Opening the Black Box of Grade 1 Teachers’ Retention Beliefs: A Look at Teacher, Class, and School Characteristics

• In Event: In Search of Predictors of Grade Retention, an Unfair Educational Practice

Abstract

Much research has been conducted on the effects of grade retention on students’ development, and on student-level predictors of grade retention, in many countries around the world (e.g., Goos et al., 2021; Pipa et al., 2023; Valbuena et al., 2021). Less research attention has been paid to teachers’ beliefs about the effectiveness of grade retention. Cognitive learning theory (Fives & Gill, 2015) states that teachers actively build up a system of beliefs, based on both personal experiences and social experiences. Teacher, class, and school characteristics, however, have seldom been investigated as predictors of teachers’ grade retention beliefs. This study aims to examine such relationships, in Flanders. In total, 222 G1 teachers from 121 randomly selected primary schools participated in this study. Their students were followed longitudinally, from K until G12, as part of a larger project. For this study, data from K and G1 were used. Teachers, principals, and parents filled in a questionnaire. Students took a math test. Information on teachers’ grade retention beliefs was obtained via the TRBQ (Tomchin & Impara, 1992). An average score was calculated per teacher and used as the dependent variable in this study. Independent variables were 40 class characteristics, 18 teacher characteristics, and 44 school characteristics. Two-level linear regression analysis was used to detect characteristics related to teachers’ grade retention beliefs. Our findings show that Flemish G1 teachers, on average, have rather positive beliefs about grade retention effectiveness, and that only few teacher, class, and school characteristics predict Flemish G1 teachers’ retention beliefs, i.e. OTL, time devoted to reading-out-loud, teacher beliefs about inclusion, teacher self-efficacy beliefs, math achievement class composition, school educational network, school remedial teacher support, and school grade retention culture. This study adds to educational research, practice, and policy in two ways. First, this study looks at predictors of grade retention, so far largely underexplored in research, opening the black box of processes underlying grade retention decisions made by teachers. Second, this study seemingly shows that teachers’ personal professional experiences (such as teaching in mathematically heterogeneous classes), as well as their social experiences (being surrounded by colleagues with a similar critical view regarding grade retention effectiveness) influence their beliefs about the effectiveness of grade retention, making it hard to modify them in practice.

Author

• Mieke Goos, UCLL