A Longitudinal Perspective on Unfolding Social Relationships in the Classroom to Develop Students´ Learning During Secondary I

Author(s):

Michaela Kilian(presenting / submitting)

Conference:

ECER 2017

Network:

11. Educational Improvement and Quality Assurance

Format:

Paper

Session Information

11 SES 10 B, Improving Schools by Using School Knowledge

Paper Session

Time:

2017-08-24

15:30-17:00

Room:

W2.05

Chair:

Heidi Flavian

Contribution

The contribution is devoted to the importance of social relationships for students at school in Secondary I. The focus from a student perspective is on within-school-components which serve as a resource for their learning in class. Perceptions of students at New Middle Schools in Lower Austria (NMS) were observed over the course of four years (5^th to 8^thgrade).

Between 10 and 14 years, the student-parents-school constellations begin to change, and social relationships are expanded in the out-of-school context during adolescence. (Böhnisch, 1997). Social relationships, described by Bourdieu (1983) as part of the social capital of human beings, open up opportunities to mobilize resources and use them for school-based learning. If existing friendships are stable, they may serve as an important resource and can have a stabilizing effect (Müller, 2014). Looser (2011) points out that students describe relationships with their parents differently and that recognition as well as social embeddedness are important for students’ willingness to perform. Suárez-Orozco, Pimentel & Martin (2009) emphasize the special importance of significant others for students with migration background, since they perceive major changes in social relations. Significant others seem to play a special role in their coping with the changed (learning) situation. Since the 1990s focus in research is on the importance of social relations and the development of social and learning-related aspects for formal and informal learning.

In addition to the importance of social relationships e.g. family, peers, and significant others in the extended out-of-school network, classmates and teachers provide a resource for common learning at school. Classmates offer orientation for students’ own learning, can act as supporters in class and influence learning motivation positively. School-related student perceptions are also shaped by the student-teacher relationship. Suárez-Orozco et al. (2009) indicate that the perception of relationships with classmates as well as of those with teachers have long-term importance for positive change in learning motivation, school performance, school attendance, social recognition and the effort of students. The teacher-student interaction, as well as group processes experienced in class are further aspects which play a role for the success of learners, but also for the development of learning motivation. In class, classmates provide orientation for students’ own learning, their learning success or self-assessment. The significance of this is noted in several studies, and is also relevant across age groups (Fredricks, Blumenfeld & Paris, 2004, Furrer & Skinner, 2003, Neuenschwander & Hascher, 2003, Ulich & Jerusalem, 1996). However, social relations with teachers and classmates do not have the same importance for all students. Some are more oriented towards their classmates, while others are directed towards teachers (Raufelder, 2014).

Since 2015/16, all lower secondary schools in Austria have been transformed into NMS. Within the school reform of NMS a series of pedagogical innovations aimed at stimulating a change in students learning in school, to develop a learning and communication culture in class and to broaden the educational base of students (LSR, 2009, 2011). Throughout compulsory school, a relation between students’ willingness to learn and the experience of social embeddedness as well as the feeling of being accepted in a class was traced. Furthermore, the perception of learning successfully in class and the perception of social relations with classmates seem to change school expectations in the long term (Hössl & Vossler, 2006).

This relates to the research question of how students in Austrian NMS perceive social relations with their classmates and teachers, how these perceptions change over four years and if the development of social relations can be seen as a resource for the development of within-school aspects in the perception of students during Secondary I.

Method

In order to describe the importance of social relationships between students in NMS, analyses were carried out using SPSS and STATA. From 2010 to 2014, students were asked annually by questionnaire about school-related perceptions with regard to joint learning aspects in their classes and their out-of-school context. The importance of social relations was surveyed using questions on support perceived from classmates and teachers, cooperation among students in class, the perception of the relationship with teachers and the experience of the class-climate and well-being. The student surveys were conducted during the morning lessons in classes N = 36. The surveys of 5th to 7th grade were held in the autumn, and those of 8th grade in the spring to reflect the perceptions of the upcoming school transfer. The individual perceptions of the students were summarized as factors and were used for a descriptive description as well as for further multilevel analyses (N = 564 students in 5th grade, N = 711 students in 6th grade, N = 682 students in 7th grade and N = 645 students in 8th grade). In order to illustrate the importance of social relationships for the development of learning-relevant school aspects, the perceptions of N = 998 students was included in the longitudinal analysis. In these calculations, too, the scales "student-teacher-relationship", the "relationship to classmates", "learning motivation", "class climate", “cooperation”, “support” and "well-being" were used. With regard to the importance of social relations in the class context, a first step is to analyze the perceptions of learning-relevant school-related aspects of the students in class. In a second step, perceptual analyses of social relationships in relation to learning-relevant school aspects were made by means of multi-level analyses, taking into account class context. This was followed by the analysis development of social relationships in the class context to gain a multi-dimensional picture of a longer-term change.

Expected Outcomes

The analyses show that students perceive social relations predominantly positively. Furthermore, they experience social relations in class as a resource for their learning. The perception of class-climate, well-being in class and the motivation to learn are supported by persistent and stable relationships with classmates. The importance of the perception of interactions with teachers is shown in the context of students’ motivation to learn. Migrant students report a higher motivation to learn and higher educational aspirations than their classmates, and in 8th grade their learning motivation increases. The results illustrate the potential of social relationships in class, which can be seen as a "motor" for successful educational processes, with results pointing to their importance for the development of learning-relevant factors for students in Secondary I. If teachers are able to build up good communication in the classroom, support the classes, resolve conflicts, listen to the students, help and support them in learning, are open to the students' opinions and open up possibilities for participation, they can make a difference in students´ perceptions of joint learning in class and of their relationships with the teachers. If it is possible for students to contribute their own ideas and opinions, if they feel valued and can find solutions that at first might not be the right ones, they may perceive a learning culture in class. Hagenenauer and Hascher (2010) emphasize the different needs of students in adolescence and underline it as a challenge for school to deal with in an appropriate way and to adapt teaching adequately. As Radisch, Stecher, Klieme and Kühnbach (2008) emphasize, the learning behavior of students cannot be influenced causally by teachers, but it seems possible, through the organization of social relationships, to create a learning culture that enables students to be successful in learning.

References

Böhnisch, L. (1997). Sozialpädagogik der Lebensalter. Eine Einführung. Weinheim, München: Juventa. Bourdieu, P. (1983). Ökonomisches Kapital, kulturelles Kapital, soziales Kapital. In R. Kreckel (Ed.), Soziale Ungleichheiten. Sonderband 2 der Sozialen Welt (183-198). Göttingen: Schwartz. Fredricks, J. A., Blumenfeld, P. C. & Paris, A. H. (2004). School Engagement: Potential of the Concept, State of the Evidence. Review of Educational Research, 74(1), 54-109. Furrer, C. & Skinner, E. (2003). Sense of Relatedness as a Factor in Children’s Academic Engagement and Performance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95(1), 148-162. Hagenauer, G. & Hascher, T. (2010). Learning Enjoyment in Early Adolescence. Educational Research and Evaluation: An International Journal on Theory and Practice, 16(6), 495-516. Hössl, A. & Vossler, A. (2006). Bildungsverläufe in der Grundschule. Schulerfolg und Belastungen aus der Sicht von Kindern und Eltern. Bad Heilbrunn: Klinkhardt. Hoover-Dempsey, K. V., Battiato, A. C., Walker, J. M., Reed, R. P., DeJong, J. & Jones, K. P. (2001). Parental Involvement in Homework. Educational Psychologist, 36(3), 195-209. Looser, D. (2011). Soziale Beziehungen und Leistungsmotivation. Die Bedeutung von Bezugspersonen für die längerfristige Aufrechterhaltung von Lern- und Leistungsmotivation. In E. Beck & H. J. Forneck (Hrsg.), Beiträger der Schweizer Bildungsforschung, Band 2. Opladen: Budrich UniPress. Landesschulrat für Niederösterreich (2009). Modellplan für Niederösterreich. http://www.lsr-noe.gv.atfileModellplan_07_09_2009.pdf [03.11.2014]. Landesschulrat für Niederösterreich (2011). NÖ Mittelschule – Modellplan. http://www.lsr-noe.gv.at/file/NOE_Mittelschule_2011_Modellplan.pdf Müller, H. (2014). Pierre Bourdieu. Eine systematische Einführung. Berlin: Suhrkamp. Neuenschwander, M. & Hascher, T. (2003).Zufriedenheit von Schülerinnen und Schülern und ihre soziale Integration. Psychologie in Erziehung und Unterricht, 50(3), 270-280. Radisch, F., Stecher, L., Klieme, E. & Kühnbach, O. (2008). Unterrichts- und Angebotsqualität aus Schülersicht. In H. G. Holtappels, E. Klieme, T. Rauschenbach & L. Stecher (Hrsg.), Ganztagsschulen in Deutschland. Ergebnisse der Ausgangserhebung der „Studie zur Entwicklung von Ganztagsschulen“ (StEG) (227-260). Weinheim, München: Juventa Verlag. Raufelder, D. (2014). Keine Lust auf Schule und Lernen. Die Rolle von Peers und Lehrer/-innen für die schulische Motivation. Schule im Blickpunkt 2013/2014, 47(5), 6-8. Suárez-Orozco, C., Pimentel, A. & Martin, M. (2009). The Significance of Relationships: Academic Engagement and Achievement Among Newcomer Immigrant Youth. Teachers College Record,11(3), 712-749. Ulich, K. & Jerusalem, M. (1996). Interpersonale Einflüsse auf die Lernleistung. In F. E. Weinert (Ed.), Psychologie des Lernens und der Instruktion (181-208). Göttingen: Hogrefe.

Author Information

Michaela Kilian (presenting / submitting)

University Vienna, Austria

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