Teaching and learning processes

Teaching and learning processes

School absenteeism and academic performance: Does the timing of absences matter? (2023). Learning and Instruction (United Kingdom, Q1)
Numerous studies show that school absenteeism is detrimental to learning, academic performance, and educational outcomes. However, questions remain about whether this relationship varies depending on the timing and reasons for absenteeism. Using administrative data on class attendance for 62,841 students enrolled in secondary education, this study examined whether the relationship between school absenteeism and students' exam results at the end of the school year varies depending on the timing and reasons for absenteeism. The results show that unjustified absenteeism, absenteeism due to illness, and school exclusion have a negative impact on students' academic performance. Furthermore, the results suggest that unjustified absenteeism is most harmful at the beginning and end of the school year. Absenteeism due to illness also appears to be more harmful at the end of the school year. The implications of these results for policy and practice are discussed.

Self-fulfilling prophecies in the classroom: Teacher expectations, teacher feedback, and student performance (2020). Learning and Instruction (United Kingdom, Q1)
This study investigated the relationship between teacher expectations and student learning, based on longitudinal data from 64 classrooms and 1,026 first-grade students in Germany. In addition, based on a subsample of 19 classrooms with 354 students, the mediating role of three characteristics of teacher feedback assessed in video-recorded school lessons was explored. The results showed that teachers' expectations were inaccurate to some extent; that is, they did not fully match students' current performance, their general cognitive abilities, and their motivations. Furthermore, this inaccuracy in teachers' expectations significantly predicted students' performance at the end of the school year, even after taking into account prior performance, general cognitive abilities, motivation, and student background characteristics. Specifically, inaccurate teacher expectations were associated with higher performance in reading and mathematics, while inaccurate teacher expectations were associated with lower performance in reading only. Furthermore, teacher feedback varied significantly with inaccurate teacher expectations but did not substantially mediate the effects of teacher expectations.

Student growth mindset: Relationship with teacher beliefs, teaching practices, and school climate (2022). Learning and Instruction (United Kingdom, Q1)
To effectively cultivate student growth mindset, it is important to identify contextual factors that may communicate mindset messages to students. The present study examined the association of student growth mindset with several dimensions of teacher beliefs (mindset, self-efficacy), teaching practices (guided inquiry, group work, task differentiation, skill grouping in class, mastery and normative assessments), and school climate (holistic development, skill grouping in school). The study involved 2,200 10-year-old students, 358 teachers, and 65 principals from Finnish elementary schools who participated in the OECD Survey of Social and Emotional Skills. Multilevel analyses show that students had more growth mindsets in classrooms where teachers used guided inquiry and in schools that emphasized students' social and emotional development. In contrast, students showed more fixed mindsets when teachers assigned different tasks to different students based on their ability. The implications of how to combine teaching practices to support students' growth mindset are discussed.

Do those who talk more learn more? The relationship between student classroom conversation and performance (2019). Learning and Instruction (United Kingdom, Q1)
The relationship between classroom conversation and student performance has been studied for some time. However, few studies have considered individual student participation in classroom conversation. The research reported in this study was conducted with 639 ninth-grade students in Czech secondary schools. Observations were made in language and literature classes; the conversation time and number of reasoning expressions of each student were recorded. Performance was measured using a standardized reading proficiency test. The results confirmed the existence of a close relationship between the conversation time and number of reasoning statements of a given student and their performance. In terms of students' conversation time, a connection was also identified at the classroom level: students in classrooms with a lot of conversation performed better. However, no relationship was observed between reasoning expressions and better classroom performance. A positive relationship was observed between individual participation and performance in all students, regardless of their socioeconomic background or gender.

The role of teacher-student affective relationships in school engagement and adolescent performance trajectories (2021). Learning and Instruction (United Kingdom, Q1)
This longitudinal study investigated the role of teacher-student closeness and conflict in adolescent school engagement trajectories, and how dimensions of school engagement predict performance trajectories. A sample of 5,382 adolescents (Mage.wave1 = 13.06, SD = 0.51; 49.6% male) were followed from 7th to 9th grade. Annual measures included student reports on dimensions of school engagement, teacher reports on closeness and conflict, and standardized math achievement tests. Latent growth models revealed that closeness positively predicted students' school engagement, while conflict negatively predicted it. In addition, adolescents' behavioral and emotional engagement, and disaffection in particular, played an important role in predicting performance within the same school year. Furthermore, increases in behavioral disengagement and emotional commitment aligned with reduced and more pronounced increases in performance between 7th and 9th grade, respectively. Overall, this study highlights the importance of adolescents' affective teacher-student relationships for their engagement in school, and the role of school engagement in predicting performance.

School grades and students' emotions: Longitudinal models of intrapersonal reciprocal effects (2023). Learning and Instruction (United Kingdom, Q1)
Based on control value theory, we expected reciprocal associations between school grades and students' achievement emotions. Existing research has used between-person designs to examine the links between grades and emotions but has not analyzed their relationships within individuals. Reanalyzing the data used by Pekrun et al. (2017) for their between-person analysis, we investigated the within-person relationships of students' grades and emotions in mathematics over 5 school years (N = 3425 German students from the PALMA longitudinal study; 50.0% female). The results of random intercept cross-lagged modeling show that grades positively predicted positive emotions within individuals over time. These emotions, in turn, positively predicted grades. Grades were negative predictors of negative emotions, and these emotions, in turn, were negative predictors of grades. Intrapersonal effects were largely equivalent to interpersonal relationships between ratings and emotions. Implications for theory, future research, and educational practice are discussed.

Feedback in the development of social thinking in secondary education (2023). Pedagogical studies (Chile, Q3)
The purpose of this article is to analyze teacher feedback in the development of social thinking in secondary education. Twelve teachers of history, geography, and social sciences participated, according to their teaching experience, type of school, and gender. Two individual interviews were conducted with each teacher using a thematic guideline. The interviews were coded using deductive qualitative content analysis. The results indicate that teachers conceive feedback as corrective/retroactive and orientative/projective, and that its implementation is evaluative and descriptive, focusing on inquiry skills, temporality, contextualization, and multicausality, with the use of evaluative instruments, questions, and examples, and little dialogic feedback. In conclusion, the feedback on social thinking provided by teachers hinders the construction of complex knowledge and the active participation of students, which requires an improvement in feedback literacy in school education.

What can multimodal data tell us about how students regulate their learning process? (2021). Learning and Instruction (United Kingdom, Q1)
New data capture devices allow researchers to track a whole range of cognitive and non-cognitive processes. We analyze and demonstrate how, through data triangulation, it is possible to study several characteristics of regulated learning. We conclude that multimodal data can indicate critical characteristics of collaborative regulated learning.

The association between teacher leadership and student performance: A meta-analysis (2020). Educational Research Review (United Kingdom, Q1)
Teacher leadership is frequently discussed in educational research and practice. However, the relationship between teacher leadership and student performance has not been solidly established by empirical evidence. The aim of this meta-analysis was to examine the extent to which teacher leadership was related to student academic performance. The results revealed that teacher leadership was positively related to student performance (r = 0.19). Among the seven dimensions of teacher leadership, all of which were positively related to student performance, facilitating improvements in the curriculum, instruction, and assessment showed the strongest relationship. The results of the subgroup analysis indicated that the relationships were similar between studies that conceptualized teacher leadership and used different outcome measures, and for elementary and secondary students. However, published studies reported larger effect sizes than unpublished studies. Implications and limitations are discussed

A review of feedback models and typologies: Towards an integrative model of feedback elements (2022). Educational Research Review (United Kingdom, Q1)
A number of models have been proposed to describe different types of feedback along with the mechanisms through which feedback can improve student performance and learning. We have selected the fourteen most prominent models, which we analyze in two complementary reviews. In the first part (Lipnevich & Panadero, 2021), we describe the models, definitions of feedback, and empirical evidence supporting them, while in the present publication, we analyze and compare the fourteen models with the aim of classifying and integrating the shared elements into a new comprehensive model. As a result of our synthesis, we offer an expanded typology of feedback and a classification of models into five thematic areas: descriptive, internal processing, interactional, pedagogical, and student characteristics. We conclude with an Integrative Model of Feedback Elements that includes five components: Message, Implementation, Student, Context, and Agents (MISCA). We describe each element and the relationships between them, offering future directions for theory and practice.

At the boundaries of school: continuity and discontinuity in learning across contexts (2021). Educational Research Review (United Kingdom, Q1)
In response to various social changes, schools are increasingly developing an outward orientation, seeking to connect with students' extracurricular activities. At the same time, educational research is beginning to adopt a multisystemic approach to learning. Focusing on continuity and discontinuity in students' learning in school and extracurricular contexts, we synthesize 186 empirical studies. After conceptualizing school and extracurricular in relation to each other, we find that continuity can be the result of different educational intentions, but it also occurs as a fact. Discontinuity is mainly found in the case of non-regular students, with serious implications for students' learning and participation in school. Some studies show how different actors, including students, deliberately seek discontinuity, challenging the widespread preference for continuity. We discuss the (im)possibilities for schools to connect with students' broader lives and promote the degrees of freedom provided in school as an underlying condition for establishing continuit

Children's information-seeking strategies: operationalizing efficiency and effectiveness (2024). Child Development Perspectives (UK, Q1)
Research on the development of active learning and information-seeking behaviors has been growing rapidly, attracting interest from multiple disciplines, from developmental psychology to cognitive science and artificial intelligence. These different perspectives can open avenues for understanding how preschoolers become adaptable and efficient active learners. However, the lack of a shared vocabulary, operationalizations, and research paradigms has led to limited cross-talk and some conflicting findings. In this article, we advocate for the use of a shared operationalization of a “good” information-seeking strategy, based on its efficiency and effectiveness within a given ecology, based on the theoretical measure of information gain and observed behavioral outcomes, respectively. We also discuss factors that should be considered when designing experiments that examine children's information search competence, specifically, using formal models as performance benchmarks and taking into account children's prior knowledge, assumptions, and self-generated goals.

Learner engagement, academic motivation, and learning strategies of university students (2024). Educación XX1 (Spain, Q2)
Establishing and promoting effective learning strategies in the university context is essential for improving academic performance and personal development. This stage is based on the convergence of strategic behavioral, cognitive, and emotional factors that enable students to successfully adapt to the demands of the academic context and define their strategies. The objective of this research is to study the mediating effect of learner engagement between motivation and learning strategies.

Barriers to personal creativity in Spanish and Portuguese university students (2024). Educación XX1 (Spain, Q2)
In the 21st century, universities should be explicit spaces for the development of students' creative skills. The literature on creativity in higher education is scarce, particularly regarding students' perceptions. Thus, this study aims to analyze the barriers perceived by Spanish university students, in comparison with Portuguese students, to better understand the obstacles encountered at this level of education. To this end, the Inventory of Barriers to Personal Creativity has been adapted for Spanish university students. The process of adapting the Portuguese version to Spanish followed a forward-backward procedure, and a cross-validation analysis was carried out to study the factorial structure.