The Impact of School Climate and Teacher Quality on Mathematics Achievement: A Difference-in-Differences Approach

Abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate causal effects of aspects of teacher quality and school climate on mathematics achievement through use of country-level longitudinal data. By investigating within-country change over time, biasing influence from omitted variables in the form of fixed country characteristics is avoided, thereby increasing the likelihood of making correct causal inferences. Data from 38 countries participating in both TIMSS 2007 and TIMSS 2011 were analyzed with structural equation modeling techniques, using both latent and manifest variables. The analyses focused aspects of teacher quality (educational level, teaching experience and major academic discipline studied, professional development, and self-efficacy) and an aspect of school climate referred to as school emphasis on academic success (SEAS). Results showed that the teachers' attained level of education had effects on mathematics achievement. Quite substantial effects of professional development on student achievement were also identified. Teacher self-efficacy, as assessed by self-reports of preparedness for teaching in different domains, showed a weakly positive, but insignificant relation to student achievement. The teacher characteristics years of teaching experience and major academic discipline studied had no effect on student achievement. SEAS did not satisfy ideals of unidimensionality, and only items reflecting parental support for student achievement and students' desire to perform well were significantly related to student achievement. OECD and non-OECD countries showed similar results and could not be differentiated.

A Review of the Literature on Teacher Effectiveness and Student Outcomes

“…Both TIMSS andIEA's Teacher Education andDevelopment Study in Mathematics (TEDS-M, conducted in 2007-2008) have included many questions, asking teachers to report on their preparedness to teach particular topics. Although Luschei and Chudgar (2011) and Gustafsson and Nilson (2016) found that these items had a weak direct relationship to student achievement across countries, other studies have suggested that readiness is related to instructional quality (Blomeke et al 2016), as well as content knowledge and content preparation (Schmidt et al 2017), suggesting that instructional quality may have an indirect effect on student learning.…”

To ulike utdanninger for skolens mellomtrinn. Er det samsvar mellom planverk og praksislæreres erfaringer med studentenes kompetanser på 1-7 og 5-10 utdanningene?

“…Begrepet undervisningskvalitet defineres på ulike måter innenfor pedagogikk og fagdidaktikk, men i TIMSS studien måles undervisningskvalitet ut fra en laerers evne til å vaere god klasseleder, til å vaere støttende og til å gi tydelige instruksjoner og kognitivt utfordrende oppgaver i undervisningen (Bergem, Nilsen & Scherer, 2016). Flere andre studier har også vist at gode kunnskaper i faget laereren underviser i er viktig for å gi god undervisning og et godt laeringsutbytte for elevene (Abell, 2007;Driel, Berry, & Meirink, 2014;Gustafsson & Nilsen, 2016;Herold & Waring, 2017;Monk, 1994;Wayne & Youngs, 2003). I forskningsgjennomgangen av Abell (2007) ser en flere eksempler på at et lavt naturfagnivå hos laereren gir mer laererstyrt undervisning med mindre grad av elevdeltakelse og fokus på begrepsutvikling.…”

“…Noen studier har konkludert med at økt fagkompetanse over et visst nivå (bachelor eller master), ikke gir høyere laeringsutbytte hos elevene (McKenzie et al, 2005;Monk, 1994;Wilson et al, 2001). De fleste av disse studiene er imidlertid gjort på høyere klassetrinn (Gustafsson & Nilsen, 2016). Det finnes imidlertid studier av laerere på lavere trinn i grunnskolen som viser at mangel på fagkunnskaper gir laerere som blant annet følger laererboka i større grad, stiller få utforskende spørsmål og i liten grad gjennomfører kognitivt utviklende aktiviteter (Abell, 2007;Driel et al, 2014;Harlen, 1997).…”

“…Forskning på laerernes profesjonelle kompetanseutvikling har gjennom årene brukt ulike modeller for å definere en laerers kompetanseområder (Driel et al, 2014;Gess-Newsome, 2015;Shulman, 1986;Sorge, Kröger, Petersen, & Neumann, 2017). Felles for alle kompetansemodellene er at både faglig, fagdidaktisk og pedagogisk kompetanse, og kompetanse i konteksten laeringen skjer i, er viktig for at elevene skal få et godt laeringsutbytte (Ben-Peretz, 2011;Fischer, Borowski & Tepner, 2011;Gustafsson & Nilsen, 2016). I vår studie har vi valgt å ta utgangspunkt i de tre førstnevnte kompetansene.…”

Academic Motivation of Elementary School Children in Two Educational Approaches — Innovative and Traditional

“…Two significant lines of research in educational psychology are the study of (a) characteristics of school climate and educational system, and (b) motivational processes, such as intrinsic motivation, persistence, and academic self-efficacy. Studies have found that both school climate and student motivation are consistently associated with academic achievement (Gustafsson & Nilsen, 2016;Hardre & Reeve, 2003;Roeser & Eccles, 1998;Scherer & Nilsen, 2016). However, while current research provides valuable insight into how school climate and innovative educational systems impact academic achievement, less is known about the mechanisms that link innovative educational systems based on psychological theories with academic achievement, and in particular the mediating role of motivation in this process.…”