Child psychiatric disorder and relative age in school year

Editor—Radecki's perspective from the United States (previous letter) on the problem of age and psychiatric disorder in children discussed by Goodman et al is interesting.¹ In Australia holding back is very much encouraged by education authorities and the media and is deemed almost mandatory for boys, who are regarded as suffering far more disadvantage from “early” school starts.

In New South Wales the school year begins in late January, and a child may start if he or she has turned 5 or will turn 5 by the end of June, but many are held back until the following year, resulting in a possible age spread of 18 months in a single class. This situation seems to put even more emphasis on the need for teachers to be aware of the differing ability levels in their classroom. However, it is parents and parental attitude to schooling which are generally portrayed as the major cause of dysfunction in children.

The Sydney Morning Herald ran a brief report on the research paper by Goodman et al.² Although the authors made no mention of parents as a risk factor in the development of a child's psychiatric difficulties, the Herald report suggests that “pushy” parents with unrealistic expectations for their children's academic success are the primary cause of the dysfunction reported in the original paper.

This is quite typical of media attitudes and public perception in Australia. Radecki said that in the United States gifted children who would benefit from academic acceleration may be held back by school administration. In Australia, such children are often held back because parents fear the social disapproval that results from suggesting that a gifted child has different educational needs. The paper by Goodman et al already seems to be on its way to becoming part of the justification for forcing academically gifted children into lockstep progression with their age peers.