Socio-economic status, growth, physical activity and fitness: the Madeira growth study

Within a country social conditions change over time and these conditions vary from country to country. The associations between these conditions, somatic growth, physical activity and fitness reflect these changes. Aim: The study documented variation in somatic growth, physical activity and fitness associated with socio-economic status (SES). Subjects and methods: The study involved 507 subjects (256 boys and 251 girls) from the Madeira Growth Study, a mixed longitudinal study of five cohorts (8, 10, 12, 14 and 16 years of age) followed at yearly intervals over 3 years (1996–1998). A total of 1493 observations were made. Anthropometric measurements included lengths, body mass, skeletal breadths, girths and skinfolds. Physical activity and SES were collected via questionnaire and interview. Physical fitness was assessed using the Eurofit test battery. Variation in somatic growth, physical activity and physical fitness by SES (high, average and low) was tested with analysis of variance. Results: Significant differences between SES groups were observed for height, body mass and skinfolds. Boys and girls from high SES groups were taller, heavier and fatter (subscapular and triceps skinfolds) than their peers from average and low SES groups. At some age intervals, the high SES group had larger skeletal breadths (girls) and girths (boys and girls) than low SES. Small SES differences were observed for physical activity (sport and leisure-time indices). SES was significantly associated with physical fitness. At some age levels, boys from the low SES group performed better for muscular and aerobic endurance whereas girls from the high SES group performed better for power. Conclusion: Considerable variation in somatic growth and physical fitness in association with SES has been demonstrated, but little association was found for physical activity.

Cognitive abilities, sociocultural background and academic achievement

The infl uence of students’ sociocultural background on academic achievement is a well established fact. Research also points out that sociocultural background is related to students’ cognitive abilities and these have an effect on their academic achievement. However, the mediator role of cognitive abilities on the relationship between sociocultural background and academic achievement is less well known. A structural equation model that represents these relationships was tested in a sample (N= 728) of Portuguese junior high school students. Multigroup analysis of the model showed the importance of the cognitive ability mediation effect between sociocultural background and academic achievement in the 7th and 9th grades, but not in the 8th grade. This difference may be the result of the academic transition experienced in the 7th and 9th grades in the Portuguese educational system, which requires parents’ higher involvement in school.

Enhancing comprehension in low achievement 9th grades: a quasi-experiment study

This article describes the application of a Comprehension Strategies Programme (CSP) designed to improve the reading comprehension of students with learning difficulties. The programme was implemented with 102 ninth grade students from Portuguese public schools with low achievement on a particular subject: Portuguese. An evaluation was done on the effects of the programme on reading comprehension and on school achievement. The Experimental Group presented significant improvements when compared to the Control Group (n=108) on the dimensions considered. This indicates that the CSP an bring benefits to low achieving students who have Portuguese as a mother tongue.