The Relative Age Effects in Educational Development: A Systematic Review

Alar Urruticoechea, Andrés Oliveri, Elena Vernazza, Marta Giménez-Dasí, Rosario Martínez-Arias and Javier Martín-Babarro
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Alar Urruticoechea: Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Católica del Uruguay, Montevideo 11600, Uruguay
Andrés Oliveri: Dirección General de Planeamiento, Universidad de la República, Montevideo 11200, Uruguay
Elena Vernazza: Instituto de Estadística, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración, Universidad de la República, Montevideo 11200, Uruguay
Marta Giménez-Dasí: Sección Departamental de Investigación y Psicología en Educación, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Rosario Martínez-Arias: Departamento de Psicobiología y Metodología en Ciencias del Comportamiento, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Javier Martín-Babarro: Sección Departamental de Investigación y Psicología en Educación, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 17, 1-12

Abstract: There is a large number of variables, studied in the literature, that affect the integral development of students in the educational stage, but few research analyze the effects that relative age can have on development. The aim of this study is to review and summarize the results obtained, on this subject, in recent research. The methodology used has followed the PRISMA declaration. The final sample is composed by 21 articles, which use data from 24 countries and 32 assessments. The main conclusions indicate that relatively younger children in same class groups: (a) obtain significantly lower mean scores in cognitive and motor tests, (b) have a higher repetition rate, and (c) have a less capacity of socialization. Finally, it should be noted that considering the results obtained by the research on relative age effect on child development, some authors propose to adapt educational practices to minimize these effects.

Keywords: age differences; developmental differences; education; educational process; systematic review (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:17:p:8966-:d:622061

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