This study investigated the effect of class practices on students' learning gains in reading comprehension in the 5th grade. A sample of 4,344 students in 283 classes in 176 schools was studied. Several class practices that have previously been demonstrated to be effective were tested while controlling for student characteristics and…

The present study investigates the effects of teachers (background qualifications, attitudes and beliefs, and instructional practices) on student achievement in mathematics, reading, and spelling in 1st grade. Its theoretical framework and methodology are based on recent work by Palardy and Rumberger (2008). Data from the SiBO Project, a…

Research and scholarship into educational effectiveness research (EER) is comprehensively reviewed from the UK, The Netherlands, the US, Cyprus, Belgium, Sweden, France, Germany, New Zealand, Australia, and other societies, dating from the field's origins in the 1970s. Issues include its history, methodological and theoretical advances,…

The current study examines the impact of alternative education on children's early school engagement in terms of school enjoyment and independent participation. A sample of 2,776 children from traditional (e.g., mainstream) and alternative (Freinet and Waldorf) Flemish schools was followed from their 3rd year of kindergarten until 3rd grade. The…

This paper illustrates the surplus value of multilevel exploratory factor analysis in educational effectiveness research. Educational researchers often use measures for process variables at the class or school level to explain differences in student outcomes. Recently, van de Vijver and Poortinga (2002) have developed a procedure for multilevel…

Summer learning studies have been set up to investigate the evolution of initial group differences in academic achievement, for example, between low- and high-socioeconomic status (SES) children. Moreover, this approach has been used to demonstrate the absolute effect of going to school on children's learning. In the present study, we used…

The main objective of the present study is to gain more insight into the school effects on the development of 2 noncognitive student outcomes, namely, the motivation toward learning tasks and the academic self-concept, and, more specifically, on the consistency of the school effects on these 2 outcomes. Data were drawn from the "Longitudinaal…

The major aim of educational effectiveness research is to examine and explain school, class, and teacher differences with respect to relevant educational criteria. Until now, in the large majority of studies, language and mathematics scores were used as a criterion. In the present study, the educational track students choose at the start of…

The results indicate that in Flanders secondary schools of different denomination and of different school type (based on their curriculum offerings) differ with respect to several characteristics. With respect to the educational framework, learning environment and learning climate differences between schools are small and differences are more…

Follow-up data from a group of final-grade students of the 65 schools that participated in the Flemish Longitudinal Research in Secondary Education project (Van Damme, De Fraine, Van Landeghem, Opdenakker, & Onghena, 2002) were collected to study the long-term effects of the secondary school on the educational choice when leaving secondary…

Introduction to the two articles in this issue. Provides background information on a longitudinal study of Flanders secondary schools and on the study's sample, method, and variables relevant to the two articles. Also describes the organization of secondary education in Flanders. (Contains 33 references.) (PKP)

Explores the effects of secondary schools, teachers, and classes on mathematics achievement in Flanders secondary schools. After controlling for within-class and school recruitment differences, finds that class-level group composition remains an important explanation of difference in mathematics achievement. Also finds that the school-level…

Reports on the effects of individual background characteristics, classes, and school on four noncognitive secondary education outcomes in Flanders: Degree to which the student feels at home in the school environment, extent to which the student does his/her best for the schoolwork, academic self-concept, and social integration in the class.…

Explores effects of schools, teachers, and classes on first-year secondary students at year's end in Belgium, using multilevel analysis. Classes' and schools' relative influence on achievement is much higher than on well-being. An academic climate can discourage nonmotivated students. A communitarian climate can motivate all pupils. (Contains 54…