A propensity score matching approach on predicting academic success of primary school students

Scientific Conference (2020, July)

School career and academic achievement are known to greatly affect an individual’s path through life (e.g., Trapmann, Hell, Weigand & Schuler, 2007; Jimerson, 2001). In Luxembourg, recent findings ... [more ▼]

School career and academic achievement are known to greatly affect an individual’s path through life (e.g., Trapmann, Hell, Weigand & Schuler, 2007; Jimerson, 2001). In Luxembourg, recent findings indicate that at school entrance (i.e., the beginning of Grade 1) the majority of the students achieve or even surpass the required minimum level of core competencies such as mathematics and early literacy (Hoffmann, Hornung, Gamo, Esch, Keller, & Fischbach, 2018). However, in Grade 3 (i.e., after the first two years of elementary school) many students do no longer achieve the required minimum level of competencies in math and literacy (ibid.). Especially students with another language background than (any of) the official languages in Luxembourg (Luxembourgish, German, and French) and those socio-economically disadvantaged were found to be more likely not to obtain the competency level (ibid.). The current study aims to investigate which specific factors may facilitate (or hinder) learning progression by using longitudinal data of the Luxembourg School Monitoring Programme Épreuves Standardisées from Grade 1 (2014, 2015) to Grade 3 (2016, 2017, 2018). More specifically, students with irregular pathways (i.e., those who experienced grade retention) will be identified as treatment group and compared to a stratified control group of students following regular pathways. For each student of the treatment group, one or more students from the control group will be matched through propensity score matching, a matching procedure based on logistic regression, according to different pre-sets of variables. In a second step, the two groups will be compared in regards to competency levels as well as to socio-emotional context variables such as family background, student-teacher interaction, and school satisfaction aiming at identifying characteristics potentially facilitating (or hindering) a student’s school career. [less ▲]

Stereotype Erwartungen hinsichtlich Schüler*innen mit sonderpädagogischem Förderbedarf oder Migrationshintergrund: Leistungseinschätzung und Lehrergefühle.

Scientific Conference (2020, March)

Stereotypen hinsichtlich Schüler*innen mit sonderpädagogischem Förderbedarf: Lehrerüberzeugen, -erwartungen und –gefühle

in Glock, Sabine; Kleen, Hannah (Eds.) Stereotype in der Schule (2020)

Dieses Kapitel geht der Frage nach, ob Lehrer*innenüberzeugungen und -erwartungen je nach sonderpädagogischem Förderbedarf variieren. Außerdem wurde deren Einfluss sowohl auf die Gefühle bei ... [more ▼]

Dieses Kapitel geht der Frage nach, ob Lehrer*innenüberzeugungen und -erwartungen je nach sonderpädagogischem Förderbedarf variieren. Außerdem wurde deren Einfluss sowohl auf die Gefühle bei Auseinandersetzung mit der Inklusion von unterschiedlichen Schüler*innen als auch auf die persönliche Bereitschaft, Inklusion umzusetzen, untersucht. Die Studien basieren einerseits auf dem Kontinuum-Modell der Eindrucksbildung und betrachten andererseits das Stereotype-Content-Modell, nach dem Wärme und Kompetenz über 80 % der Unterschiedlichkeit in der Personenwahrnehmung erklären. Die Ergebnisse zeigten, dass Überzeugungen und Erwartungen von der Art des Förderbedarfs beeinflusst werden. Positivere Überzeugungen bezüglich der Schüler*innenmerkmale (Wärme und Kompetenz) und höhere Leistungserwartungen waren hierbei mit positiveren Gefühlen und einer stärker ausgeprägten persönlichen Bereitschaft, die Schüler*innen mit sonderpädagogischem Förderbedarf zu inkludieren, verbunden. Abschließend werden die daraus resultierenden Konsequenzen für die Lehreraus- und weiterbildung abgeleitet und diskutiert. [less ▲]

Akademische Profile von Schüler*innen zur Bestimmung der Akkuratheit von Schulübergangsempfehlungen – eine Validierungsstudie

in Glock, Sabine; Kleen, Hannah (Eds.) Stereotype in der Schule (2020)

In verschiedenen europäischen Ländern führt der Wechsel zur Sekundarschule zu einer bedeutsamen Aufgliederung der Bildungswege, welche ein unterschiedlich hohes Schulleistungsniveau der Schüler*innen ... [more ▼]

In verschiedenen europäischen Ländern führt der Wechsel zur Sekundarschule zu einer bedeutsamen Aufgliederung der Bildungswege, welche ein unterschiedlich hohes Schulleistungsniveau der Schüler*innen voraussetzen. Die Akkuratheit der Zuweisung von Sekundarschulformen bestimmt nicht nur die Optionen der Schüler*innen bei späteren Übergangen im Bildungssystem, sondern beeinflusst auch den weiteren beruflichen und persönlichen Werdegang der Schüler*innen. Schüler*innen mit Migrationshintergrund sind auf die höheren sekundären Schulformen unterrepräsentiert. Inwiefern diese Unterrepräsentation auf stereotypgeprägte Leistungserwartungen zurückzuführen ist, ist bis jetzt unklar, denn es lisgt kein Kriterium vor, um die Urteilsakkuratheit adäquat zu messen. In diesem Kapitel wird ein Ansatz beschrieben, ein solches Akkuratheitskriterium zu entwickeln und zu validieren. In einem zweiten Schritt wird das Kriterium angewendet, um den Zusammenhang zwischen stereotypgeprägten Erwartungen und der Akkuratheit der Übergangsentscheidungen zu untersuchen. Das Kriterium erweist sich als valides Maß und könnte so einen wertvollen Ansatz für weitere Untersuchungen der Akkuratheit von Lehrerurteilen darstellen. Obwohl Lehrer*innen im Allgemeinen eine hohe Urteilsakkuratheit aufweisen, bestätigen die Befunde dennoch die Zusammenhänge zwischen stereotypgeprägten Erwartungen und Urteilsverzerrungen. [less ▲]

Editorial: teachers’ attitudes and self‐efficacy beliefs with regard to inclusive education

in Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs (2019), 19(S1), 3-7

Teacher Attitudes towards Ethnic Minority Students: Effects of Schools´ Cultural Diversity

in British Journal of Educational Psychology (2019), 89

Background: Research exploring mechanisms driving inequalities in school systems, has found that biased teacher judgments contribute to observed disadvantages for ethnic minority students. Teacher ... [more ▼]

Background: Research exploring mechanisms driving inequalities in school systems, has found that biased teacher judgments contribute to observed disadvantages for ethnic minority students. Teacher judgments may be driven by explicit and implicit attitudes. Aims: The current research explored the effect of cultural diversity at schools (actual or imagined) on teachers’ attitudes toward ethnic minority students. Samples: One hundred and-five preservice teachers (90 female) with a mean age 26.20 of years (teaching experience: 57.55 weeks) participated in Study 1. Two hundred and thirty-one teachers (159 female) with a mean age of 41.00 years (teaching experience: 12.92 years) participated Study 2. Method: Cultural diversity was operationalized via a fictive description of a school (Study 1) or via the actual proportion of ethnic minority students at the school (Study 2). An Implicit Association Test assessed implicit attitudes toward ethnic minority students. Explicit attitudes were assessed via questionnaire. Results: Preservice teachers imagining a more culturally diverse school held more negative implicit attitudes toward ethnic minority students than those imagining a less diverse school. In contrast, in-service teachers actually working in more diverse schools held less negative implicit attitudes toward minority students. Preservice teachers associated teaching in culturally diverse schools with increased effort, whereas in-service teachers actually working in culturally diverse schools reported more enthusiasm toward teaching ethnic minority students. Conclusions: This research shows the challenge and the negative stereotypes preservice teachers associate with culturally diverse schools, while inservice teachers’ negative associations may be buffered by the actual experience of working with ethnic minority students. [less ▲]

Implicit attitudes and stereotypes concerning male and female ethnic minority students

Scientific Conference (2019, September 10)

Stereotypes and attitudes influence behavior and hence contribute to the integration of students from different backgrounds. Stereotypes reflect beliefs about the members of social groups (Fiske & Taylor ... [more ▼]

Stereotypes and attitudes influence behavior and hence contribute to the integration of students from different backgrounds. Stereotypes reflect beliefs about the members of social groups (Fiske & Taylor, 1991) and are associated with expectations, which in turn effect perception and judgments (Ferguson, 2003). Person perceptions- and judgments are however also affected by evaluations of objects (Sanbonmatsu & Fazio, 1990). Based on people´s stereotypical beliefs and associated thoughts and feelings, specific behavioral intentions develop and hence both may be pivotal for the level of acceptance or rejection of others. Research shows that stigmatization based on ethnicity can provide a barrier in terms of both social integration (MENJE, 2015) and educational equity (Gabel, et al., 2009). The current study aimed to assess young peoples´ implicit attitudes and stereotypes concerning male and female students from different ethnic backgrounds (German vs. Turkish). Implicit attitudes were measured using an implicit association task (IAT; Greenwald, et al., 2003). First names were used as a proxy for the ethnic background of the student. Participants (N=98) were randomly divided in two groups, completing either an IAT-boys version or an IAT-girls version. Stereotypes, in terms of students´ academic engagement were assessed using a questionnaire (Hachfeld, et al., 2012). Mean IAT-D scores for boys and girls did not differ, t(89)=1.05, p=.30. The IAT-D score for the whole sample (M=0.33, SD=1.28) was significantly different from zero, t(90)=2.46, p=.02, d=0.26, reflecting more negative implicit attitudes toward students with Turkish roots. Participants did not express differential stereotypical beliefs regarding the students´ academic engagement based on students´ ethnic background (i.e., subscale scores were significantly lower than the mean of the scale, t(88)=6.00, p<.001, d=0.64). No correlation was found between implicit attitudes and stereotypical beliefs (r=.12, n.s.). People´s implicit attitudes in favor of students from ethnic majorities may result in differential social interactions with students from different backgrounds (less acceptance of students with ethnic minority backgrounds). The dissociation between implicit attitudes and explicit stereotypical beliefs may reflect the social sensitivity of the relationship between students´ background and educational opportunities. [less ▲]

Forging and Paving a Future: Immigrant Status and Academic Achievement in Luxembourg

Scientific Conference (2019, August 21)

In the United States, much has been written about the upward or downward social mobility of the so-called, “New Second Generation”. In Europe, this topic has only recently begun to take shape; mostly in ... [more ▼]

In the United States, much has been written about the upward or downward social mobility of the so-called, “New Second Generation”. In Europe, this topic has only recently begun to take shape; mostly in regard to the Netherlands, Germany, France and the UK. In the context of Luxembourg, however, there is very little literature on this topic even though nearly 50% of its population is now of immigrant status. Though small in geography and population, Luxembourg is a founding member of the E.U. and quite literally in the heart of continental Europe. It hosts a diverse set of immigrant groups, continuously attracting economic and some political immigrants, most notably from Italy, the former Yugoslavia and Portugal. Each of these groups arriving at a specific sociohistorical moment: Italians at the height of the steel industry, former Yugoslavians fleeing war, and Portuguese to meet construction and service industry needs. Consequently, Luxembourg is truly a multilingual and multicultural country that makes for a fascinating microcosm to test and explore existing theories of immigrant integration. Its context presents a unique opportunity to study and extrapolate from to anticipate the needs of immigrants elsewhere. Using 2016 data from Luxembourg’s school monitoring programme (ÉpStan), we investigate existing and emerging differences in academic achievement among 1st, 2nd, and later generation immigrant groups in Luxembourg. We analyse math and language proficiencies (German and French) among a cohort of secondary school students (9th grade, N=6286). Preliminary results indicate clear generational differences. These are interpreted in relation to immigrant group characteristics and acculturation in Luxembourg. Implications for the new second generation in the European context will be discussed. [less ▲]

Inclusive education: The effect of teacher characteristics and school support on inclusive practice

Report (2019)

Lower plasma insulin levels during overnight closed loop in schoolchildren with type 1 diabetes: potential advantage?

in PLoS ONE (2019), 14(3: e0212013), 1-11

Background Studies have shown that overnight closed-loop insulin delivery can improve glucose control and reduce the risk of hypoglycemia and hence may improve metabolic outcomes and reduce burden for ... [more ▼]

Background Studies have shown that overnight closed-loop insulin delivery can improve glucose control and reduce the risk of hypoglycemia and hence may improve metabolic outcomes and reduce burden for children with type 1 diabetes and their families. However, research so far has not reported insulin levels while comparing closed-loop to open-loop insulin delivery in children. Therefore, in this study we obtained glucose levels as well plasma insulin levels in children with type 1 diabetes to evaluate the efficacy of a model - based closed-loop algorithm compared to an open-loop administration. Methods Fifteen children with type 1 diabetes, 6-12 years, participated in this open-label single center study. We used a randomized cross over design in which we compared overnight closed-loop insulin delivery with sensor augmented pump therapy for two nights in both the hospital and at home (i.e., 1 night in-patient stay and at home per treatment condition). Only during the in-patient stay, hourly plasma insulin and blood glucose levels were assessed and are reported in this paper. Results Results of paired sample t-tests revealed that although plasma insulin levels were significantly lower during the closed-loop than in the open-loop (Mean difference 36.51 pmol/l; t(13)=2.13, p=.03, effect size d= 0.57), blood glucose levels did not vary between conditions (mean difference 0.76 mmol/l; t(13)=1.24, p=.12, d=0.37). The administered dose of insulin was significantly lower during the closed-loop compared with the open-loop (mean difference 0.10 UI; t(12)=2.45, p=.02, d=0.68). Conclusions Lower insulin doses were delivered in the closed-loop, resulting in lower plasma insulin levels , whereby glucose levels were not affected negatively. This suggests that the closed-loop administration is better targeted and hence could be more effective. [less ▲]