Classroom justice and psychological engagement: students’ and teachers’ representations

Pathways to Youth Activism Orientation in STEM: the Role of STEM Classroom Inclusivity and Motivational Beliefs

Activism around science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is a critical task to promote social justice and to develop sustainable and effective solutions to global problems (e.g., climate change) in contemporary society. The present study examines relationships between adolescents' perceptions of gender and ethnic classroom inclusivity, outcome expectancies, utility values, and activism orientation in STEM, grounded in the situated expectancy-value theory. Participants were 699 adolescents (50.2% boys, 47.8% White; MT1age = 15.11 years, SD = 0.84) in the southeastern United States. A structural equation model with FIML estimation, multiple imputation with Bayesian analysis, and multigroup SEM analyses were utilized to test the hypothesized associations using two time points, controlling for sociodemographics and STEM grades. The findings revealed that adolescents' perceptions of STEM classroom inclusivity appeared to play an important role in shaping STEM expectancies and perceived value of STEM. Multigroup SEM analysis showed that ethnicity significantly moderates the effect of perceived STEM classroom inclusivity on STEM expectancies, suggesting the effect of inclusivity on expectancies is stronger for racially/ethnically majoritized adolescents as compared to racially/ethnically minoritized adolescents. Associations from STEM motivational beliefs to activism orientation revealed that adolescents with higher STEM utility values are more likely to have a higher orientation toward STEM activism. Adolescents' perceptions of STEM classroom inclusivity had an indirect positive effect on STEM activism orientation through STEM utility values. These findings provide support for the conceptual premise that classroom inclusivity can foster motivational beliefs, and activism orientation in STEM.

Inclusive classroom climate development as the cornerstone of inclusive school building: review and perspectives

Education institutional guidelines around the world agree that building more inclusive schools is a priority. The reality of school practice, however, belies this institutional will. To help fill the gap, this theoretical review documents the value that the construct of classroom climate brings to research and practice in terms of inclusive school development. The article firstly points out that the current main challenge is to develop Inclusive Mainstream Teaching (IMT) in diverse classrooms. Indeed, IMT is needed in all classrooms to guarantee the effectiveness of special accomodating measures in schools that are targeted at special education needs students. Intervening at classroom level is both a pragmatic and powerful way of developing inclusive schooling. However, developing IMT in the classroom remains a challenge for both teachers and researchers. Thus this review documents the central role that classroom climate should play in the development of IMT. More precisely, the factors of classroom climate that are associated with inclusive outcomes are identified. We also highlight how these factors and the measurements associated with them are efficient tools to guide IMT development. These measures are proximal, sensitive, complementary, and pragmatic indicators of effective IMT. Such indicators are very useful in helping research empirically document effective IMT, ensure that any small improvement is assessed, monitor teachers' progress, and assist their professional growth. Theoretically positioned as a mediator between inclusive teaching in mainstream classrooms and inclusive school outcomes, inclusive classroom climate is a tool that appears to be effective in supporting IMT development and, consequently, in the establishment of more inclusive schools.

EFL Learners' Perceptions of Classroom Justice: Does Teacher Immediacy and Credibility Matter?

Because learners' perceptions of classroom justice are highly influential on their academic performance, recognizing personal and interpersonal factors that may modify these perceptions seems necessary. Notwithstanding this necessity, a scant number of inquiries have focused on the role of interpersonal factors such as credibility and immediacy in learners' perceptions of classroom justice. In fact, the function of these factors has been overlooked by previous studies. Furthermore, no theoretical review has been performed in this area. To make a stride toward narrowing this lacuna, this theoretical review intends to clarify the role of two interpersonal factors, namely immediacy and credibility, in EFL learners' perceptions of classroom justice. To accomplish this, the previous inquiries were meticulously reviewed. The findings of the review disclosed that EFL learners' perceptions of classroom justice can be considerably influenced by teacher immediacy and credibility. The findings' implications are further discussed.

The Influence of Individual and Situational Factors on Teachers’ Justice Ratings of Classroom Interactions

Teachers, as role models, are crucial in promoting inclusion in society through their actions. Being perceived as fair by their students is linked to students’ feelings of belonging in school. In addition, their decisions of resource allocations also affect students’ academic success. Both aspects underpin the importance of teachers’ views on justice. This article aims to investigate what teachers consider to be just and how teacher characteristics and situational factors affect justice ratings of hypothetical student-teacher-interactions. In an experimental design, we randomly varied the description of the interacting student in text vignettes regarding his/her special educational need (SEN) (situational factor). We also collected data on teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion and experiences with persons with disabilities (individual factors). A sample of in-service teachers in Germany (N = 2,254) rated randomized versions of two text vignettes. To also consider the effect of professional status, a sample of pre-service teachers (N = 275) did the same. Linear mixed effect models point to a negative effect of the SEN on justice ratings, meaning situations in which the interacting student is described with a SEN were rated less just compared to the control condition. As the interacting student in the situations was treated worse than the rest, this was indicative for the application of the need principle. Teachers with more positive attitudes toward inclusion rated the vignettes as significantly less just. Professional status also had a negative effect on justice ratings, with in-service teachers rating the interactions significantly lower than the pre-service teachers. Our results suggest that the teachers applied the principle of need in their ratings. Implications for inclusive teaching practices and future research are discussed further.

The Enactment of Classroom Justice Through Explicit Instruction: Deciphering the Changes in English as a Foreign Language Teachers’ Perceptions and Practices

This mixed methods research study investigated if explicit instruction could affect EFL teachers’ perceptions and practices of classroom justice considering its three-dimensional conceptualization based on the social psychology theories of justice, encompassing the distributive, interactional, and procedural justice. To this end, 77 Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers, chosen through maximum variation sampling, attended a four-session online justice-training course. The data were collected both before and after the course intervention through close- and open-ended questionnaires. Quantitative data analysis results, obtained through running paired samples t-tests and Wilcoxon signed ranks tests, indicated that except for the distributive component, the treatment was effective in significantly enhancing the Iranian EFL teachers’ procedural, interactional, and total classroom justice perceptions. Content analysis of the posttest qualitative data, done through MAXQDA, revealed that the participants approved the course usefulness, its significance, and uses of justice enactment strategies in their classroom. Furthermore, they confirmed positive changes in their conceptions and practices of justice because of attending the course and showed enthusiasm in attending more such courses in the future. The convergence of the quantitative and qualitative results in this study demonstrated the effectiveness of the justice-oriented training course for enhancing EFL teachers’ just classroom behaviors. Hence, the results would be fruitful for teacher educators aiming to promote the pre- and in-service EFL teachers’ professional effectiveness through explicit instruction on classroom justice and its use in teacher education programs.

Fair Teachers, Fair Police? Assessing the Pathways between Perceptions of Teacher and Police Authority in Childhood and Adolescence

Existing research has shown that the quality of the relationship between teacher and child is associated with more positive perceptions of school authorities. There has been relatively less attention to the processes that connect attitudes towards different sources of authority, such as between teachers and police. The current study uses a counterfactual approach to estimate the direct and indirect effects of teacher-child relationships on children's later perceptions of police legitimacy. Using data from a longitudinal study of youth in Zurich, Switzerland, this study applies non-bipartite propensity score matching to identify matched pairs (n = 232 pairs, 55% male) of children with better versus worse relationships with their teacher at age 11 following a teacher change. Matched pairs were then compared on potential mediators (moral norms about deviant behavior and low self-control) at age 13 and perceptions of police legitimacy at age 15. The results demonstrate the importance of the quality of the relationships between students and teachers in shaping young people's interpersonal characteristics as well as perceptions of the world around them. Namely, if young people feel that they are being treated fairly by their teachers, they are more likely to distinguish behaviors that are right or wrong (moral norms) and control their actions (self-control). Moreover, as a result they are also more likely to perceive authorities such as police as legitimate agents that facilitate societal order.

Children’s Perspectives on Fairness and Inclusivity in the Classroom

School represents an important context for children’s social, moral, and identity development. Research indicates that supportive teacher-student relationships are significantly related to positive student academic achievement. Unfortunately, teacher bias as well as peer exclusion based on group identity (gender, race, ethnicity, and nationality) pervade many school contexts. The presence of these biases in the classroom is negatively related to students’ academic development, especially for children who are minoritized and marginalized. Very little research has connected teacher bias and children’s reasoning about bias and inequalities in the classroom context. The classroom is a complex environment in which to examine children’s social and moral reasoning about bias, given teachers’ position of authority which often includes power, status, and prestige. We propose that understanding both teacher bias and peer intergroup exclusion are essential for promoting more fair classrooms. This paper reviews foundational theory as well as the social reasoning developmental model as a framework for studying how children think about fairness and bias in the classroom context. We then discuss current research on children’s social-cognitive and moral capacities, particularly in the contexts of societal inequality and social inclusion or exclusion. Finally, this article proposes new directions for research to promote fairness and inclusivity in schools and suggests how these new lines of research might inform school-based interventions.

Self-reported academic performance and academic cheating: Exploring the role of the perceived classroom (in)justice mediators

BACKGROUND

As a point of departure, this study assumes that teaching to impart knowledge is inseparable from its moral role to create an ethical citizenry, such as developing standards of academic integrity.

AIMS

The study aims at delving into how different facets of the sense of (in)justice in the classroom may play a significant role in explaining cheating behaviour, in general, and among low-achieving students, in particular.

SAMPLE AND METHODS

The study was conducted among 5,084 eighth and ninth graders Israeli students. CFA and a structural modelling equations method were used to examine the study's factorial constructs and model, respectively.

RESULTS

Findings pointed to a good fit of the measurement model using SEM. In accordance with the mediating hypothesis, self-reported academic achievement was negatively related to self-reported academic cheating. Moreover, perceived 'school injustice' (procedural and distributive justice as estimates) played a mediating role in explaining the relation between academic performance and cheating behaviour. It is noteworthy, however, that the facet of the personality-like construct of justice sensitivity displayed inconsistent findings and no mediating effect when examined as a separate model.

CONCLUSIONS

Self-reported academic performance and academic cheating among middle school' students were explained more strongly by contextual justice-related factors, namely perceived teachers' distributional and procedural practices in the classroom, than by justice sensitivity, which is a personality factor. Thus, teachers' justice practices seem to be crucial for developing a predisposition to academic honesty.

Student perceptions of interpersonal justice, engagement, agency and anger: a longitudinal study for reciprocal effects

Based on the premise that classroom interactions unfold through a complex series of circular influences between teacher and students, the aim of this longitudinal study was to test a reciprocal effects model connecting students’ perceptions of interpersonal justice, on the one hand, and student engagement, agency and anger, on the other. Self-report measures of interpersonal justice, student engagement, agency and anger were collected from 454 Year Nine students from Northern Italy in a 3-wave longitudinal research design. Structural equation modelling with latent variables indicated that interpersonal justice in wave 1 had a negative effect on both student agency and anger in wave 2, while interpersonal justice in wave 2 only negatively predicted student anger in wave 3. With respect to the reciprocal effects, student engagement in wave 2 was found to positively predict interpersonal justice in wave 3, while a negative effect close to statistical significance was observed from student agency in wave 2 to interpersonal justice in wave 3. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for teacher practice, as they emphasize that (a) the two main facets of student participation, namely engagement and agency, are differently interconnected with the learning environment, and (b) the perception of being treated fairly is important to the point that its deficiency triggers a persistent feeling of anger in students.

The Paradox of Positive Self-Concept and Low Achievement Among Black and Latinx Youth: A Test of Psychological Explanations

Previous studies often document that Black and Latino adolescents demonstrate considerable positive self-concept despite their low academic achievement. We critically reviewed two common psychological explanations for this paradoxical phenomenon: selective devaluation hypothesis (lower value placed in schoolwork protects their self-concept) and external attribution hypothesis (external attribution of poor achievement protects their self-concept). For a deeper understanding of Black and Latino youth's development of self-concept as racially or ethnically influenced process, we revisited these hypotheses with consideration of explanatory mediator (i.e., academic value) and moderator (i.e., perceived school fairness), based on nationally representative longitudinal data of Black, Latino, and White 10th graders (n ~= 12,920, 50.5% female). Contrary to the selective devaluation hypothesis, we found that Black and Latino youth placed greater value in schoolwork than White adolescents. Contrary to the external attribution hypothesis, self-concept was similarly related to previous achievement between Black and White adolescents and more closely related among Latino adolescents. Based on the results, we proposed three alternative hypotheses that might better explain the process of developing academic self-concept among Black and Latino youth.

Teacher Justice and Students' Class Identification: Belief in a Just World and Teacher-Student Relationship as Mediators

For school-age adolescents, teacher justice plays an important role in their learning and social outcomes. The present study examined the relation between teacher justice and students' class identification in 1735 Chinese school-age adolescents by considering belief in a just world (BJW) and teacher-student relationship as mediators. Structure equation modeling (SEM) was used to reveal the direct and indirect effects. The analyses showed that all the direct and indirect effects were significant. These findings indicated that teacher justice had a positive effect on students' class identification. In addition, teacher justice impacted students' class identification through students' just-world belief and teacher-student relationships. These results suggested that for adolescents, teacher justice played an important role in shaping their just-world belief system and their interpersonal relationships with teachers, which in turn affected their sense of belonging and values in relation to their class. Thus, it is important for teachers to be aware that their injustice may negatively impact their relationships with students, students' belief systems, and their psychological engagement at school. There is a need to develop teacher-training programs to help teachers to establish classroom reward-punishment systems with the consideration of social justice, to communicate with students through an unbiased approach, and to increase student participation in the important decision making of the whole class.

Agency and responsibility in adolescent students: A challenge for the societies of tomorrow

BACKGROUND

The literature in educational psychology converges on the idea that students should take an active and accountable position in their learning processes. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of research that has systematically put the constructs of agency and responsibility at the core of their interests.

AIMS

In this study, we explore whether good experiences at school - here conceptualized as the general level of basic needs fulfilment and interpersonal justice - impact on student agency and responsibility, which in turn are considered as possible mediators between a good educational experience and two outcome measures, that is, academic achievement and career decision-making self-efficacy.

PARTICIPANTS

The study was held on a sample of 911 high school students equally distributed between males and females.

METHOD

Data were collected through the use of a questionnaire comprising six measures assessing students' basic psychological need fulfilment, interpersonal justice, agentic engagement, responsibility for learning, academic achievement, and career decision-making self-efficacy.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

Structural equation modelling indicated that basic needs fulfilment positively predicts agency, responsibility, academic achievement, and career decision-making self-efficacy. Interpersonal justice positively predicts responsibility. The indirect effect from basic psychological needs on career decision-making self-efficacy through the mediating effects of student agentic engagement and student responsibility was significant. The indirect effect from interpersonal justice on career decision-making self-efficacy through the mediating effect of student responsibility for learning was significant. These results are commented at the light of their implications for teacher practices, as they emphasize the importance of good experiences at school for promoting in students an active civic sense and a greater accountability.