Teachers’ beliefs related to secondary school completion: associations with socio-educational advantage and school level

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
File version

Accepted Manuscript (AM)

Author(s)
Beswick, Kim
Wright, Suzie
Watson, Jane
Hay, Ian
Allen, Jeanne
Cranston, Neil
Griffith University Author(s)
Primary Supervisor
Other Supervisors
Editor(s)
Date
2019
Size
File type(s)
Location
License
Abstract

This research used the responses of 187 Tasmanian teachers to a questionnaire comprising 52-Likert-type items, two multiple-choice items, and two open-response items to investigate differences in teachers’ beliefs about aspects of schooling related to students’ secondary school completion. Exploratory factor analysis of responses to the Likert-type items identified 3 factors underpinning teachers’ responses. These were (1) Student and parent aspirations, (2) Teacher and school quality and support, and (3) Expectations for continuing education. Two-way ANOVAs showed that primary school teachers scored higher on average than secondary teachers for student and parent aspirations, and that there was an interaction between level of schooling and Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA) for this factor. Descriptive statistics were used to compare responses to the multiple-choice items of teachers at different levels of ICSEA and schooling. Open-response items were categorised in two ways (1) as related to pastoral, academic, or engagement matters, and (2) as negative or positive in relation to each of students, parents, and teachers. The results highlighted less academic and more pastorally focussed cultures in Year 7–10 schools compared with Year 11–12 schools and relatively low expectations for university study across the levels of schooling. The findings implicate teachers’ beliefs about students and their families as crucial to influencing educational aspirations and attainment.

Journal Title

Australian Educational Researcher

Conference Title
Book Title
Edition
Volume
Issue
Thesis Type
Degree Program
School
Publisher link
Patent number
Funder(s)
Grant identifier(s)
Rights Statement
Rights Statement

© 2019 Australian Association for Research in Education. This is an electronic version of an article published in Australian Educational Researcher, AOV. Australian Educational Researcher is available online at: http://link.springer.com// with the open URL of your article.

Item Access Status
Note

This publication has been entered into Griffith Research Online as an Advanced Online Version.

Access the data
Related item(s)
Subject

Education

Higher education

Secondary education

Educational administration, management and leadership

Persistent link to this record
Citation
Collections