How Do Classroom Conditions and Childrens Risk for School Problems Contribute to Childrens Engagement in Learning?

Sara E. Rimm-Kaufman and Jason T. Downer Center for the Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning, University of Virginia

Downer, J. T., Rimm-Kaufman, S. E. & Pianta, R. C. (In press). How do classroom conditions and childrens risk for school problems contribute to childrens engagement in learning? School Psychology Review.

Behavioral Engagement
Childrens observed involvement in a teacher-sanctioned academic activity designed to promote achievement within a school context.

Childrens Engagement in Learning

Two perspectives
Classroom Conditions Child Attributes

Purpose
Bridge these two perspectives Take a two-level perspective
Instructional ContextsWhat Quality of InstructionHow

Purpose of the Study

Examine the extent to which classroom quality moderates the association between risk for school problems and childrens actual observed engagement within different instructional contexts (group format, focus of instruction).

Research Questions
1. Is engagement in the classroom associated with certain instructional contexts? 2. Do classroom quality and risk for school problems (externalizing behavior, conflict with teacher, and low achievement) predict childrens engagement within these different instructional contexts? 3. Is the association between risk and childrens engagement within different instructional contexts moderated by the quality of the classroom interactions?

Theoretical Approach
Bioecological Model
(Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006)

Process, Person, Context, Time

Person X Environment Interactions

(Coie, Watt & West, 1993; Ladd, Birch, Buhs, 2999)

Children differ in their reaction to various environments.

Classroom Conditions Contributing to Engagement

Instructional Contexts
Group size (small, large or individualized work) Focus of instruction (basic skills or analysis and inference)

Quality of Interactions
Emotional and Instructional Support for Learning

Child Attributes Contributing to Less Engagement

Combined Risk Factors
Low achievement Externalizing Behaviors Conflictual Relationships

Person X Context
Most existing work considers academic performance
Greater benefit of classroom quality for children at greater risk for school failure.

Some research considers engagement as an outcome.

Greater benefit of classroom quality for children at greater risk for school failure.

Hypothesized Challenges and Resources

Challenges Regulatory Resources High Classroom Quality Instructional Contexts Small group work Learning req. analysis Child Strengths

Low Classroom Quality Instructional Contexts Large group work Basic skills instruction Child Risk Factors

Learning ngagement in Behavioral E

Participants
NICHD-SECCYD participants
955 children in their fourth year of school (3rd grade) 479 female, 476 male Ethnicity
783 European American 115 African American 57 Other

Procedures
Teacher Report of Child Risk Factors
Conflictual relationship
Student-Teacher Relationship Scale(Pianta, 2001)

Problem behaviors
Teacher Report Form (Achenbach, 1991)

Academic competence
WJ-R (Letter-Word Id., Passage Comprehension, Word Attack, Calculation, Applied Problems; Woodcock & Johnson, 1990)

Procedures
Classroom Observations
Time sampling over 8 25-minute observation cycles. Global ratings of quality in 5 minutes before and 10 minutes after the timesampled ratings; totaling 2 hours of observational time.

Procedures
Instructional Contexts--WHAT
Group Format Large group Small group Individualized Instruction Instructional Focus Basic Skills Analysis/Inference

QualityGlobal Ratings--HOW

Over-control (R), Chaos (R), Teacher Detachment (R), Teacher Sensitivity, Productive Use of Instructional Time, Richness of Instructional methods

Procedures
Outcome-Engagement
Engaged behavior
Active engagement (writing, answering a question) Passive engagement (listening, watching attentively)

Off task behavior

Staring into space, talking with classmates during a lesson

Analytic Approach
Generalized Sequential Querier (Bakeman and Quera, 1995) Chi-squared on pooled frequencies Hierarchical regression analysis
Conditional probabilities as outcome variables: likelihood of child engagement within a certain instructional context.

Not all contexts are equally engaging.

Engagement and Group Format
Small group was more engaging than large group and individualized instruction. Chi-squared = 358.80**

Engagement and Focus of Instruction

Instruction requiring analysis and inference was more engaging than instruction requiring basic skills learning only. Chi-squared = 13.01*

Predicting Likelihood of Engagement

given large group Quality Risk Quality X Risk given small group Quality Risk Quality X Risk given individual work Quality Risk Quality X Risk 15.73*** .00 23.51*** .05 .12 -.16 .12 3.86*** -4.88*** .46 2.71 .00 3.02* .01 .11 .00 -.65 2.40* -.07 -1.44 33.82*** .01

F
46.79***

R2
.09 .22 -.16 .68

t
7.11*** -5.17*** 2.70**

Predicting Likelihood of Engagement

F
given basic skills instruction Quality Risk Quality X Risk given analysis/inference instruction Quality Risk Quality X Risk 7.65*** .00 10.49** .04 .13 -.14 .65 2.82* -3.21** 1.40 39.34** .01 55.24** .10 .20 -.22 .66 6.33* -7.11** 2.62*

R2

10

Is Engagement in the Classroom Associated with Certain Instructional Contexts?

Engagement

Small group > large group, individualized instruction Instruction requiring analysis and inference > basic skills instruction

Is the association between risk and childrens engagement within different instructional contexts moderated by the quality of the classroom interactions?

Yes, associations are small. For children at risk for school problemshigh quality is most important in challenging contexts (large group work, basic skill instruction).

11

Implications
Synergistic effects for classroom teachers
Modify quality of instruction Modify instructional

12