Page 162 - Štremfel, Urška, and Maša Vidmar (eds.). 2018. Early School Leaving: Contemporary European Perspectives. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut.
P. 162
ear ly school leaving: contempor ary european perspectives
Western societies because, in relation to class size, the OECD (2012) con-
cluded that reducing class sizes is on its own an insufficient policy measure
to improve the performance of education systems (after having examined
55 different countries or economies from around the globe).
Impact of school practices
School processes and practices are seen as the most promising for un-
derstanding and improving school performance and tackling ESL (e.g.
teaching practices, a school climate conducive to student engagement and
learning, social relationships among students, parents, teachers, and ad-
ministrators). The studies differed in which specific practices were exam-
ined, and how they were measured. We separated the findings into those
more related to instruction, curriculum and those more related to social
and emotional aspects (i.e. climate).
Instructional practices, curriculum, assessment
Instruction is a key element of the teaching process that takes two main
forms: direct instruction (built around problems with clear, correct answers
the teacher provides) and student-centred instruction (teacher facilitating
students’ own inquiry; see European Commission, 2014). Metaanalysis on
learner-centred approaches found significant correlations of all person-cen-
tred teacher variables (defined as non-directivity, encouraging learning,
encouragement of higher order thinking, adapting to differences, empathy,
warmth, genuineness and learner-centred beliefs) with each affective or be-
havioural student outcome, including ESL (Cornelius-White, 2011), indi-
cating the importance of student- or learner-centred approaches for ESL
and ESLers. Finn (1989) also emphasised the quality of instruction that sup-
ports student involvement (e.g. classroom discourse as opposed to lectur-
ing; also see McGarr, 2010). On the contrary, Van Klaveren (2011) found
the proportion of time teachers spend lecturing in front of the class (com-
pared to a more personal approach) did not (negatively) impact students’
achievement.
In a literature review for the European Commission (2014), it was rec-
ognised that a flexible and relevant curriculum and its provision are impor-
tant for keeping students at school. However, too much theory, a complicat-
ed, rigid and boring curriculum, programmes based on memorising were
seen as the biggest issues in this respect (also see Lee & Miu-Ling Ip, 2003;
162
Western societies because, in relation to class size, the OECD (2012) con-
cluded that reducing class sizes is on its own an insufficient policy measure
to improve the performance of education systems (after having examined
55 different countries or economies from around the globe).
Impact of school practices
School processes and practices are seen as the most promising for un-
derstanding and improving school performance and tackling ESL (e.g.
teaching practices, a school climate conducive to student engagement and
learning, social relationships among students, parents, teachers, and ad-
ministrators). The studies differed in which specific practices were exam-
ined, and how they were measured. We separated the findings into those
more related to instruction, curriculum and those more related to social
and emotional aspects (i.e. climate).
Instructional practices, curriculum, assessment
Instruction is a key element of the teaching process that takes two main
forms: direct instruction (built around problems with clear, correct answers
the teacher provides) and student-centred instruction (teacher facilitating
students’ own inquiry; see European Commission, 2014). Metaanalysis on
learner-centred approaches found significant correlations of all person-cen-
tred teacher variables (defined as non-directivity, encouraging learning,
encouragement of higher order thinking, adapting to differences, empathy,
warmth, genuineness and learner-centred beliefs) with each affective or be-
havioural student outcome, including ESL (Cornelius-White, 2011), indi-
cating the importance of student- or learner-centred approaches for ESL
and ESLers. Finn (1989) also emphasised the quality of instruction that sup-
ports student involvement (e.g. classroom discourse as opposed to lectur-
ing; also see McGarr, 2010). On the contrary, Van Klaveren (2011) found
the proportion of time teachers spend lecturing in front of the class (com-
pared to a more personal approach) did not (negatively) impact students’
achievement.
In a literature review for the European Commission (2014), it was rec-
ognised that a flexible and relevant curriculum and its provision are impor-
tant for keeping students at school. However, too much theory, a complicat-
ed, rigid and boring curriculum, programmes based on memorising were
seen as the biggest issues in this respect (also see Lee & Miu-Ling Ip, 2003;
162
