Academic Performance of Native and Immigrant Students: A Study Focused on the Perception of Family Support and Control, School Satisfaction, and Learning Environment.

The international assessment studies of key competences, such as the PISA report of the OECD, have revealed that the academic performance of Spanish students is significantly below the OECD average. In addition, it has also been confirmed that the results of immigrant students are consistently lower than those of their native counterparts. Given the context, the first objective of this work is to observe the variables (support, control, school satisfaction, and learning environment) which distinguish between retained and non-retained native and immigrant students. The second objective is to check, by comparing the retained and non-retained native and immigrant students and separating the two levels, in order to find out which of the selected variables clearly differentiate the two groups. A sample of 1359 students was used (79.8% native students and 20.2% immigrant students of Latin American origin), who were enrolled in the 5th and 6th year of Primary Education (aged 10-11 years) and in the 1st and 2nd year of Secondary Education (aged 12-13 years). The measurement scales, which undergo a psychometric analysis in the current work, have been developed in a previous research study (Lorenzo et al., 2009). The construct validity and reliability are reported (obtaining alpha indices between 0.705 and 0.787). Subsequently, and depending on the results of this analysis, inferential analyses are performed, using as independent variables the ethno-cultural origin and being retained or not, whereas, as dependent variables, the indices referring to students' perception of family support and control, as well as the assessment of the school and learning environment. Among other results, the Group × Being retained/Not being retained [F(1, 1315) = 4.67, p < 0.01] interaction should be pointed out, indicating that native non-retained subjects perceive more control than immigrants, as well as the Group × Being retained/Not being retained [F(1, 1200) = 5.49, p < 0.01] interaction, showing that native non-retained students perceive more family support. Given the results obtained, our intention is to provide solid evidence that would facilitate the design of family involvement programs, helping to improve students' educational performance.

An Integrative Approach to Burnout in Secondary School Teachers: Examining the Role of Student Disruptive Behaviour and Disciplinary Issues

The aim of this paper is to examine from an integrative approach to what extent occupational stressors when in combination with other variables that have accredited their explicative value in accounting for teacher distress in other domains (personal, psychosocial and outside the occupational sphere) contribute to predicting and/or explaining the different components of burnout. The sample consists in 1386 secondary education teachers. The statistical results obtained confirm for all dimensions in the syndrome the explanatory role of occupational stressors related with student disruptive behaviours/attitudes and disciplinary issues (conflict management and lack of support/consensus). The remaining variables in the study (Type A pattern, optimism, hardiness, friend and family support, life events) also contribute to accounting for burnout, albeit to a lesser extent than occupational factors. Results not only confirm the suitability of the selected variables but also the necessity to design integration studies in which, besides another type of determinants, to include variables from the occupational domain. In other words, our findings suggest that student disruptive behaviour, the difficulties experienced by teachers in managing conflict and the lack support/consensus as regards disciplinary actions are ‘necessary’ ingredients if we are to successfully predict burnout in secondary school teachers (AU)

Este artículo examina, desde un acercamiento integrador, en qué medida los estresores laborales, cuando se incluyen conjuntamente con otras variables con probada capacidad explicativa del malestar docente pertenecientes a otros ámbitos (personal, psicosocial y extralaboral), contribuyen a predecir y/o explicar las distintas facetas del burnout. La muestra está formada por 1386 profesores de Enseñanza Secundaria. Los resultados confirman, para todas las dimensiones del síndrome, el protagonismo explicativo de los estresores laborables relacionados con las conductas y/o actitudes problemáticas de los alumnos y las cuestiones disciplinarias (manejo de conflictos y falta de apoyo/consenso). Las restantes variables incluidas (patrón Tipo A, optimismo, personalidad resistente, apoyo familia y amigos, eventos vitales) también contribuyen a dar cuenta del desgaste laboral, aunque en menor medida que los factores laborales. Los resultados no sólo confirman la idoneidad de las variables seleccionadas, sino también la necesidad de diseñar estudios integradores en los que, además de otro tipo de determinantes, se incorporen variables del ámbito laboral. Nuestros hallazgos indican que las conductas y/o actitudes problemáticas de los alumnos, las dificultades de los profesores en el manejo del conflicto y la falta de apoyo/consenso en cuestiones disciplinarias, parecen ingredientes “necesarios” si queremos predecir satisfactoriamente el burnout de los docentes de secundaria (AU)