Children at risk of poor educational outcomes. How educational research can support early identification and improve prevention. Special issue editorial

The editorial presents the papers of this special issue regarding children at risk of poor educational outcomes. The articles “provide a cross-section of the multifaceted research carried out within this framework. This research demonstrates the various theoretical and methodological approaches that can be used to tackle the question of how to provide support for students at risk.” (DIPF/Orig.

Reading persuasive texts affects preservice teachers\u27 beliefs about cultural diversity in the classroom

Research has suggested that teachers’ beliefs toward culturally diverse classrooms are affected during teacher education. Text reading, as one of the major learning activities in initial teacher education, is supposed to affect teachers’ educational concepts and beliefs. We conducted two experiments to test the impact of reading a positively or negatively oriented persuasive text about diversity on preservice teachers’ belief change. In Study 1 (N = 42), we found that belief change varied significantly as a function of the direction of the text condition, and that the reading of the texts led to a significantly stronger belief change if the text was in alignment with participants’ prior beliefs. Study 2 (N = 57) revealed a middle-sized but nonsignificant moderator effect for prior knowledge (p = .08, ηp 2 = .06), suggesting that participants with more prior knowledge were less likely to be persuaded by the text. The results provide new insights into factors that may affect the development of preservice teachers’ diversity beliefs. (DIPF/Orig.

When Knowing is Not Enough – the Relevance of Teachers’ Cognitive and Emotional Resources for Classroom Management

This study expands the discussion on teacher competence by investigating the relevance of teachers’ combined cognitive resources and emotional resources for effective classroom management. While research on teacher qualification stresses the importance of knowledge for effective teaching, research on teacher stress focuses on their emotional functioning, often without connection to their in-class behaviour. Drawing on findings from health psychology showing that high levels of emotional exhaustion can impair cognitive performance, we hypothesised that teachers’ pedagogical/psychological knowledge would predict their classroom management behaviour only when their level of emotional exhaustion was low. We administered a test to assess the pedagogical/psychological knowledge of 205 secondary school teachers, measured their emotional exhaustion, and assessed their classroom management using ratings of their 4,672 students obtained one year later. Data were analysed using latent moderation analyses, a novel statistical approach that rarely has been employed in research on learning and instruction. Our findings confirmed our hypotheses and indicated an interaction between teachers’ cognitive resources and emotional resources, which together predict their classroom management behaviour. Thus, the new theoretical and empirical integration of two distinct areas of teacher quality broadens our understanding of teacher resources necessary for effective instruction. We argue that teacher education should acknowledge the interplay of the different resources teachers have and help them develop their emotional resources to ensure effective instruction

Zur Bedeutung von Unterrichtsqualität für die naturwissenschaftliche Kompetenz von Grundschulkindern. Ein Fokus auf Kinder mit ungünstigen Lernvoraussetzungen

Research on classroom instruction has consistently identified characteristics that contribute to student learning. For instance, these include structural-organizational aspects (e.g., classroom management) and affective aspects (e.g., classroom social climate). The idea that the effects of instruction may differentially depend on students’ characteristics has been investigated within the scope of aptitude-treatment-interactions (ATI) research. This study of elementary school (1,041 students, 54 classes) builds on ATI and examines main effects and interaction effects of instructional quality (i.e., classroom management and classroom social climate) and individual risks of school failure (i.e., demographic risk: immigration background or functional risk: low cognitive ability scores) on students’ science competence. Based on hierarchical linear modeling and class-level aggregated student ratings of instructional quality, results show a positive link between classroom social climate and science competence but not for classroom management and science competence. As its most important finding, our study demonstrates the compensatory capacity of instructional quality to narrow the achievement gap between students at risk and their peers. Furthermore, classroom management also counteracted risk of school failure when controlling for students’ language proficiency. (DIPF/Orig.)Im Rahmen von Forschung zu gutem Unterricht wurden Unterrichtsqualitätsmerkmale identifiziert, die mit dem Lernerfolg von Schülerinnen und Schülern verbunden sind. Diese beinhalten bspw. strukturell-organisatorische Aspekte, wie Classroom Management, oder affektive Aspekte, wie das Klassenklima. Dass der Lernerfolg nicht nur von Unterrichtsmerkmalen, sondern auch von deren Wechselspiel mit den individuellen Lernervoraussetzungen abhängt, ist Thema der Forschung zu Aptitude-Treatment-Interactions (ATI). Gegenwärtig erfährt diese Forschung erneute Aufmerksamkeit und bestätigende empirische Befunde. Diese Studie an deutschen Grundschulen (1041 Kinder aus 54 Klassen) knüpft daran an und prüft Haupt- und Interaktionseffekte von Unterrichtsqualitätsmerkmalen (Classroom Management und Klassenklima) sowie individuellen Lernvoraussetzungen (Migrationshintergrund oder geringe kognitive Grundfähigkeiten) für die naturwissenschaftliche Kompetenz von Grundschulkindern. Ergebnisse aus Mehrebenenanalysen zeigen einen positiven Zusammenhang zwischen Klassenklima und naturwissenschaftlicher Kompetenz, nicht aber zwischen Classroom Management und naturwissenschaftlicher Kompetenz. Darüber hinaus zeigten sich Interaktionseffekte zwischen Unterrichtsqualitäts- und Schülermerkmalen dahingehend, dass Unterrichtsqualität einen ausgleichenden Effekt auf die Leistungen von Kindern mit ungünstigen Lernvoraussetzungen und diejenigen ihrer Mitschülerinnen und Mitschüler ausübte. Dieser kompensatorische Effekt zeigte sich für Classroom Management auch nach Kontrolle sprachlicher Kompetenzen. (DIPF/Orig.

More practice in educational research? A study on practice perspectives in research projects

In der Studie wird untersucht, welche Formen und Ausprägungen der Einbeziehung von Praxisperspektiven in Forschungsprojekten realisiert werden. Es wird ein theoriegeleitetes Kodierschema vorgestellt und auf Interviews aus sieben Bildungsforschungsprojekten angewendet. Alle Forschenden berücksichtigen Praxisperspektiven in ihrer Arbeit, wobei hinsichtlich Erscheinungsformen und Ausmaß sowohl zwischen als auch innerhalb von Projekten deutliche Unterschiede bestehen. Profilanalysen verdeutlichen den Mehrwert einer mehrdimensionalen Betrachtung von Praxistransfer. (DIPF/Orig.)The study examines which forms and characteristics of the inclusion of practice perspectives are realized in research projects. A theory-based coding scheme is presented and applied to interviews from seven educational research projects. All researchers incorporate practice perspectives in their work, with significant differences in manifestations and extent both between and within projects. Profile analyses illustrate the added value of a multidimensional view of practice transfer. (DIPF/Orig.

Fostering pre-service teachers\u27 theoretical knowledge application. Studying with and without text-based cases

As knowledge derived from scientific theory can be helpful for teachers to reflect on their everyday teaching, universities have the challenging task of teaching this knowledge in such a way that pre-service teachers are able to apply it to their later teaching. Case-based learning has emerged as a promising method to foster pre-service teachers\u27 scientific knowledge application throughout university teacher education. However, surprisingly, empirical evidence for its effectiveness as compared to more traditional instructional interventions in teacher education is still inconclusive, partly being due to constraints concerning the employed comparison groups. The present quasi-experimental study (conducted in the field of classroom management) investigated the effect of studying exactly the same theoretical content with and without text-based cases on scientific knowledge application (as measured by a vignette test) in a sample of 101 pre-service teachers. Although the study found a small advantage for the case-based learning group, it demonstrated that scientific knowledge application may also be effectively fostered in a more traditional instructional course. The findings and their implications are discussed against the background of cognitive theories on inert knowledge and how to prevent it in teacher education. (DIPF/Orig.

Die Bedeutung individueller Merkmale und konstruktiver Unterstützung der Lehrkraft für die soziale Integration von Schülerinnen und Schülern im Mathematikunterricht der Sekundarstufe

Der vorliegende Beitrag untersucht die Bedeutung von individuellen Merkmalen (Fähigkeitsselbstkonzept und Leistungsängstlichkeit) sowie von konstruktiver Unterstützung durch Lehrkräfte für die soziale Integration von Schülerinnen und Schülern in der Sekundarstufe. Bezüglich des Unterrichtsqualitätsmerkmals der konstruktiven Unterstützung wird zwischen zwei Facetten unterschieden, nämlich einer sozio-emotionalen Unterstützung sowie einer fachlich-inhaltlichen Unterstützung durch die Lehrkraft. Dabei wird erstmals die Bedeutung dieser Facetten für die von Schülerinnen und Schülern erlebte soziale Integration untersucht und ebenso geprüft, welche differenziellen Zusammenhänge sich für Lernende mit individuellen Risikofaktoren schulischer Entwicklung zeigen. Es wurden Befragungsdaten aus zwei Erhebungszeitpunkten (mittlerer Abstand: 8 Wochen) von 1.116 Schülerinnen und Schülern in 49 Mathematikklassen der Sekundarstufe mehrebenen-analytisch ausgewertet. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass beide Facetten konstruktiver Unterstützung mit dem Erleben sozialer Integration zusammenhingen. Schülerinnen und Schüler mit niedrigem Mathematik-Fähigkeitsselbstkonzept bzw. hoher Leistungsängstlichkeit fühlten sich weniger gut in die Klassengemeinschaft integriert. Die Facetten konstruktiver Unterstützung spielten für diese Zusammenhänge eine besondere Rolle: Der Zusammenhang zwischen Fähigkeitsselbstkonzept und sozialer Integration wurde durch eine fachlich-inhaltliche Unterstützung moderiert, sodass sich Lernende mit niedrigem Fähigkeitsselbstkonzept in Klassen mit hoher fachlich-inhaltlicher Unterstützung vergleichbar gut sozial integriert fühlten wie die anderen Lernenden. Der Zusammenhang von Leistungsängstlichkeit und sozialer Integration wurde durch beide Facetten konstruktiver Unterstützung moderiert, sodass in Klassen mit hoher konstruktiver Unterstützung Lernende mit hoher Leistungsängstlichkeit sich genauso sozial integriert erlebten wie ihre weniger leistungsängstlichen Mitschülerinnen und Mitschüler. Der Beitrag untermauert somit die hohe Bedeutung von Beziehungsqualität im schulischen Kontext und bringt neue Erkenntnisse zu differenziellen Zusammenhängen von Unterricht und schulischen Outcomes in Abhängigkeit von den Lernvoraussetzungen der Schülerinnen und Schüler. (DIPF/Orig.)This paper examines the role of self-concept and test anxiety as well as "constructive support" by teachers for the social acceptance of students in secondary school. With regard to constructive support, a distinction is made between two central facets, namely socio-emotional support and instructional support. Here, for the first time, the role of these facets for the social acceptance experienced by students is investigated and it is examined which differential effects are shown for learners with individual risk factors of school failure. Survey data from two time points (mean interval 8 weeks) of 1,116 students in 49 secondary school mathematics classes in Germany were analysed using multi-level analyses. The results show that both facets of constructive support were related to students\u27 perceived social acceptance. Students with low mathematics self-concept or high anxiety felt less well integrated into class. The facets of constructive support played a special role for these correlations: The connection between self-concept and social acceptance was moderated by instructional support, so that in classes with high instructional support, learners with low self-concept felt comparably well socially integrated as the other learners. The relationship between anxiety and social acceptance was moderated by both facets of constructive support, so that in classes with high constructive support, learners with high performance anxiety perceived themselves as socially accepted as their less anxious peers. This contribution thus supports the high importance of relationship quality in school and provides new insights into differential connections between teaching and school outcomes depending on the learning prerequisites of the students. (DIPF/Orig.

Embedded formative assessment and classroom process quality. How do they interact in promoting students\u27 science understanding

In this study we examine the interplay between curriculum-embedded formative assessment-a well-known teaching practice-and general features of classroom process quality (i.e., cognitive activation, supportive climate, classroom management) and their combined effect on elementary school students\u27 understanding of the scientific concepts of floating and sinking. We used data from a cluster-randomized controlled trial and compared curriculum-embedded formative assessment (17 classes) with a control group (11 classes). Curriculum-embedded formative assessment and classroom process quality promoted students\u27 learning. Moreover, classroom process quality and embedded formative assessment interacted in promoting student learning. To ensure effective instruction and consequently satisfactory learning outcomes, teachers need to combine specific teaching practices with high classroom process quality. (DIPF/Orig.

Teachers’ well-being and their teaching quality during the COVID-19 pandemic: a retrospective study

During the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers reported low levels of well-being. Lower levels of well-being can negatively impact job performance and teaching quality. This study aims to examine whether the quality of teaching changed between before and during the pandemic, in two settings: remote and restricted in-person settings, and whether teachers’ well-being was related to the quality of teaching. 279 German-speaking (primary and secondary) teachers were retrospectively surveyed with an online questionnaire. Results showed that even if teachers reported being emotionally exhausted, they still were satisfied with their profession, highlighting the multidimensionality of well-being. For online instruction, teachers reported decrease in teaching quality in terms of cognitive activation, classroom management, and learning support compared to pre-pandemic times. Additionally, according to the teachers, their teaching quality did not return to its original state when schools reopened. However, the data does not show that this decrease is associated with teachers’ well-being. This study suggests that it is not only the quantity of learning that may have caused students’ learning losses, but also its quality. As a possible practical consequence, it seems helpful to provide teachers not only with technical, but also pedagogical support when teaching online and after having returned to in-person settings

Lehrerüberzeugungen und Unterrichtshandeln im Fach Physik

Lehrerüberzeugungen, die sich auf unterrichtsnahe Inhalte, Unterrichtsmethoden oder den Umgang mit einzelnen Schülern beziehen, wird eine handlungsleitende Funktion und somit ein Zusammenhang mit der Unterrichtsqualität oder den Lernerfolgen der Schüler zugesprochen. Allerdings unterscheiden sich die Ergebnisse von Studien zum Mathematikunterricht - Staub und Stern (2002) sowie die COACTIV-Studie (Dubberke et al., 2008) - von den Ergebnissen der IPN-Videostudie zum naturwissenschaftlichen Unterricht (Seidel et al., 2006). Ursachen für diese heterogenen Befunde können, neben Unterschieden in der Erhebungsmethodik zur Unterrichtsqualität, auch in den Fachspezifika der Lehrerüberzeugungen liegen. So wurde in der Frankfurter Referendarstudie (Lamprecht, 2011) neben den in der COACTIV-Studie beschriebenen Lernüberzeugungen des 'transmission view' und 'constructivist view' ein drittes, bisher lerntheoretisch nicht berücksichtigtes Überzeugungsmuster identifiziert, das sowohl konstruktivistische als auch rezeptartige Lernüberzeugungen vereinigt.Der Beitrag stellt ein Forschungsvorhaben vor, das mehrperspektivisch den Zusammenhang zwischen den Überzeugungen zum Lehren und Lernen und zur Wissenschaft Physik und dem Unterrichtshandeln zukünftiger Physiklehrkräfte untersucht. Zusätzlich hat das Projekt eine untersuchungsmethodische Fragestellung: Die Erhebung des Unterrichtshandelns erfolgt im Rahmen komplexitätsreduzierter, dennoch abgeschlossener Unterrichtsminiaturen. Mit diesem Design kann eine ökonomischere Gestaltung von Videostudien erreicht werden