The development of study-specific self-efficacy during grammar school.(Zur Entwicklung der studienspezifischen Selbstwirksamkeit in der Oberstufe)

Article is in German. Even if more and more German adolescents acquire a university entrance qualification, not all of them finally enrol at a university. In particular, the transition from school to university strongly depends on parent’s education. Even with the same marks in school, adolescents from non-academic households are less likely to enrol in universities than adolescents from academic housholds. One important reason is their lower belief to master a university study. This study analyses a specific intervention in grammar school to improve study-specific self- efficacy, the belief in one’s capabilities to master a university study, using a longitudinal design. We apply a difference-in-difference framework and show that programme participation significantly improves the study-specific self-efficacy for puplis from non- academic families but not for those from academic families. Hence, such a programme could reduce social disparities between both groups

Schooling quality in eastern Europe: educational production during transition

We estimate educational production functions for seven Eastern European transition countries, using student-level TIMSS data for lower secondary education. The results show substantial effects of student background on educational performance and a much lower impact of resources and the institutional setting. Two different groups of countries emerge. For the first group that features high mean test scores and has progressed far in transition, large effects of family background on student performance and a higher spread of test scores illustrate the similarity to Western European schooling systems, the performance of which it surpasses. Schools of the second group produce instead a denser distribution of educationa

Schooling quality in Eastern Europe: Educational production during transition

This paper uses student-level third international mathematics and science study (timss) data to analyze the determinants of schooling quality for seven eastern european transition countries by estimating educational production functions. The results show substantial effects of student background on educational performance and a much lower impact of resources and the institutional setting. Two different groups of countries emerge. For the first group that features high mean test scores and has progressed far in transition, large effects of family background on student performance and a higher spread of test scores illustrate the similarity to western european schooling systems, the performance of which it surpasses. Schools of the second group produce instead a denser distribution of educational achievement, characteristic of communist societies

Should you compete or cooperate with your schoolmates?

This paper presents empirical evidence from the Programme for International Student Assessment 2003 survey on the role of students' attitudes towards competition and cooperation in mathematical literacy achievement. While individual competitive attitudes are positively correlated with test scores, the reverse occurs when considering the aggregation of individual attitudes. Similarly, while individual cooperative attitudes exhibit a negative correlation with test scores, the opposite is true in the aggregate. We provide an interpretation of this 'fallacy of composition' based on public good production and incentives to free riding, which is prevented by social norms held valid in a small or homogenous group.cooperation, competition, PISA, student attitudes,