By their eighth birthday, an estimated nine in ten New Zealand children will have experienced some form of serious adversity.
They might have been neglected, grown up with family violence, lived through a separation, or coped with a parent's mental illness or substance use problem.
Outside the home, they might have been bullied - New Zealand has long reported some of the highest rates in the developed world - or grown up in families affected by ethnic discrimination.
Researchers collectively describe these as " adverse childhood experiences " or ACEs - a concept popularised by a landmark US study in the 1990s.
While typically discussed by health professionals, these experiences are also relevant to education as they can have important and lasting consequences for academic achievement.
Our newly published research , drawing on data from thousands of New Zealand children, provides an even clearer picture.
We found children who endured more adversity were more likely to become disconnected from learning and school by early adolescence. This pattern held even after accounting for factors such as gender and neighbourhood deprivation.
Because children engaged with school fare better in a range of areas later in life , it's vital that we better understand the drivers at play - and what might be done to address them.
Why adversity can make school harder
When a child faces more adversity, it weighs heavily on how they fare at school. Where research has been less clear is why that link exists.
To investigate this, we analysed data from almost 3,900 children in the longitudinal Growing Up in New Zealand study , tracking them from before they were born to age 12.
Rather than ask adults to remember events from their childhood years later, we tracked adversity as children grew up, using information from parents, children and standardised questionnaires.
We also looked at a wider range of adverse experiences than many previous studies, including bullying and ethnic discrimination as well as challenges at home.
To see how these experiences affected children at school, we measured how engaged they were with school, emotionally, behaviourally and academically.
We then looked at whether children's self-esteem and how they viewed their own abilities as learners could explain the link between adversity and later school engagement.
It appeared to. Children who experienced more adversity tended to report lower self-esteem and less confidence in their abilities by age eight, which in turn was associated with lower levels of school engagement at age 12.
Overall, our findings suggest childhood adversity can undermine children's confidence in themselves and their abilities. That can make them less likely to participate, persevere when learning becomes difficult, and stay engaged at school.
What's more, we found the same pattern across Māori, Pacific, Asian and NZ European children, suggesting the findings apply across a wide range of backgrounds.
A window for intervention
Another of our findings has particularly important implications for schools.
Of the different forms of adversity we examined, bullying showed the strongest links with lower self-esteem, poorer academic self-concept and reduced school engagement.
Because bullying often happens at school, this highlights schools as a key place to intervene.
But our findings also suggest schools can do much more than prevent harm - they can actively help children build the confidence they need to stay engaged with learning and school.
We know that children who stay engaged at school are more likely to do well later in life. Those who disengage face a greater risk of lower academic achievement, poorer mental health and leaving school early.
To keep children connected to their school, supportive teachers, positive friendships, opportunities to succeed and extracurricular activities can all make a meaningful difference. So can giving students more say in their learning and recognising their achievements.
Ultimately, schools cannot undo the adversity a child has faced at home. But they can still do much to help children believe in themselves, thrive in the classroom and reach their potential.
Ladan Hashemi receives funding from the UK Prevention Research Partnership.
Maryam Ghasemi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
