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Education Sciences
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Teachers’ Decisions regarding Students’ Transition from Primary to Secondary School:...
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Teachers’ Decisions regarding Students’ Transition from Primary to Secondary School: New Insights from International Research

A special issue of Education Sciences (ISSN 2227-7102).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 November 2022) | Viewed by 3909

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Florian Klapproth

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Psychology, Medical School Berlin, 14197 Berlin, Germany
Interests: teacher decision making; school tracks in secondary education as well as tracking decisions; social stereotypes; grade retention

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue aims to gather empirical and theoretical studies on teachers’ decisions regarding students’ transitions from primary to secondary education. In many countries, the transition from primary to secondary school involves students’ allocation to specific school tracks. The tracks often differ in the educational qualifications students can acquire, and may have consequences for their career trajectories within and beyond the educational system.

In the last two decades, research has shown that teachers’ decisions and recommendations regarding secondary education are not only based on students’ achievements, but also on factors not related to achievement. For example, strong effects of social background on the transition to secondary school track exist, even when students’ school performance is considered. Social background effects strengthen social inequality in the educational systems. Despite their effects on students’ education, there is still little insight into the processes that underlie teacher transition decisions.

Therefore, it is necessary that on the one hand, teachers’ decision making should be better understood, and on the other hand, teachers and teacher students, as well as other stakeholders in the educational system, should be well aware of how teachers make decisions and how their decisions affect students’ careers.

The Special Issue features original qualitative and quantitative research studies, reviews of research studies, and theoretical studies from pedagogy, psychology, sociology, economics, and other scientific disciplines. The scope of the Special Issue is broad and may include (but is not restricted to) studies on predictors and effects of transition decisions on academic, psychological, or social variables; investigations on algorithms, heuristics, or other ways of formalization (e.g., the use of standardized tests) that may support teacher decision making; tests of hypotheses about the decision-making processes of teachers (e.g., rational-action theory, dual-process approaches, intuitive judgments, stereotypes, biases, etc.); and studies on how valid teacher transition decisions are.

Dr. Florian Klapproth
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • teacher decision making
  • transition decisions
  • secondary school
  • school tracks
  • school-placement recommendations

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 326 KiB  
Article
Comparing Assessment Methods of Attribute Importance in Teachers’ Decisions: The Importance of Different Criteria for Tracking Recommendations after Primary School
by Katrin Lintorf, Stefanie van Ophuysen and Igor Osipov
Educ. Sci. 2021, 11(10), 566; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/educsci11100566 - 23 Sep 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1548
Abstract
The importance of different criteria for tracking recommendations is usually inferred using regression weights as a cross-student measure. The few studies that have applied alternative approaches or differentiated between student groups sometimes reach different conclusions. According to research on judgment and decision making [...] Read more.
The importance of different criteria for tracking recommendations is usually inferred using regression weights as a cross-student measure. The few studies that have applied alternative approaches or differentiated between student groups sometimes reach different conclusions. According to research on judgment and decision making (JDM), different methods operationalize different facets of importance. Given this, we investigate whether the importance of criteria for tracking recommendations depends on a direct vs. indirect operationalization (regression weights vs. ratings). A total of 181 teachers selected four students from their most recent fourth-grade class using a 2 × 2 design (certain vs. uncertain qualification for the Realschule (vocational track) vs. the Gymnasium (academic track)). Then, they reported on the level and the importance of predetermined criteria for each student. Contrary to JDM research, we found few method-related differences, but striking differences between cases with a certain vs. an uncertain qualification. For the latter, the importance of the criteria is more homogeneous, the regression prediction is less successful and the importance varies with the dependent variable in the regression (actual recommendation vs. perceived qualification). We conclude that further research should focus on uncertain cases rather than method-related differences and suspect that, in uncertain cases, the formation of the recommendation is a multistage decision process. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Teachers’ Decisions regarding Students’ Transition from Primary to Secondary School: New Insights from International Research)
12 pages, 239 KiB  
Article
Supporting the Transition from Primary to Postprimary Education in 2021: Perspectives from Irish Postprimary Practitioners
by Hilary O’Connor and Paul Flynn
Educ. Sci. 2021, 11(9), 546; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/educsci11090546 - 15 Sep 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1723
Abstract
The transition from primary to postprimary education is a significant milestone in children’s education and can be characterised by the multiple challenges that they experience, specifically the move from childhood to adolescence, from one institutional context to another, and from established social groups [...] Read more.
The transition from primary to postprimary education is a significant milestone in children’s education and can be characterised by the multiple challenges that they experience, specifically the move from childhood to adolescence, from one institutional context to another, and from established social groups into new social relations. This research employs a theoretical framework that describes this transition from the perspective of secondary school inservice practitioners as they aim to help students to make a successful transition. An incremental, sequential mixed-methods data collection strategy took the form of an exploratory survey followed by qualitative semistructured interviews. Current transition practices in the context of the challenges presented in Irish secondary schools are reported on in five key areas: administration, social and emotional supports, curriculum support, pedagogical support, and management/autonomy of learning. The findings of this research also highlight a need to reflect on the purpose and timing of current practices, along with calls for continuing professional development programmes to be developed that specifically target the challenges faced by Irish inservice teaching practitioners. It is hoped that this paper will spark discourse relating to the development of transitional supports for students and associated training for those who are best placed to provide those supports. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Teachers’ Decisions regarding Students’ Transition from Primary to Secondary School: New Insights from International Research)
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