Effects of kindergarten retention for at-risk children’s psychosocial development

Kindergarten retention is a popular practice for children who are considered unready for primary school. However, past research has not yet succeeded to find consistent, strong empirical evidence supporting the practice. In the current study, kindergarten repeaters’ development in nine psychosocial domains is compared with that of equally at risk but (1) continuously promoted age-mates and (2) promoted age-mates who repeated first grade instead. Analysing data from a large-scale longitudinal study using propensity score matching and multilevel modelling, the findings reveal no harm of kindergarten retention for at-risk children’s long term psychosocial development. Rather, we find that, relative to equally at-risk but continuously promoted children, kindergarten repeaters benefit from retention with respect to higher levels of well-being, and peer relations, and lower levels of hyperactivity, aggression and asocial behaviour. Compared to similar children who were promoted but who were retained in first grade instead, kindergarten repeaters are found to benefit more from retention with respect to higher levels of well-being, self-confidence, attitude to work and independent behaviour, and lower levels of hyperactivity.     

The importance of a collaborative culture for teachers’ job satisfaction and affective commitment

European Journal of Psychology of Education - Prior research has shown the importance of collaborative culture as well as teacher job satisfaction and commitment in navigating complex school...     

Componential IRT Models for Polytomous Items

Componential IRT models for polytomous items are of particular interest in two contexts: Componential research and test development. We assume that there are basic components, such as processes and knowledge structures, involved in solving cognitive tasks. In Componential research, the subtask paradigm may be used to isolate such components in subtasks. In test development, items may be composed such that their response alternatives correspond with specific combinations of such components. In both cases the data may be modeled as polytomous items. With Bock's (1972) nominal model as a general framework, transformation matrices can be used to constrain the parameters of the response categories so as to reflect the Componential design of the response categories. In this way, both main effects and interaction effects of components can be studied. An application to a spelling task demonstrates this approach     

Learning environment and students’ mathematics attitude

This study investigated the association between students’ perception of the learning environment and three aspects of their mathematics attitude: ‘mathematics academic self-concept’, ‘enjoyment of mathematics’ and ‘perceived value of mathematics’. The focus was on the association of students’ mathematics attitude with four dimensions in the learning environment: the extent to which the teacher ‘motivates to exert learning effort’, ‘activates towards self-regulated learning’, ‘gives feedback and coaches’, and ‘structures and steers’. Data were obtained from an extended version of the international Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) of 2003. Multilevel analysis on a sample of 4354 eighth grade students in 228 classes in 119 schools in Flanders (Belgium) indicated that the learning environment plays a significant role in the enjoyment of mathematics. This while the mathematics academic self-concept and the perceived value of mathematics are insensitive for aspects in the learning environment.     

How to improve reading comprehension in high-risk students: effects of class practices in Grade 5

This study investigated the effect of class practices on students’ learning gains in reading comprehension in the 5th grade. A sample of 4,344 students in 283 classes in 176 schools was studied. Several class practices that have previously been demonstrated to be effective were tested while controlling for student characteristics and socioeconomic and ethnic class composition. Differential effects were tested to identify class practices that can contribute to narrowing the achievement gap between high- and low-risk students. Most class practices turned out to have a similar effect for both low- and high-risk students. However, “discovery learning” and “well-organised and attractive instruction” appeared to be more beneficial for low-risk than for high-risk students. Group composition in terms of social and ethnic background turned out to have no significant effect on learning gains in reading comprehension.     

Teacher Leadership in Practice: Mapping the Negotiation of the Position of the Special Educational Needs Coordinator in Schools

Special needs care has taken on a substantial evolution within education. Special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs) are no longer considered to provide individual guidance to students but to support and professionalize regular teachers in fulfilling special needs care in their classroom. In doing so, they act as teacher leaders. Many concerns are raised about how teacher leadership may interfere with the existing working relationships in schools. In this study, we use Positioning Theory as a theoretical approach to obtain an in-depth understanding of how the position of the SENCO and the responsibilities attached to this position are negotiated within the school. The findings illustrate that SENCOs received the legitimacy to act as teacher leaders when their expertise was recognized, when teachers perceived their task as first-line helpers, and when school principals were willing to release power.     

Real-Time Feedback on Rater Drift in Constructed-Response Items: An Example From the Golden State Examination

In this study, patterns of variation in severities of a group of raters over time or so-called "rater drift" was examined when raters scored an essay written under examination conditions. At the same time feedback was given to rater leaders (called "table leaders") who then interpreted the feedback and reported to the raters. Rater severities in five successive periods were estimated using a modified linear logistic test model (LLTM, Fischer, 1973) approach. It was found that the raters did indeed drift towards the mean, but a planned comparision of the feedback with a control condition was not successful; it was believed that this was due to contamination at the table leader level. A series of models was also estimated designed to detect other types of rater effects beyond severity: a tendency to use extreme scores, and tendency to prefer certain categories. The models for these effects were found to be showing significant improvement in fit, implying that these effects were indeed present, although they were difficult to detect in relatively short time periods.