Are poor children schooled in low quality environments? The case of French-speaking Belgian schools.
(2023) European Colloquium on Theoretical and Quantitative Geography — Location: Braga (Protugal) (14.September.2023)
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- The living environment plays a critical role in overall well-being, particularly during childhood. The positive impact of green spaces on health has been widely demonstrated (Lee and Maheswaran, 2011; Tzoulas et al., 2007) as well as the detrimental effects of air pollution (Landrigan et al., 2018). Moreover, compelling evidence indicates that exposure to nature during childhood contributes to improve cognitive development and mental health (Engemann et al., 2019; Vanaken and Danckaerts, 2018). Children are also highly susceptible to pollution-related diseases (Landrigan et al., 2018). At the same time, socio-environmental inequalities present significant challenges within our societies. The most vulnerable population groups are often exposed to environments with limited green spaces (Schüle et al., 2019) and higher pollution levels (Fairburn et al., 2019). Furthermore, the undesirable and cumulative environmental exposures that children from low socio-economic backgrounds experience at home are also present in schools (Bolte et al., 2010). In this study, we explored the association between the socio-economic status of the pupils and the school environment in the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, which encompasses French-speaking schools in Brussels and Wallonia, Belgium. We specifically investigated the levels of greenness and air pollution around the school establishments. Our main hypothesis was that children from low socio-economic backgrounds are more likely to attend schools located in environments with low levels of greenness and high levels of air pollution. Additionally, we investigated potential variations in this relationship across various settings. We considered different types of areas, including rural, urban, and high-density areas (Eurostat, 2018). We also examined potential differences in this association across specialized education programs and different educational levels: kindergarten, primary, and secondary levels. Lastly, we investigated variations among different educational networks : in Belgium, subsidised education is either organised by the public authorities or by associations. By examining these factors, we aimed to obtain a comprehensive understanding of how socio-economic status is related to the school environment across diverse contexts and educational settings. To assess the socio-economic level, we used a socio-economic index (SEI) developed by the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles. This composite index classifies school establishments based on seven indicators measuring the socio-economic status of their population. These indicators include income, education levels, employment activities, unemployment rates, activity rates, and social assistance recipients. A small value of the index indicates less privileged socio-economic status (FW-B, 2021). We described the school environment for various buffer sizes, incorporating land cover data at a 2m spatial resolution (Radoux et al., 2023), as well as high-resolution models of air pollution levels. Pollution was NO2, PM2.5, PM10, and black carbon (IRCELINE, 2023). The study revealed a significant relationship between the mean SEI and both school greenness and pollution levels. Concerning pollution, we discovered a correlation between the mean SEI and the annual mean of black carbon (BC) pollution across all schools (r = -0.39, p < 0.001). Schools with lower SEI scores exhibited higher levels of pollution in their immediate surroundings. One explanation for this strong association is that, on average, wealthier schools tend to be situated in rural areas, whereas less affluent schools are more prevalent in densely urbanized zones. The correlation between BC and mean SEI becomes negligible when considering only rural schools (r = 0.08, p = 0.005), but remains albeit attenuated when focusing on schools in dense urban clusters (r = -0.15, p < 0.001). However, when specifically examining secondary schools located in dense urban clusters, we observed a significant and even strong correlation (r = -0.31, p < 0.001). Similar associations were found for other atmospheric pollutants. Additionally, our findings indicated that schools with lower SEI scores tended to have fewer green spaces in their surroundings. This association remained statistically significant even when considering different typologies of urban environments. Addressing the importance of socio-environmental inequalities, it is crucial for authorities to prioritize and allocate resources to establish fair environments in schools. By focusing on enhancing the school environment, authorities can actively contribute to mitigating these inequalities. Creating and maintaining green spaces within school premises can provide students with direct exposure to nature, resulting in improved mental well-being, reduced stress levels, and enhanced concentration during academic tasks (Dadvand et al., 2015). This effort can help narrow the gap in opportunities and experiences among diverse socio-economic groups, ensuring that every student has access to a healthy and supportive learning environment. References Bolte, G., Tamburlini, G., and Kohlhuber, M. (2010) Environmental inequalities among children in Europe—evaluation of scientific evidence and policy implications. European Journal of Public Health 20(1): 14–20. Dadvand, P., Nieuwenhuijsen, M. J., Esnaola, M., Forns, J., Basagaña, X., Alvarez-Pedrerol, M., Rivas, I., López-Vicente, M., De Castro Pascual, M., Su, J., Jerrett, M., Querol, X., and Sunyer, J. (2015) Green spaces and cognitive development in primary schoolchildren. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112(26): 7937–7942. Engemann, K., Pedersen, C. B., Arge, L., Tsirogiannis, C., Mortensen, P. B., and Svenning, J.-C. (2019) Residential green space in childhood is associated with lower risk of psychiatric disorders from adolescence into adulthood. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 116(11): 5188–5193. Eurostat (2018) Territorial typologies 2018. Accessed: 15th May 2023 <https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Territorial_typologies. >. Fairburn, J., Schüle, S. A., Dreger, S., Karla Hilz, L., and Bolte, G. (2019) Social Inequalities in Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution: A Systematic Review in the WHO European Region. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 16(17): 3127. FW-B (2021) Indice socioéconomique - Explication de la procédure de calcul. Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles - Administration générale de l’Enseignement. <http://www.enseignement.be/index.php?page=28576&navi=4891. >. IRCELINE (2023) ATMO-Street (RIO-IFDM-OSPM). Belgian Interregional Environment Agency (IRCEL - CELINE). Document Accessed: 8th May 2023 <https://www.irceline.be/fr/documentation/modeles/atmo-street. >. Landrigan, P. J., Fuller, R., Acosta, N. J. R., Adeyi, O., Arnold, R., Basu, N. (Nil), et al. (2018) The Lancet Commission on pollution and health. The Lancet 391(10119): 462–512. Lee, A. C. K., and Maheswaran, R. (2011) The health benefits of urban green spaces: A review of the evidence. Journal of Public Health 33(2): 212–222. Radoux, J., Bourdouxhe, A., Coppée, T., De Vroey, M., Dufrêne, M., and Defourny, P. (2023) A Consistent Land Cover Map Time Series at 2 m Spatial Resolution—The LifeWatch 2006-2015-2018-2019 Dataset for Wallonia. Data 8(1): 13. Schüle, S. A., Hilz, L. K., Dreger, S., and Bolte, G. (2019) Social Inequalities in Environmental Resources of Green and Blue Spaces: A Review of Evidence in the WHO European Region. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 16(7): 1216. Tzoulas, K., Korpela, K., Venn, S., Yli-Pelkonen, V., Kaźmierczak, A., Niemela, J., and James, P. (2007) Promoting ecosystem and human health in urban areas using Green Infrastructure: A literature review. Landscape and Urban Planning 81(3): 167–178. Vanaken, G.-J., and Danckaerts, M. (2018) Impact of Green Space Exposure on Children’s and Adolescents’ Mental Health: A Systematic Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 15(12): 2668.
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Guyot, M., Brulein, H., Lecat, A., & Vanwambeke, S. (2023). Are poor children schooled in low quality environments? The case of French-speaking Belgian schools. European Colloquium on Theoretical and Quantitative Geography, Braga (Protugal). https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/243073