Carl Lamote

Is the Cure Worse than the Disease? A Longitudinal Study on the Effect of Grade Retention in Secondary Education on Achievement and Academic Self-Concept.

Holding students back when they do not meet a specific attainment level is common practice in a lot of countries. However, this practice is not without controversy and recent studies point at the negative effects of grade retention, especially in the long-term. The majority of these studies focused on grade retention in primary education. In our study, we focused on the effect of grade retention in Grade 8 on language achievement and academic self-concept. We matched students who were and were not retained based on their propensity to be retained and compared both groups using a growth curve analysis. The basic treatment “grade retention vs. promotion” was extended with the certificate these students received at the end of Grade 8. With this growth curve analysis, we were able to draw conclusions on the effect in the short-term, as well as in the long-term. In the short-term (i.e. the year of retention), it seems that grade retention had no negative effect on language achievement in the short-term, and even a positive effect on academic self-concept in the year of retention. The effects became more negative when we considered effects in the long-term. Especially for language achievement, we found a strong decline in the achievement of grade retainees. We found no negative effect of grade retention on academic self-concept. We can conclude that grade retention has a negative effect on the achievement of retained students in the long run, but has no negative effect on academic self-concept. When we take into account the certificate they received, it seems that following the teacher’s advice to change track is a better decision than repeating the grade in the same track.

Different pathways towards dropout: the role of engagement in early school leaving

In this study, we examine the development of student engagement in relation to dropout. We focus on different growth trajectories of engagement between groups of students and on whether these trajectories lead to differences in the survival of the student. The development of behavioural and emotional engagement of 4063 graduates and 541 (11.7%) dropouts is examined from Year 7 to Year 12 and this development is linked to the probability of dropping out in each grade by means of a discrete-time survival mixture model. For emotional engagement, results point to a model with two different subgroups: one group starting at a high level of engagement and following a (relatively) stable pattern and the other group starting at a lower level of engagement and following a decreasing trend. For behavioural engagement, the results indicate that a three-class model showed the best fit: a high and (relatively) stable group, a high and decreasing group and a low and stable group. In terms of dropout, the unstable and low groups demonstrate a significantly higher probability of dropping out, as evidenced in the steep, declining survival curves. Different background variables are included to gain more insight into engagement and dropout, and to predict membership in the low and decreasing class.

Can Alternative Education Increase Children's Early School Engagement? A Longitudinal Study from Kindergarten to Third Grade.

The current study examines the impact of alternative education on childrens early school engagement in terms of school enjoyment and independent participation. A sample of 2,776 children from traditional (e.g., mainstream) and alternative (Freinet and Waldorf) Flemish schools was followed from their 3rd year of kindergarten until 3rd grade. The present study does not evidence a positive effect of alternative education on school engagement. In contrast, it was found that in alternative education children acted less independent compared to traditional schools. Furthermore, differential effects in terms of childrens socioeconomic status and initial language achievement are explored. In alternative schools, childrens initial level of language achievement tends to be less determinative for their school engagement compared to traditional schools.