Perceived learning environments and metacognitive strategy knowledge at the upper secondary school level

There is evidence that students benefit from teachers’ explicit fostering of metacognitive strategy knowledge (MSK). However, there is insufficient understanding about the effect of implicit promotion of MSK in regular school instruction. This study investigates the relationship between perceived characteristics of learning environments (social climate, support, autonomy, self-reflection) and students’ MSK. A representative cohort of students (Nt1 = 1,272/Nt2 = 1,126) in Grades 10 and 11 at schools at the upper secondary education level (ISCED Level 3A) in Switzerland participated in this two-wave longitudinal study. Multilevel analysis showed effects on both the individual and the class level. Students who experienced higher social integration showed a higher extent of MSK at the beginning of the school year than students who experienced less social integration. Perceived autonomy was also positively related to students’ MSK on the individual level. In contrast, the results showed a negative relationship between perceived self-reflection and students’ MSK. On the class level, there was a negative relationship between self-reflection and students’ MSK. Teachers’ support did not correlate with students’ MSK on either the individual or the class level. Implications of these results for education and further studies are discussed. (DIPF/Orig.)

Klasseneffekte oder individuelle Einflussgrößen. Was bestimmt die Teilnahme am Instrumentallernen im Grundschulalter

In den vergangenen Jahren hat die Diskussion um kulturelle Teilhabe im Rahmen der Ergebnisse großer Bildungsstudien zugenommen. Diese hatten eine hochgradige Abhängigkeit des Bildungserfolgs und des Kompetenzerwerbs vom sozialen Hintergrund der Kinder und ihrer Familien konstatiert (u.a. Ehmke & Jude 2010, S. 250). Auch für den Teilaspekt der kulturellen Teilhabe ließen sich in Studien soziale Disparitäten feststellen: Die rezeptive Nutzung kultureller Angebote durch Kinder und Jugendliche unterliegt einer deutlichen sozialen Selektivität (Autorengruppe Bildungsberichterstattung 2012, S. 165). Gleichzeitig ist mit dem Programm Jedem Kind ein Instrument eine große Initiative zur Förderung frühen Instrumentallernens in der Grundschulzeit angelaufen. Die Initiatoren verfolgen dabei explizit das Ziel, die Kluft „zwischen kulturaffinen Elternhäusern und bildungsfernen Schichten" (Kulturstiftung des Bundes, 2012) in Bezug auf kulturelle Bildung zu verringern, eine „Grundversorgung" (ebd.) sicherzustellen und im demokratischen Sinne niemanden von der Alphabetisierung in Sachen Kunst auszuschließen (Völckers, 2007). Die Teilnahme von Kindern an Instrumentalunterricht während der Grundschulzeit wird hier also als ein Aspekt aktiver kultureller Teilhabe gedeutet und wird im Folgenden einer Analyse unterzogen. (DIPF/Orig.)

Does gender make a difference? Gender-related fairness of high-stakes testing in A-level examinations in English as foreign language in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia in the context of Educational Governance

The shift from decentralized to centralized A-level examinations (Abitur) was implemented in the German school system as a measure of Educational Governance in the last decade. This reform was mainly introduced with the intention of providing higher comparability of school examinations and student achievement as well as increasing fairness in school examinations. It is not known yet if these ambitious aims and functions of the new centralized examination format have been achieved and if fairer assessment can be guaranteed in terms of providing all students with the same opportunities to pass the examinations by allocating fair tests to different student subpopulations e.g., students of different background or gender. The research presented in this article deals with these questions and focuses on gender differences. It investigates gender-specific fairness of the test items in centralized Abitur examinations as high school exit examinations in Germany. The data are drawn from Abitur examinations in English (as a foreign language). Differential item functioning (DIF) analysis reveals that at least some parts of the examinations indicate gender inequality. (DIPF/Orig.)