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Variables that Predict Academic Achievement in the Spanish Compulsory Secondary Educational System: A Longitudinal, Multi-Level Analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 April 2014

Elena Martín ,
Rosario Martínez-Arias ,
Alvaro Marchesi  and
Eva M. Pérez
Elena Martín*
Affiliation:
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain)
Rosario Martínez-Arias
Affiliation:
Universidad Complutense (Spain)
Alvaro Marchesi
Affiliation:
Universidad Complutense (Spain)
Eva M. Pérez
Affiliation:
Universidad Complutense (Spain)
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Elena Martín Ortega, Departamento de Psicología Evolutiva y de la Educación, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28749 Madrid. Phone: 34 914975176. FAX: 34 914973268. E-mail: elena.martin@uam.es
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Abstract

This article presents a study whose objective was to identify certain personal and institutional variables that are associated with academic achievement among Spanish, secondary school students, and to analyze their influence on the progress of those students over the course of that stage of their education. In order to do this, a longitudinal, multi-level study was conducted in which a total of 965 students and 27 different schools were evaluated in Language, Math and Social Science at three different times (beginning, middle and end of the period). The results show progress in all the schools and in all areas. As for the personal, student variables, the longitudinal, HLM analyses confirmed the importance of sex and sociocultural background and, distinguishing it from other studies, also the predictive capacity of meta-cognitive abilities and learning strategies on success in school. On the institutional level, the school climate and teachers' expectations of their students were the most relevant of the variables studied. The size of the school, the percentage of students who repeat grades, and the leadership of the administration also explained a portion of the variance in some areas.

En el artículo se presenta un estudio cuyo objetivo es identificar determinadas variables personales y de centro asociadas con el rendimiento académico de estudiantes de secundaria españoles y analizar su influencia en el progreso de los alumnos a lo largo de la esta etapa. Para ello, Se realizó un estudio multinivel longitudinal en el que se evaluó a un total de 965 estudiantes de 27 centros distintos en Lengua, Matemáticas y Ciencias Sociales, en tres momentos (inicio, mitad y final de la etapa). Los resultados mostraron progreso en el conjunto de los centros en todas las áreas. Los análisis HLM longitudinales confirmaron en el nivel personal la importancia del sexo y el nivel sociocultural y, a diferencia de otros estudios, también la capacidad predictiva de las habilidades metacognitivas y las estrategias de aprendizaje. En el nivel de escuela, el clima escolar y las expectativas del profesorado hacia los estudiantes fueron las variables más relevantes. El tamaño del centro, el porcentaje de repetidores y el liderazgo del equipo directivo explicaron también una proporción de la varianza en algunas áreas.

Keywords

academic achievementpredictor variablessecondary educationlongitudinal multi-level analysisschool effectivenessrendimiento escolarvariables predictoraseducación secundariaanálisis mutinivel longitudinaleficacia de la escuela
Type
Articles
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 11 , Issue 2 , November 2008 , pp. 400 - 413
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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