poverty

Introduction: School failure is a major challenge at individual and social levels, owing to its negative impact on social cohesion, citizen participation, economic development, and sustainability and also its impact on health habits. Various studies have shown the link between family socio-economic level and educational results, to the point that this factor has been regarded as their principal
determinant. Nonetheless, the essentially attributing school failure to the students’ milieu is only descriptive in value and could impede the development of more appropriate responses to this challenge. A better systemic and integral understanding of the phenomenon might contribute to a better approach to the problem through the development of new proposals for public policy and socio-educational actions. To this end, it is necessary to have appropriate measurement instruments that evaluate different dimensions in an integrated manner. Method: The objective of this study is to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Questionnaire on Determinants of Success at School (QDSS) in a sample of 858 secondary-school students resident in vulnerable socio-demographic settings from 5 Spanish cities. The questionnaire combines items about factors that specialist literature has significantly linked to educational attainment, excluding those that already have specific validated questionnaires. Results: The principal component analysis gave 7 factors: school environment, relationships with classmates, personal expectations, social capital, ITC study resources, climate in class, and family support. The goodness of fit indices show good properties for the questionnaire. Conclusion: The QDSS is an instrument that has appropriate psychometric properties for use in identifying factors that support educational success in secondary-school students.

 

Cite this article as: Longás Mayayo, J., Carrillo Álvarez, E., Fornieles Deu, A. and Riera i Romani, J. (2018). Desarrollo y validación del cuestionario sobre condicionantes de éxito escolar en alumnos de secundaria | Development and validation of a questionnaire about determinants of academic success in secondary school students. Revista Española de Pedagogía, 76 (269), 55-82. doi: https://doi.org/10.22550/REP76-1-2018-03

This study aims to raise awareness of the need for headteachers to be able to practice school leadership, especially in schools in underprivileged areas. A mixed methodology approach was used, including a survey of a sample of 282 teachers and interviews with 14 headteachers from disadvantaged schools in western Andalusia. Most of the headteachers interviewed display good school leadership, but there is still a tendency towards so-called academic freedom and individualism in teaching practice. The age of the teachers and their length of experience influence headteachers’ supervision of teaching. Headteachers should be given greater powers and specific continuous training should be provided for those in charge of disadvantaged schools to enable them to implement collaborative culture.

 

 

Cite this article as: Llorent-Bedmar, V., Cobano-Delgado, V., & Navarro-Granados, M. (2017). Liderazgo Pedagógico y dirección escolar en contextos desfavorecidos | School leadership and school management in underprivileged areas. Revista Española de Pedagogía, 75 (268), 541-564. doi: https://doi.org/10.22550/REP75-3-2017-04