Learning Outcomes among Students in Relation to West Virginia Coal Mining: an Environmental Riskscape Approach

Abstract

Children who live in coal mining areas are subject to environmental and socioeconomic risks for poor cognitive developmental outcomes. To assess the potential impact of the coal mining environmental riskscape on cognitive development in West Virginian children, we examined the associations between coal mining and learning outcomes among students in West Virginia public schools for the years 2005-2008. The study used a retrospective, natural field experiment design to test pass rates on standardized school performance tests in counties in West Virginia with and without coal mining activity. SUDAAN regression models controlled for a set of other risk variables on test performance. Proficiency rates for schools in coalmining counties versus non-coal mining counties were significantly lower in all subject areas partly in relation to socioeconomic disadvantage, and remained significantly lower (p < .0008 or better) after adjusting for county high school education rates, percent of low-income students, percent of highly qualified teachers, number of students tested, and county smoking rates. Disparities in educational performance in mining areas reflect multiple environmental riskscape disadvantages. Adjusted differences in school test performance may reflect unmeasured confounds, environmental contaminants of the coal mining industry, or some combination thereof.

The public health impacts of surface coal mining

“…One study documented that school children in West Virginia mining areas show evidence of poorer cognitive development as measured by higher failure rates on standardized tests, controlling for other risk variables (Cain and Hendryx, 2010). A second paper showed that pregnant mothers who lived in mining counties in West Virginia were at higher risk for a low birth weight delivery, controlling for other risks (Ahern et al, 2011b).…”

Home as riskscape: Exploring technology enabled care

“…Indeed, studies of the riskscape have developed their own logics to demonstrate how risk is relational as mediated by sociomaterialistic arrangements. For instance, riskscape scholarship has concentrated on the interface between social and environmental concerns, exploring, for example, environmental justice (Cain & Hendryx, 2010; Lee et al, 2018) or health disparities, and their intersection with environmental hazards (Jenerette et al, 2011; Morello‐Frosch et al, 2001). Although urban spaces and phenomena such as gentrification (Abel & White, 2015) have featured within riskscape scholarship, discussions of home and TEC specifically have not yet been explored.…”

Explaining Gold-Mining and Non-Gold Mining Areas' Inequalities in Learning Achievements in Burkina Faso's Primary Education: A Decomposition Analysis

“…Studies show that students' learning achievements are associated with family, school, and community factors (Wokadala, 2016;Coulidiati-Kielem, 2016). Family factors often shown as related to students' learning achievements are socioeconomic status (SES), parental education, and having textbooks at home (Cain & Hendryx, 2010;Sikora et al, 2019;Thomson, 2018;Dudaitė, 2016). Literature usually conceptualizes them as family status factors (e.g., income, parental education, social class) and family process factors (e.g., parental involvement, disciplinary factors, parenting) (Bowen et al, 2012;Gubbins & Otero, 2016).…”