Observed classroom quality in first grade: associations with teacher, classroom, and school characteristics

Abstract

The observation and assessment of quality of teacher-child interactions in elementary school settings are increasingly recognized as important, however research is still very limited in European countries. In this study we examined the quality of the interactions between teacher and children in first grade classrooms in Portugal and the extent to which structural features at teacher-, classroom-, and school-level explained variation in this quality. One hundred and fifteen classrooms participated in the study. Classrooms were observed through a standardized rating scale concerning emotional, organizational, and instructional support.Results indicated that the levels of emotional and organizational support in most classrooms were of moderate quality, but the levels of instructional support were low, suggesting that most observed activities did not encourage students' higher order thinking skills. An examination of the associations between teacher and classroom characteristics and the quality of teacher-child interactions indicated a small effect for teacher education. Teachers with an advanced degree were more likely to be more emotionally sensitive and to have better instructional interactions in the classroom. For school-level characteristics, findings showed that the classrooms in private and smaller schools were likely to provide higher levels of emotional, organizational, and instructional quality. The results suggest that focusing on the interactions between teacher and children can provide valuable information to enhance classroom quality.

Effect of Key2Teach on Dutch teachers’ relationships with students with externalizing problem behavior: a randomized controlled trial

“…CLASS observers were blind for study condition of the teacher. Studies conducted in the USA (Hamre et al 2007) and various European countries, such Belgium (Buyse et al 2008) and Portugal (Cadima et al 2014), have indicated reliability and validity of various versions of the CLASS.…”

“…Second, although the mean weighted kappa scores in this study were similar to those obtained in the Measures of Effective Teaching study (MET study) in the USA (Pianta et al 2012), they still highlight the need for adequate training and coding when using the CLASS. In addition, we used a scoring strategy in line with previous studies (Buyse et al 2008;Cadima et al 2014;Hamre et al 2007). One may however question whether a one-scale-point reliability may have impacted the reliability of the coding system.…”

Holistic School Quality Measurement and the Future of Accountability: Pilot-Test Results

“…Some studies have also shown that specific school resources (e.g., funds used to support targeted instruction) have an effect on achievement (Archibald, 2006; Lavy, 2012), though such findings are not universally true across the scholarly literature (e.g., Hanushek, 1997, 2003; Houtenville & Conway, 2008). Numerous other studies document the connections between various measures of school quality and outcome measures of student achievement (Berkowitz, Moore, Astor, & Benbenishty, 2017; Cadima, Peixoto, & Leal, 2014; Darling-Hammond, 2000; Kutsyuruba, Klinger, & Hussain, 2015; Lubienski, Lubienski, & Crane, 2008).…”

Teachers' contribution to the social life in Finnish preschool classrooms during structured learning sessions

“…The Teaching Through Interactions framework is also the main theoretical framework referred to in discussing classroom quality in this study. There is a growing body of ongoing research concerning different age groups in different European countries using the teaching Through Interactions framework, and the CLASS measure (e.g., Cadima, Leal, & Burchinal, 2010;Cadima, Peixoto, & Leal, 2014;Pakarinen et al, 2010;Slot, Leseman, Mulder, & Verhagen, 2014;von Suchodoletz et al, 2014), which indicates the importance of understanding process quality also in terms of teacher-child interactions in the broader realm of educational research, as well as indicating the validity of the CLASS measure and the Teaching Through Interactions framework outside the United States. Classroom quality has also been described in terms of child-centred vs teacherdirected practices (e.g., Perry, Donohue, & Weinstein, 2007;Stipek & Byler, 2004).…”