ERIC Number: EJ991707
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0009-3920
EISSN: N/A
Cumulative Advantages and the Emergence of Social and Ethnic Inequality: Matthew Effects in Reading and Mathematics Development within Elementary Schools?
Baumert, Jurgen; Nagy, Gabriel; Lehmann, Rainer
Child Development, v83 n4 p1347-1367 Jul-Aug 2012
This article examines the development of social and ethnic disparities in academic achievement in elementary schooling. It investigated whether reading and mathematics development in 136 mixed-ability classes shows path-dependent processes of cumulative advantage (Matthew effects) from Grades 4 to 6 (Grade 4 mean age = 10.62, SD = 0.57) resulting in growing inequality. Status-dependent processes of cumulative advantage, their interaction with path-dependent processes, and consequences for the degree of social and ethnic inequality are examined. Two complementary methods for analyzing multilevel data are used: growth curve and quasi-simplex models. No evidence for a Matthew effect was found in either domain. A compensation effect emerged for reading, to the benefit of ethnic minorities. A fan-spread effect was found for mathematics, partly attributable to status-dependent processes of cumulative advantage. (Contains 5 tables and 2 figures.)
Descriptors: Grade 4, Grade 5, Grade 6, Elementary School Students, Reading, Mathematics, Elementary Schools, Academic Achievement, Ethnic Groups, Equations (Mathematics), Foreign Countries, Literacy, Numeracy, Cognitive Ability
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Grade 4; Grade 5; Grade 6
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Germany
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A