Session Information
05 SES 08, Children and Youth at Risk and Urban Education .
Paper Session
Contribution
In this study we want to gain insight in the possible causes of low academic achievement of pupils from ethnic minorities in socially and ethnically segregated primary schools in Flanders. Research shows an important effect of the teacher on students’ cognitive and affective outcomes. The teachers’ perceptions seem to play a crucial role on these outcomes.
This study examines the relation between teacher perceptions and student achievement in reading- and listening comprehension, taking into account the ethnic diversity at school. A two-level multilevel analysis is used. For this purpose, 304 teachers in 26 socially and ethnically segregated primary schools were asked to complete a questionnaire about teachers’ perceptions, more specifically teachability and teacher trust. Reading and listening comprehension was tested in 1437 primary school pupils (age 7/9) in the same 26 schools.
Past research of school effectiveness did not contribute to the improvement of education for specific groups of students, for example students from ethnic minorities (Kyriakides & Creemers, 2011). These pupils often have less parental support and an unfavorable educational position. Consequently, they are more dependent on the quality of education (Kyriakides & Creemers, 2011).
Increased segregation causes minority groups ending up together in socially and ethnically segregated schools (Jacobs & Rea, 2011). The quality of these schools is important for the educational position of ethnic minorities. To guarantee the quality of education in these schools, further insight in plausible causes of low achievement of ethnic minority students is needed.
In general, earlier research indicates the importance of class level effects on cognitive and affective outcomes. At class level the teacher plays an important role, and the acts of teachers are influenced by the teachers’ perceptions (Kyriakides, Creemers & Antoniou, 2009). Ethnic minority pupils, who are more likely to have an unsuccessful educational career, are more susceptible to the effects of negative teachers’ perceptions (van den Bergh et al., 2010). Additionally, teachers hold lower expectations toward pupils of ethnic minorities (Rubie-Davis, Hattie & Hamilton, 2006). Mainly the social-economic status of these pupils seems to be responsible for teachers’ perceptions (e.g. Jussim et al., 1998).
Teachers’ perceptions about teachability (school adapted behavior) and teacher trust might be associated with students’ learning outcomes (Agirdag, 2013). Teacher trust, i.e. the confidence of teachers in the competence of their pupils, seems very important for underprivileged pupils. The perceptions about teachability are also associated with achievement. These perceptions are more often negative when there is a large group of ethnic minorities and socially underprivileged pupils at school (Agirdag et al., 2013).
An inquiry into the connection between teachers’ perceptions and student achievement of ethnic minorities in socially and ethnically segregated schools is necessary, since research showed a large variance between these segregated schools in terms of pupils’ achievement (Agirdag, 2011). We want to study whether this variance might be explained by how academic achievement, teacher perceptions and their connection vary within the group of 26 socially and ethnically segregated primary schools, accounting for ethnic diversity at school. Children’s mastering of the teaching language is considered to be crucial for their educational success. Hence we study the achievement for reading and listening comprehension.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Aarnoutse, C. “Begrijpend Leestest. Groep 3.” Pearson, 1999. Agirdag, Orhan. “De Zwarte Doos van Schoolsegregatie Geopend. Een Mixed-Method Onderzoek Naar de Effecten van Schoolcompositie Op de Onderwijsprestaties, Het Zelfbeeld En Het Schoolwelbevinden van de Leerlingen in Het Lager Onderwijs Met Bijzondere Aandacht Voor Intermediaire Processen.” Universiteit Gent, 2011. Agirdag, Orhan, Piet Van Avermaet, and Mieke Van Houtte. “School Segregation and Math Achievement: A Mixed-Method Study on the Role of Self-Fulfilling Prophecies.” TEACHERS COLLEGE RECORD 115, no. 3 (2013): 1–50. Bergh, Linda van den, Eddie Denessen, Lisette Hornstra, Marinus Voeten, and Rob W. Holland. “The Implicit Prejudiced Attitudes of Teachers Relations to Teacher Expectations and the Ethnic Achievement Gap.” American Educational Research Journal 47, no. 2 (June 1, 2010): 497–527. Colpin, Marleen, Sarah Gysen, Koen Jaspaert, Saskia Timmermans, and Kris Van den Branden. “Volgsysteem Lager Onderwijs: Taalvaardigheid. VLOT.” Wolters Plantyn, 2002. Goddard, Roger D, Megan Tschannen-Moran, and K. Hoy Wayne. “A Multilevel Examination of the Distribution and Effects of Teacher Trust in Students and Parents in Urban Elementary Schools.” The Elementary School Journal 102, no. 1 (2001). Jacobs, Dirk, and Andrea Rea. Verspild Talent De Prestatiekloof in Het Secundair Onderwijs Tussen Allochtone En Andere Leerlingen Volgens Het PISA-Onderzoek 2009. Brussel, 2011. Jussim, L., A. Smith, S. Madon, and P. Palumbo. Teacher expectations. In J. Brophy (Ed.), Advances in research on teaching (Vol. 7, pp. 1–48). JAI, 1998. Kornblau, Barbara. “The Teachable Pupil Survey: A Technique for Assessing Teachers’ Perceptions of Pupil Attributes.” Psychology in the Schools 19, no. 2 (1982): 170–174. Kyriakides, L., and B. P. M. Creemers. “Can Schools Achieve Both Quality and Equity? Investigating the Two Dimensions of Educational Effectiveness.” Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk (JESPAR) 16, no. 4 (2011): 237–254. Kyriakides, L., B.P.M. Creemers, and P. Antoniou. “Teacher Behaviour and Student Outcomes: Suggestions for Research on Teacher Training and Professional Development.” Teaching and Teacher Education 25, no. 1 (January 2009): 12–23. Rubie-Davies, Christine, John Hattie, and Richard Hamilton. “Expecting the Best for Students: Teacher Expectations and Academic Outcomes.” The British Journal of Educational Psychology 76, no. Pt 3 (September 2006): 429–444. Vandecandelaere, Machteld, Gudrun Vanlaar, Bieke De Fraine, Jan Van Damme, and Jean-Pierre Verhaeghe. Onderzoek Naar de Invloed van de Tenische En Sociale Kenmerken van de Schoolpopulatie Op de Prestaties En Leerwinst Voor Wiskunde in Het Eerste Leerjaar. Leuven: Steunpunt Studie- en Schoolloopbanen, 2010.
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