The Need to Search for Configurations
Author(s):
Corinna Geppert (presenting / submitting)
Conference:
ECER 2012
Network:
21. Emerging Researchers' Group (for presentation at Emerging Researchers' Conference)
Format:
Paper

Session Information

ERG SES C 15, Assessment

Parallel Paper Session

Time:
2012-09-17
13:30-15:00
Room:
FCEE - S. 3
Chair:
Martin Goy

Contribution

Objectives
Current debate on education in Europe and especially in Austria has been triggered by the results of PISA 2000,which showed that there are substantial problems concerning the education of students. As a reaction to the PISA 2000 results, debate on the Austrian school structure once again blamed the bad results in the PISA-Assessment on the early selection processes following 4th grade and this has resulted in a trial to introduce a new form of comprehensive school.
The research project focuses on issues which can help children complete their school careers and support them in their learning processes. In addition to how children perceive instruction, issues of the project include the school environment in terms of class climate, cooperation among the children and the support they receive from teachers, as well as contextual aspects like the region in which a school is located, cooperation with the community within which the school lies, private tutoring, private sports institutions, the major local boards and individual extra-curricular resources.

Theoretical framework
The project is inspired by the capability approach following Sen (2009). The capability approach is a normative frame to evaluate social arrangements and individual welfare (Robeyns, 2006). Empirically, the challenge is to build a whole bundle of indicators (Alkire, 2005; Poppe, 2002). It makes a difference in which kind of milieu one grows up, which kind of social and cultural capital is provided, and if there are special needs or how educational institutions deal with needs and talents. Whereas in other theories these measures are taken in isolation, the capability approach includes them all at the same time (Sen, 1985). In most research, the general academic school (Ditton, 2010; Dollmann, 2010; Solga & Wagner, 2001;) is the goal and those who cannot attend such a school are marginalized. The current approach asks – what do children really want to achieve?


Research questions
Which bundle of factors leading to successful school careers — where success is not measured in terms of standardized achievement scores but in terms of individually satisfying aims — can be identified at the transition from primary school to secondary school?

Method

Methods - data sources To gain more knowledge on the students’ environment, whereby we must not over- or underestimate the importance of specific areas of content (Brunello & Checci, 2007), it was decided to create a longitudinal study where students are followed from the last years of primary school (4th grade) through to the end of compulsory school (9th grade). To avoid random effects in any one cohort, the decision was made to follow three cohorts of students, each cohort consisting of 1,000 students, their parents and their teachers. Every year from 4th grade to 8th grade, students are periodically asked to fill in questionnaires concerning their school life, their class climate, their educational aspirations and how they perceive their instruction. The most important issues concern the students themselves, so parents are requested to provide information on the children’s backgrounds and on resources that parents can provide to their children. Every year, teachers are asked to fill in a questionnaire and report their points of view concerning their individual students. They are asked about the behavior and educational aspirations of each individual student, as well as the relevant achievement data.

Expected Outcomes

Expected outcomes As students are seen as individuals nested within classes, which in turn are nested within schools that are themselves nested within a regional context, a multilevel approach was considered best for focusing on the borders between the different context factors (Raudenbush & Bryk, 2002; Snijders & Bosker, 1999). This multilevel approach, combined with panel data analysis should create patterns that give information about how contextual factors, inside- and outside school factors and individual propositions relate to each other. These patterns should allow us to conclude, that it is not only a matter of gender, race and poverty, which is already very well documented (see for example Bacher, 2006; Bellenberg & Im Brahm, 2010; Ditton & Krüsken, 2009; Hauf, 2007), but that within these big themes there are many variations that lead to a successful or unsuccessful school career.

References

Alkire, S (2005). Why the capability approach? Journal of Human Development, 6 (1), 115-133. Bacher, J. (2006). Soziale Ungleichheit und Bildungspartizipation im weiterführenden Schulsystem Österreichs. Österreichische Zeitschrift für Soziologie, 28 (3), 3-32 Bellenberg, G. & Im Brahm, G. (2010) Reduzierung von Selektion und Übergangsschwellen. In G. Quenzel & K. Hurrelmann (Hrsg.). Bildungsverlierer. Neue Ungleichheiten, S. 517-535. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaft. Brunello, G. & Checchi, D. (2007). Does School Tracking Affect Equality of Opportunity? New International Evidence. Economic Policy 22 (52), 781-861. Ditton, H. (2010). Selektion und Exklusion im Bildungssystem. In G. Quenzel & K. Hurrelmann (Eds.). Bildungsverlierer. Neue Ungleichheiten, p. 53-71. Weinheim: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. Dollmann, J. (2010). Bildungsentscheidungen und der Einfluss sekundärer Herkunftseffekte. In J. Dollmann(Ed.). Türkischstämmige Kinder am ersten Bildungsübergang, p 119-166. Weinheim: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. Hauf, T. (2007). Innerstädtische Bildungsdisparitäten an der Übergangschwelle von den Grundschulen zum Sekundarschulsystem. Zeitschrift für Pädagogik, 3, 299-313. Pogge, T. (2002). Can the capability approach be justified? Philosophical Topics, 30 (2), 1-71. Raudenbush, S. W. & Bryk, A. S. (2002). Hierarchical linear models. Applications and data analysis methods. Thousand Oaks, London, New Delhi: Sage Publications. Robeyns, I. (2006). Three models of education. Rights, capabilities and human capital. Theory and Research in Education, 4 (1), 69-84. Sen, A. (1985). The standard of living. Lecture I, concepts and critiques. Lecture II, lives and capabilities. In G. Hawthorne (Eds.). The standard of living, p. 1-38, Cambridge: The Tanner lectures. Sen, A. (2009). The idea of justice. London: Penguin Books. Snijders, T. & Bosker, R. (1999). Multilevel analysis. An introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modeling. Thousand Oaks, London, New Delhi: Sage Publications. Solga, H. & Wagner, S. (2001). Paradoxie der Bildungsexpansion. Die doppelte Benachteiligung von Hauptschülern. Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft, 4 (1), 107-127.

Author Information

Corinna Geppert (presenting / submitting)
University of Vienna
Department of Education
Vienna

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