Relationship between Students' Perceptions of School Environment,Their Satisfaction with School and Perceived Academic Achievement: An International Study

During the last decades numerous studies have been conducted with the aim of finding predictors of an effective school measured in terms of the average level of the students' academic achievement. Few of these studies have examined how the students' perception of their work environment at school influences their academic achievement. The present article applies theory and findings from research on the adult work environment to the daily school life of children and adolescents. The analyses are based on self-reported data from the "Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Survey" (the HBSC study), using data from countries in both Eastern and Western Europe. Data from 11, 13 and 15 year old students in Finland, Latvia, Norway and Slovakia are used. The findings suggest that the most important psychosocial school setting predictors of students' perception of their academic achievement are that they feel satisfied with school, that they feel the teachers do not expect too much of them, and that they have a good relationship with their fellow students. The findings imply that interventions which enhance the students' satisfaction with school are likely to improve their achievement as well.     

Socioeconomic status and students' science self-efficacy

The present study ascertains the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and students' science self-efficacy using data involving 509,182 15-year-old students and 17,678 school principals in 69 countries/regions who participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015. Hierarchical linear modelling results show that, after controlling for science teachers' instructional practices (science class disciplinary climate, inquiry-based instruction, teachers' support, direct instruction, provision of feedback, instructional adaptation), school science resources and various student variables (gender, grade levels, type of school programme), SES was related to students' science self-efficacy in the majority of countries/regions (62–68 countries/regions, depending on the SES indicators used). Specifically, SES was related to students' science self-efficacy in a larger number of countries/regions when it was measured using home cultural resources, home educational resources or a composite indicator (economic, social and cultural status) than when it was measured using parental education levels or occupational status. In contrast, students' science self-efficacy was unrelated to the science teachers' instructional practices examined (except inquiry-based instruction) in most of the countries/regions. These results expand our understanding of students' science self-efficacy, as a type of learning motivation, from being a largely psychological attribute to one that is also influenced by social origins such as family SES. They imply that SES may have a larger influence on student achievement than we may have assumed if we include the indirect influence of SES on student achievement via students' self-efficacy.     

New Directions in Social Skills Assessment and Intervention for Elementary and Middle School Students

Social skills are important to the successful social and academic functioning of all students and play a significant role in avoiding or preventing negative responses from others. Social skills also are important aspects of effective schools. In this article, we emphasize the assessment and intervention of the academic side of social skills. That is, we examine the role that social skills play in facilitating individuals' learning and creation of a school environment where others can feel supported and motivated to learn. As a basis for this examination, we first review several key studies documenting interrelations among social skills and academic competence. Next, we briefly review current assessment practices focusing on rating scale methods for documenting students' social skills and perceptions of social support. Finally, we introduce an instructional approach called the Responsive Classroom (Charney, 1992) that has been shown to advance the development of elementary and middle school students' social skills and academic achievement, and result in supportive school environments for learners and teachers. We conclude with recommendations for researchers and practitioners to continue to consider the strong interrelations among social skills, academic functioning, and social support when working with all students in elementary and middle schools.     

Unravelling gender composition effects on rule-breaking at school: a focus on study attitudes

Previous research on consequences of schools' gender composition has mostly investigated students' socio-emotional well-being and achievement, while students' academic attitudes and behavioural outcomes – including school deviancy – have been studied less. Moreover, most studies compared single-sex and coeducational schools, and did not focus on the proportion of girls at school. Starting from reference group theory, we hypothesise that boys attending schools with a higher proportion of girls adopt the latter's positive study attitudes, rendering them less susceptible to disruptive behaviour. Conversely, girls in schools with more boys are expected to adopt the latter's negative study attitudes, consequently being more likely to misbehave. Multilevel analyses on data from the Flemish educational assessment, consisting of 5961 girls and 5638 boys in 81 schools, showed that both boys and girls valued studying more and were less likely to misbehave at school when proportionally more girls attended their school. Implications are discussed.     

Variations in Reading Achievement Across 14 Southern African School Systems: Which Factors Matter?

In this study the authors employed a multilevel analysis procedure in order to examine the pupil and school levels factors that contributed to variation in reading achievement among Grade 6 primary school pupils in 14 southern African school systems (Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zanzibar). The data for this study were collected in 2002 as part of a major project known as the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ) that sought to examine the quality of education offered in primary schools in these countries. The most important factors affecting variation in pupil achievement across most of these school systems were grade repetition, pupil socioeconomic background, speaking the language of instruction at home, and Pupil age. South Africa, Uganda and Namibia were among the school systems with the largest between-school variation while Seychelles and Mauritius had the largest within-school variation. Low social equity in reading achievement was evident in Mauritius, Seychelles and Tanzania. Policy implications of the findings are discussed.     

Does school‐based initial teacher training affect secondary school performance?

This article investigates the effects of trainee teachers on secondary school student outcomes. The additional resources which schools receive from being involved in teacher training offer them an opportunity to raise standards, but this has to be set against the possible losses due to school students being taught by inexperienced beginning teachers and the diversion of mentors' efforts away from the classroom. Inspection evidence is used to assess whether trainee teachers affect school students' test and examination results. The findings of this research are that the number of trainees has no significant effect on school results at A‐level or General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), or on the overall value added between Key Stage 3 and GCSE level. However, at Key Stage 3 level at age 14, while there appears to be a very small depressing effect on achievement in schools with low numbers of trainees, there is a significant positive effect on achievement in schools with larger numbers of trainees.     

Curriculum Leadership and Management in Secondary Schools: A Hong Kong case study

Relatively little is known about how and by whom curriculum leadership and management occur inside secondary schools, especially in Asian contexts. This article aims to analyse curriculum decision-making in two academically effective secondary schools in Hong Kong. It employs qualitative methods to capture the contributions made by various school personnel, and in particular the principals, to curriculum leadership and management. Data for the two schools show that whilst neither of the principals plays a significant role in curriculum monitoring and innovation, the vice-principal (male), the senior teachers and teachers in one school were perceived to place more emphasis on curriculum monitoring and innovation than their counterparts in the other school. Whilst teachers in both schools shared high expectations for students' academic achievement, one subtle difference between them related to the pursuit of academic excellence. In one school, students did not exert much pressure on their teachers whereas in the other school, teachers felt they had to fulfil students' demands for good lesson preparation and take account of students' opinions of their teaching.     

Educational experiences of immigrant students from the former Soviet Union: a case study of an ethnic school in Toronto

This paper explores the academic and psychosocial outcomes of immigrant students from the former Soviet Union (FSU) in an ethnic school in Toronto. Based on interviews with the principal, teachers, students and parents, together with questionnaire responses, the paper describes school programmes and practices that contribute to FSU immigrant students' high academic achievement, within the categories of curriculum, pedagogy, discipline policy and teacher–student relationships. The creation of this ethnic school suggests that Canada's educational system has not met the needs of the immigrant group. The paper seeks to further understanding of educating FSU immigrant students, and discusses the implications of ethnic schools for educating children in a multicultural society.     

“If You Show Who You are,Then They are Going to Try to Fix You”: The Capitals and Costs of Schooling for High-Achieving Latina Students

Schools are supposed to be places where students learn academic and technical skills while also expanding their social networks. Although much research exists that examines academic achievement from a variety of lenses, schools and educators continue to lack insight into the various strengths—or capital—students bring with them to school alongside the barriers—or costs—they face once there. To help bridge the gap between the extant research and what is practiced in schools, we provide insight into what educators can do to capitalize on students' strengths and minimize the barriers to achievement. This article draws from two theoretical frameworks, Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) and Racial Opportunity Cost (ROC), and two qualitative research projects that examined Latina high school students' academic achievement from a capitals and costs perspective. Although significant research has identified assets-based approaches to schooling, our results indicate that the interplay between the norms of the school and the norms the students embraced played a critical role in terms of creating conditions for a positive school experience. Based on our findings, we offer recommendations for educators to address the costs that students experience.     

Organizational Characteristics of Schools That Successfully Serve Low-Income Urban African American Students

A prerequisite for correcting ineffective education is the examination of research on the learning environments of successful schools and the conditions and processes that enable quality outcomes. The research described in this article supports the Talent Development philosophy, which rejects deficit-based "talent sorting" models of schooling and promotes widespread academic success in appropriately supportive environments. The study delineates the common organizational characteristics of schools in low-income areas that defy the odds by producing high numbers of high-achieving African American students. Specifically, it explores how urban elementary schools that successfully serve primarily low-income African American students are configured to support students' academic and personal growth.

Participating schools were selected based on test scores evidencing their students' sustained mathematics and reading achievement. The data for the analysis was obtained from questionnaires mailed to the schools' principals. Patterns in the data and discernable trends across schools are described.     

Meanings of success and successful leadership in Ontario,Canada, in neo-liberal times

The provincial government of Ontario, Canada, has committed itself to raising student achievement, closing achievement gaps, and increasing the public's confidence in public education. It has introduced many policies, including the Ontario Leadership Strategy (OLS), to support these goals. Our study examined how teachers, administrators, support staff, and parents in three elementary schools in Ontario understand and enact school success and successful school leadership within this (neo-liberal) context. Findings of a comparative analysis of Ontario policy texts and data from interviews with administrators, teachers, support staff, and parents in the schools demonstrate that the school-based participants defined success as academic learning, a positive school climate, and students' well-being. This definition differs from the definition prioritised by Ontario's government: high scores on standardised provincial and international tests. However, principals in the schools enacted leadership practices advocated by OLS to support locally defined notions of success.     

Examining the Success Factors of High-Achieving Puerto Rican Male High-School Students

This article works to dispel the myth that Latino urban high-school students are not capable of performing at high academic levels. Whereas much educational research emphasizes the academic underachievement of urban Latino students, this article counteracts this research by describing the four success factors that three working-class Puerto Rican male high-school students attribute to their high academic achievement. These success factors are: (a) the acquisition of social capital through religiosity and participation in school and community-based extracurricular activities, (b) having a strong Puerto Rican identity, (c) the influence of these students' mothers/sisters on their academic achievement, and (d) the potential for caring and sincere teachers and other school staff to influence high academic achievement. These findings have implications for Latina/o education and recommendations are provided.     

School Work,Homework and Gender

This paper explores female and male students' attitudes towards school work in terms of application and achievement. The data are drawn from interviews with students, teachers, careers officers and welfare officers in three semi‐rural comprehensive schools in one local education authority (LEA) [1]. (The students were in their last year of compulsory schooling, Year 11, and were aged 16 [2].) The three schools had invited the authors to explore why boys were achieving below their potential in terms of course work and end of course grades. The findings of the study show how school, peer group and community factors influence students' attitudes towards school work and homework. However, the situation is not just one of boys' under‐performance: the pattern of girls' achievement at 16 (the school leaving age) is not always carried through post‐16 or into career destinations. The problem is one of ‘equalising opportunities’ for all young people, taking into account the different patterns of need at different stages in their school careers.     

Social Values Associated with Cross-national Differences in Mathematics and Science Achievement: A cross-national analysis

This study explores several factors that account for cross-national differences in mathematics and science achievement for middle-school students from 39 countries based on the Third International Mathematics and Science Study. The results suggest that economic development level, as measured by GNP per capita, has a positive but relatively weak association with mathematics and science achievement. In contrast, variables reflecting a society's value on education, specifically the education of mathematics and science, demonstrates strong effects on students' achievement. These variables include students' perceived rigour of mathematics and science - a proxy of academic standards of mathematics and science, students' school attendance, the length of a school year, students' educational aspiration, and the average number of parents living with the student. The evidence presented in this study supports the argument that education reform aiming at improving mathematics and science achievement can hardly be successful without the efforts of the whole society.     

An aspect on the school culture in Turkey and the United States

The purpose of this study is to get a better understanding on school culture in the United States and Turkey. In this quantitative investigation, data were collected using the “School Culture Inventory” from 157 teachers in ?zmir, Turkey and 161 teachers in the United States. The findings show that both countries have a positive culture. A positive school culture enhances academic achievement, and culture is perceived more positively in medium SES schools in Turkey and low SES schools in the USA in terms of socioeconomic status (SES). The US schools rated higher in terms of improvement culture and the teaching culture while Turkish schools rated higher in terms of teacher collaboration.     

Revisiting the effects of project-based learning on students’ academic achievement: A meta-analysis investigating moderators

Project-based learning is generally considered an alternative to traditional, teacher-led instruction. However, there is a noticeable lack of meta-analyses with regard to determining its overall effects on students' academic achievement, and what study features may moderate the impacts of project-based learning. This study thus performed a meta-analysis to synthesize existing research that compared the effects of project-based learning and those of traditional instruction on student academic achievement. Forty-six effect sizes (comparisons) extracted from 30 eligible journal articles published from 1998 to 2017 were analyzed, representing 12,585 students from 189 schools in nine countries. The results showed that the overall mean weighted effect size (d₊) was 0.71, indicating that project-based learning has a medium to large positive effect on students' academic achievement compared with traditional instruction. In addition, the mean effect size was affected by subject area, school location, hours of instruction, and information technology support, but not by educational stage and small group size.     

Correlates of student stress in secondary education

Background

Educational differentiation, or the allocation of students to different types of school or different locations within schools, is a common feature of modern education systems. In most countries, student outcomes vary considerably, both by school and academic location within schools.

Purpose

The purpose is to ascertain the extent that between- and within-school differences in student performance can be attributed to students' socio-economic background and their home resources.

Sample

The samples are from the OECD's 2000 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) study of 15-year-old students' performance in reading, mathematics and science. Data from 30 countries were analysed. The student samples ranged between 2500 (USA) and 30,000 (Canada) students. The samples are representative of the populations of 15-year-old school students in each country.

Design and methods

Multiple regression analysis was used to ascertain the extent to which between-school differences (measured by intra-class correlations) and within-school differences (measured by the effects of the composite variable ‘academic location’ which comprised grade and school programme) declined when taking into consideration students' socio-economic background and home environment.

Results

In most countries the intra-class correlations and the effects of academic location declined only marginally. This was especially the case in countries with large between-school differences such as the tracked systems of continental Europe.

Conclusions

Differences in student performance between and within schools cannot be accounted for by socio-economic background. The study lends some support to the official rational for tracking and other forms of educational differentiation, that the allocation of students to different school types and academic locations within schools is largely based on student ability.     

The Impact of Self-assessment on Achievement: The effects of self-assessment training on performance in external examinations

Can the quality of students' work be improved through training in self- assessment practices? This paper considers the impact of training high school students on their performance in external examinations. Teachers were selected from a sample of high schools and trained in how to develop students' self-assessment skills. Ten high schools representative of the top, middle and bottom levels of academic achievement in national examinations were chosen and students trained in self-assessment by their normal class teachers as part of their final year curriculum. An experimental group comprising 256 participants received formal training in self-assessment skills for the entire three terms of the academic year. A control group was selected from matched classes not receiving such training. A significant difference favouring those trained in self-assessment was found overall and in each curriculum area. While it is demonstrated that self-assessment training can have an impact on student performance the paper considers the circumstances of the study and whether similar outcomes might be possible in less favourable conditions.     

Classroom management,school staff relations,school climate,and academic achievement: testing a model with urban high schools

Urban learning environments pose distinct instructional challenges for teachers and administrators, and can lead to lower achievement compared to suburban or rural schools. Today’s educational climate increasingly emphasises a need for positive academic outcomes, often measured by standardised tests, on which student educational opportunities, teacher benefits and school funding can be based. By applying an ecological framework to the urban school environment, it could be possible to better understand and ultimately improve the educational context at multiple levels. This study examined how classroom management, staff relations and school climate contribute to academic achievement, as measured by ACT scores. In a large urban American public school system, 208 teachers from 38 high schools were surveyed. A model was tested in which, when academic achievement was accounted for over time, classroom management and staff relations contributed positively to school climate, and climate in turn contributed to academic achievement. Structural equation modeling revealed that the data fitted the proposed model. Results illustrate the roles of school and classroom factors related to academic performance and underline the importance of classroom management strategies and positive learning environments. Results suggest avenues for interventions to increase academic achievement by supporting students through the lens of an ecological framework.     

Science in Action: How Middle School Students Are Changing Their World Through STEM Service-Learning Projects

The purpose of Science in Action (SIA) was to examine the relationship between implementing quality science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) service-learning (SL) projects and the effect on students' academic engagement in middle school science, civic responsibility, and resilience to at-risk behaviors. The innovative project funded by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) included 6,000+ middle school at-risk students (eligible for at least 50% free or reduced-cost lunch), 126 science teachers who integrated STEM problem-based SL pedagogy into science instruction to teach students to solve real problems in schools and communities. The project involved 20 schools and communities with assistance from 120 community partners. Participants completed pre- and post-SL surveys on academic engagement, civic responsibility, and resilience; qualitative data were collected from journals, interviews, focus groups, observations, and field notes. Results highlight exemplary SL projects that demonstrated increased student academic engagement and achievement for students living in high poverty areas with potential at-risk behavior. Implications for future research and educational practices are discussed.