Objectives of the research: In this symposium selected results of the European Collaborative Research Project (ECRP) ADDITION will be presented. The overall project objective of ADDITION (A Dynamic Effective Knowledge Base for Quality in Education) is to examine the influence of system level aspects (e.g. decisions of educational policy), of school factors and of classroom level factors on development of achievements in mathematics and science within one year.

Theoretical framework and research questions: The dynamic model of educational effectiveness (Creemers & Kyriakides, 2008) has been used as a theoretical framework for the analyses. The model includes four dimensions of school quality: input factors (system preconditions and guidelines, system and regional steering), process factors on school and classroom level, outcome factors on student level (quality of student achievements, attitudes and behaviours) (cp. Kyriakides & Creemers 2008; Scheerens & Bosker, 1997) by considering context-level factors concerning the social background of pupils. Our presentations focus on following questions: Which school and classroom variables show impacts on development of achievement? Do patterns of classroom composition matter? Are teaching methods and learning environment able to compensate an unfavourable social background? Can we identify relationships between system level factors and school quality and also students’ achievement?

Methodology and research design: The European Collaborative Research Project includes a longitudinal design and measures mathematics and science achievement with a standardized test, based on test items used by TIMSS 2007. Data on individual, class and school level are collected by using standardized questionnaires. Achievement tests and questionnaires were administered on two points of measurements, atthe beginning and atthe end of grade 4, in 50-60 randomized selected primary schools in each of the six European partner countries. The samples include approx. 1.500-3.000 students, 1.200 teachers and 50-60 headmasters. Path analyses, structuralequation models and multi-level analyses belong to the applied statistical methods.

Results and importance of the research: The presentations will deliver results about the influence of system level preconditions on school and classroom quality and on mathematics and science achievement. The results will contribute to a better knowledge basis about the importance of system, school and classroom level factors for teaching and development of competencies. Furthermore results will deliver important findings that will help to identify school and classroom level factors to foster primary pupils‘ achievement in consideration of their SES background. By comparing results from different European countries the study gives an insight in successful strategies for improvement by showing results across the countries and special issues within each country.

References:

Creemers, B. P. M., & Kyriakides, L. (2008). The dynamics of educational effectiveness: a contribution to policy, practice and theory in contemporary schools. London: Routledge.

Kyriakides, L. & Creemers, B.P.M. (2008). Using a multidimensional approach to measure the impact of classroom level factors upon student achievement: A study testing the validity of the dynamic model. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 19 (2), 183-205

Scheerens, J., & Bosker, R. J. (1997). The foundations of educational effectiveness. Oxford: Pergamon.