Introduction and conceptual framework

Previous research has demonstrated the importance of School Emphasis on Academic Success (SEAS) on achievement in a large number of countries (see e.g. Hoy, Tarter, & Hoy, 2006; Kythreotis, Pashiardis, & Kyriakides, 2010; Martin, Foy, Mullis, & O'Dwyer, 2013). In Norway, two studies have shown that SEAS can account for the increased performance in TIMSS from 2007 to 2011 in mathematics and science (Authors, 2013; Authors, in press).  However, there are few studies exploring the manner in which SEAS promotes learning. Herein, we investigate how teacher motivation, quality of instruction, and student motivation may mediate effects of SEAS on achievement.  

The concept of SEAS is based on Hoy et. al (2006), whose focus is on schools’ (including students’, parents’, teachers’ and school leaders’) collective trust, efficacy, and performance emphasis. Thus, the concept reflects the whole school institution’s ambition and priority for learning and success (Hoy et al., 2006). Teacher motivation may be related to these dimensions of SEAS, in that teacher motivation includes e.g. enthusiasm, satisfaction, and resilience (Kunter et al., 2008). Furthermore, teacher motivation seems to be related to quality of instruction in mathematics as shown in a German study of 1,789 German mathematics’ teachers  (Klusmann, Kunter, Trautwein, Lüdtke, & Baumert, 2008). This study empirically identified key aspects of teacher motivation to include enthusiasm, engagement, resilience, emotional exhaustion, and job satisfaction. Teacher motivation was further found to influence quality of instruction.

Operationalizing quality of instruction is challenging, but it is argued that the four dimensions, 1) Instructional clarity, 2) Cognitive activation, 3) Classroom management, and 4) Supportive climate are essential features of high quality teaching (Hiebert & Grouws, 2007; Seidel & Shavelson, 2007; Vieluf & Klieme, 2011). However, recent research on instruction has revealed that the relations between aspects of quality of instruction and student achievement are quite complex (Hattie, 2009; Seidel & Shavelson, 2007; Vieluf & Klieme, 2011). Hence, there is a need for studies that disentangle the specific relationship between quality of instruction and student achievement (Author, 2010).

Student achievement in lower secondary education is closely linked to student motivation (Eccles & Wigfield, 2002). Student motivation is predictive of cognitive instruction, supportive climate, and classroom management (Klusmann, Kunter, Trautwein, Lüdtke, & Baumert, 2008). A robust finding in large scale international studies is that there is a positive correlation between students’ self-reported attitudes to mathematics and achievement in mathematics in a number of countries (Mullis, Martin, & Foy, 2008; OECD, 2010). Student motivation is, furthermore, known to be closely related to self-efficacy and achievement, especially in mathematics (Eccles & Wigfield, 2002)

The main aim of the study is hence to explore how SEAS may promote student learning, by investigating whether SEAS affects Norwegian mathematics teachers’ motivation, and whether their motivation has an impact on quality of instruction. We further aim to investigate the impact of quality of instruction on Norwegian students’ self-efficacy in mathematics. The focus of the study thus is on how the total effect of SEAS on achievement is mediated via direct and indirect effects of SEAS on teacher motivation, quality of instruction and student motivation.

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