Student Behavior and Use of Class Time in Brazil, Chile, and Mexico: Evidence From Teaching and Learning International Survey 2013

• In Event: 52.020 - Proceeding Toward Justice: Understanding Aspects of Educational Equity Through International Comparative Research

Abstract

Teachers in Brazil, Chile and Mexico report having high percentages of students with behavior problems in their classes. Moreover, within these countries, teachers who report having more students with behavior problems in their classrooms and schools report spending more time keeping order in the classroom – up to two times more class time in Chile. This indicates large inequalities in opportunities to learn faced by different students within the same educational system which may be, in turn, influenced by socioeconomic background differences.
Therefore, this paper aims to investigate factors associated with time lower secondary teachers report spending keeping order in the classroom and factors associated with these teachers’ reports of student behavior problems in their class. It is based on in-depth analyses from the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS 2013) data from Brazil, Chile and Mexico. Multilevel regressions were estimated to answer the first question, while ordered logistic regressions were estimated to answer the second question.
Some of the major findings show that aspects of initial teacher education, professional development and teacher professional collaboration are associated with the time lower secondary teachers report spending keeping order in the classroom, while participation among stakeholders in schools are negatively associated with student behavior problems in the classroom.
On one hand, although positively correlated, when all the variables are included in the model student socioeconomic background does not seem to be associated with time keeping order. Rather, it appears that the differences between teachers according to socioeconomic background come from differences in the above cited factors that might be more concentrated in schools with higher or lower socioeconomic status.
On the other hand, teachers who report having more students from socioeconomically disadvantaged homes are more likely to report having more students with behavior problems in their classes. But this relationship was not found in school level. These results may either indicate that this relationship is present only at the classroom level or that teachers' individual perceptions of student behavior are biased by their perception on student socioeconomic background – or vice-versa.

Author

• Gabriela Miranda Moriconi, Fundação Carlos Chagas