The effects of high school context and interpersonal factors on students? educational expectations: a multi-level model

Abstract

This study examines the effects of some aspects of the school normative, academic and institutional context together with individual and interpersonal factors, on educational expectations among Palestinian students in Israel. The data consist of a sub-sample of 1601 students in 40 high schools. Hierarchical linear modelling technique (Multilevel analysis) is used to investigate the effect of the school context and the interpersonal factors on students' educational expectations (SEE). The results of this study clearly demonstrate that both sets of variables are highly related to the outcome variable, providing new evidence that SEE, perhaps like other educational outcomes, are developed through interpersonal and contextual effects. While recent research indicates that the school institutional context mediates the effects of interpersonal factors (Buchmann & Dalton, 2002), this study suggests that among Palestinian students in Israel, interpersonal relations exert significant influences on SEE, regardless of, or despite, the school's institutional context.

Examining the Effects of High School Contexts on Postsecondary Enrollment

“…Additionally, the past research suggests a central role of the high school context in providing opportunities for students to access various forms of capital (e.g., Alexander and Eckland 1977;Bain and Anderson 1974;Coleman et al 1966;Davis 1966;Hill 2008;Khattab 2005;Perna 2006, Perna andTitus 2005). Building on existing evidence and theoretical frameworks that highlight the interdependent nature of college choice decisions (see Perna 2006), our conceptual framework places the high school at the foundation of the college decisionmaking process.…”

“…In addition to student-level variables, we have included a number of school-level variables reflecting our conceptualization of the high school context as an important moderator of college-going behavior (Alexander and Eckland 1977;Bain and Anderson 1974;Coleman et al 1966;Davis 1966;Hill 2008;Khattab 2005). Such a conceptualization is closely aligned with the work of Bourdieu (1986) and Lin (2001), emphasizing the importance of the social context in understanding an individual's actions.…”

Personality and Cognitive Abilities as Predictors of University Students' Academic Achievement

“…These expectations, as observed by other authors (e.g. Khattab, 2005), could affect the expectations that students have regarding their academic success and if positive, will contribute to their motivation.…”

Anticipating Early Fatality: Friends’, Schoolmates’ and Individual Perceptions of Fatality on Adolescent Risk Behaviors

“…In part, this is because adolescents spend much time in school and youths' social contacts tend to be concentrated in school (Feld 1981; Harris et al 2002). Schools also provide normative structuring of behavior and shape aspirations for the future (Chen and Vazsonyi 2013; Khattab 2005). If a school is comprised of a large proportion of students with elevated levels of perceived fatality, then it is possible that the school climate will attach less to lose by engaging in risky behavior.…”