Supportive climates and science achievement in the Nordic countries: lessons learned from the 2015 PISA study

Abstract

Teacher-student interactions are crucial in understanding the role of a supportive climate in instructional practices. The present study investigates the perceptions of 15-year-old Nordic students regarding four aspects of their science class: teacher support, fairness, feedback, and class discipline. Multilevel modelling analysis is used to examine the extent to which a perceived supportive climate can explain variation in the Nordic students’ science achievements. Overall, the main findings based on The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015 data from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden indicate that at the student level, perceived feedback from teachers and students perceiving their teachers as fair explains significant variations in science achievement. The study provides practical and theoretical implications about the importance of strong teacher-student relationships in comprehending the concept of a supportive climate.

The Relationship Between Teacher’s Autonomy-Supportive Behavior and Learning Strategies Applied by Students: The Role of Teacher Support and Equity

“…In our research, the second point is important-how conditions are created at the class level that can compensate for a certain lack of personal and social factors experienced by the student. The researchers (Rohatgi et al, 2022) highlight, that the importance of teacher fairness is a vital sign of a supportive climate. The following have also been observed, that teacher strongly influences student's learning via ''need supportive'' or ''need thwarting'' teacher's behavior (Ahmadi et al, 2022).…”

The influence of poverty on class engagement toward assignment submission in Community Schools of Nepal

“…Teachers have a key role in supporting students to succeed in better academic performance [17] or class participation among students living in poverty. However, the majority of students living in poverty were not supported by teachers regularly.…”

Leveraging large-scale assessments for effective and equitable school practices: the case of the nordic countries

“…1 ), there are substantial similarities in the factors that are relevant for effective and equitable school practices. One such factor is the critical role of teachers in providing a supportive learning environment and high-quality instruction (Leino et al, 2022 ; Nilsen et al, 2022 ; Rohatgi et al, 2022 ; Siebecke & Jarl, 2022 ). Teachers and their instruction are crucial for student outcomes and have the potential to reduce gaps in educational outcomes among different groups of students.…”

“…A & B − TIMSS 2015 Pop. A & B ✓ ✓ ✓ − Cyprus − Greece − Scotland − Slovak Republic Measuring the degree to which schools vary in effect of one school year on mathematics and science achievement (i.e., equality of school effectiveness) Multilevel regression discontinuity design Rohatgi et al ( 2022 ) PISA 2015 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Estimating association between student-perceived supportive climate in science classes and science achievement Multilevel regression analysis with control variables Yang Hansen et al ( 2022 ) − PISA 2000 − PISA 2018 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ − Hong Kong − Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang Investigating associations between school contexts and student achievement and academic self-concept in reading Multiple-group multilevel structural equation modelling approach Nilsen et al ( 2022 ) − TIMSS 2015 Pop. B − TIMSS 2019 Pop.…”

“…Rohatgi et al ( 2022 ) examined students’ perceptions of supportive climate — namely, teacher support, teacher fairness, perceived feedback, and disciplinary climate — and their relations to science achievement across Nordic countries using PISA 2015 data. The study found that teacher fairness and feedback had the strongest association with students’ science achievement, both at the student and school levels, even when controlling for relevant student, family, and school variables.…”