The Role of Teachers’ Grade Retention Beliefs and the Collective Teacher Culture in Explaining Grade Retention Practices

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

Abstract

Grade retention is regarded internationally as an ineffective practice. However, in many countries and schools, it is still widely used, and teachers tend to demonstrate firm beliefs about its effectiveness. The relationship between teachers’ beliefs and practices is acknowledged. However, this relationship would be stronger when teachers feel that their beliefs are shared in their (school) community. In this sense, the collective teacher culture (CTC), under the theories of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1985) and social cognition (Bandura, 1986), provides valuable insights to explain this relationship. The CTC is a multidimensional construct that comprehends perceptions of collective teacher efficacy, shared educational goals, and values and the value consonance between individual teachers’ beliefs and the school’s beliefs. Thus, investigating the joint contribution of CTC and teachers’ grade retention beliefs to their grade retention practices seems valuable. In this study, we use a person-centered approach to analyze how teachers’ perceptions of the collective teacher culture of their school are related to their grade retention beliefs, intentions, and practices. Through an online questionnaire, 1,954 Portuguese teachers from primary and secondary education provided information on beliefs about the effectiveness of retention, their grade retention intention and practices, and CTC perceptions. Using latent profile analysis, we identified six groups of teachers presenting different combinations of perception of CTC and grade retention beliefs. Main differences were identified regarding CTC variables. Consequently, we organized the profiles accordingly, with Profile 1 presenting the weakest culture – a low sense of collective efficacy, a low sense of shared goals, and a low value consonance – and Profile 6 presenting the strongest culture – high levels in all CTC dimensions. Profiles 2, 4, and 6 had similar beliefs favoring grade retention, believing this practice was effective and had no socio-affective risk for the students but presented low, medium, and high levels of CTC, respectively. Profiles 1, 3, and 5 had similar beliefs against the effectiveness of grade retention, presenting low, medium, and high levels of CTC, respectively. Regarding the relationship between the profiles and teachers’ grade retention intentions, teachers from Profiles 2, 4, and 6 (in favor of retention) had more intentions to retain students than teachers in Profiles 1, 3, and 5 (against retention). Notwithstanding this, teachers’ practices were more related to their perceptions of CTC. Teachers in Profile 1, even believing strongly that retention was ineffective, reported retaining more students than any other group. The results suggest that teachers who perceive that their colleagues do not have a common understanding of educational goals and values and do not have a solid collective efficacy belief will feel prompted to retain students, regardless of their beliefs in the effectiveness of this practice. The results from this study highlight the prominent role of the collective culture in shaping teachers’ practices, over and above individual perceptions and beliefs, which brings challenges to educational effectiveness.

Authors

• Natalie Nobrega Santos, ISPA - University Institute

• Joana Pipa, ISPA-Instituto Universitário

• Vera Monteiro, ISPA-Instituto Universitário

• Sérgio Gaitas, ISPA-Instituto Universitário

• Francisco Peixoto, ISPA - Instituto Universitário