National Education Policy and Classroom Instructional Practices: A Comparative Analysis of Science Achievement

• In Event: 75.062 - Poster Session 18
  In Poster Session: 75.062-5 - Shifting Paradigms in Schools and Classrooms

Abstract

This study seeks to disentangle the persistent trends in international rankings for 8th grade science achievement as measured in the 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) cycle. Specifically, we employ hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to investigate the potential moderating role that national education policy has on the relationship between classroom instructional practices and science achievement. Examining the variability in international science achievement through the interaction between national policy and classroom instruction may provide a window through which policy makers, educators and researchers around the world approach reform processes related to science curriculum, teacher preparation, and professional development for in-service science teachers.

Authors

• Genine Lorraine Blue, University of South Carolina - Columbia

• Bethany A. Bell, University of South Carolina

• Mihaela Ene, University of South Carolina

• Elizabeth Leighton, University of South Carolina