Reading and listening progress in segregated primary schools: Does ethnic and socioeconomic classroom composition matter?

This study aimed to investigate the relationship of classroom composition factors with reading and listening comprehension achievement and progress in socially and ethnically segregated primary schools in Flanders (Belgium). Specifically, using a three‐level multivariate repeated measures analysis, it examined the association of reading and listening achievement and progress with ethnic diversity, the proportion of non‐native students and the average socioeconomic status of the class, taking into account student characteristics. At the beginning and end of the school year, reading tests, listening tests and questionnaires were administered to a sample of 7‐ and 8‐year‐old students (n = 683) in 42 second‐grade classes. Students' listening comprehension achievement at the beginning of the school year was negatively related to having a home language other than the language of instruction and to classes with a high proportion of non‐native students. However, progress in listening comprehension was not significantly associated with any student or classroom composition factors. Students whose mothers had a lower level of education performed lower on reading comprehension at the beginning of the school year, while at the end of the school year students whose mothers had a higher level of education were at a greater disadvantage. Limitations of this study and directions for future research are discussed.     

Medical and health informatics services during and after the COVID‐19 pandemic should be virtual,tailored, responsive and interactive: a case study in Belgium

This is part of a new series in this regular feature regarding trends in the provision of information by health science libraries. By sharing expertise and drawing together relevant trends the series intends to serve as a road map for both health science librarians and health informatics professionals. This article shows how a medical and biomedical research library changed practices, and reassessed user needs for the COVID‐19 emergency. Discusses changes to online education (and collaborative working) to provide user‐friendly services, researcher support tailored to need and re‐visioning library space. J.M.     

Wann kann Kompetenzdiagnostik negative Auswirkungen haben?

This paper addresses potential negative effects of systematic external competence assessment on different levels of the education system. We discuss possible sources of misinterpretations of competence assessment feedback, potential consequences of feedback and assessment for different education stakeholders (teachers, students, and educational administration) as well as negative effects of systematic competence assessment on the culture of teaching and learning. The paper concludes with some reflections on possibilities to prevent or reduce the discussed negative effects.     

Only a game? Player misery across game boundaries

ABSTRACT

Videogames often confront players with frustratingly difficult challenges, fearsome enemies, and tragic stories. As such, they can evoke feelings of failure, sadness, anger, and fear. Although these feelings are usually regarded as undesirable, many players seem to enjoy videogames which cause them. In this paper, I argue that player misery often originates from a fictional or lusory attitude which brackets game events from real-life, making the player’s emotions solely relevant within the game context. As they are part of the game themselves, these negative emotions can be enjoyed and easily relativized, since players can acknowledge that their cause is ‘only a game’. However, there are feelings of misery associated with the playing of videogames which are not caused by either the game’s fiction or challenge. In the last part of this paper, I describe a qualitatively different kind of player misery: one that is caused by elements that are not perceived as part of the game by the player, and is not bracketed from real life by a lusory or fictional attitude.     

Stichwort: Übergänge im Bildungssystem

Zusammenfassung Der vorliegende Beitrag gibt einen überblick über theoretische Konzepte für die Analyse von Bildungsüberg?ngen und ihre Anwendung in der empirischen Forschung. Bei der zusammenfassenden Darstellung des Forschungsstandes wurde der übergang von der Primar-in die Sekundarstufe in den Fokus gerückt. Dieses Vorgehen lag darin begründet, dass der übergang von der Grundschule in die Sekundarstufe I nach wie vor eine der wichtigsten Statuspassagen im Leben eines jungen Menschen ist. Bei dieser übergangsentscheidung werden soziale und ethnische Disparit?ten des Kompetenzerwerbs und der Bildungsbeteiligung nicht nur im relativen Schulbesuch der Sekundarstufe dokumentiert, sondern — nach allem was wir wissen — auch in erheblichem Ma?e verst?rkt. Zuerst wurde ein theoretischer Bezugsrahmen vorgestellt, der vor allem auf den mikrosoziologischen Ansatz von Boudon (vgl. 1974) zurückgeht. Zentrale Elemente sind in diesem Zusammenhang die von Boudon vorgenommene Unterscheidung zwischen prim?ren und sekund?ren Effekten der Sozialschichtzugeh?rigkeit, die Integration werterwartungstheoretischer Modellvorstellungen sowie eine theoretisch-inhaltliche Anbindung an die Analyse von Bildungsentscheidungen. Einen Schwerpunkt des Beitrags bildete die Darstellung unterschiedlicher theoretischer Konzepte zur Analyse von Bildungsentscheidungen. Dabei wurden sowohl soziologische als auch psychologische Modelle berücksichtigt. Die soziologischen und psychologischen Forschungstraditionen verliefen bisher (erstaunlicherweise ohne wechselseitige Beeinflussung) parallel. Ausgehend von den Annahmen der Wert-Erwartungs-Theorie gibt es in der Soziologie verschiedene Formalisierungen des Entscheidungsprozesses. Beispielhaft wurden hier die Arbeiten von Erikson/Jonsson (vgl. 1996), Breen/Goldthorpe (vgl. 1997) sowie Esser (vgl. 1999) vorgestellt. Die in diesen Modellen vorgenommenen Formalisierungen stellen eine Adaptation des Grundmodells des Wert-Erwartungs-Ansatzes dar und haben sich für die Analyse von Bildungsentscheidungen sowohl in der soziologischen als auch in der erziehungswissenschaftlichen Forschung etabliert und bew?hrt. In der Psychologie sind werterwartungstheoretische Modelle zwar umfassend empirisch (vor allem experimentell) untersucht sowie differenziert instrumentiert, wurden aber bislang nicht explizit für die Analyse von Bildungsüberg?ngen angewendet. Sie integrieren, wie die hier berücksichtigten Ans?tze von Ajzen (vgl. 1991) und Eccles (vgl. Eccles u.a. 1983), oftmals ebenso wie die soziologischen Modelle Wert-und Erwartungskomponenten verschiedener Wahlalternativen und spezifizieren diese zum einen weiter aus und erg?nzen zum anderen die Modelle durch Annahmen zu den psychologischen Wirkmechanismen hinter diesen Komponenten. Unserem Erachten nach ist daher eine Verknüpfung und wechselseitige Erg?nzung soziologischer und psychologischer Modelle ein vielversprechender Ansatz, um Bildungsentscheidungen und überg?nge im Bildungssystem zu analysieren.      

The role of teacher behavior in adolescents’ intrinsic reading motivation

Given the weak intrinsic reading motivation of many adolescents on the one hand and the importance of this type of motivation for reading competence on the other hand, the aim of the present study is to identify the related role of teacher behavior. To pursue this aim, a secondary analysis was carried out on PISA 2009 data. More particularly, data of a subsample of 4,269 Flemish 15-year olds were examined by means of multilevel modeling. In line with self-determination theory, the results provide evidence for the significance of perceived autonomy-supportive, structured, and involved teacher behavior. Teacher involvement was most strongly associated with adolescents’ intrinsic reading motivation. Further, students’ perception of teachers’ autonomy support was particularly related to girls’ intrinsic reading motivation.     

The use of keywords for delivering immediate performance feedback on teacher competence development

Literature shows that feedback that is specific, immediate and goal-oriented is effective on (pre-service) teachers’ performance. Synchronous coaching gives this kind of feedback. Due to immediateness of feedback, pre-service teachers can suffer from cognitive load. We propose a set of standardised keywords through which this performance feedback can be delivered – each keyword acts as a summary for the feedback message. The construction and the selection of the keywords is aimed at the reduction of message ambiguity, while at the same time a low level of cognitive load on the pre-service teacher must be maintained. An in vivo pilot-study with 40 respondents (pre-service teachers and their coaches) supported our hypothesis that usage of such sets of standardised keywords will mitigate the levels of ambiguity and cognitive load. These findings and other considerations for additional research using immediate performance are addressed.     

The role of teacher trust in segregated elementary schools: a multilevel repeated measures examination

This study aims to investigate how teachers’ trust in their students relates to reading comprehension achievement in socially and ethnically segregated elementary schools in Flanders (Belgium) by taking into account class composition characteristics. It is examined how student variables, ethnic diversity and the proportion of non-native students in the class, and teachers’ trust in their students relate to reading comprehension achievement and learning growth. A 3-level multivariate repeated measures analysis was conducted. At 2 measurement occasions, reading tests and questionnaires were administered to a sample (n = 417) of 7- and 8-year-old students in 32 classes. Teachers’ trust in their students was found to be a key factor relating to learning growth in reading comprehension, and mediated the relationship between the level of ethnic diversity in the class and learning growth. Teachers with a higher level of trust in their students seem to foster more learning growth in reading comprehension.