Session Information
09 SES 09 B, National and Regional Large-Scale Assessments: Methods and Findings (Part 1)
Paper Session
Contribution
The aim of the research project behind this proposal is to give continuity to a previous research project (Seabra et al, 2010) that revealed findings worthy of further study. This involves the analysis of the results obtained in the national examinations during 3 consecutive years by pupils in basic schooling (4th and 6th grade), which on one hand considers the pupils’ social conditions (parents’ level of schooling, social class and national origins) and, on the other, the results obtained by each school. The data refer to 4th and 6th grade students that have done Portuguese and mathematics national exams in Lisbon Metropolitan Area (LMA), as this is the region of the country with the larger contingent of immigrant students.
The central aim of the research is to obtain a deeper knowledge of schools so as to understand the specificities that contribute to different results, especially when pupils have a similar social profile. The study articulates extensive-quantitative and intensive-qualitative components, but this paper will focus on the first.
There are strong indications that some school variables/policies have a significant effect on pupils’ school results (Seabra, 2008; Seabra et al, 2010) but we do not know precisely the extent of this influence. This research need becomes even more pressing in light of the recently obtained results (Seabra et al, 2010) revealing that in schools with a similar social profile, the level of achievement of pupils was extremely different. While studies on the “school effect” have had some tradition in Anglo Saxon countries (ie Rutter, 1979), they are almost non-existent in Portugal. The work of Smith and Tomlinson (1989), Entwistle et al. (1997), and Oakes (2005) stand out in this field and that of Cousin (1998) in the French production. As for the interference of the school context in the performance of the children of immigrants, research has been relatively scarce and inconclusive. As Demack, Drew and Grimsley (2000) remind us, the study of Jencks et al (1972) show that the relative effect of the school on the school results is small in comparison with the effect of the social and ethno-racial condition, but this does not mean that there is no effect. The predominant idea resulting from the knowledge produced is that the pupils who live in more disadvantaged conditions are more sensitive to the effects of the school context and they benefit from being in favorable environments from the social standpoint (Portes and MacLeod, 1999). Besides the social composition of the school attended and the effects that the “ghettoization” of the children of immigrants can have on their school performance (OECD, 2006), we want to understand to what extent the daily life of the school can “make the difference”. Controlling the effect of the social conditions of the students when looking at school results we can try to identify schools that do better than “would be expected” and move towards a clearer understanding of what makes this “excellence” possible.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Demack, Sean, David Drew and Mike Grimsley (2000), "Minding the Gap: ethnic, gender and social class differences in attainment at 16, 1988-95", Race Ethicity and Education, 3(2), pp. 117-143. Entwistle, Doris et al. (1997), Children, schools and inequality, San Francisco, Westview Press. Houtte, Mieke Van e Dimitri Van Maele (2011), “The black box revelation: in search of conceptual clarity regarding climate and culture in school effectiveness research”, Oxford Review of Education, 37:4, 504-524. Jencks, Christopher et al (1972) Inequality: A Reassessment of the Effect of Family and Schooling in America, New YorK, Basic Books. Jensen, Peter and Astrid Rasmussen (2011), “The Effect of Immigrant Concentration in Schools on Native and Immigrant Children’s Reading and Math Skills” Economics of Education Review, 30(6), pp.1503-1515. Oakes, Jeannie (2005), Keeping Track - How schools Struture Inequality, Yale University. OECD (2006), Where immigrant students succeed - A comparative review of performance and engagement in PISA 2003, Paris, OECD. OECD (2012), Education Today 2013: The OECD Perspective, OECD Portes, Alejandro and Dag MacLeod (1999), “Educating the second generation: determinants of academic achievement among children of immigrant in the United States, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 25 (3), pp.373 -396 Rutter, Michael et al (1979), Fifteen Thousands Hours: Secondary Schools and Their Effects on Children, London, Open Books. Seabra,Teresa (2012), "School Performance of Children of Indian and Cape Verdean Immigrants in Basic Schooling in Portugal", in Bekerman, Zvi; Geisen, Thomas (Eds.), International Handbook of Migration, Minorities and Education - Understanding Cultural and Social Differences in Processes of Learning, Springer, pp. 419-434. Seabra, Teresa (2010), Adaptação e Adversidade - O Desempenho Escolar dos Alunos de Origem Indiana e Cabo-Verdiana no Ensino Básico, Lisboa, Imprensa de Ciências Sociais. Smith, David and Sally Tomlinson (1989), The School Effect - A study of Multi-Racial Comprehensives, London, Policy Studies Institute.
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