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Interplay of factors contributing to ESL at the levels of the individual, the family and social background
Wednesday 11 February 2015, by
Individual cognitive factors, especially low-achievement patterns, increase the risk for ESL, but non-cognitive factors (e.g. personality traits, problem behaviour) also play a role. At the level of the family and social background, the most prominent risk factor is low socio-economic status. However, it is noted that ESLers comprise a heterogeneous group.
ESL is a process rather than a one-off event (European Commission, 2011) and the route to ESL frequently begins before the child goes to school (NESSE, 2010). ESL risk and protective factors have to be understood within a multiple-level framework: the individual, the microsystem (e.g. family, peers, school), the mesosystem (relations between the microsystems), the exosystem (e.g. health, social, education system, media, neighbours), the macrosystem (e.g. the culture in which individuals live) and the chronosystem (e.g. sociohistorical circumstances) (see Bronfenbrenner, 1996. ESLers are generally more likely to be exposed to multiple disadvantages at different levels, which usually interact (European Commission, 2011). This article aims to review the literature on several different individual factors and factors related to the family and social background that may contribute or prevent ESL.
The present scientific review on one hand confirms that already demonstrated in many studies and literature reviews: at the level of individual, cognitive factors it is especially low-achievement patterns which are the most potent for increasing the risk for ESL. Being male and having a migrant/minority status are also risk factors; however, the relationships are less straightforward. On the other hand, the article draws attention to a series of non-cognitive factors and highlights the complex interplay between the cognitive and non-cognitive factors. Conscientiousness plays the role of a protective ESL factor (more strongly for low achievers), while problem behaviour seems to be a risk factor. ESLers typically exert a lower level of achievement motivation and have a history of disengagement from school (e.g. truancy). On a similar note, engagement was shown to reduce the risk of ESL. Among the family and social background factors, low SES is the most consistent and strongest predictor of ESL. In addition, the family’s social capital (e.g. parental education support, their involvement, parenting practices, but also family structure) impact the risk of ESL.
The review of factors that contribute to ESL helps understand how highly versatile and individualised interventions, measures and initiatives tackling ESL must be to address the different needs of (potential) ESLers.
[1] School-level factors (also a microsystem) and factors from the exosystem are examined in two separate articles.
[2] As indicated in the European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice/Cedefop report (2014) different countries have different conceptualization of what it means to have a migrant to minority background, making comparison difficult; however, some conclusions can still be made.
[3] Extraversion is conceptualized in terms of sociability, activity, positive mood, assertiveness; agreeableness in terms of prosocialness, kindness, courtesy, empathy, compliance, cooperation; neuroticism in terms of general negative emotionality, high sensitivity, high arousal, the presence of fears, tension, anxiety; conscientiousness in terms of controlling impulses, maintaining attention, accuracy, orderliness, determination, competitiveness; and openness in terms of curiosity, creativity, interest in new things, cleverness, ingenuity, and speed of learning (Ehrler, Evans, & McGhee, 1999; Zupančič & Kavčič, 2007).
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