Bieke De Fraine

Educational effectiveness research (EER): a state-of-the-art review

Research and scholarship into educational effectiveness research (EER) is comprehensively reviewed from the UK, The Netherlands, the US, Cyprus, Belgium, Sweden, France, Germany, New Zealand, Australia, and other societies, dating from the field’s origins in the 1970s. Issues include its history, methodological and theoretical advances, scientific properties of school effects, processes at school and classroom level behind these effects, the somewhat limited translation of findings into policy and practice across the world, and future directions for research and practice in EER and for all of the discipline more generally. Future research needs are argued to be a further concentration upon teaching/teachers, more longitudinal studies, more work on possible context specificity, exploration of the cross-level transactions between schools and their teachers/classrooms, the adoption of “efficiency” as well as “effectiveness” as outcome measures, and a renewed focus upon the education of the disadvantaged, the original focus of our discipline when it began.

Enjoying mathematics or feeling competent in mathematics? Reciprocal effects on mathematics achievement and perceived math effort expenditure

BACKGROUND The multidimensionality of the academic self-concept in terms of domain specificity has been well established in previous studies, whereas its multidimensionality in terms of motivational functions (the so-called affect-competence separation) needs further examination. AIM This study aims at exploring differential effects of enjoyment and competence beliefs on two external validity criteria in the field of mathematics. SAMPLE Data analysed in this study were part of a large-scale longitudinal research project. Following a five-wave design, math enjoyment, math competence beliefs, math achievement, and perceived math effort expenditure measures were repeatedly collected from a cohort of 4,724 pupils in Grades 3-7. METHOD Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test the internal factor structure of the math self-concept. Additionally, a series of nested models was tested using structural equation modelling to examine longitudinal reciprocal interrelations between math competence beliefs and math enjoyment on the one hand and math achievement and perceived math effort expenditure on the other. RESULTS Our results showed that CFA models with separate factors for math enjoyment and math competence beliefs fit the data substantially better than models without it. Furthermore, differential relationships between both constructs and the two educational outcomes were observed. Math competence beliefs had positive effects on math achievement and negative effects on perceived math effort expenditure. Math enjoyment had (mild) positive effects on subsequent perceived effort expenditure and math competence beliefs. CONCLUSION This study provides further support for the affect-competence separation. Theoretical issues regarding adequate conceptualization and practical consequences for practitioners are discussed.

How Can Cross-Country Differences in the Practice of Grade Retention Be Explained? A Closer Look at National Educational Policy Factors

This study investigates the extent to which national educational policy factors can explain differences in the probability of students repeating a grade in primary and lower-secondary education across OECD member countries. Data from the PISA 2009 study, the OECD Education at a Glance brochures, and the TALIS 2007 study were analyzed by means of three-level logistic regression models. The results indicate that a remarkable amount of variation in the likelihood of student grade retention lies at the country level. National educational policy factors, however, only partly explain this variation, indicating that traditions and societal beliefs regarding the benefits of grade retention also play a role in the explanation for international differences in retention.

Student achievement and academic self-concept among secondary students in Flanders: gender and changes over time

This study investigated the causal ordering between general academic self-concept and academic achievement from Grade 7 to Grade 12 of secondary school by repeated assessment of 2834 Flemish adolescents. Age and sex differences were tested using structural equation modelling. Our results supported a moderate reciprocal effects model, indicating that previous achievement had a positive effect on subsequent academic self-concept and that previous academic self-concept had a positive effect on subsequent academic achievement. Furthermore, an interesting developmental pattern was observed as students move through secondary school. Between Grades 7 and 8, our results showed no relation between academic self-concept and achievement. Subsequently, between Grades 8 and 10, a self-enhancement model was supported, whereas in the final years of secondary school, a full reciprocal effects model was found. Finally, small gender differences were observed in the causal relation between academic self-concept and achievement. The discussion addresses both methodological and theoretical issues in self-concept research. The practical implications of the results are discussed briefly.

Do the teacher and school factors of the dynamic model affect high- and low-achieving student groups to the same extent? a cross-country study

Background. The dynamic model of educational effectiveness (DMEE) is a comprehensive theoretical framework including factors that are important for school learning, based on consistent findings within educational effectiveness research. Purpose. This study investigates the impact of teacher and school factors of DMEE on mathematics and science achievement, and identifies factors with equalising qualities in terms of helping low-achieving student groups to catch up with their better-achieving peers. Sample. Data were retrieved from a large-scale, longitudinal project conducted in 571 classes in 334 schools in 6 European countries (Belgium/Flanders, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Ireland and Slovenia). In each country, a sample of about 50 schools was drawn, and tests in mathematics and science were administered to all grade 4 students (N = 10,742) at the beginning and end of school-year 2010–2011. Design and methods. Data on teacher factors were collected through student questionnaires, and data on school factors were collected through teacher questionnaires. Two-level regression models were applied. Interaction effects between the factor and the group composition were estimated, while controlling for prior achievement. Results. Our results confirm the importance of most tested teacher factors (except for modelling and qualitative structuring) and all tested school factors of DMEE for effective math and science education. The majority of these factors appear to make an even greater difference for low-achieving student groups. Conclusions. Our results provide further validity to DMEE at classroom and school level, and indicate that most factors make a greater difference for low-achieving student groups. Thus, effective teaching is an important aspect for reducing the achievement gap. This illustrates the importance of placing the most effective teachers in schools with the highest percentage of underachieving students. Policy should encourage good teachers to teach in low-achieving schools by making these jobs more attractive, both financially and in terms of work conditions.

Time-Varying Treatments in Observational Studies: Marginal Structural Models of the Effects of Early Grade Retention on Math Achievement

ABSTRACT One of the main objectives of many empirical studies in the social and behavioral sciences is to assess the causal effect of a treatment or intervention on the occurrence of a certain event. The randomized controlled trial is generally considered the gold standard to evaluate such causal effects. However, for ethical or practical reasons, social scientists are often bound to the use of nonexperimental, observational designs. When the treatment and control group are different with regard to variables that are related to the outcome, this may induce the problem of confounding. A variety of statistical techniques, such as regression, matching, and subclassification, is now available and routinely used to adjust for confounding due to measured variables. However, these techniques are not appropriate for dealing with time-varying confounding, which arises in situations where the treatment or intervention can be received at multiple timepoints. In this article, we explain the use of marginal structural models and inverse probability weighting to control for time-varying confounding in observational studies. We illustrate the approach with an empirical example of grade retention effects on mathematics development throughout primary school.

‘I choose so I am’: a logistic analysis of major selection in university and successful completion of the first year

This study examines the choice of a university major with a special focus on the type of major chosen in the first year and success/failure at the end of this first year, using a sample of 2284 students in Flanders, Belgium. Extending previous research, the effects of prior subject uptake, occupational interests, prior mathematics and Dutch achievement, gender, socioeconomic status, academic self-concept and future aspirations on major selection were tested using multinomial regression. In summary, the results showed that prior subject uptake in Grade 12 was the main predictor of the type of university major chosen. Furthermore, a persuasive association between students’ interest pattern and major chosen was observed and different interest patterns between male and female students primarily explained gendered choices. A binary logistic regression model revealed that higher achievement, more mathematical subjects chosen in Grade 12 and a higher socioeconomic status are important buffers against failure in the first year of university.

Educational choice in secondary school in Flanders: the relative impact of occupational interests on option choice

The present study aims at unravelling the myriad of student-level (i.e., gender, socioeconomic status [SES], academic self-concept, achievement, ability, and occupational interests) and school-level (i.e., gender composition, maths composition, and SES composition) determinants of option choice in the academic track of secondary school in Flanders. We focused on 2 decisional thresholds in Flemish secondary education, namely, the transition from Grade 8 to Grade 9 (N = 2518) and from Grade 10 to Grade 11 (N = 2871). Data were analyzed through multinomial multilevel analysis. Our results strongly confirm Lents (2005) jigsaw puzzle metaphor in that different factors go into a complex and dynamic interplay. Especially in the first grades, prior achievement is a major predictor of option choice in secondary education, whereas in the last years occupational interests become increasingly important. From a gender perspective, boys rather choose math/sciences-oriented options than girls. Option choice is mainly determined by student-level rather than school-level predictors.

Effects of kindergarten retention for at-risk children’s mathematics development

When a child does not seem to be ready for primary school, a popular practice is to grant the child more time by letting it repeat kindergarten. However, previous quasi-experimental research demonstrated negative, though diminishing, effects of kindergarten retention on academic learning during the first years of primary school. The present study extends the existing evidence by addressing children’s post-treatment school trajectories. Analysing data from a large-scale longitudinal study, we find that, on average, kindergarten repeaters would perform better for mathematics until five years later, were they promoted to first grade instead. However, if promoted instead, kindergarten repeaters would also have a higher likelihood to be retained in first grade and, under that condition, have a lower growth rate and score lower for mathematics five years later.

More than a mentor: The role of social connectedness in early career and experienced teachers’ intention to leave

Purpose – The number of early career teachers leaving the profession continues to be an ongoing issue across the globe. This pressing concern has resulted in increased attention to the instructional and psychological conditions necessary to retain early career educators. However, less formal attention has been paid to the social infrastructure in which early career teachers find themselves. The purpose of this paper is to foreground the role of social capital and its effect on job attitudes and educators’ intention to leave the profession. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 736 teachers within ten secondary schools in Flanders (Belgium). Using social network and multilevel moderated mediation analysis techniques, the relationships between teachers’ social connectedness, job attitudes, and the intention to leave the profession for both novice and experienced teachers were analyzed. Findings – Findings indicate that being socially connected to other educators within the school is associa...