Inequalities in Pupils' Health and Their Effects on Pupils' Functioning at School

Abstract

Among both children and adolescents there are differences resulting from their gender, age, social background, intellectual abilities, and school performance. These differences are also well known to the general public. Much less attention, meanwhile, is paid to the differences between healthy and sick pupils arising from chronic illnesses in some children and adolescents. Chronic diseases have been shown to have a negative impact on pupils' schooling, their learning, their school performance, and their social inclusion in mainstream classrooms. This overview study summarizes the current state of knowledge of this issue, which has health, educational, psychological, and social aspects. The study has four parts. In the first part, the author notes the context affecting the education of chronically ill pupils. It presents three expert views (disease, illness, sickness), the difficulties involved in defining chronic disease, the proven impacts of chronic disease on a pupil's learning and behaviour, and the views of school legislation on the education of sick pupils. The second section sets out the specifics of the education of chronically ill pupils in three social and educational situations: the education of pupils hospitalized in health facilities, the education of sick pupils together with healthy classmates in a mainstream school, and finally the individual education of sick pupils at home. The third part of the study introduces the unresolved issue of administering medicines to sick pupils while they are at school and routine instruction is taking place. The fourth part of the study takes a sociological view of possible differences in the educational pathways of healthy and sick pupils. Some international research suggests that healthy pupils are more likely to continue to secondary general education schools such as grammar schools, while chronically ill pupils are more likely to attend secondary vocational schools. The conclusion of the study provides a summary of the international experience, as well as validated recommendations for teachers and school leaders on how to improve care for this group of pupils.