Introduction of COOL5-18 (Cohort Onderzoek Onderwijs Loopbanen Among Students Aged 5-18)

• In Event: The Cohort Study on Educational Careers in Primary and Secondary Education (COOL5-18)

Abstract

In 2007 started in the Netherlands the Cohort Study Educational Careers among students of 5 to 18 years old. The abbreviation of this study is COOL5-18 (Cohort Onderzoek Onderwijs Loopbanen). This cohort study is the successor of and also the integrated version of the former cohortstudies in respectively primary and secondary education. The aim of COOL5-18 is to monitor the cognitive and social-emotional development of students over time, starting in preschool until senior high school or professional education, and beyond. Moreover, the study is aimed at getting insight into the influence of child-, family and school factors on this development.
COOL5-18 includes three waves of data collection, one in 2008, one in 2011 and one in 2014. The waves take place in grades 2, 5 en 8 of primary education (US kindergarten, grade 3 and 6), grade 3 of secondary education (US grade 9), as well as grade 5/6 of senior high school and grade 3 of senior vocational education. Recently, the second wave of data collection has been finalized. About 550 primary schools and about 150 secondary schools have participated in this wave, including around 12.000 students in each grade of primary school and around 20.000 grade 9 high school students.
In each wave, the following data are collected:
- Educational career data (track, school type, grade repetition, referral to special education, track transition (upward or downward), examination results, etc.)
- Academic performance on arithmetic/mathematics, Dutch language and reading, English language
- Background characteristics, including intelligence, personality characteristics, etc.
- School wellbeing, academic confidence, achievement motivation
- Citizenship competences
- Student behavior in class, academic effort, relation with teacher, parental involvement
- Family characteristics like family composition, SES, ethnic background, religion, language spoken at home.
After each wave of data collection, the data set is made accessible for use by other researchers. In combination, these data produces a very rich data set, suitable for answering a variety of research questions.
The aim of this symposium is to give an impression of the available data and the possibilities for analysis. In the paper at hand more details about the design, the sample and the content of the data will be provided.

Authors

• Margaretha P.C. Van Der Werf, Groningen Institute for Educational Research

• Lia Mulder, Radboud University Nijmegen

• Hans Kuyper, University of Groningen