family. He was often involved in our children’s birthdays, other celebrations, our house-moving, and just dropping in on family meals. It worked for us. I remember him lifting our cast iron wood-burning stove into its place in our first renovated Brunswick cottage. He lived in a more sprawling home near bushland on the edge of Melbourne, so one of my pleasures became the long cycling trips out to see him.</p>
<p>My partner and I were embraced by a local community thanks to the childcare centre, kinders, schools and sport. Lasting friendships (for us and for our children) grew in the tentative, open-ended, slightly blindly feeling way of friendships. Through this decade and a half though, the particular friendship with my songful friend held, perhaps to the surprise of both of us.</p>
<h2>‘Tolerating much, for the sake of best intentions’</h2>
<p>In his thoroughly likeable <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/8345504-friendship">1993 book on friendship</a>, the political scientist Graham Little wrote under the bright light of writings by Aristotle and Freud, that the purest kind of friendship “welcomes the different ways people are alive to life and tolerates much in a friend for the sake of best intentions”. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292118/original/file-20190912-190035-1kh96e9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292118/original/file-20190912-190035-1kh96e9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292118/original/file-20190912-190035-1kh96e9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=941&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292118/original/file-20190912-190035-1kh96e9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=941&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292118/original/file-20190912-190035-1kh96e9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=941&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292118/original/file-20190912-190035-1kh96e9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1182&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292118/original/file-20190912-190035-1kh96e9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1182&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292118/original/file-20190912-190035-1kh96e9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1182&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
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<p>Here perhaps is the closest I have seen to a definition of friendship at its best: a stance imbued with sympathy, interest and excitement directed at another despite all that otherwise shows we are flawed and dangerous creatures.</p>
<p>On that evening, the evening of the last time we went out to dinner together, I did push my friend towards one of the topics we usually avoided. I had been wanting him to acknowledge and even apologise for his behaviour towards some young women he had spoken to, I thought, lewdly and insultingly nearly a year before in my home at a party. The women and those of us who had witnessed his behaviour felt continuing tension over his refusal to discuss the fact that he had wanted to speak so insultingly to them and then had done it in our home in front of us. For me, there was some element of betrayal, not only in the way he had behaved but in his continued refusal to discuss what had happened.</p>
<p>The women were drunk, he said, just as he had said the last time I tried to talk to him about this. They were wearing almost nothing, he said, and what he’d said to them was no more than they were expecting. My friend and I were sitting in a popular Thai restaurant on Sydney Road: metal chairs, plastic tables, concrete floor. It was noisy, packed with students, young couples and groups out for a cheap and tasty meal. A waitress had put menus, water and beer on our table while she waited for us to decide on our meals. Wanting to push finally past this impasse, I pointed out to him that the women had not insulted him, he had insulted them.</p>
<p>If that’s the way you want it, he replied, and placed his hands on each side of the table, hurling it into the air and walking out of the restaurant as table, bottles, glasses, water and beer came clattering and smashing down around me. The whole restaurant fell silent. I could not move for some time. The waitress began mopping up the floor around me. Someone called out, “Hey, are you all right?”</p>
<p>This was the last time I saw or heard from him. For many months, I thought of him every day, then slowly I thought of him less often, until now I can think of him more or less at will, and not find myself ashamed of the way I went for him in a conversation where I should have been perhaps more alive to whatever was troubling him.</p>
<h2>Improvised, tentative</h2>
<p>For some years after this, I felt I had to learn how to be myself without him. I have read articles and essays since then about how pitiful men can be at friendship. We are apparently too competitive, we base our friendships on common activities, which means we can avoid talking openly about our feelings and thoughts. I don’t know about this “male deficit model”, as some sociologists call it, but I do know that the loss of this friendship took with it a big part of my shared personal history at that time. It dented my confidence in ever having properly known this man or understood our friendship — or in knowing how secure any friendship might be.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292155/original/file-20190912-190065-1insiq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292155/original/file-20190912-190065-1insiq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292155/original/file-20190912-190065-1insiq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=972&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292155/original/file-20190912-190065-1insiq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=972&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292155/original/file-20190912-190065-1insiq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=972&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292155/original/file-20190912-190065-1insiq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1221&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292155/original/file-20190912-190065-1insiq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1221&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292155/original/file-20190912-190065-1insiq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1221&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>I was drawn to read and re-read Michel de Montaigne’s gentle and strangely extreme <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/865876.On_Friendship?from_search=true">essay on friendship</a> where he was so certain that he knew with perfection what his friend would think and say and value. He wrote of his friend, Etienne de Boëtie, “Not only did I know his mind as well as I knew my own but I would have entrusted myself to him with greater assurance than to myself.” </p>
<p>Against this perfection of understanding between friends, there is George Eliot’s odd excursion into science fiction in her 1859 novel, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/223222.The_Lifted_Veil?from_search=true">The Lifted Veil</a>. Her narrator, Latimer, finds he can perceive perfectly clearly the thoughts of all the people around him. He becomes disgusted and deeply disturbed by the petty self-interest he apparently discovers within everyone.</p>
<p>After 40 years of shared history, there was not the disgust Eliot writes of, nor Montaigne’s perfect union of mind and trust between me and my burly friend, but there was, I had thought, a foundation of knowledge whereby we took each other’s differences into ourselves, as well as our common histories of the cafe we had run, and as it happened our common serving of time in semi-monastic seminaries before we’d met — differences and similarities that had given us, I thought, ways of being in sympathy with each other while allowing for each other.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/guide-to-the-classics-michel-de-montaignes-essays-63508">Guide to the classics: Michel de Montaigne's Essays</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Montaigne’s dearest friend, Etienne, had died, and his essay was as much about the meaning of this loss as about friendship. His big idea was loyalty, and I think I understand that, though not in the absolute way Montaigne wrote of it. </p>
<p>Loyalty is only real if it is constantly renewed. I worry that I have not worked enough at some friendships that have come into my life, but have let them happen more passively than the women I know who spend such time, and such complicated time, exploring and testing friendships. The sudden disappearance of my friend left me with an awareness of how patched-together, how improvised, clumsy and tentative even the most secure-seeming friendship can be.</p>
<p>When the philosopher and brilliant essayist, Simone Weil wrote shortly before she died in 1943,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I may lose, at any moment, through the play of circumstances over which I have no control, anything whatsoever that I possess, including things that are so intimately mine that I consider them as myself. There is nothing that I might not lose. It could happen at any moment ….</p>
</blockquote>
<p>she seemed to be touching on the difficult truth that we run on luck and hope and chance much of the time. Why haven’t I worked harder at friendships, when I know that they provide the real meaning in my life? </p>
<p>Some years ago, when I was told by a medical specialist that I had a 30% chance of having cancer, as I waited for the results of a biopsy, I remember that in response to these dismal odds I had no desire to go back to work, no desire to even read — all I wanted to do was spend time with friends.</p>
<h2>Inner worlds laid waste</h2>
<p>To know what it is we care about, this is a gift. It should be straightforward to know this and keep it present in our lives, but it can prove to be difficult. Being the reader that I am, I have always turned to literature and fiction for answers or insights into those questions that seem to need answering.</p>
<p>I realised some time after the ending of my friendship that I had been reading novels dealing with friendship, and was not even sure how consciously I had chosen them.</p>
<p>For instance, I read <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20697435-the-book-of-strange-new-things?from_search=true">The Book of Strange New Things</a> by Michel Faber, a novel about a Christian preacher, Peter Leigh, sent to convert aliens in a galaxy ludicrously far from earth on a planet with an equally unlikely atmosphere benign to its human colonisers.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292728/original/file-20190917-19030-1fgzigy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292728/original/file-20190917-19030-1fgzigy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=894&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292728/original/file-20190917-19030-1fgzigy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=894&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292728/original/file-20190917-19030-1fgzigy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=894&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292728/original/file-20190917-19030-1fgzigy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1124&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292728/original/file-20190917-19030-1fgzigy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1124&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292728/original/file-20190917-19030-1fgzigy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1124&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
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<p>It is a novel about whether Leigh can be any kind of adequate friend to his wife left behind on Earth, and whether his new feelings for these aliens amounts to friendship. Though my suspension of disbelief was precarious, I found myself caring about these characters and their relationships, even the grotesquely shapeless aliens. Partly I cared about them because the book read like an essay testing ideas of friendship and loyalty that were important and urgent to the writer.</p>
<p>I also read at that time Haruki Murakami’s novel, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41022133-colorless-tsukuru-tazaki-and-his-years-of-pilgrimage?from_search=true">Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage</a>, a book that came with a little game of coloured cards and stickers, and I found that I cared about Tsukuru Tazaki too, for I felt all along that Murakami’s character was a thin and endearing disguise for himself (what a beautiful word that is, “en-dearing”). </p>
<p>The novel centred on lost friendships. I heard a tone in its voice that was the oddly flat, persistent, vulnerable and sincere searching of a man for connection with others. If Murakami’s novel has a proposition it wishes to test it would be that we only know ourselves in what images of ourselves we receive back from our friends. Without our friends we become invisible, lost.</p>
<p>In both those novels, the friendships are crashing to pieces in slow motion in front of the reader’s helpless eyes. I wanted to shake those characters, tell them to stop and think about what they were doing, but at the same time I saw in them mirrors of myself and my experiences.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292732/original/file-20190917-19072-1kv9726.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292732/original/file-20190917-19072-1kv9726.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=901&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292732/original/file-20190917-19072-1kv9726.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=901&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292732/original/file-20190917-19072-1kv9726.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=901&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292732/original/file-20190917-19072-1kv9726.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1132&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292732/original/file-20190917-19072-1kv9726.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1132&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292732/original/file-20190917-19072-1kv9726.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1132&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption"></span>
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<p>I <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/470185.About_Looking?from_search=true">read John Berger too</a>, on the way a human looks across an abyss of incomprehension when looking at another animal. Though language seems to connect us, it might be that language also distracts us from the actual abyss of ignorance and fear between all of us as we look, across, at each other. In his <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/782026.The_Savage_Mind?ac=1&from_search=true">book on the savage mind</a>, Lévi-Strauss quotes a study of Canadian Carrier Indians living on the Bulkley River who were able to cross that abyss between species, believing they knew what animals did and what their needs were because their men had been married to the salmon, the beaver and the bear.</p>
<p>I have read <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7475690-how-many-friends-does-one-person-need?from_search=true">essays by Robin Dunbar on the evolutionary limits to our circles of intimacy</a>, where he suggests that for most of us there needs to be three or maybe five truly close friends. These are the ones we lean towards with tenderness and open ourselves to with endless curiosity — those in whom we seek only the good. </p>
<p>My partner can name quickly four friends who qualify for her as part of this necessary circle. I find I can name two (and she is one of them), then a constellation of individual friends whose closeness to me I can’t easily measure. It is this constellation that sustains me.</p>
<p>Recently I was away from home for three months. After two weeks away I wrote a list in the back of my diary of the friends I was missing. A little more than a dozen of these were the friends, men and women, with whom I need contact, and with whom conversations are always open-ended, surprising, intellectually stimulating, sometimes intimate, and often fun. With each of them I explore a slightly different but always essential version of myself. Graham Little wrote that “ideal soulmates are friends who are fully aware that each has himself as his main life project”.</p>
<p>To live this takes some effort of imagination, and with my friend at dinner that night I might in myself have been refusing to make this effort.</p>
<p>There are also, it occurs to me, the friends who came as couples, with whom my partner and I share time as couples. This is itself another manifestation of friendship, one that crosses over into community, tribe and family — and no less precious than the individual intimacy of a personal friendship. For reasons I can’t properly fathom, the importance of this kind of time with coupled friends has deepened as I have grown through the decades of my fifties and sixties.</p>
<p>Perhaps it is that the dance of conversation and ideas is so much more complex and pleasurable when there are four or more contributing. It could be too that I am absolved from the responsibility of really working at these friendships in the way one must when there are two of us. Or it might be the pang and stimulus of the knowledge that opportunities to be together are brutally diminishing as we grow older.</p>
<p>But to lose an individual friend from one’s closest circle is to have large tracts of one’s inner world laid waste for a time. My feelings over the end of this particular friendship were a kind of grief mixed with bewilderment.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292733/original/file-20190917-19059-ee3lqn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292733/original/file-20190917-19059-ee3lqn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=916&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292733/original/file-20190917-19059-ee3lqn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=916&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292733/original/file-20190917-19059-ee3lqn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=916&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292733/original/file-20190917-19059-ee3lqn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1151&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292733/original/file-20190917-19059-ee3lqn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1151&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292733/original/file-20190917-19059-ee3lqn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1151&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Losing a friend can create feelings of grief and bewilderment.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Robert Bye/Unsplash</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>It was not that the friendship was necessary to my existence, but that perhaps through habit and sympathy it had become a fixed part of my identity. Robin Dunbar would say that by stepping away from this friendship I had made room for someone else to slip in to my circle of most intimate friends, but isn’t it the point of such close friends that they are in some important sense irreplaceable? This is the source of much of our distress when such friendships end.</p>
<h2>Still learning</h2>
<p>When I told people about what had happened in the restaurant that night, they would say, reasonably, “Why don’t you patch things up and resume your friendship?” </p>
<p>As I imagined how a conversation might go if I did meet my friend again, I came to understand that I had been a provocation to him. I had ceased to be the friend he needed, wanted or imagined.</p>
<p>What he did was dramatic. He might have called it merely dramatic. I felt it as threatening. Though I cannot help but think I provoked him. And if we had “patched” a friendship back together, on whose terms would this have been conducted? Would it always be that I would have to agree not to press him on questions that might lead him to throw over some table between us again?</p>
<p>Or worse, would I have to witness his apology, forgive him myself, and put him on his best behaviour for the rest of our friendship? </p>
<p>Neither of those outcomes would have patched much together. I had been hurting too over what I saw as his lack of willingness or interest to understand the situation from my point of view. And so it went inside me as the table and the water and the beer and the glasses came crashing down around me. I had been, in a way, married to my friend, even if he was a salmon or a bear — a creature across an abyss from me. Perhaps this was the only way out of that marriage. Perhaps he had been preparing for (moving towards?) this moment more consciously than I had been.</p>
<p>The ending of this friendship, it is clear, left me looking for its story. It was as if all along there must have been a narrative with a trajectory carrying us in this direction. A story is of course a way of testing whether an experience can take on a shape. Murakami’s and Faber’s novels are not themselves full-blown stories, for there is almost no plot, no shape, to their stumbling episodic structures, and oddly enough in both books the self-doubting lovers might or might not find that close communion with another somewhere well beyond the last page of each novel. </p>
<p>These novels cohere round a series of questions rather than events: what do we know and what can we know about others, what is the nature of the distance that separates one person from another, how provisional is it to know someone anyway, and what does it mean to care about someone, even someone who is a character in a novel? </p>
<p>When an Indian says he is married to a salmon, this can be no stranger than me saying I spent a couple of weeks on a humid planet in another galaxy with an astronaut who is a Christian preacher and an inept husband, or I spent last night in Tokyo with an engineer who builds railway stations and believes himself to be colourless, though at least two women have told him he is full of colour. But do I go to this story-making as a way of keeping my experiences less personal and more cerebral?</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292944/original/file-20190918-148982-x6ho9u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292944/original/file-20190918-148982-x6ho9u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292944/original/file-20190918-148982-x6ho9u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292944/original/file-20190918-148982-x6ho9u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292944/original/file-20190918-148982-x6ho9u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292944/original/file-20190918-148982-x6ho9u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292944/original/file-20190918-148982-x6ho9u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292944/original/file-20190918-148982-x6ho9u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">After our dinner, I came home shaken.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/1088849681?src=-ghuLkQX9YILhbSXJH4uyg-1-0&size=huge_jpg">www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
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<p>When I got home that night eight years ago, I sat at my kitchen table, shaking, hugging myself, talking to my grown-up children about what happened. It was the talking that helped — a narrative taking shape.</p>
<p>Dunbar, like me, like all of us, worries at the question of what makes life so richly present to us, and why friendships seem to be at the core of this meaningfulness. He has been surveying Americans with questions about friendship for several decades, and he concludes that for many of us the small circle of intimate friendships we experience is reducing.</p>
<p>We are apparently lucky now, on average, if there are two people in our lives we can approach with tenderness and curiosity, with that assumption that time will not matter as we talk in a low, murmuring, hive-warm way to a close friend.</p>
<p>My friend cannot be replaced, and it might be that we did not in the end imagine each other fully enough or accurately enough as we approached that last encounter. I don’t know precisely what our failure was. The shock of what happened and the shock of the friendship ending has over the time since that dinner become a part of my history in which I remember feeling grief but am no longer caught in confused anger or guilt over it. The story of it might not have ended but it has subsided.</p>
<p>Perhaps in all friendships we are not only, at our best, agreeing to encountering the unique and endlessly absorbing presence of another person, but unknown to us we’re learning something about how to approach the next friendship in our lives. There is something comically inept and endearing about the possibility that one might still be learning how to be a friend right up to the end of life.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/121627/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kevin John Brophy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A 40-year friendship ends badly and publicly, leading to a forensic examination of what it means to have and be a friend.Kevin John Brophy, Emeritus Professor of Creative writing, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1038282018-10-07T18:52:13Z2018-10-07T18:52:13ZPeer mentoring program shows promise for preventing African youth violence<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239286/original/file-20181004-52678-ng84h4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Participants in a new peer mentoring outreach program aimed at reducing crime in the African community in Western Australia.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jan/03/is-melbourne-in-the-grip-of-african-gangs-the-facts-behind-the-lurid-headlines">Recent episodes</a> of violence among Australian youth of African descent have been a topic of mounting concern for politicians, the police and African communities alike.</p>
<p>The Australian public is divided on the issue. Some believe these violent acts are isolated cases that are being <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-media-are-to-blame-for-racialising-melbournes-african-gang-problem-100761">hyped by the media</a> to create moral panic. Others argue that authorities are <a href="https://www.news.com.au/national/politics/cant-pretend-no-sudanese-gangs-turnbull/news-story/ca128866f065a2c055bb9d26031d1a39">downplaying concerns</a> over so-called “African gangs” and question the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/there-is-a-problem-tony-abbott-questions-all-african-immigration-amid-gang-violence-debate-20180725-p4ztmh.html">integration</a> of all African migrants in Australia.</p>
<p>According to ABS data, Sudanese people have the <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/sudanese-prisoners-lead-crime-rate-numbers/news-story/0e31f3eea3f5d87d2a53547fefc7b257">highest imprisonment rate</a> per capita of any ethnic group in Australia. But incarceration has not been an effective deterrent in reducing crime – many young people reoffend after returning to the community as they lack relevant support systems and opportunities to reintegrate. </p>
<p>Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/immigration/peter-dutton-threatens-to-deport-african-gang-members/news-story/7f1a81b18789abd0e239ef1c75a5a4b2">proposed a more radical solution</a> to the problem – deporting criminal offenders. Some parents and guardians have resorted to <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-28/south-sudanese-parents-sending-kids-to-africa-to-avoid-crime/8064540">sending their children back to Africa</a> to keep them out of trouble. </p>
<h2>A new peer-oriented approach</h2>
<p>But there may be another, less drastic way forward – peer mentoring. </p>
<p>Peer mentoring is considered an effective vehicle for communicating values to young people as they are more apt to listen and learn from like-minded youths in their communities rather than authority figures.</p>
<p>In 2017, the non-profit <a href="https://oacwa.com.au/">Organisation of African Communities of Western Australia (OAC-WA)</a> launched the <a href="https://oacwa.com.au/stop-the-violence/">Stop the Violence Project (STVP)</a>, whose mission is to identify youths in the African community at risk of committing crimes and match them with peer mentors who can steer them out of trouble.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-media-are-to-blame-for-racialising-melbournes-african-gang-problem-100761">Why the media are to blame for racialising Melbourne's 'African gang' problem</a>
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<hr>
<p>The program is being implemented in two phases. Phase One was dedicated to training 18 young Africans between the ages of 18 and 29 to become peer mentors. </p>
<p>This training involved a six-month program where they learned about WA criminal law, conflict resolution, the importance of self-esteem and identity, the history of African migration to Australia, the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse, financial management, the value of formal education and leadership skills. </p>
<p>The program is now in Phase Two, which involves the mentors going out to their respective communities to share violence prevention and conflict resolution techniques. A second batch of mentors is currently being recruited, as well. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239284/original/file-20181004-52691-1omdl65.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239284/original/file-20181004-52691-1omdl65.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239284/original/file-20181004-52691-1omdl65.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239284/original/file-20181004-52691-1omdl65.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239284/original/file-20181004-52691-1omdl65.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239284/original/file-20181004-52691-1omdl65.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239284/original/file-20181004-52691-1omdl65.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The first induction of mentors in the Stop the Violence Project.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span>
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<h2>Cultural differences revealed</h2>
<p>Edith Cowan University has designed an evaluative case study to examine the impact of the program. In the first part of the study, focus groups have been conducted with program facilitators and mentors before and after their training.</p>
<p>The discussions have so far focused on the nature of violence committed by African youths, the impact the program has had on the mentors’ lives and the readiness of the mentors to engage with their peers.</p>
<p>The study identified three main forms of violence occurring among African youth: inter-African country violence (for example, conflicts between sporting clubs of different African countries at sporting events); inter-ethnic or tribal conflict; and fights between groups over specific territory in their communities.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sudanese-heritage-youth-in-australia-are-frequently-maligned-by-fear-mongering-and-racism-89763">Sudanese heritage youth in Australia are frequently maligned by fear-mongering and racism</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>This helped the mentors understand the dynamics underpinning violence in their communities and develop more effective strategies for combating it.</p>
<p>The focus groups also revealed that many mentors were themselves unaware what types of behaviours constituted a crime in Australia. As a couple of the mentors explained to us:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I didn’t know that touching a person could be a crime and the law is against it … back home, we touch people freely … but it’s not OK here.</p>
<p>I knew about resolving conflict, but I would do it my own way, which usually involved the use of force. But the facilitators … explained them systematically in a way that made sense and is very applicable to us. I have learned that before violence breaks out, it goes through stages before escalating into aggression. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The mentors are now beginning their outreach into their communities. The impact of the mentoring on their peers will be evaluated, particularly where the peers are under 18. </p>
<p>Some of the mentors are organising seminars and workshops for their peers, at times also including their parents, the WA police and other community organisations. One mentor has launched cultural dance sessions as a way of keeping young people off the streets, while another is running a support program for African youths who have returned from detention, to help them reintegrate into the community. </p>
<p>Overall, the mentors report that they feel better equipped now to relate with their peers, recognise when an innocuous argument is likely to lead to violence and deescalate tensions when they do arise. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>At first when I see violence about to start or people arguing I was confused and didn’t know what to do. But I have learned techniques to calm them down.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>A positive impact in other communities</h2>
<p>Peer mentoring programs have proven effective in preventing youth violence in other countries. According to <a href="https://ruor.uottawa.ca/bitstream/10393/37250/3/Bradley_Jeffrey_2018_thesis.pdf">one survey</a>, at-risk youths who took part in the <a href="http://www.bbbs.org/">Big Brothers, Big Sisters</a> program in the US were 32% less likely to hit another person, 46% less likely to start using drugs, and 27% less likely to start drinking alcohol. The program also showed other benefits, such as better school attendance and improved relationships with parents.</p>
<p>Another study looking at a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/youth-crime-prevention-programmes/what-these-programmes-are-and-how-they-work">Youth Inclusion Program</a> in the UK found a 62% decrease in arrest rates and a 27% reduction in suspensions from school among a test group of 50 at-risk youths. </p>
<p>Our hope is the Stop the Violence project can achieve similar positive outcomes in Perth and perhaps be replicated in other communities in Australia. This depends, of course, on the outcome of the pilot program and the continued support from the community and funding from the government.</p>
<p>Our findings so far suggest we are on the right track, and Australian youth of African descent will be far better at communicating positive conflict resolution to their communities than tough-on-crime politicians.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/103828/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kwadwo Adusei-Asante receives funding from Edith Cowan University Industry Collaboration Grant</span></em></p>A new crime prevention program in Western Australia is training young Australians of African descent to become peer mentors to at-risk youths in their communities.Kwadwo Adusei-Asante, Senior Lecturer, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/941722018-04-09T04:07:05Z2018-04-09T04:07:05ZWill sorting classrooms by ability improve marks? It depends on the mix<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/213323/original/file-20180405-189813-nz5w2p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It's important to carefully select an appropriate pupil mix, especially to support weaker students.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Parents and teachers are interested in ensuring children perform their best in school. <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/03/lets-go-back-to-grouping-students-by-ability/274362/">Some</a> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2013/06/07/why-grouping-students-by-ability-makes-sense/">believe</a> putting smart students together can improve educational outcomes. But <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780444537072000037">evidence</a> about <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780444534293000041">the impact of classmate or schoolmate quality</a> (as measured by, say, test scores) on individual performance in an educational setting is only just beginning to accumulate.</p>
<p>Establishing the presence and size of peer effects in education is important. Targeted educational interventions for one group of students may spill over to their classmates. Deliberately sorting students may raise the average attainment of pupils in ways other interventions may not.</p>
<h2>Who are your friends?</h2>
<p>The principal aim of <a href="http://goo.gl/cYbcbm">our study</a> was to estimate the impact the quality a student’s class and schoolmates has on academic performance. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/213324/original/file-20180405-189795-pq9cma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/213324/original/file-20180405-189795-pq9cma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213324/original/file-20180405-189795-pq9cma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213324/original/file-20180405-189795-pq9cma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213324/original/file-20180405-189795-pq9cma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213324/original/file-20180405-189795-pq9cma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213324/original/file-20180405-189795-pq9cma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It’s important to carefully select an appropriate pupil mix, especially to support weaker students.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as simply taking the outcomes of a student with good peers and comparing those to the outcomes of a student with bad peers, because students tend to choose their peers. The difference in outcomes may be due to differences in other factors that affect peer quality and the academic outcomes simultaneously, such as parental investment in education. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-some-migrant-school-students-do-better-than-their-local-peers-theyre-not-just-smarter-93741">Why some migrant school students do better than their local peers (they're not 'just smarter')</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Also, any particular student is a peer of other students. Thus, this student <a href="https://academic.oup.com/restud/article-abstract/60/3/531/1570385">can influence the outcomes of their peers just as much as their peers affect their outcomes</a>. </p>
<p>A final complication is that students belonging to the same school are exposed to the same factors or shocks that could drive their outcomes. So, any seemingly correlated peer effect may simply be due to exposure to the same environment.</p>
<p>Ideally, one would take a random sample of students, assign half to classrooms with good peers and the other half with bad peers, then take the difference in average outcomes. Obviously, there are sound ethical objections to such an experiment. Instead, we have to rely on a more complicated strategy to estimate the impact of peer quality. In our case, we use changes in one’s peer quality that we believe are not due to self-selection, reflection, or correlated factors to see how these changes translate to individual academic performance.</p>
<p>Using data on English children, our study shows peer quality has a small effect on an individual’s test scores at age 18. But a large proportion of low-ability students has a detrimental impact on the performance of average children. In addition, academically weaker students are influenced most by their peers. All together, putting a weak student in a class with other weak students would be detrimental for all of them.</p>
<p>The variation in peer effects is a particularly interesting result. To demonstrate this, we ranked students by ability. Weaker students are on the left and better students on the right, as measured by their test scores taken at around age 14. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/212950/original/file-20180403-189821-1df6vb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/212950/original/file-20180403-189821-1df6vb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/212950/original/file-20180403-189821-1df6vb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/212950/original/file-20180403-189821-1df6vb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/212950/original/file-20180403-189821-1df6vb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=549&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/212950/original/file-20180403-189821-1df6vb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=549&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/212950/original/file-20180403-189821-1df6vb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=549&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Estimated effects of average peer ability at age 14 on test scores taken at age 17–18 by deciles of own ability. The grey area represents 95% confidence intervals.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A one-standard-deviation increase in peer quality (as measured by average test scores earlier in life) improves one’s performance in exams taken at around age 17–18 by over 50 points in the bottom quintile. This effect diminishes as we take better and better students. As we move from left to right, the impact estimate, represented by the red line, declines.</p>
<p>Two studies present findings similar to ours. In both cases, the researchers examine how changes in peer quality affect school performance as students transition from primary to secondary school in the UK. </p>
<p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/obes.12095">One of the studies</a> demonstrated that average peer ability has no significant impact on individual performance. </p>
<p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1468-0297.2011.02463.x">The other</a> showed less variation in peer effects than what we uncovered. But their outcome is based on performance in tests at age 14, while we used a broader spectrum of academic outcomes. This includes test scores at age 16 and 17–18, and the likelihood of pursuing tertiary education.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/for-australian-students-academic-potential-still-outweighs-social-circumstances-82441">For Australian students, academic potential still outweighs social circumstances</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<h2>Sorting students more effectively can help weaker students</h2>
<p>Student achievement in school is determined by a <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/145575">variety</a> of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1468-0297.00097">factors</a>. These include parental socioeconomic background, individual ability, non-cognitive skills, and peer composition. </p>
<p>It’s important to carefully select an appropriate pupil mix, especially to support weaker students. But such an adjustment is unlikely to compensate for deficiencies in other areas, such as early-childhood investments at home and teacher quality at school.</p>
<p>Can we do better than randomly sorting students into classes? Yes. When placed with better-performing classmates, weaker students are likely to gain from the improved learning environment, and smarter students are unlikely to be negatively affected.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/94172/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>A coauthor of the research paper, Prof Ian Walker of Lancaster University, received support from the Economic and Social Research Council grant "The Long-Term Legacy of School Choice" and the Nuffield Trust grant "Secondary School Choice and Academic Achievement." Alfredo Paloyo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Silvia Mendolia does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Weaker students – when placed together with better classmates – can gain from the improved learning environment, and smarter students are unlikely to be negatively affected.Alfredo R. Paloyo, Senior Lecturer in Economics, University of WollongongSilvia Mendolia, Senior lecturer in Economics, University of WollongongLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/927442018-04-03T02:04:22Z2018-04-03T02:04:22ZHow our peers influence our superannuation decisions<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209638/original/file-20180309-30979-1lry134.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Women are less active in managing their super when there are more men in the office.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Just as our peers can influence what movies we go to or where we go on holiday, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0927538X17303967">our research</a> suggests that Australians’ superannuation investment decisions are influenced by our work colleagues.</p>
<p>If a superannuation fund member is at a workplace where a lot of colleagues make changes to their investment strategy, this significantly increases the likelihood that they themselves will make a change.</p>
<p>But the gender makeup of the workplace also matters. In a workplace where the majority of workers are male, men tend to be more active in managing their superannuation. Where the majority of workers are female, women are more active.</p>
<p>However, women are less active with their superannuation when more men are in the office.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-single-women-are-more-likely-to-retire-poor-51126">Why single women are more likely to retire poor</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Why are peers so important?</h2>
<p>That our peers influence our decisions suggests that social context is important in financial decisions. This fits with <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21261135">previous studies</a> that identified social norms (such as ideas over what is approved or disapproved of) as important factors when forming investment strategies for retirement savings.</p>
<p>There may also be an element of <a href="https://www.learning-theories.com/social-learning-theory-bandura.html">social learning</a> that explains the influence of our peers on superannuation decisions. Managing superannuation is complex and time-consuming, so making comparisons with others makes decisions easier and alleviates some of the uncertainty that stems from making complex decisions. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-australians-dont-make-extra-super-contributions-24841">Why Australians don't make extra super contributions</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>In male-dominated workplaces, the women appear to behave in ways that are in direct contrast to their male co-workers. The more active their male colleagues are with their superannuation, the less likely the women are to change their superannuation investment strategy. </p>
<p>Even though we have found a link between the likelihood of an individual making an investment strategy change and the behaviour of their peers, we don’t know the strength of this link.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-australian-women-over-55-arent-exactly-enjoying-the-time-of-their-lives-62832">Why Australian women over 55 aren't exactly enjoying the time of their lives</a>
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<p>Our study suggests that superannuation funds and trustees can use our peers to influence our super decisions. </p>
<p>This should make us reflect on what influences our investment choices. Did your peers influence the choices? Did the gender makeup of the workplace influence your choice? How does the perception of others’ behaviour impact investment decisions? Asking these questions will give insight into how we make these important choices. </p>
<p>Our research suggests there may be flow-on effects from information sessions and other information given out by superannuation funds. If this information is taken on by members, it can have impact beyond those who attend these seminars or search fund websites.</p>
<p>The influence of peers is not necessarily good or bad. Our plan is to investigate this next – what are the outcomes for members who are influenced by their peers to make certain choices?</p>
<p>If super funds and trustees are aware of the effect our peers have on us, then they also need to be wary of how the gender balance of our workplaces might in fact lead to less active management of our super.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/92744/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Gerrans received funding from the CSIRO-Monash Superannuation Research Cluster (grant number LD0001 S9138) in the conduct of this research.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carly Moulang and Jimmy Feng do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If a superannuation fund member is at a workplace where a lot of colleagues make changes to their investment strategy, it becomes significantly more likely that they themselves will make a change.Carly Moulang, Senior Lecturer, Monash UniversityJimmy Feng, Lecturer, Monash UniversityPaul Gerrans, Professor of Finance, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/870862018-01-29T18:14:07Z2018-01-29T18:14:07ZMore children are starting school depressed and anxious – without help, it will only get worse<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/203716/original/file-20180129-100902-18xzg2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Transition to school is a difficult time for children.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/cRRDzGxqVe8">Photo by Piron Guillaume on Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><hr>
<p><em>This article is <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/back-to-school-2018-48951">part of a series</a> that draws on the latest research on back to school transitions. In it, experts explain how best to prepare children for school, and counter difficulties such as stress or bad behaviour.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Starting school for the first time can be stressful. Children are suddenly thrown into a foreign environment, juggling the pressure of learning new academic skills and establishing relationships with peers. Some thrive, but others may need support through this transition.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28795830">study found</a> that at the ages of six to seven, which is just after the time children start school, 14% of Australian children had noticeably high levels of emotional problems. Emotional problems generally refer to depressive and anxiety symptoms, somatic (physical) complaints such as headaches, and withdrawn behaviours. </p>
<p>There are roughly <a href="http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/quickstat/036">1.5 million children aged six to seven going to school</a> in Australia. This means around 200,000 of them are dealing with some kind of emotional problem. These problems become worse as the children progress through school. We found that three years later, when the same cohort of children were ten to 11, an additional 60,000 had developed symptoms of depression or anxiety.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-gently-prepare-your-child-for-prep-90122">How to gently prepare your child for prep</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Emotional problems</h2>
<p>A <a href="http://www.aedc.gov.au/resources/detail/2015-aedc-national-report">2015 report</a> from the Australian Early Development Census (<a href="https://www.aedc.gov.au/">AEDC</a>) has warned that one in five (22%) children who enter school in Australia is developmentally vulnerable in one or more areas, including emotional maturity, communication and cognitive skills (such as memory). </p>
<p>It was also noted that children’s mental health was becoming worse since the 2012 report. The emotional maturity domain, for instance, saw a decrease in the number of children developmentally on track (from 78.1% to 76.4%) and an increase in the number of those who were developmentally vulnerable (from 7.6% to 8.4%) and at risk (from 14.2% to 15.3%).</p>
<p>While we know emotional problems <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/7752644b-e6f0-4793-b4e0-74ef3093c589/19748-ah16-ib.pdf.aspx?inline=true">are prevalent among young Australians</a>, we have little knowledge of how these issues develop throughout childhood. Such knowledge is crucial to inform early prevention and intervention, and to alter the development of emotional problems into adolescence and adulthood.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-teens-doing-well-but-some-still-at-high-risk-of-suicide-and-self-harm-83303">Australian teens doing well, but some still at high risk of suicide and self-harm</a>
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<p>Our <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28795830">study</a> used data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (<a href="http://www.growingupinaustralia.gov.au">LSAC</a>). The LSAC has been following the development of 10,000 children and families since 2004 in two cohorts – the birth cohort and the kindergarten cohort. Each cohort has about 5,000 children and families. </p>
<p>The LSAC <a href="http://www.growingupinaustralia.gov.au/about/faq.html#q2">explores areas</a> such as children’s social and emotional development, the health status of children and their families, learning and cognition outcomes, parenting, and relationships. This <a href="http://www.growingupinaustralia.gov.au/about/faq.html#q6">information is collected</a> through face-to-face and telephone interviews, as well as computer-assisted self interviews and/or questionnaires.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/202548/original/file-20180119-80161-55a1a7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/202548/original/file-20180119-80161-55a1a7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/202548/original/file-20180119-80161-55a1a7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202548/original/file-20180119-80161-55a1a7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202548/original/file-20180119-80161-55a1a7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202548/original/file-20180119-80161-55a1a7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202548/original/file-20180119-80161-55a1a7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202548/original/file-20180119-80161-55a1a7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Girls are more at risk of their emotional problems escalating than boys.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/cEf2lvyhNAI">Photo by pan xiaozhen on Unsplash</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>We analysed the data on the emotional problems of 3,200 children from the kindergarten cohort who had completed questions relevant to our study; first at the ages of six to seven, then again at eight to nine, and ten to 11. We found that children’s emotional problems, on average, were increasing over time. </p>
<p>However, the rate of increase did not differ based on children’s initial emotional vulnerability. </p>
<h2>What are the reasons?</h2>
<p>In addition to analysing data on the rates of children’s emotional problems, we also identified a range of risk and protective factors that fall into four categories: individual aspects, social and cultural environment, parenting, and peer group experience. </p>
<p>We found a number of factors to be associated with the increase in emotional problems of the children in our sample over time. For example, compared to boys, girls started with higher levels of emotional problems at six to seven years, and these escalated at a faster rate. There is <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10802-005-6734-7">well-established evidence</a> that adolescent girls often have more emotional problems than boys, but the evidence in childhood is not robust. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-we-should-put-yoga-in-the-australian-school-curriculum-89962">Why we should put yoga in the Australian school curriculum</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Our findings suggest that girls with early signs of emotional problems, and their parents, should be considered for parent and child development support programs in the early years of school. Signals can include showing anxiety, chewing nails, not being able to make friends, having sleep problems and signs of depression. </p>
<p>How children regulate their emotions is another factor that influences their emotional wellbeing, particularly during the <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/development-and-psychopathology/article/developmental-cascades-externalizing-internalizing-and-academic-competence-from-middle-childhood-to-early-adolescence/596E8F631C1F34A67DEA435C69345E85">transition to school</a>. This is the period when children face increasing demands to regulate their emotions in formal school settings.</p>
<p>We found peer problems to be an important risk factor linked to children’s escalation of emotional problems, especially during the transition to school. Peer problems include issues such as not being able to make friends, having difficulty getting along with peers or being picked on by other children. Children need to learn skills related to making friends and maintaining friendships, such as cooperation, sympathy and helping others.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/back-to-school-blues-how-to-help-your-child-with-shyness-90228">Back to school blues: how to help your child with shyness</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>One thing to note is that the absence of peer problems <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022440516300565">does not necessarily suggest</a> the presence of positive relationships. Teachers tend to view children without problematic behaviours more favourably than children with problematic behaviours, and so are less likely to support them. However, lack of peer problems might also mean that the child is isolated and does not have many friends. </p>
<p>It’s important that teachers and parents proactively assist children to develop their social skills. Among the most important ones are to encourage children to help others, cooperate, express their emotions and understand others’ emotions. </p>
<p>Our study also found that the mother’s mental health was important for children’s emotional wellbeing. We included mothers’ mental health scores when children were four to five, and six to seven years. A poor score for a mother’s mental health when her children were four to five years was linked to children’s escalation of emotional problems from six to seven and then ten to 11 years. </p>
<p>This suggests that the early years may represent a sensitive period during which maternal mental health problems have lasting and harmful implications on children’s emotional wellbeing across middle childhood. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-gently-prepare-your-child-for-prep-90122">How to gently prepare your child for prep</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How parents can help</h2>
<p>Two important ways in which parents can prepare their children for school is by teaching them self-regulation and friendship skills. </p>
<p>To have better self-regulation skills, children need to learn to have some discipline early on. Trying to stick to a schedule, for example, is important. </p>
<p>Also important is helping children understand their emotions and express them in a constructive way – for example, to be able to say when they feel frustrated instead of having a tantrum. </p>
<p>To help children have <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0885200617301266">better friendship skills</a>, parents can encourage them to help other children, be involved in group activities with them and to act sympathetically towards others.</p>
<p><em>More resources for parents can be found <a href="http://www.triplep-parenting.net.au/au-uken/triple-p/">here</a>, and <a href="http://www.janetlansbury.com/">here.</a></em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87086/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>At the ages of 6-7, when children are transitioning to starting school, 14% have high levels of emotional problems, including depression and anxiety. This percentage is higher in the later years.Dr Amelia Shay, Research Fellow in Developmental and Educational Psychology, Australian Catholic UniversityCen Wang, Research Fellow in Educational and Developmental Psychology, Charles Sturt UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/878192018-01-03T10:29:07Z2018-01-03T10:29:07ZBullying isn’t just verbal or physical – it can also be social, and this can have the worst effects<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198593/original/file-20171211-27683-ff15kf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Iakov Filimonov/Shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Bullying is a problem for schools worldwide. It is a fairly common behaviour, although it can be difficult to identify the number of young people who have been bullied because of the different ways bullying is measured. One 2014 <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1054139X14002547?via%3Dihub#bib19">review</a> of 80 studies suggests that roughly 35% of children experience bullying at some point. In a class of 30 students, this would mean that ten young people will have been a victim of bullying. <a href="https://www.nspcc.org.uk/globalassets/documents/annual-reports/childline-annual-review-2015-16.pdf">Childline</a> reports that bullying is one of the top three reasons young people contact them.</p>
<p>Bullying is generally thought of as an intentional, harmful behaviour which is carried out repeatedly. The repetitive nature distinguishes bullying from other forms of conflict or aggression among young people. There are four main types of bullying behaviours: physical, verbal, cyber and relational (or social).</p>
<p>Relational bullying is probably the least known form of bullying. But it is also one of the most common forms, and can have more damaging effects than the other, better known forms of bullying. Relational bullying causes harm by destroying an individual’s peer relationships and social status. It could involve social exclusion: not inviting peers to take part in activities, for example, or spreading rumours and embarrassing information.</p>
<p>This type of bullying is sometimes called indirect, social or emotional bullying. While there may be subtle differences, overall it is accepted that <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1207/s15327957pspr0903_2">they refer to the same types of bullying behaviour</a>.</p>
<h2>Bullying and health</h2>
<p>Since the 1970s, when psychologist Dan Olweus first established the field of bullying research, much evidence has shown that bullying in schools can have very harmful effects. </p>
<p>The detrimental outcomes of bullying have been identified across the globe. Longitudinal research has demonstrated that these <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-health-impact-of-childhood-bullying-can-last-a-lifetime-26541">negative results can last into adulthood</a>, with effects that include <a href="https://theconversation.com/nearly-a-third-of-early-adulthood-depression-linked-to-bullying-in-teenage-years-42813">depression</a> and anxiety. We often focus on the person who is being bullied, but research has also shown bullies are more likely to report <a href="https://theconversation.com/school-bullying-leads-to-poorer-physical-health-in-adults-17075">negative outcomes in later life</a>.</p>
<p>With the exception of cyberbullying, the different forms of bullying are often studied together. Cyberbullying emerged more recently, and has seen a lot of attention as researchers try to establish how it differs from the more traditional forms of bullying.</p>
<p>In my research, I focus exclusively on relational bullying. There has been very little research which has looked at relational bullying specifically, particularly in a UK context. There is often crossover between the four types of bullying, and studying bullying broadly can be helpful. But relational bullying warrants research attention as there is less awareness of and concern about this form of bullying.</p>
<p><a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/josh.12558/full">My recently published findings</a>, carried out with colleagues, highlight the damaging effects of relational bullying, above and beyond that of physical and verbal bullying. We analysed <a href="http://www.hbscengland.com/">data</a> collected from 5,335 young people aged 11, 13 and 15 through an anonymous survey completed during school lessons. The survey asked young people a number of questions about bullying, including relational bullying.</p>
<p>In particular, we wanted to see what kind of relationship there was between relational bullying and health-related quality of life, while also considering physical and verbal bullying. Health-related quality of life is a broader measure of a young person’s well-being which covers their physical, emotional, social and behavioural functioning. It fits with the broader World Health Organization <a href="http://www.who.int/about/mission/en/">definition of health</a>, which states that health is not simply the absence of an illness.</p>
<p>We found that relational bullying is associated with lower health-related quality of life, and appears to have a larger influence than physical or verbal bullying – almost double that for verbal bullying. We also considered gender, and found the findings were the same for both boys and girls.</p>
<h2>How to spot it</h2>
<p>We have come a long way since bullying was viewed as just an unavoidable part of life, a rite of passage during your school years. We now have access to numerous charities aimed at providing support for those young people who are being bullied, for their parents, and advice for schools. There are a number of well-established, evidence-based interventions, and UK law specifies state schools must have anti-bullying policies in place. And these efforts aren’t in vain, with small decreases in bullying prevalence <a href="https://academic.oup.com/eurpub/article/25/suppl_2/61/590463">noted across 11 countries</a>.</p>
<p>But are we thinking about relational bullying when we talk about anti-bullying? Teachers <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0022487113511496">have demonstrated</a> that they have less concern and are less likely to intervene in instances of relational bullying, while parents may not view social exclusion as bullying. Additionally, the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/bullying-at-school/bullying-a-definition">UK government webpage</a> does not include relational bullying behaviours in their definition.</p>
<p>It is important that school anti-bullying policies encompass relational bullying along with the more traditional forms of bullying. Yes, there is overlap between bullying behaviours, but it is essential that relational bullying is given as much attention as other forms. By its very nature, relational bullying can be difficult to identify. Raising awareness of what relational bullying is and how harmful it can be plays an important role in developing interventions for this behaviour.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87819/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kayleigh Chester does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Studies suggests that roughly 35% of children experience bullying at some point.Kayleigh Chester, PhD Candidate, University of HertfordshireLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/810182017-08-22T23:14:13Z2017-08-22T23:14:13ZHow to help your kids transition to high school<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182853/original/file-20170821-12584-c4e514.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The challenges of making new friends, managing schedules and the hormones of puberty can be overwhelming for new high school students. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Unsplash/Benjamin Voros)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>At this time of year, it can sometimes be hard to tell who’s more excited about returning to school, youth or their parents.</p>
<p>But the excitement for kids about new friends, teachers and ventures can be overshadowed by anxiety and stress, particularly if they’re moving into high school.</p>
<p>The sheer size of a high school building can be overwhelming to the uninitiated. The <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0883035500000252">potential loss of social status among a larger group of peers</a> and the increased number of teachers — each having different styles and expectations – can be intimidating for newcomers. Add to this the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3410522/">hormonal changes that accompany puberty</a> and drive physical, emotional and cognitive growth, and the demands on young people can be overwhelming.</p>
<p>In high school, teachers tend to stay in one place while the students rotate through their classrooms. This can be difficult for students who are used to having a homeroom teacher for the majority of their subjects. </p>
<p>Some high schools have instituted <a href="https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/docs/support/my_foundation/my_education.pdf">homerooms for core subjects</a> such as language arts and social studies. These allow students to connect daily to at least one key adult who knows them and ostensibly has their best interests in mind. Regrettably, this practice is rare past Grade 8.</p>
<p>Fortunately, parents and their children can take some steps to make the transition easier. As an educator and a psychologist from the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary, I offer you a few simple strategies:</p>
<h2>1. Get to know the school space</h2>
<p>Familiarity helps to <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED397832">reduce anxiety</a>. If possible, youth should try to tour the school halls in advance to get to know where specific rooms are located. Of course, it helps if they can have a school map to help them navigate. It’s always important to learn where key spaces are such as the administrative offices, washrooms, cafeteria and water fountains.</p>
<h2>2. Make the leap with a few friends</h2>
<p>The adolescent years are significant in the transition from relying on parents to <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0272431604274174">learning to trust and rely on peers</a>. During this time, peer socialization becomes critically important and being part of a peer collective can make the transition smoother while <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0883035500000264">helping to ease stress</a>. Confidence in social interactions with peers <a href="https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/67358/10.1177_027243169401400205.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y">contributes to positive self-evaluation and successful school transitions</a>. </p>
<p>Youth can identify friends from their previous school who plan to attend the same high school. If they live close together, they can travel together to school or plan to meet up before school, at lunch breaks and during times when they might not have scheduled classes. Among other things, this will give them the opportunity to share and compare experiences — essentially normalizing what they are going through, while brainstorming solutions to challenges they might be facing.</p>
<h2>3. Identify clubs and interest groups</h2>
<p>These hobby-based groups tend to be smaller than regular classes and have supportive teacher sponsors with an interest in the subject area. This can be an easy way to connect with others who have similar interests, while building a support network at school. </p>
<p>Since the high school years are ones of <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/8457355_Risk_Taking_and_Novelty_Seeking_in_Adolescence_Introduction_to_Part_I">exploration, novelty seeking and even risk-taking</a>, such groups offer an opportunity to explore interests in a safe environment.</p>
<h2>4. Help with planning and organization</h2>
<p>In high school, there’s an increased expectation for students to take responsibility for planning and organizing materials for themselves, as well as getting to class on time, handing in homework and assignments and coming prepared for quizzes and exams. This also includes managing class materials, unique clothing for sports and clubs, musical instruments and other school equipment. Most schools offer a personal planner booklet that can help students to overcome some of these challenges. However, most will require support to be able to use and maintain them properly. </p>
<p>It’s true that adolescence is a time of cognitive growth and consolidation. This comes from the <a href="http://www.brainfacts.org/brain-basics/neuroanatomy/articles/2015/myelin/">myelination of nerves</a> (insulation for faster signals) and the <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20803-brains-synaptic-pruning-continues-into-your-20s/">pruning of neural networks</a> (specialization for efficient brain function) that improve thinking capacities. However, the adolescent brain keeps developing well into the early 20s. Higher order thinking, planning and foresight can take time to develop.</p>
<h2>5. Organize a study schedule</h2>
<p>Family support and parental engagement are <a href="https://www.horizonsd.ca/Services/Literacy/Documents/Pushor-Parent%20Engagement%202007.pdf">linked to academic success</a>. It’s important to start building study habits early, even if there is no assigned homework to do. Students should plan for 30 to 60 minutes of study, homework and project work per night. It is often best to schedule a regular time, such as just before or after the family dinner. </p>
<p>Whatever the schedule, it’s also important to take breaks after school. And try to plan time carefully so that such work does not drag on and become demotivating.</p>
<h2>6. Monitor stress</h2>
<p>Even after settling into the new environment, getting to know teachers and their expectations and collecting a group of friends, the level of stress in high school can still be intense. Schools can be competitive environments. Exams (particularly high-stakes final exams) can be stressful to the point of debilitation. And social demands can be overwhelming. </p>
<p>Challenges like these can be exacerbated if students have unique needs such as physical or sensory impairments, learning disabilities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or a mental health condition such as anxiety or depression. In cases where such challenges are known in advance, it is important to connect to the receiving school’s specialized supports, which often come in the form of guidance and counselling services and accessibility services. </p>
<p>Kids should also be monitored to ensure they’re coping with the demands being placed on them. Their ability to cope can change day to day and month to month, and parents should be ready to offer support when it’s needed. In some cases, stress can become overwhelming or persistent to the point of immobilization. If they aren’t experiencing <a href="http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED482301.pdf">reduced anxiety within a month, they likely need help</a>. </p>
<p>If so, specialized professional support may be needed to identify the underlying problem and intervene appropriately. School counsellors can be a good place to start, while family doctors can often point the way toward a good child psychologist or counselling specialist.</p>
<p>With the right kind of planning and support, the transition to high school can be a life-changing and empowering one that can set your youth on the path toward an amazing future. Start now to plan for success.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/81018/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Lee Zwiers consults with the CanLearn Society in Calgary, Alberta, a non-profit society that supports people with attention and learning problems, as well as autism. He has a small independent consulting company that supports and trains psychologists and mental health professionals.</span></em></p>An education psychologist offers tips for parents of new high school kids on everything from navigation to time management.Michael Lee Zwiers, Assistant Professor Educational Psychology, University of CalgaryLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.