scholarly journals Are tracking recommendations biased? A review of teachers’ role in the creation of inequalities in tracking decisions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anatolia Batruch ◽  
Sara Geven ◽  
Emma Kessenich ◽  
Herman Gerbert van de Werfhorst

Sorting students into hierarchically ordered tracks or streams on the basis of their academic performance (i.e., tracking) is ubiquitous in educational systems, and oftentimes based on teachers’ track recommendations. International surveys indicate that tracking is associated with educational inequalities. To determine if inequalities in tracking may be due to teacher recommendations being biased against students from disadvantaged socio-economic and/or ethnic backgrounds, we conducted a systematic review of 26 recent articles on tracking recommendations and students’ socio-economic or ethnic background. We find that teacher recommendations are biased against students from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds, yet evidence with respect to ethnic biases is more mixed. We also conducted an integrative review to examine which factors may account for social and ethnic inequalities in teacher tracking recommendations. We conclude that students’, parents’ and teachers’ attitudes and behaviours play a role in tracking recommendations but cannot fully account for the inequality in these recommendations. We discuss promising areas for future study, and argue that research may want to focus on finding institutional moderators in order to combat biases in educational institutions.

Author(s):  
Tonderai Washington Shumba ◽  
Scholastika Ndatinda Iipinge

This study sought to synthesise evidence from published literature on the various learning style preferences of undergraduate nursing students and to determine the extent they can play in promoting academic success in nursing education of Namibia. A comprehensive literature search was conducted on electronic databases as a part of the systematic review. Although, kinaesthetic, visual and auditory learning styles were found to be the most dominant learning style preferences, most studies (nine) indicated that undergraduate nursing students have varied learning styles. Studies investigating associations of certain demographic variables with the learning preferences indicated no significant association. On the other hand, three studies investigating association between learning styles and academic performance found a significant association. Three studies concluded that indeed learning styles change over time and with academic levels. The more nurse educators in Namibia are aware of their learning styles and those of their students, the greater the potential for increased academic performance.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 226
Author(s):  
David Pérez-Jorge ◽  
Eva Ariño-Mateo ◽  
Ana Isabel González-Contreras ◽  
María del Carmen Rodríguez-Jiménez

Measures adopted by educational systems to improve and adapt the educational response of pupils with disability or diversity conditions arising from their personal and social conditions, have enabled them to gain tenure throughout the various stages of education. Educational institutions have been progressively adapting and responding to the educational needs of students who start university, and this fact highlights the lack of inclusive culture in university institutions. The lack of training of university teachers in the educational response to the needs of students with disabilities is evidenced by the high dropout rates of this group and in successive complaints of teachers who do not have the skills or tools to cope with this situation successfully. The review of a set of 75 programs developed by different Spanish universities to meet the needs of these students shows an insufficient institutional and administrative response while reflecting the lack of unity of jointly developed criteria.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 2247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Manzano-León ◽  
Pablo Camacho-Lazarraga ◽  
Miguel A. Guerrero ◽  
Laura Guerrero-Puerta ◽  
José M. Aguilar-Parra ◽  
...  

Educational gamification consists of the use of game elements and game design techniques in the educational context. The objective of this study is to examine the existing evidence on the impact of educational gamification on student motivation and academic performance in the last five years in order to analyze its distribution over time, educational level, variables, and most used game elements, and know the advantages of its implementation in the classroom. For this, a systematic review is proposed through the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology in three multidisciplinary databases, through an exhaustive search with inclusion and exclusion criteria on quantitative experimental studies that explore gamification in educational centers, which provide information about the most current lines of research. Fourteen studies were included in this review. These used experimental or quasi-experimental designs. Most of them report gamification as a valid learning strategy. The results support the conclusion that educational gamification has a potential impact on the academic performance, commitment, and motivation of students. Therefore, this study implies the need to expand research on the needs and challenges of students when learning with gamified techniques.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 58
Author(s):  
Irene Lacruz-Pérez ◽  
Pilar Sanz-Cervera ◽  
Raúl Tárraga-Mínguez

Inclusive education is currently one of the main aspirations of the Spanish educational system and one of the key aspects for its achievement is teachers’ attitudes toward educational inclusion. In recent years, many studies worldwide have analyzed this aspect, but so far, any systematic review has specifically focused on the Spanish educational framework. For this reason, the purpose of this paper is to review the studies published from 2010 to 2019 whose aim was to analyze teachers’ attitudes towards educational inclusion in Spain. After a literature search in four different databases (PsycInfo, ERIC, Dialnet Plus, and Google Scholar), 34 studies were selected and reviewed. The results suggest that Spanish teachers’ attitudes toward educational inclusion are generally positive, although in some cases they are ambiguous. Teachers’ attitudes are mainly influenced by the amount of training and their contact or not with students with special educational needs. The discussion highlights that more studies with a greater methodological diversity are required in order to provide a complete analysis of teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion and that teacher training is one of the best tools to generate positive attitudes.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leslie A. Musshafen ◽  
Rachel S. Tyrone ◽  
Aya Abdelaziz ◽  
Courtney E. Sims-Gomillia ◽  
Lauren S. Pongetti ◽  
...  

Symmetry ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 133
Author(s):  
Juan A. Rojas ◽  
Helbert E. Espitia ◽  
Lilian A. Bejarano

Currently, in Colombia, different problems in education exist; one of them is the inconvenience in tracing and controlling the learning trajectories that decide the topics taught in the country’s educational institutions. This work aims to implement a logic-based system that allows teachers and educational institutions to carry out a continuous monitoring process of students’ academic performance, facilitating early corrections of errors or failures in teaching methods, to promote educational support spaces within the educational institution.


2021 ◽  
pp. 187-200
Author(s):  
A.A. Zolotareva ◽  

The current study was aimed to examine the impact of psychological adjustment / maladjustment on the academic performance of Russian university students. Previous studies have shown that academic performance is closely related to alienation from study, study engagement, academic motivation, perceived stress, academic control, and boredom proneness. Some researchers also have suggested that adolescent apathy may be the risk factor for academic failure among university students. In turn, the American psychologist R. Handelman defined adolescent apathy as a specific state of lack of goal-setting, energy and interest, indifference to changes and experience of difficulties in making decisions in young adults [27]. In September 2019, 103 students (73 females and 30 males) aged 16 to 21 years from several Moscow universities filled out instruments assessing adolescent apathy, alienation from study, study engagement, academic motivation, perceived stress, academic control, and boredom proneness. The study was conducted at seminars in psychological disciplines. All study participants received bonus points in these disciplines. In January 2019, based on the results of the examination session, an average score was calculated for each study participant. This score became a criterion for academic performance of university students. There were no statistically significant age and gender differences in the scores of psychological adjustment / maladjustment. The one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that adolescent apathy was the single indicator that affects the academic performance of university students. Thus, the higher scores of adolescent apathy university students showed at the beginning of the academic year, the lower the average scores they received for the first exam session. Based on these data, it was concluded that adolescent apathy is a risk factor for academic failure and can serve as a target for preventive and interventional measures related to academic failure among Russian university students. Currently, in foreign practice, programs and recommendations are being developed and implemented for teachers of higher educational institutions who are faced with the adolescent apathy outcomes. Perhaps this study, which has proved the importance of adolescent apathy in the context of academic failure among university students, will be the first step towards the development and implementation of similar programs and recommendations for Russian educational institutions.


2020 ◽  
pp. 65-71
Author(s):  
Mariya V. Bachynska ◽  
Lyubov K. Semiv ◽  
Serhiy R. Semiv

Analysis and consideration of current migration trends in our country, in particular mass interstate migration movements in the context of Ukraine's participation in the European and world migration space, are considered among the important factors in shaping its national policy. Educational migration is a special threat to the socio-economic development of the country and sustainable development of society, as the formation of highly qualified personnel, accumulation of intellectual capital, and increasing scientific and technological potential of the country are among the important factors of economic and social progress. Due to the intensification of interstate migration flows and the development of the quality of the higher education system in foreign educational institutions, migration for education takes a larger share, which is mostly accompanied by constant migration and departure of Ukrainian citizens for permanent residence abroad. The analysis of publications on this issue proves the urgency of educational migration research, and today it remains important to analyze trends in educational migration, find mechanisms to counter the transformation of Ukraine into a country of origin of educational migrants, as well as their repatriation. The article analyzes the educational migration processes in Ukraine in the regional context. The main regional centers of higher education are identified. The focus is on the migration intentions of the population to study abroad and a comparative description of the educational systems of different countries. The order and stages of the admission campaign in foreign educational institutions are described. The essence and features of educational migration are studied and the main reasons that help Ukrainian students to choose foreign higher education institutions are highlighted. The main causes and consequences of educational migration, as well as potential opportunities for educational migration, are identified. Certain benefits and costs associated with educational migration processes are justified. The directions of development of educational migration and effective migration system in Ukraine and its regions, which should take a worthy place in the migration policy of the state, are offered.


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