Jana Straková

The role of the family and the school in the reproduction of educational inequalities in the post‐Communist Czech Republic

Among the more relevant questions in educational research is how the governments and policy‐makers in transition countries address the high educational inequality inherited from the past and what policies they develop in order to reduce the strong effects of the background family and the type of school on students achievements, their aspirations and their chances of succeeding in the most important educational transitions. This paper addresses one of the most topical issues in this area, namely the social selectivity of Czech basic and secondary education. Special attention is paid to the role of ‘multi‐year’ gymnasia. The results of analyses carried out on data from the Programme for International Student Assessment 2000 study corroborate the initial hypothesis according to which multi‐year gymnasia, introduced into the Czech educational system after 1989, represent one of the main sources of the variation in students achievements at the end of compulsory education. However, this variation can be almost entirely accounted for by the specific socio‐economic background of the students. The same holds true for their future aspirations. The results of the analysis support the conclusions of the OECD Review of National Policies for Education from 1996.

Concurrent effects of lexical status and letter-rotation during early stage visual word recognition: Evidence from ERPs

Recent studies report that the occipito-temporal N170 component of the ERP is enhanced by letter strings, relative to non-linguistic strings of similar visual complexity, with a left-lateralized distribution. This finding is consistent with underlying mechanisms that serve visual word recognition. Conclusions about the level of analysis reflected within the N170 effects, and therefore the timecourse of word recognition, have been mixed. Here, we investigated the timing and nature of brain responses to putatively low- and high-level processing difficulty. Low-level processing difficulty was modulated by manipulating letter-rotation parametrically at 0°, 22.5°, 45°, 67.5°, and 90°. Higher-level processing difficulty was modulated by manipulating lexical status (words vs. word-like pseudowords). Increasing letter-rotation enhanced the N170 led to monotonic increases in P1 and N170 amplitude up to 67.5° but then decreased amplitude at 90°. Pseudowords enhanced the N170 over left occipital-temporal sites, relative to words. These combined findings are compatible with a cascaded, interactive architecture in which lower-level analysis (e.g., word-form feature extraction) leads higher-level analysis (e.g., lexical access) in time, but that by approximately 170 ms, the brains response to a visual word includes parallel, interactive processing at both low-level feature extraction and higher-order lexical access levels of analysis.

Assessment in the School Systems of the Czech Republic.

Student assessment in the Czech Republic is still rather traditional, with classroom practice continuing to focus on summative assessment. The country has regularly participated in international surveys, but the findings from these only started to influence educational policy during the past decade, when Czech students’ performance fell markedly in all assessment domains. The principal response has been to introduce standardised school-leaving examinations at different points in the primary and secondary school systems. The examinations have several widely acknowledged shortcomings, however, and in the meantime assessment for learning remains a neglected area. The improvement of evaluation and assessment practices in the Czech Republic is hindered by low levels of expertise among teachers, principals and policy-makers, and the private sector testing agencies that have become very active in the country suffer from the same weaknesses.

Strong vocational education – a safe way to the labour market? A case study of the Czech Republic

Background: In its communications, the European Commission stresses the importance of vocational education and endorses apprenticeship training. Educational systems that have dual tracks of academic alongside vocational learning routes have been shown to generate better labour market outcomes for school leavers and smooth the school-to-work transition. On the other hand, dual tracked educational systems can reinforce the effect of social origin on educational performance: the differences between the achievement of students from a background characterised by low socio-economic status and students from high socio-economic status backgrounds are greater in a tracked system than in a comprehensive one. In addition to these general tendencies, the content and organisation of vocational education differ in individual countries, as do its strengths and weaknesses and impacts on the labour market prospects of young people. Purpose: This paper studies vocational education in the Czech Republic: specifically, its apprenticeship track leading directly to the labour market. It seeks to answer questions about whether the Czech apprenticeship education system provides its students with the knowledge and skills necessary for success in the modern labour market, and whether it facilitates their transition from school to work. The paper also studies the impact of the high vocational specificity of the Czech education system on educational inequalities and the development of these inequalities over time. Sample: The research questions are answered using statistical data and analyses of Czech data from international surveys of adult skills: the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), which studied probability samples of adults aged 16–65 years. The IALS data were collected in 1998 and included 3132 cases, and the PIAAC data were collected in 2012 and included 6102 cases. Design and methods: The IALS and PIAAC data were analysed using binary logistic regression. Descriptive statistics from PIAAC, statistical yearbooks of education and national surveys on the transition from school to work were also used to provide evidence. Results: The analyses show that in spite of its high vocational specificity, the efficiency of the Czech education system in facilitating transition to the labour market is relatively low, as are the achievement outcomes of its apprentices. This high differentiation, moreover, contributes significantly and increasingly to educational inequalities. In the light of those findings, the paper discusses features of the Czech apprenticeship education system and intended policy measures that are aiming to retain the current structure of the system and foster apprenticeship education.

Konkurence mezi školami a výsledky žáků v České republice: pohled zblízka na šetření PISA 2012

Abstrakt: Reformy založene na zavaděni tržnich principů do vzdělavani zatim spise zklamaly ocekavani, že povedou kxa0celkovemu zlepseni vzdělavacich výsledků žaků. Mezinarodni setřeni PISA 2012 tento poznatek rovněž potvrdilo. Avsak vxa0připadě Ceske republiky byly publikovany výsledky uvadějici, že i po zohledněni socioekonomických a demografických rozdilů mezi žaky a dalsich relevantnich faktorů na urovni skol dosahuji lepsich výsledků vxa0matematice žaci v těch skolach, ktere jsou vystaveny větsi lokalni konkurenci. Nas clanek představuje kritickou revizi těchto výsledků. Vysli jsme ze stejných datových souborů zxa0setřeni PISA a použili jsme dvouurovňove modely, kde prvni uroveň byla žakovska a druha skolni. Pokud model (na rozdil od postupu uplatněneho autory setřeni PISA) zohledňovat skutecnost, že ve vzorku jsou zastoupeny zakladni skoly, viceleta gymnazia a středni skoly, pak zdanlivý ucinek konkurence mezi skolami vymizel. Konkurence mezi skolami jednoho typu tedy ani vxa0Ceske republice nevede kxa0lepsim znalostem a dovednostem žaků vxa0matematice. Klicova slova: volba skoly, konkurence mezi skolami, výsledky žaků, matematika, Ceska republika, PISA. Klicova slova: volba skoly, soutěž mezi skolami, výsledky žaků, matematika, Ceska republika, PISA Abstract: Several studies have shown that market-based reforms of education, on average, do not improve the pupil performance across or within national school systems. The PISA 2012 survey found, however, that in the Czech Republic the schools that compete with other neibourghing schools for pupils tend to perform better in mathematics even after accounting for the socio-economic and demographic background of pupils and for relevant school characteristics (OECD, 2013). In our study, we re-evaluate this result. The impact of schoolxa0variables onxa0student achievementxa0was studied using the PISA datasets and two-level models with pupils at thexa0first levelxa0and schoolsxa0at thexa0second level. After accounting forxa0different types of secondary schools in the Czech school sample, the apparent positive effectxa0of school competition disappeared. Keywords: school choice, school competition, achivement, mathematics, Czech Republic, PISA

Výběr základní školy v ČR a faktory, které jej ovlivňují

The influence of family background on educational attainment in the Czech Republic is strong compared to other countries internationally and there is great variation in the composition and academic performance of students between schools. Research to date has focused primarily on this issue in reference to multi-year gymnasia. This article concentrates on variation at the primary-school level, on which there are only limited empirical data available on the distribution of students. It looks at how important the choice of primary school by parents of preschool-age children is, how that choice is realized over time, and what parental characteristics influence their choice of school. The answers to these questions are obtained from an analysis of data from a questionnaire survey conducted in 2014 amongst a representative sample of 2008 parents of preschool-age children. The authors employ a logistic regression analysis and compare data for 2014 with data obtained in 2009 in a survey of parents with children who were of compulsory school age. These analyses reveal that there is currently universal support amongst parents for the right to choose between schools. The possibility to choose puts at an advantage those children whose parents have at least upper secondary education and live in large towns, who are able to effectively obtain information on the quality of schools, the potential effect of which is to reinforce existing educational inequalities.

Improving mathematics results: does teachers’ academic optimism matter? A study of lower secondary schools

ABSTRACT Educational effectiveness research has provided evidence about the importance of teacher beliefs and attitudes for teaching and learning. This study builds on the concept of academic optimism, which combines 3 aspects of a teacher’s professional creed: self-efficacy, trust, and academic emphasis. The study explores the functioning of the collective and individual measures of academic optimism in the Czech environment and studies its impact on students’ outcomes. The analyses are based on pilot data from 39 schools, 325 teachers, and 1,316 Grade 9 students and on the data from the Czech Longitudinal Study in Education (CLoSE), covering 163 schools, 1,469 teachers, and 4,798 students. The individual measure was selected for further studies based on 2-level confirmatory factor analysis. Two-level structural equation modelling showed a significant impact of a school’s academic optimism on students’ achievement even after controlling for prior achievement and socioeconomic status at both the student and the school level.

Poslání a aktuální problémy předškolního vzdělávání – postoje a názory ředitelek mateřských škol

The introduction of compulsory pre-school attendance as a means to improve readiness for school, especially among disadvantaged children, has raised a series of controversies in the Czech Republic . Relatively little attention has been paid to the opinions and attitudes of an important group of actors in this important change − kindergarten teachers. The aim of this empirical study is to present the results of a research study focused on the views of kindergarten principals on the mission and current problems of preschool education . The principals of 383 kindergartens selected in two-stage stratified random sampling responded to a questionnaire. Their answers to closed-ended questions were analysed by descriptive statistical methods, while open-ended questions were analysed using qualitative content analysis . Almost all the kindergarten principals do not consider readiness for school to be the primary target of preschool education; two-thirds of them do not see reducing differences between children from different socioeconomic backgrounds as a priority . The biggest problems are seen as lying in the administrative burden, low capacities of kindergartens, funding, and problems with parents and children . The principals noticed significant changes in children’s readiness for kindergarten, a lack of social skills, and the prevalence of diagnosed disorders . These results are discussed with regard to educational policy measures which have recently been proposed and introduced . 1 Text je výstupem řešení projektu GA ČR „Vztahy mezi dovednostmi, vzděláváním a výsledky na trhu práce: longitudinální studie“ (číslo P402/12/G130). OS/1/2017 5714.indd 71 29.01.18 9:03 Jaroslava Simonová, Eva Potužníková, Jana Straková 72

Factors affecting the transition of fifth graders to the academic track in the Czech Republic

Abstract The Czech education system is characterised by early tracking and high educational inequalities. The most controversial element of the system is the academic track, which is attended by students after the completion of primary school. The paper focuses on fifth graders’ application process and their success in entrance examinations. The process is examined by binary logistic regression and descriptive analyses of the data collected in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study conducted in 2011 in grade 4, and in a survey of students attending grade 5 implemented on the same sample within the Czech Longitudinal Study in Education. The analyses show that students’ family background has a significant effect on both application and success during admission procedures. The paper discusses the role of the family in the application process and in preparation for the entrance examinations, and compares the situation in the Czech Republic with that in other countries.

Structural embeddedness of students’ professional expectations: the Czech Republic and Taiwan in comparative perspective

Abstract We compare the role of gender, socioeconomic background and measured ability on students’ secondary school placement and professional expectations in Taiwan and the Czech Republic, two countries that have experienced substantial reforms in their educational systems in the context of political change and economic development. Using data from the international PISA 2006 survey of 15-year-olds, our analysis reveals that Czech academic upper-secondary schools are much more selective in terms of socioeconomic background and gender than comparable Taiwanese senior high schools. Controlling for measured ability and other factors, students’ professional expectations are also more closely linked to socioeconomic background and gender in the Czech Republic than in Taiwan.