Little is known about factors other than students’ abilities and background variables that shape teachers’ achievement expectations. This study was aimed at investigating the role of teachers’ perceptions of students attributes (working habits, popularity, self-confidence, student–teacher relationships, and classroom behavior) in shaping teachers’ expectations. The sample analyzed consisted of 5316 students and 469 classes in grade 6 in Dutch primary education. Teachers had higher expectations for students who they perceived as self-confident and having positive work habits. Differences in expectations between boys and girls could partly be explained by the teachers’ perceptions of students’ work habits. Teachers differed in the extent to which they let their perceptions of student attributes shape their expectations.

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An investigation of the relationship between teachers’ expectations and teachers’ perceptions of student attributes

Using data from the Chicago Longitudinal Study (CLS), an ongoing investigation of a panel of low-income minority children growing up in an inner city, this study investigated whether retention is a...

Grade Retention, Postsecondary Education, and Public Aid Receipt

The contents of this publication may be reproduced in part, except for commercial purposes, provided the extract is preceded by a reference to 'Eurydice network', followed by the date of publication of the document. 3 PREFACE ? I am very pleased to present this study by Eurydice on the critical subject of grade retention. This issue is part of the wider struggle against school failure and early school leaving; problems which have long been priorities of national education policies and now have a high priority in the European policy agenda. The Europe 2020 strategy to exit the economic crisis and to build smart and inclusive growth includes the commitment to reducing early school leaving from the current rate of 14.4 % to below 10 % by 2020. Strategies for combating school failure are, therefore, at the centre of discussions at European level. This has led to a renewed focus on practices for grade retention and their impact on children having difficulties at school and has been the subject of research. Cooperation on Schools' (European Commission, 2008a) commented as follows on the practice of repeating a year as a strategy to combat difficulties: 'in some education systems up to 25 % of pupils repeat a year whilst in others this rarely happens. This measure is very costly. Whilst some pupils who repeat a year catch up, the vast majority do not. The repetition rate is clearly higher for children from disadvantaged groups and, in the long term, the results of children who repeat a year are often worse than those weaker pupils who were not held back.' In order to reach the targets set at European level, effective education policies, based on evidence, are essential. Similarly, by learning from each other and exchanging good practices, countries can critically examine and improve their policies. In order to better understand national practices regarding grade retention, the European Commission has engaged the Eurydice Network to carry out a comparative analysis of the policies in place in European countries. 4 I am convinced that this study has produced a valuable inventory of the legislation and practices in place regarding pupils' repetition of a school year and that it will be of great interest to policy-makers, practitioners as well as to the wider public.

Grade Retention during Compulsory Education in Europe: Regulations and Statistics.

"Don't crack under pressure!"--Do leisure time physical activity and self-esteem moderate the relationship between school-based stress and psychosomatic complaints?

Objective: Stressful experiences occupy a central role in most etiological models of developmental psychopathology. Stress alone, however, insufficiently explains negative health outcomes. This raises the question why some children and adolescents are more vulnerable to the development of psychopathological symptoms thanothers.Theprimarypurposeofthisresearchwastodemonstrate whetherleisuretimephysicalactivityandself-esteemprotectagainst stress-induced health problems. Method: The findings are based on a cross-sectional study of407 Swissboys andgirls (M=14.01years). All variables are self-reported. Analyses of covariance were applied to test for main and moderatoreffects.Results:The findingssuggest that school-based stress and psychosomatic complaints are important issues during adolescence. The results show that a higher levelofpsychosomaticcomplaintsaccompaniesstress.Surprisingly, psychosomatic complaints and physical activity were unrelated. Likewise, no association was found between physical activity and stress. In contrast, students with high self-esteem reported significantly less complaints and a lower extent of perceived stress. Finally, the results do not support the stress-moderation hypothesis. Neither physical activity nor self-esteem buffered against the detrimental effects of school-based stress on psychosomatic health. Conclusion: The findings lend support to previous research with German-speaking samples but are in marked contrast to AngloSaxon studies, which generally support the role of physical activity as a moderator of the health–illness relationship. In this investigation, developmental features and methodological limitations may have accounted for the insignificant results. © 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Short communication "Don't crack under pressure!"—Do leisure time physical activity and self-esteem moderate the relationship between school-based stress and psychosomatic complaints?

D’une pratique intégrative à une école inclusive : nécessité d’un accompagnement des établissements scolaire sur ce chemin

Inclusion scolaire : quel positionnement pour soutenir le développement d'une pédagogie inclusive ?

Exploration des qualités psychométriques de la version francophone de l’échelle d’auto-efficacité des enseignants (TSES)

Resume Objectif Analyser les qualites psychometriques d’un questionnaire mesurant le concept de soi en contexte scolaire, en explorant l’influence des mesures de soutien a l’inclusion en classe ordinaire sur les dimensions du concept de soi et l’integration sociale des eleves ayant des besoins educatifs particuliers (BEP) et leurs camarades de classe. Participants et methode Au total, 568 eleves de Suisse romande âges entre 8 et 9 ans (48 % de filles), dont 173 beneficiaient de mesures de soutien, ont repondu au CoSoi et a des matrices sociometriques. Resultats Les resultats confirment une structure en quatre facteurs invariante selon le genre et selon les mesures de soutien a l’inclusion. Seul le modele tridimensionnel est egalement invariant selon le degre. Les deux dimensions du concept de soi academique (i.e., Langue et Mathematiques) different selon le genre. Bien que les eleves ayant des BEP rapportent des niveaux de concept de soi academique inferieurs, aucun effet negatif des pratiques inclusives sur le vecu socio-emotionnel de ces eleves et de leurs camarades de classe n’est constate. Conclusion Les mesures de soutien n’apparaissent pas impacter le concept de soi des eleves en general, ni l’integration sociale des eleves ayant des BEP. Le CoSoi apparait etre un instrument de mesure indique pour estimer l’impact de ces mesures sur le fonctionnement social de la classe ou le bien-etre des eleves, qu’ils soient identifies comme ayant des BEP ou non. Il peut egalement permettre d’evaluer l’efficacite des pratiques inclusives en classes ordinaires, en complement des evaluations de performances scolaires.

Évaluer le concept de soi des élèves en contexte scolaire inclusif : exploration des qualités psychométriques du CoSoi

Dans un contexte ou la mise en oeuvre de l’integration scolaire represente un defi pour de nombreux enseignant·e·s, cette contribution explore les facteurs favorisant ou entravant un vecu positif de cette experience. Bases sur une analyse thematique de recits d’enseignant·e·s suisses francophones, les resultats indiquent que les experiences positives sont facilitees par les competences des eleves percues par les enseignant·e·s ainsi que par la mise en place de pratiques collaboratives, alors que les comportements perturbateurs des eleves et l’acces difficile aux ressources les entravent. Plus generalement, les discours revelent des tensions entre une vision sociale/inclusive et medicale/integrative de la scolarisation des eleves ayant des besoins particuliers, la seconde contribuant au maintien d’une posture externalisante des acteur·rice·s.

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Patrick Bonvin

Papers

D’une pratique intégrative à une école inclusive : nécessité d’un accompagnement des établissements scolaire sur ce chemin

Inclusion scolaire : quel positionnement pour soutenir le développement d'une pédagogie inclusive ?

Exploration des qualités psychométriques de la version francophone de l’échelle d’auto-efficacité des enseignants (TSES)

Évaluer le concept de soi des élèves en contexte scolaire inclusif : exploration des qualités psychométriques du CoSoi

Expériences positives de l’intégration scolaire en Suisse francophone : points de vue d’enseignant·e·s sur les facilitateurs et obstacles