An Investigation of Consequences of Structural Change in Primary Schools with respect to Social Cohesion, Attitudes to School, Aggressive Behaviors, Self-Esteem, and Academic Achievement of 6th Graders

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 MA of Curriculum Studies, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran

2 Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran

3 Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities, University of Kashan, Iran

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the psychological status and academic achievement of male and female sixth-grade students in the new structure of elementary education. Most recently, the sixth-grade was integrated into the elementary school, and as a result, nowadays there are two types of elementary schools (1-6th grades and 4-6th grades) in most cities in Iran.
The target population was comprised of 464 male and female students studying at the sixth-grade of elementary schools in Kashan. The data collection tool utilized for this study was Student School Survey which included nine key components for analyzing students’ behaviors and attitudes.
The results indicated that the combining factor (girls versus boys) and the structure factor (4-6th grade versus 1-6th grade) had a significant multivariate effect on dependent variables. The boys studying in 4-6th grade schools scored significantly lower in the components of observation, action and complicity in violent behaviors than their peers in 1-6th grade schools, and although the self-concept score of the first group was significantly lower, their score in ethics was significantly higher. With regard to girls however, those studying in 1-6th grade schools scored higher in the components of trust and social cohesion, positive attitude towards school, self-concept and ethical orientation in comparison to their peers in 4-6th grade schools, and they were, of course, significantly more victimized by violent behaviors.

Keywords


احمدی، آمنه. (1389). بررسی سطوح و مقاطع کلیدی در برنامة درسی ملی جمهوری اسلامی از منظر یافته‌های علم روان‌شناسی. فصلنامة مطالعات برنامة درسی ایران، 5 (18): 120-146.
پیری، موسی؛ شاهدوستی، لیلا؛ و واحدی، شهرام. (1395). مدل ساختاری پیشرفت ریاضی دانش‌آموزان پایة سوم راهنمایی بر اساس عوامل خانوادگی، زمینه‌ای و آموزشگاهی در مطالعات تیمز 2007. فصلنامة پژوهش‌های نوین روان‌شناختی، 11 (44): 74-49.
خانی، حامد.، فاضلی، حسن.، کریمی، یوسف.، بندک، موسی.، و پرگاری، نسیبه. (1392). ارزیابی جو روانی-اجتماعی کلاس درس در شناسایی ساختار درونی مدرسه و ارتباط آن با خلاقیت دانش‌آموزان. ابتکار و خلاقیت در علوم انسانی، 3 (2): 18-38. 
روئینی ثانی، فرزانه.، طالع‌پسند، سیاوس.، و جمشیدی، لاله. (1394). نقش تعدیل‌کنندة اندازة مدرسه در رابطة فرهنگ مدرسه با پیشرفت تحصیلی دانش‌آموزان. دانشور رفتار، 2 (7): 79-88.
زاهدبابلان، عادل.، و کریمیان‌پور، غفار. (1396). نقش کیفیت زندگی در مدرسه و خودپندارة تحصیلی در اشتیاق تحصیلی در دانش‌آموزان پایة پنجم و ششم ابتدایی شهرستان ثلاث باباجانی. رویکردهای نوین آموزشی، 12 (1): 75-91.
سند تحول بنیادین آموزش و پرورش (1390). شورای عالی انقلاب فرهنگی.
گال، مردیت. بورگ، والتر. و گال، جویس. (1394). روش‌های تحقیق کمی و کیفی در علوم تربیتی و روان‌شناسی. ترجمه احمدرضا نصر و همکاران. تهران: سمت.
شرکایی اردکانی، جواد؛ ریاحی‌نژاد، حسین؛ و رزاقی، هادی. (1392). مجموعه مصوبات شورای عالی آموزش و پرورش. تهران: مدرسه.
موسوی، سیده‌ماهرخ.، کیامنش، علیرضا.، و اخوان تفتی، مهناز. (1394). دستاورد تحصیلی از راه کیفیت آموزشی، درگیری تحصیلی، یادگیری به کمک همسالان، و انگیزش تحصیلی (یک مطالعة دو سطحی). فصلنامة نوآوری‌های آموزشی، 14 (3): 84-69.
میرزائیان، یوسف؛ و شریفی، مسعود. (1396). بررسی وضعیت محیط کلاس درس و مدرسه با سطح خلاقیت دانش‌آموزان استعداد درخشان. مدیریت و برنامه‌ریزی در نظام‌های آموزشی، 10 (2): 197-181. ‌
نقش، زهرا؛ رمضانی خمسی، زهرا؛ افضلی، لیلا؛ و افکاری شهرستانی، زهرا. (1398). وضعیت اجتماعی-اقتصادی، تاب‌آوری و عملکرد تحصیلی: کاربرد مدل‌یابی معادلات ساختاری چندسطحی. پژوهش‌های مشاوره، 18 (69): 186-207.
Anderman, Eric. M. (2002). School Effects on Psychological Outcomes During Adolescence. Journal of Educational Psychology, 94(4): 795–809.
Anfara, V., & Buehler, A. (2005). What Research Says: Grade Configuration and the Education of Young Adolescents. Middle School Journal, 37(1), 53-59.
Bedard, Kelly. & Do, Chau. (2005). Are Middle Schools More Effective?: The Impact of School Structure on Student Outcomes.  The Journal of Human Resources, (40)3: pp. 660-682.
Brod, Pearl. (1966). The Middle School: Trends Toward Its Adoption. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 40(6): 331-333.   
Brown, Eric. (2004). The effect of number of school-to-school transitions on district performance. PhD Thesis, The Faculty of the College of Education: Ohio University.
Chan, Joseph., To, Ho-Pong., & Chan, Elaine. (2006). Reconsidering social cohesion: Developing a definitions and analytical framework for empirical research. Social Indicators Research, 75 (2): 273-302.
Coladarei, Theodore. & Hancock, Julie. (2002). Grade-span Configuration. Journal of Research in Rural Education. 17(3): 189-192.
Coloroso, Barbara. (2003). The bully, the bullied, and the bystander: From preschool to high school, how parents and teachers can help break the cycle of violence. New York, NY: HarperCollins.
Dove, Mary. J., Pearson, Carolyn. L., & Hooper, Herbert. (2010). Relationship between Grade Span Configuration and Academic Achievement. Journal of Advanced Academics, 21 (2): 272-298. 
Ellerbrock, Chery. R., Main, Katherine., Falbe, Kristina. N., & Franz, Dana. Pomykal. (2018). An Examination of Middle School Organizational Structures in the United States and Australia. Education Science, 8 (168): 1-18. doi:10.3390/educsci8040168
Epstein, Joyce. & Karweit, Nancy. (1983). Friends in School: Patterns of Selection and Influence in Secondary Schools. New York: Academic Press.
Eccles, Jacquelynne. S., Midgley, Carol. Wigfield, Allan. Buchanan, Christy. M. Reuman, David. Flanagan, Constance. & MacIver, Douglas. (1993). Development during adolescence: The impact of stage-environment fit on young adolescents’ experiences in schools and in family. American Psychologist, 48(2): 90-101.
Eccles, J., Wigfield, A., Midgley, C., Reuman, D., Iver, D., & Feldlaufer, H. (1993b). Negative Effects of Traditional Middle Schools on Students' Motivation. The Elementary School Journal, 93(5), 553-574.
Fefer, Sarah. A., & Gordon, Kayla. (2018). Exploring perceptions of school climate among secondary students with varying discipline infractions. International Journal of School & Educational Psychology, - (-): 1-10. DOI: 10.1080/21683603.2018.1541033
Gall, M. D., Borg, W. R., & Gall, J. P. (2006). Education Research: An Introduction.  Translated by AhmadReza Nasr et al. Tehran: SAMT Publication. (Text in Persian).
Hamburger, ME. Basile, KC. Vivolo, AM. (2011). Measuring Bullying Victimization, Perpetration, and Bystander Experiences: A Compendium of Assessment Tools. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.
Healy, Mary. (2018). Belonging, Social Cohesion and Fundamental British Values. British Journal of Educational Studies, - (-): 1-16. DOI: 10.1080/00071005.2018.1506091  
Hong, Kai. Zimmer, Ron. & Engberg, John. (2015). How Does Grade Configuration Impact Student Achievement? Evaluating the Effectiveness of K-8 Schools.  Institute of Education Sciences.
Khani, Hamed., Fazeli, Hasan., Karimi, Yousef., Bandak, Mousa., & Pargari, Nasibeh. (2013). Assessing the Classroom Socio-Psychological Environment in order to Identify School Internal Structure and its Relation with Student’s Creativity. Quarterly Journal of Creativity and Innovation in Human Sciences, 3 (2): 19-38.  (Text in Persian).
Kokkinos, Constantinos. M. & Voulgaridou, Ioanna. (2018). Motivational beliefs as mediators in the association between perceived scholastic competence, self-esteem and learning strategies among Greek secondary school students. Educational Psychology, 38 (6): 753-771. DOI: 10.1080/01443410.2018.1456651
Koonce, Kelly. A. (2011). Social Cohesion as the Goal: Can Social Cohesion Be Directly Pursued? Peabody Journal of Education, 86 (2): 144-154. DOI: 10.1080/0161956X.2011.561176
Lee, Linda. C. (2013) The diversity of school organizational configurations. International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 36 (4): 309-340.  DOI: 10.1080/1743727X.2012.705274
McEwin, Kenneth, Dickinson, Thomas. & Jenkins, Dons. (1993). America's Middle Schools: Practices and Progress. A 25 Year Perspective. National Middle School Association, Columbus, OH. Available at Eric: ED396842. 
Holmlund, Helena. & Bohlmark, Anders. (2018). Does grade configuration matter? Effects of school reorganisation on pupils educational experience. Journal of Urban Economics, - (-): 1-30. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jue.2018.11.004
Hough D. L. (2005). The rise of the “elemiddle” school. School Administrator, 62(3): 10–11, 13–14.
Johnson, Burke. R., & Christensen, Larry. (2016). Educational Research: Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Approaches (Sixth Edition). Los Angeles: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Midgley, Carol. Feldlaufer, Harriet. & Eccles, Jacquelynne. (1988). The transition to junior high school: Beliefs of pre- and posttransition teachers. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 17(6): 543-562.
Miller, William. (1939). 8-4, 6-3-3, or 6-6 — Which? The Journal of education, 122(9): 308-310.
Mills, Robert. & Estes, Dwain. (1958). Chapter III: School Organization. Review of Educational Research, 29(2): 297-318.  
Mirzaeian, Y., & Sharifi, M. (2018). The Situation of the Classroom and School with the Level of Creativity of Talented Students. Journal of Management and Planning in Educational Systems, 10 (2): 181-197.  (Text in Persian).
Modeste, Marsha. E., & Kelley, Carolyn. J. (2018).  Examining Distributed Leadership Practices by School Grade Configuration. Leadership and Policy in Schools, - (-): 1-30. DOI: 10.1080/15700763.2018.1514057
Morales, Danielle. X., Grineski, Sara. E., & Collins, Timothy. W. (2019). School bullying, body size, and gender: an intersectionality approach to understanding US children’s bullying victimization. British Journal of Sociology of Education, - (-): 1-17. DOI: 10.1080/01425692.2019.1646115.
Mousavai Seyyede Māhrokh., Kiāmanesh, Alirezā., & Tafti Akhavān, Mahnāz. (2017). Student achievement through educational quality, academic engagement, peer-assisted learning and academic motivation: A two level study. Journal of Educational Innovations, 14 (3): 69-86. (Text in Persian).
Naghsh Z, Ramezanie Z, Afzali L, Afkari Shahrestani Z. (2019). Socio-Economic Status, Self-efficacy and Mathematics Performance: A Multilevel Structural Equation Model. journal of counseling research, 18 (69): 186-207. (Text in Persian).
Nelson, Derrick. E. (2013). The Effect of Grade Configuration on the Academic Achievement of Special Needs Students: The Case of New Jersey. PhD Thesis, College of Education and Human Services. Seton Hall University.
Olweus, Dan. (1993). Bullying at School: What we know and what we can do. Cambridge. MA: Blackwell Publishing.
Pace, Ugo., Zappulla, Carla., & Di Maggio, Rosanna. (2016). The mediating role of perceived peer support in the relation between quality of attachment and internalizing problems in adolescence: a longitudinal perspective. Attachment & Human Development, 18 (5): 508-524. DOI: 10.1080/14616734.2016.1198919
Paglin, Catherine. & Fager, Jennifer. (1997). Grade Configuration: Who Goes Where?. Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory.  
Piri, Mousa,. Shahdoosti, Leyla., & Vahedi, Shahram. (2017). Structural Modeling for Mathematic Achievement of Third Grade Students Based on Academic, Background, and Familial Factors in TIMSS Study 2007. New Psychological Researches, 11 (44): 49-74. (Text in Persian).
Renchler, Ron. (2002). School Organization: Grade Span. ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management, Available at Eric: ED472994.
Rooini Sani, F., Talepasand, S., & Jamshidi, L. (2016).  Moderating Role of School Size on School Cultural Relation with Students’ Educational Achievement. TLR, 2 (7):88-79. (Text in Persian).
Rubenstein, Ross., Schwartz, Amy. Ellen., Stiefel, Leanna., & Zabel, Jeffrey. (2009). Spending, Size, And Grade Span in K-8 Schools. Education Finance and Policy, 4 (1) 60-88.
Rubenstein, Ross., Schwartz, Amy. Ellen., Stiefel, Leanna., & Zabel, Jeffrey. (2011).  The Path Not Taken: How Does School Organization Affect Eighth-Grade Achievement? Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 33 (3): 293–317. DOI: 10.3102/0162373711407062.
Schwerdt, Guido., & West, Martin. R. (2013). The Impact of Alternative Grade Configurations on Student Outcomes through Middle and High School. IZA, Discussion Paper Series, No. 6208: 1-50.
Seidman, Edward. Allen, LaRue. Aber, Lawrence. Mitchell, Christina. & Feinman, Joanna. (1994).  The Impact of School Transitions in Early Adolescence on the Self-System and Perceived Social Context of Poor Urban Youth. Child Development, 65(2): pp. 507-522.  
Shakeel, M. Danish., & DeAngelis, Corey. A. (2018). Can private schools improve school climate? Evidence from a nationally representative sample. Journal of School Choice, 12 (3): 426-445. DOI: 10.1080/15582159.2018.1490383
Shorakaee, J., RiyahiNejad, H., & Razaghi, H. (2015). A Compilation of the Regulations of the Prime Council of Education. Tehran: Madrese. (Text in Persian). 
Simmons, Roberta &Blyth, Dale. (1987).  Moving into Adolescence: The Impact of Pubertal Change and School Context. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
Simmons, Roberta. Brown, Leslie. Mitsch, Bush & Blyth, Dale. (1978). Self-Esteem and Achievement of Black and White Adolescents. Social Problems, 26 (1). pp. 86-96.  
Snyder, Thomas. De Brey, Cristobal. & Dillow, Sally. (2016). Digest of Education Statistics 2014 50th Edition. National Center for Education Statistics. U.S. Department of Education.
Sulak, Tracey. N. (2017). School climate: the controllable and the uncontrollable. Educational Studies, 44 (3): 279-294. DOI: 10.1080/03055698.2017.1373630
The Declaration of Fundamental Reform in Education. (2013). The Declaration of Fundamental Reform in Education. Prime Council of Cultural Revolution. Available at: https://medu.ir/portal/fileLoader.php?code=dd435702f02e060e0734621531725043. (Text in Persian).  
Thornburg, H. D. & Jones, R. M. (1982). Social characteristics of early adolescents: Age versus grade, Journal of Early Adolescence, 2, 229-239.
Wihry, David. Coladarci, Theodore. & Meadow, Curtis. (1992). Grade Span and Eighth-Grade Academic Achievement: Evidence from a Predominantly Rural State. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 8(2): 58-70. 
Yecke, Pierson. C. (2005). Mayhem in the Middle: How middle schools have failed America—and how to make them work. Maryland: District Creative Printing.
You, Sukkyung., O'Malley, Meagan. D., & Furlong, Michael. J. (2014). Preliminary development of the Brief–California School Climate Survey: dimensionality and measurement invariance across teachers and administrators. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 25 (1): 153-173. DOI: 10.1080/09243453.2013.784199
  Zahed Babolan, A., Karimianpour , Gh. & Dashti, A. (2017). Role of Life Quality in School and Academic Self-Concept on Academic Engagement in Salas babajani fifth and Sixth Grade Students. New Educational Approaches, 12 (1): 75-91.  (Text in Persian).