Delayed Disaster Impacts on Academic Performance of Primary School Children

L Gibbs; J Nursey; J Cook; G Ireton; N Alkemade; M Roberts; HC Gallagher; R Bryant; K Block; R Molyneaux; D Forbes

Journal article

Delayed Disaster Impacts on Academic Performance of Primary School Children

L Gibbs, J Nursey, J Cook, G Ireton, N Alkemade, M Roberts, HC Gallagher, R Bryant, K Block, R Molyneaux, D Forbes

Child Development | WILEY | Published : 2019

DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13200

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Abstract

Social disruption caused by natural disasters often interrupts educational opportunities for children. However, little is known about children's learning in the following years. This study examined change in academic scores for children variably exposed to a major bushfire in Australia. Comparisons were made between children attending high, medium, and low disaster-affected primary schools 2–4 years after the disaster (n = 24,642; 9–12 years). The results showed that in reading and numeracy expected gains from Year 3 to Year 5 scores were reduced in schools with higher levels of bushfire impact. The findings highlight the extended period of academic impact and identify important opportunitie..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Lisa Gibbs Author

Jane Nursey Author

Colin Gallagher Author

Karen Block Author

Related Projects (1)

TRANSLATING DISASTER RESEARCH EVIDENCE INTO POLICY AND PRACTICE DECISION-MAKING TOOLS TO GUIDE DISASTER RESILIENCE AND RECOVERY

This project responds to needs that have been expressed repeatedly by government agencies, communities and service providers at local, state..

Grants

Awarded by Jack Brockhoff Foundation

Funding Acknowledgements

We appreciate the opportunity provided by the Department of Education and Training to analyze such important data sets and note that all research findings and opinions are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the department. It is noted that coauthor Michelle Roberts is employed by the Department of Education and Training. We gratefully acknowledge the generous funding provided by the Teachers Health Foundation. We also acknowledge the NHMRC TRIP Fellowship held by Lisa Gibbs and additional salary support from the Jack Brockhoff Foundation for Lisa Gibbs and Karen Block. In addition to the study authors, the following partners are contributing to the ongoing Strengthening Schools Communities study: Victorian Department of Health and Human Services, Australian Red Cross, and Cindy Wilson and Gloria Melham from Catholiccare Wollongong, and community member Jane Fraga. We also thank Shane Kavanaugh for his comments on technical aspects of this article.