The influence of class size upon numeracy and literacy performance

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 507-527 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Watson ◽  
Boris Handal ◽  
Marguerite Maher
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Class Size ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Test Results ◽  
National Assessment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Language Background ◽  
Study Support ◽  
Literacy Performance ◽  
Size Estimates

Purpose The purpose of this paper was to investigate the influences of calendar year, year level, gender and language background other than English (LBOTE) on student achievement in literacy and numeracy relative to class size. Design/methodology/approach Data for this study were collected over five years (2008-2012) as test results from the Australian National Assessment Plan in Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) in Years 3 and 5 from over 100 Sydney primary schools. Findings It was found that the most important factors influencing academic performance in literacy and numeracy were, in descending order: gender, LBOTE, the calendar year in which the test was conducted, followed by class size. All variables were significantly associated with NAPLAN performance, but effect size estimates for class size were close to zero. Originality/value The results of this study support other studies suggesting that factors other than class size are more important in influencing academic performance.

scholarly journals Maternal drinking and smoking. Can it explain the exceptional academic performance of LBOTE children? A preliminary analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Louisa Gibson ◽  
Melanie Porter
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
English Language ◽  
Breastfeeding Duration ◽  
Growing Up ◽  
National Assessment ◽  
Language Background ◽  
Maternal Alcohol ◽  
Assessment Program ◽  
Grade 3 ◽  
Using Data

Abstract Objective Although children from language backgrounds other than English (LBOTE) may be disadvantaged in English-reliant exams, they outperform children from an English language background (ELB) on many Australian National Assessment Program–Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) assessments. Maternal alcohol and tobacco use during pregnancy and/or breastfeeding have been associated with poorer cognitive and academic performance. Using data from the Growing Up in Australia Study, this paper aimed to identify demographic, lifestyle, and prenatal and perinatal risk differences related to maternal tobacco and alcohol use between LBOTE and ELB groups, as a first step in trying to understand the academic performance differences. Results Only data from breastfed babies was included in the current analyses. Although LBOTE children were disadvantaged in several demographic areas, their NAPLAN performance was the same or superior to ELB children across all Grade 3 and 5 NAPLAN assessments. The LBOTE group were, however, breastfed for longer, and their mothers smoked fewer cigarettes and drank less alcohol on fewer occasions throughout their pregnancy. The LBOTE mothers also had lower or less risky patterns of alcohol consumption while breastfeeding. The longer breastfeeding duration of LBOTE children combined with lower maternal use of alcohol and cigarettes during pregnancy and/or breastfeeding may partially contribute to their exceptional NAPLAN performance.

Dormitory management and boarding students in China's rural primary schools

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 523-550 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ai Yue ◽  
Yaojiang Shi ◽  
Fang Chang ◽  
Chu Yang ◽  
Huan Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Teacher Training ◽  
Service Life ◽  
Health Behavior ◽  
Training Program ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
School Personnel ◽  
Sudden Increase ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Teacher Training Program

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore whether an in-service life teacher training program can improve boarding students’ health, behavior, and academic performance. Design/methodology/approach – The authors conducted a cluster-randomized controlled trial to measure the effect of life teacher training on student health, behavior, and academic performance among 839 boarding students in ten central primary boarding schools in Shaanxi. And the authors also tried to identify why or why not life teacher training works. Both descriptive and multivariate analysis are used in this paper. Findings – The authors find significant improvements in health and behavior. Specifically, compared to boarding students in control schools, 15 percent fewer students in treatment schools reported feeling cold while sleeping at night. The results also showed that student tardiness and misbehaviors after class declined significantly by 18 and 78 percent, respectively. However, the in-service life teacher training program had no measurable impact on boarding students’ BMI-for-age Z-score, number of misbehaviors in class, and academic performance. The analysis suggests that improved communication between life teachers and students might be one mechanism behind these results. Originality/value – This is the first empirical work which explored how to improve the welfare of boarding students via their life teachers. Because of the sudden increase in boarding students in rural China, it is almost certain that school personnel lack experience in managing boarding students. As such, one promising approach to improving student outcomes might be in-service training for life teachers.

Consumers’ valuation of academic and deprivation-compensating aspects of school performance in England

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 661-681
Author(s):  
Sofia Andreou
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Secondary Schools ◽  
School Performance ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Catchment Area ◽  
School Quality ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Difference ◽  
State Schools

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the willingness of households to pay for academic and deprivation-compensating components of the Contextual Value Added (CVA) indicator of school quality used in England in order to locate themselves in the catchment area of state schools. Deprivation-compensating school performance, defined as the difference in the disadvantaged intake between two schools with the same academic performance. Design/methodology/approach The empirical analysis, based on data drawn from three independent UK data sources, used parametric and non-parametric analysis approaches. The analysis conducted separately for primary and secondary schools, because household behaviour can differ between these two levels of education. Findings Consumers are willing to pay for houses in the catchment area of primary and secondary schools with high academic achievement, as measured by the mean score; whereas, the component of the CVA indicating deprivation-compensating aspects of school performance is found to have a positive effect only on the price of houses in the catchment area of primary schools in London; its impact on the price of houses elsewhere is mostly negative. Practical implications The analysis in this study suggested that the recently adopted practice of using CVA as a measure of school quality in England can encourage government and Local Authorities to pay more attention to raising the deprivation-compensating aspects of school performance of their schools. Originality/value This is the first study to explore the value which households attach to deprivation-compensating outcomes, at a given level of academic performance using the CVA indicator.

scholarly journals CLASS SIZE AND STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE IN SECONDARY AND PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN NIGERIA

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 47-54
Author(s):  
A. K. Tsafe
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Academic Performance ◽  
Student Teacher ◽  
Class Size ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Instructional Materials ◽  
Science Class ◽  
Existing Structures ◽  
Mathematics And Science

The paper focuses on the issue of class size as it relates to students’ academic performance in mathematics and science. Class size was viewed in the paper from various perspectives, ranging from student-teacher ratio, students' number per class and instructional materials available to cater to the needs of students in the class. The issue had, over the years been hotly debated and it was found that class size has an effect on the academic achievement of students. Theoretically, the paper argued that there are some difficulties encountered by learners in the process of learning that are environment-based while some are considered to be personal to the learner; each of which has bearing on how the classroom is structured to take care of such difficulties. The paper, in the end, recommended that the existing structures should be expanded so as to allow for decongesting the present ones and teachers should be recruited to complement the expansion.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Veterinary-Specific Interpretive Criteria for Susceptibility Testing of Streptococcus equi Subspecies with Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole and Trimethoprim-Sulfadiazine

2016 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 326-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen Sadaka ◽  
Theo Kanellos ◽  
Luca Guardabassi ◽  
Joseph Boucher ◽  
Jeffrey L. Watts
Keyword(s):  
Antimicrobial Susceptibility ◽  
Susceptibility Testing ◽  
Susceptibility Test ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Antimicrobial Susceptibility Test ◽  
Specific Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Human Data ◽  
Streptococcus Equi ◽  
Study Support

ABSTRACT Antimicrobial susceptibility test results for trimethoprim-sulfadiazine with Streptococcus equi subspecies are interpreted based on human data for trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. The veterinary-specific data generated in this study support a single breakpoint for testing trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and/or trimethoprim-sulfadiazine with S. equi . This study indicates trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole as an acceptable surrogate for trimethoprim-sulfadiazine with S. equi .

scholarly journals Bilingual advantage in early EFL pronunciation accuracy of German 4th-graders

2021 ◽  
pp. 136700692199681
Author(s):  
Teresa Kieseier
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Social Background ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Error Sources ◽  
Common Error ◽  
Language Background ◽  
Background Factors ◽  
Language Groups ◽  
Error Types

Aims and Objectives: We compared speech accuracy and pronunciation patterns between early learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) with different language backgrounds. We asked (1) whether linguistic background predicts pronunciation outcomes, and (2) if error sources and substitution patterns differ between monolinguals and heterogeneous bilinguals. Methodology: Monolingual and bilingual 4th-graders ( N = 183) at German public primary schools participated in an English picture-naming task. We further collected linguistic, cognitive and social background measures to control for individual differences. Data and Analysis: Productions were transcribed and rated for accuracy and error types by three independent raters. We compared monolingual and bilingual pronunciation accuracy in a linear mixed-effects regression analysis controlling for background factors at the individual and institutional level. We further categorized all error types and compared their relative frequency as well as substitution patterns between different language groups. Findings: After background factors were controlled for, bilinguals (irrespective of specific L1) significantly outperformed their monolingual peers on overall pronunciation accuracy. Irrespective of language background, the most frequent error sources overlapped, affecting English sounds which are considered marked, are absent from the German phoneme inventory, or differ phonetically from a German equivalent. Originality: This study extends previous work on bilingual advantages in other domains of EFL to less researched phonological skills. It focuses on overall productive skills in young FL learners with limited proficiency and provides an overview over the most common error sources and substitution patterns in connection to language background. Significance/Implications: The study highlights that bilingual learners may deploy additional resources in the acquisition of target language phonology that should be addressed in the foreign language classroom.

scholarly journals Correlates of social media fatigue and academic performance decrement

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aqdas Malik ◽  
Amandeep Dhir ◽  
Puneet Kaur ◽  
Aditya Johri
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Academic Performance ◽  
Adult Students ◽  
Instant Messaging ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Online Behavior ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Self Disclosure ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Antecedents And Consequences

PurposeThe current study aims to investigate if different measures related to online psychosocial well-being and online behavior correlate with social media fatigue.Design/methodology/approachTo understand the antecedents and consequences of social media fatigue, the stressor-strain-outcome (SSO) framework is applied. The study consists of two cross-sectional surveys that were organized with young-adult students. Study A was conducted with 1,398 WhatsApp users (aged 19 to 27 years), while Study B was organized with 472 WhatsApp users (aged 18 to 23 years).FindingsIntensity of social media use was the strongest predictor of social media fatigue. Online social comparison and self-disclosure were also significant predictors of social media fatigue. The findings also suggest that social media fatigue further contributes to a decrease in academic performance.Originality/valueThis study builds upon the limited yet growing body of literature on a theme highly relevant for scholars, practitioners as well as social media users. The current study focuses on examining different causes of social media fatigue induced through the use of a highly popular mobile instant messaging app, WhatsApp. The SSO framework is applied to explore and establish empirical links between stressors and social media fatigue.

New product and emerging business growth in Kwara State

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 207-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seun Oladele ◽  
Femi Oladele
Keyword(s):  
Market Share ◽  
Manufacturing Industry ◽  
Service Industry ◽  
New Product ◽  
Sales Volume ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Business Growth ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Product Service ◽  
Service Portfolio

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of new product on growth of emerging businesses (EBs) through sales volume and market share. Design/methodology/approach – The study surveyed 137 EBs in Kwara State. Two hypotheses were formulated and tested using correlation and regression analyses. Findings – Results show that service industry is dominant among EBs while the manufacturing industry trails. Many EBs are aware of the complexities of new product, its development and contribution to increasing sales volume, market share and ensuring competitive advantage with apparent infrastructural deficiencies. Test results show that there is a significant positive relationship and effect on sales volume and market share. Originality/value – Encouraging EBs to step up and focus on improving product/service portfolio to transform their fortune is explored giving focus to the benefits of increasing sales volume and market share.

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