Loading...
14 results
Search Results
Now showing 1 - 10 of 14
- Creating a supportive classroom environment through effective feedback: effects on students’ school identification and behavioral engagementPublication . Monteiro, Vera; Carvalho, Carolina; Santos, Natalie NóbregaPrevious research revealed the connection between students’ behavioral and emotional engagement and a supportive classroom environment. One of the primary tools teachers have to create a supportive classroom environment is effective feedback. In this study, we assessed the supportive classroom environment using the perception shared by all students from the same classroom of teachers’ use of effective feedback. We aimed to explore the effect of such an environment on students’ behavioral engagement and school identification. Using a probabilistic sample of 1,188 students from 75 classrooms across 6th, 7th, 9th, and 10th grades, we employed multilevel regression modeling with random intercept and fixed slopes. We explored the effects of both individual perceptions of teachers’ use of effective feedback and the supportive classroom environment on student engagement. The analyses identified that students who perceived that their teachers use more effective feedback had a higher level of behavioral engagement and school identification. Once we controlled the effects of these individual perceptions of teachers’ effective feedback, we still observed the effect of a supportive classroom environment on student engagement. So, in classrooms where teachers used more effective feedback creating a supportive classroom environment, students had higher school identification and behavioral engagement levels, regardless of their individual perceptions of teachers’ feedback. The association between variables remained significant even after controlling students’ characteristics (gender, nationality, mother’s level of education, history of grade retention) and classroom characteristics (grade level, type of school, number of students at grade level). Our findings support the potential of teachers’ feedback practices to foster students’ school identification and behavioral engagement to build a more inclusive school environment and value students’ diversity.
- Retenção escolar: crenças e práticas dos professores e a sua relação com as políticas educativas das escolasPublication . Santos, Natalie Nóbrega; Monteiro, VeraAlguns autores sugerem que as altas taxas de retenção escolar observadas em alguns países se devem à crença nos benefícios desta prática. O presente estudo procurou compreender o efeito moderador que as políticas educativas das escolas sobre a retenção têm na relação entre crenças e práticas de retenção no 2º ano de escolaridade. Uma análise dos documentos orientadores de 66 escolas da Madeira, Portugal, identificou os critérios e requisitos exigidos para a decisão de retenção. Um questionário online recolheu as crenças e práticas de retenção de 300 professores desta Região. Uma análise de perfis latentes identificou cinco grupos de professores organizados num continuum que variava entre uma maior rejeição e uma maior certeza nos benefícios da retenção. Observou-se uma associação entre as crenças e as práticas dos professores apenas nas escolas que não tinham nem critérios nem requisitos definidos para a decisão de retenção. Os resultados sugerem que os professores precisam de informação que oriente a tomada de decisão e que proporcione maior coerência na atuação dos intervenientes.
- Analysing grade retention beliefs within teachers’ psycho-pedagogic beliefs systemPublication . Santos, Natalie Nóbrega; Pipa, Joana; Monteiro, VeraTeachers have a complex and multidimensional system of socially constructed beliefs that influence their professional practice. Based on self-reported beliefs of 449 Portuguese primary teachers we explored the connectivity between grade retention beliefs and other psycho-pedagogical beliefs using a structural equation model. We also studied the psychological centrality of grade retention beliefs using a latent profile analysis. The results indicated that teachers’ grade retention beliefs are maintained within their beliefs system with a high degree of connectivity and centrality, especially when shared by their community. These findings may have implications to the educational policies that aim to reduce retention rates
- Políticas educativas das escolas na tomada de decisão da retenção escolarPublication . Santos, Natalie; Monteiro, VeraA retenção escolar é uma tomada de decisão enquadrada num conjunto de documentos orientadores definidos quer pelo Ministério de Educação quer pela escola. Este estudo procurou compreender de que forma estes documentos guiam a tomada de decisão da retenção no 2.º ano de escolaridade. Foi realizada uma análise dos documentos orientadores de 68 escolas da Região da Madeira, Portugal. Foram analisados os objetivos definidos no projeto educativo, os critérios e requisitos exigidos na decisão da retenção e a formalização do acompanhamento pedagógico antes e após a retenção. Os dados recolhidos indicam que as orientações gerais do Ministério de Educação são contempladas nas políticas das escolas. No entanto, a maioria das escolas, inclusivamente as escolas que pretendem reduzir o uso da retenção, não especificam critérios ou requisitos, além dos já definidos pela legislação, que possam ajudar os professores a tomar a decisão sobre a retenção, nem definem planos de acompanhamento individual para os alunos uma vez retidos. Estes resultados são coerentes com as informações recolhidas junto de 294 professores questionados sobre os planos de retenção da escola. Considera-se pertinente a discussão das políticas de retenção ao nível de escola, para proporcionar uma maior qualidade na tomada de decisão da retenção escolar
- The Academic Self-Regulation Questionnaire: A study with Portuguese elementary school childrenPublication . Gomes, Marta; Monteiro, Vera; Mata, Lourdes; Peixoto, Francisco José Brito; Santos, Natalie; Sanches, CristinaBackground: Several studies have focused on the assessment of students’ motivation because this construct is very important to understand students’ learning and how to enhance it. The Academic Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SRQ-A), based on the self-determination theory is a self-report instrument developed to access the reasons why students do their school work. However, there is no Portuguese version of this questionnaire for late elementary students. The primary goal of this research was to analyze the psychometric properties of a Portuguese version of SRQ-A in the domain of Mathematics with elementary school children. Methods: Participants were 341 elementary school children ranging from 8 to 11 years old from the third and fourth grades. The Portuguese version of the SRQ-A included 24 items assessing four regulatory styles (external, introjected, identified, and intrinsic) in three behavioral categories (homework, classwork, and answering questions in mathematics lessons). To examine the psychometric properties of the instrument, we conducted an exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM), measured gender and grade invariance, and calculated internal consistency indexes and temporal stability. Results: ESEM analyses supported the original multidimensional structure of the measure with four regulatory styles using a reduced version of the instrument with 16 items. Correlations between the four regulatory styles revealed a simplex pattern consistent with the continuum of self-determination theory. Results showed adequate internal consistency for all regulatory styles (α ≥ .73; CR ≥ .76) and temporal stability (4-month test-retest ≥ .43). The questionnaire showed measurement and structural invariance across gender and grade. Finally, some gender differences were observed; on average, boys scored higher than girls in external regulation. No differences were observed between grades. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the Portuguese version of the SRQ-A has good psychometric properties providing adequate support for its use in educational research on motivational styles, including studies concerning gender and grade differences in self-regulation.
- Second grade retention: Beliefs, decision‐making styles, and factors involved in the decision processPublication . Santos, Natalie Nóbrega; Monteiro, VeraGrade retention decisions are high‐risk because this practice can significantly affect students' academic and professional path and their socioaffective development. This study aimed to contribute to a better understanding of second‐grade retention decision‐making by exploring the factors the professionals consider during the retention decision‐making, their beliefs about the effectiveness of grade retention, and their cognitive decision‐making style. The study sets in Portugal, where second‐grade retention is a common practice. One hundred ninety‐four teachers answered an online questionnaire developed for this purpose. Path analysis results suggested that teachers' beliefs and decision‐making styles served as a filter, defining what factors they consider relevant or not to make grade retention decisions. Intuitive experiences seem to inform teachers' grade‐retention decisions, especially when they believe retention is essential for students' success
- Assessment conceptions and practices: perspectives of primary school teachers and studentsPublication . Monteiro, Vera; Mata, Lourdes; Santos, Natalie NóbregaStudents’ and teachers’ conceptions of assessment are important because they guide how teachers’ assessments are implemented in the classroom and determine how students study. This multiple-case design study examined 1) how teachers and students view assessment, 2) how teachers assess their students’ learning, and 3) the similarities and disparities that occur when students’ and teachers’ conceptions and teachers’ practices of assessment are compared. Data were obtained from five third grade classes, involving a total of five teachers and 82 students. Data were gathered through individual interviews with teachers and focus group discussions with students. Classroom observations and documents produced by the students (worksheets and tests) during maths lessons were also analyzed. The results of the content analysis of the data indicate that teachers mostly conceive assessment as being for improvement, while their assessment practices and students’ conceptions focus on school and student accountability. The results obtained lead us to suggest that students’ conceptions of assessment are constructed from their classroom assessment experiences. The study also suggests that teachers adopt conceptions of assessment inconsistent with their practices, that allow them to work within social and contextual constraints.
- Classroom talk: The ubiquity of feedbackPublication . Monteiro, Vera; Mata, Maria de Lourdes Estorninho Neves; Santos, Natalie; Sanches, Cristina; Gomes, MartaClassroom interactions play an important role in the learning and teaching of mathematics, and feedback emanating from these interactions is a powerful tool for enhancing student learning. These exchanges have been widely studied in higher education, but very few investigations have been carried out at the level of elementary students and teachers. This study aimed to contribute to existing knowledge of feedback, and to formulate guidelines to improve teacher feedback in elementary school. The specific objectives were to analyse the focus of feedback (a) by lesson purpose and type of interaction, (b) by type of question and student's answer, and (c) by gender and student achievement. Participants comprised five teachers and their 82 third-grade students attending an elementary school in Portugal. Mathematics lessons were video-recorded and a categorisation system to assess teacher-student interaction was developed, based on a review of the literature and empirical data. The results showed that most of the teacher–student interactions contained feedback, which was usually focused on a specific task, and less frequently on the ways in which tasks were processed. In terms of lesson purpose, teachers' feedback was evaluative, especially when they had initiated the interaction. Feedback became more effective when the initial move was made by the students. The focus of feedback was not related to the type of question asked, but it was associated with the certitude of the students' answers. We also observed an interaction effect between the focus of feedback, gender and achievement, with high-achievement boys receiving advantages. Our results hold important implications for teachers' classroom practices and professional development.
- Supporting students’ engagement with teachers’ feedback: the role of students’ school identificationPublication . Carvalho, Carolina; Santos, Natalie; António, Raquel; Martins, DulceThis study explored the link between teachers’ feedback and students’ behavioural engagement with school identification. Using a sample of 2534 students from 6th to 12th school year, we examined whether their perceptions about teachers’ feedback were related to their behavioural engagement and mediated by their school identification. We also explore whether this relation was moderated by students’ year of schooling and by the type of secondary course they were enrolled and the differences of latent means between these groups. Results confirmed the expected mediation: teachers’ feedback was associated with an increased behavioural engagement via increased school identification. Only the type of students’ secondary course moderated this relation. Students in the 12th year perceived that their teacher used less effective feedback and felt lower school identification than students in the early years of schooling. These finding illustrated the underlying mechanism through which teachers’ feedback affect students’ behavioural engagement with school.
- Psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire for Elementary SchoolPublication . Sanches, Cristina; Monteiro, V.; Mata, Lourdes; Santos, Natalie; Gomes, MartaAbstract: The main purposes of the current research were to translate and adapt the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire – Elementary School (AEQ-ES) into Portuguese and to analyze its psychometric properties. A sample of 350 Portuguese third and fourth graders (aged 7 to 12 years) completed the Portuguese version of the AEQ-ES (AEQ-ES-P). As does the original version, the AEQ-ES-P measures students’ enjoyment, boredom, and anxiety toward mathematics in three academic settings: attending class, doing homework, and taking tests. Confirmatory factor analysis corroborated the hierarchical structure of the AEQ-ES-P, which was also invariant across gender and grades. The instrument also showed good reliability and temporal stability. Significant correlations were found in the expected direction between enjoyment, anxiety, and boredom, as well as between these emotions, students’ perceptions of competence, and intrinsic motivation toward mathematics, thus supporting the internal and external validity of the questionnaire. These results indicate that the AEQ-ES-P presents good psychometric properties and is suitable to measure the achievement emotions of Portuguese elementary-school children of the third and fourth grades in the domain of mathematics.