Effortless or less effort? Effects of tracks on students' engagement.

BACKGROUND: It is found that assigning students to a lower track during secondary education negatively affects their academic performance. As an explanation, it is often mentioned that an anti-school culture in lower tracks undermines students' effort and involvement. AIMS: This study assessed whether going to a lower track affects student engagement. For if an anti-school culture is to blame for limiting lower track students' performance, lower track assignment should reduce engagement. SAMPLE: A sample of a longitudinal cohort study during secondary education in Flanders (northern Belgium) was used to describe development in engagement with n = 5,417 students in 46 schools. Four tracks were investigated across four school years. METHOD: Two main methodological challenges were present in this study, different student intake in each track and many students changing from a higher to lower track over time. Accordingly, we used inverse probability treatment weights with marginal structural mean models to account for different student intake and track changes. A comparison was made per pair of tracks that are hierarchically consecutive by matching students who were comparable across these tracks. Accordingly, there were three pairwise comparisons. RESULTS: It was never found that being continuously in lower track negatively affects engagement. Only for one pairwise comparison, there was evidence that students who changed from the higher to lower track had lower engagement. CONCLUSIONS: We rejected the hypothesis that lower tracks negatively affect student engagement. This makes the anti-school culture as an explanation for lower track assignment negatively affecting academic performance implausible.

Social Acceptance of High-Ability Youth: Multiple Perspectives and Contextual Influences.

Peer relationships form a key developmental context. The current study investigated differences in peer acceptance between high-ability and average-ability youth, from the perspectives of teachers, peers, and students. Relying on the person-group similarity model, we also tested whether high-ability students' acceptance would depend on the peer group's mean ability level. A sample of 2,736 sixth-grade students from 188 classes in 117 schools participated. Students scoring in the top 10% of a cognitive ability measure were considered high-ability students (N = 274). Results showed that high-ability students were better accepted than average-ability students according to teachers and peers. However, the students did not show more positive self-perceptions of acceptance. Moreover, they nominated less peers as their friends. Gifted students felt more accepted in classes with higher mean ability levels. The authors call for a stronger integration of developmental theory and research into the study of giftedness.

Do Textbooks Matter for Reading Comprehension? A Study in Flemish Primary Education.

This study assessed whether textbooks affect academic performance and engagement in reading comprehension in primary education in Flanders (Belgium). The data of the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 2016 and a reassessment of this study in 2018 were used to describe students' learning progress in reading comprehension and evolution in engagement between the fourth and sixth grade. The sample consisted of 3051 students in 98 schools. The averages of students' learning progress and engagement were compared for five textbooks by using multilevel autoregression model and multilevel change score models. Contrasts between textbooks in average learning progress and engagement were also estimated. To control for differences between student populations that are educated with the different textbooks, we controlled for student's socioeconomic status, language and initial academic performance in fourth grade at the student- and school-level. The main hypotheses were that textbooks affect learning progress and reading engagement. This was based on the literature and prior (mainly) cross-sectional research which describe textbooks as playing an important role in the curriculum that is taught to students on a daily basis. The results of both models showed that textbooks do not affect student's average learning progress in reading comprehension and evolution in engagement between the fourth grade and sixth grade in Flanders. Hence, the hypotheses were rejected.

The long-term differential achievement effects of school socioeconomic composition in primary education: A propensity score matching approach.

BACKGROUND: The effects of school socio-economic composition on student achievement growth trajectories have been a hot topic of discussion among politicians around the world for many years. However, the bulk of research investigating school socio-economic composition effects has been limited in important ways. AIMS: In an attempt to overcome the flaws in earlier research on school socio-economic composition effects, this study used data from a large sample, followed students throughout primary education, addressed selection bias problems, identified the grade(s) in which school socio-economic composition mattered the most, and studied the differential effects of school socio-economic composition by individual socio-economic status (SES). SAMPLE: In a longitudinal design with seven occasions of data collection, the authors drew on a sample of N = 3,619 students (age at T1 about 5 years, age at T7 about 12 years) from 151 primary schools in Flanders (the northern part of Belgium). METHOD: Students in low-, medium-, high-, and mixed-SES schools were matched using propensity scores. To compare students' achievement growth trajectories in the different school compositions, multilevel regression modelling with repeated measurements was applied. RESULTS: The results showed that students had more positive achievement growth in high-SES as compared to low-SES and mixed-SES schools. In two of the three comparisons, students in mixed-SES schools showed the lowest math development. The negative effects of mixed-SES schools on math achievement growth were the strongest for high-SES students. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings contribute to the ongoing discussion on the effects of school socio-economic composition on student achievement growth.

Time-Varying Treatments in Observational Studies: Marginal Structural Models of the Effects of Early Grade Retention on Math Achievement.

One of the main objectives of many empirical studies in the social and behavioral sciences is to assess the causal effect of a treatment or intervention on the occurrence of a certain event. The randomized controlled trial is generally considered the gold standard to evaluate such causal effects. However, for ethical or practical reasons, social scientists are often bound to the use of nonexperimental, observational designs. When the treatment and control group are different with regard to variables that are related to the outcome, this may induce the problem of confounding. A variety of statistical techniques, such as regression, matching, and subclassification, is now available and routinely used to adjust for confounding due to measured variables. However, these techniques are not appropriate for dealing with time-varying confounding, which arises in situations where the treatment or intervention can be received at multiple timepoints. In this article, we explain the use of marginal structural models and inverse probability weighting to control for time-varying confounding in observational studies. We illustrate the approach with an empirical example of grade retention effects on mathematics development throughout primary school.

The effects of early grade retention: Effect modification by prior achievement and age.

This study examines the effects of early grade retention and different effects according to prior achievement and age. Within a population of children at risk of early retention, we compared the development throughout primary school in mathematics achievement after kindergarten retention, first-grade retention, and continuous promotion. Analyzing data from a large-scale longitudinal study using covariate balancing propensity score weighting, the findings revealed that early grade repeaters would score higher in mathematics if they were promoted each year instead. However, the effects diminished or even disappeared in the long term. Compared to kindergarten retention, first-grade retention was found to be more harmful for the mathematics development of younger children specifically.

The gender gap in student engagement: The role of teachers' autonomy support, structure, and involvement.

BACKGROUND: The gender gap in education in favour of girls is a widely known phenomenon. Boys generally have higher dropout rates, obtain lower grades, and show lower engagement. Insight into factors related to these academic outcomes could help to address the gender gap. AIMS: This study investigated, for Dutch language classes, (1) how boys and girls differ in behavioural engagement, (2) which teacher support dimensions (autonomy support, structure, involvement) may explain gender differences in engagement (mediation hypothesis), and (3) whether and which of these teacher support dimensions matter more for boys' as opposed to girls' engagement (moderation or differential effects hypothesis). SAMPLE: A total of 385 Grade 7 students and their 15 language teachers participated in this study. METHODS: Teacher support was assessed through student reports. Student engagement was measured using student, teacher, and observer reports. By means of structural equation modelling, the mediating role of the teacher support dimensions for gender differences in behavioural engagement was tested. The potential differential role of the teacher support dimensions for boys' and girls' engagement was investigated through multigroup analysis. RESULTS: Boys were less engaged than girls and reported lower support from their teacher. Autonomy support and involvement partially mediated the relationship between gender and behavioural engagement. Autonomy support was demonstrated to be a protective factor for boys' engagement but not for girls'. Structure and involvement contributed equally to engagement for both sexes. CONCLUSIONS: Although involvement and autonomy support partly explained the gender gap in engagement (mediation hypothesis), more support was found for differential effects of autonomy support on boys' versus girls' engagement (differential effects hypothesis).

Enjoying mathematics or feeling competent in mathematics? Reciprocal effects on mathematics achievement and perceived math effort expenditure.

BACKGROUND: The multidimensionality of the academic self-concept in terms of domain specificity has been well established in previous studies, whereas its multidimensionality in terms of motivational functions (the so-called affect-competence separation) needs further examination. AIM: This study aims at exploring differential effects of enjoyment and competence beliefs on two external validity criteria in the field of mathematics. SAMPLE: Data analysed in this study were part of a large-scale longitudinal research project. Following a five-wave design, math enjoyment, math competence beliefs, math achievement, and perceived math effort expenditure measures were repeatedly collected from a cohort of 4,724 pupils in Grades 3-7. METHOD: Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test the internal factor structure of the math self-concept. Additionally, a series of nested models was tested using structural equation modelling to examine longitudinal reciprocal interrelations between math competence beliefs and math enjoyment on the one hand and math achievement and perceived math effort expenditure on the other. RESULTS: Our results showed that CFA models with separate factors for math enjoyment and math competence beliefs fit the data substantially better than models without it. Furthermore, differential relationships between both constructs and the two educational outcomes were observed. Math competence beliefs had positive effects on math achievement and negative effects on perceived math effort expenditure. Math enjoyment had (mild) positive effects on subsequent perceived effort expenditure and math competence beliefs. CONCLUSION: This study provides further support for the affect-competence separation. Theoretical issues regarding adequate conceptualization and practical consequences for practitioners are discussed.

Game-based learning as a vehicle to teach first aid content: a randomized experiment.

BACKGROUND: Knowledge of first aid (FA), which constitutes lifesaving treatments for injuries or illnesses, is important for every individual. In this study, we have set up a group-randomized controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of a board game for learning FA. METHODS: Four class groups (120 students) were randomly assigned to 2 conditions, a board game or a traditional lecture method (control condition). The effect of the learning environment on students' achievement was examined through a paper-and-pencil test of FA knowledge. Two months after the intervention, the participants took a retention test and completed a questionnaire assessing enjoyment, interest, and motivation. RESULTS: An analysis of pre- and post-test knowledge scores showed that both conditions produced significant increases in knowledge. The lecture was significantly more effective in increasing knowledge, as compared to the board game. Participants indicated that they liked the game condition more than their fellow participants in the traditional lecture condition. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that traditional lectures are more effective in increasing student knowledge, whereas educational games are more effective for student enjoyment. From this case study we recommend alteration or a combination of these teaching methods to make learning both effective and enjoyable.

Causal ordering of academic self-concept and achievement: effects of type of achievement measure.

BACKGROUND: The relation between academic self-concept and achievement has been examined in a large number of studies. The majority of these studies have found evidence for a reciprocal effects model. However, there is an ongoing debate on how students' achievement should be measured and whether the type of achievement indicator (grades, tests, teacher ratings) affects the causal pattern found in these studies. AIMS: The study aims at clarifying how the types of achievement measures and the way they are modelled can affect the results of causal ordering studies. In that sense, the study will yield recommendations for researchers in this domain and also provide some direction for practitioners seeking ways to enhance their students' achievement and/or academic self-concept. SAMPLE: Repeated measures of academic self-concept and achievement (standardized tests and teacher ratings) were examined in a sample of 1,753 students in Grades 7, 8, 10, and 12. METHOD: Structural equation modelling was used. Several models (with different types and numbers of achievement measures) were compared. RESULTS: Only small differences were found between models using one or two indicators of achievement. All models generally supported the reciprocal effects model. However, the final model, wherein tests and teacher ratings were used as separate latent variables, showed different developmental patterns in the causal relation between academic self-concept and achievement. CONCLUSIONS: Researchers should interpret the results of causal ordering studies discerningly because the type of measure chosen as an indicator of achievement might affect the causal pattern between academic self-concept and achievement.

The Consequence of Ignoring a Level of Nesting in Multilevel Analysis: A Comment.

This short contribution is a comment on M. Moerbeek's exploration of consequences of ignoring a level of clustering in a multilevel model, which was published in the first issue of the 2004 volume of Multivariate Behavioral Research. After having recapitulated the framework and extended the results of Moerbeek's study, we formulate two critical notes. First, we point at the incompleteness of the conclusions drawn by Moerbeek from the analytical work. The second note is concerned with the limitations of the framework itself.