Accounting for Class Effect Using the TIMSS 2003 Eighth-Grade Database: Net Effect of Group Composition, Net Effect of Class Process, and Joint Effect

Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/default.html

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26

Foreign Countries; Cross Cultural Studies; Models; Mathematics Instruction; Correlation; Influences; Grade 8; Group Dynamics; Qualitative Research; Statistical Analysis; Educational Environment; Hypothesis Testing; Mathematics Achievement; Student Characteristics; Gender Differences; Language Usage; Self Esteem; Educational Attainment; Parent Influence; School Effectiveness

Belgium; Netherlands; United Kingdom (England); United States

10.1080/09243450601146371

0924-3453

In the scientific literature, the debate around the school and class effect is polarized, because the variance between schools and classes is explained either by school and class process or by group composition. The first aim of this article is to shed light on this debate and move beyond it by reviewing qualitative and quantitative studies showing how managerial and pedagogical process are connected to group composition. After that, a technique of models rotation is applied to the TIMSS 2003 dataset of 4 OECD countries to estimate the net effect of group composition, the net effect of class process, and the joint effect of these 2 dimensions. These 4 education systems (Belgium Flemish, England, The Netherlands, and the United States of America) have been selected because they are characterized by a strong between-classes variance. The results suggest that the joint effect of group composition and class processes, like class climate, explains a significant part of the between-class variance. The implications of these results for educational effectiveness research (EER) are discussed. (Contains 1 figure, 7 tables and 8 notes. Variable Codes appended.)

Author

46

2007

EJ780022