Inequalities in science education: Using PISA data to investigate the role of family and school factors

动机最近的文献集中在各种教育生产功能之间的关系和影响，如学校投入和家庭，对学业成就(Fryer，2017)。已有研究发现，教师资历、师生比例和班级规模可能在学生学习中扮演重要角色(Hammond，2000；Hanushek，1999；Hanushek，2007)。然而，证据是喜忧参半的。肯尼亚的一项研究发现，教师聘用和合同制度会影响学生的考试成绩(Bold等人，2018年)。在坦桑尼亚，学校补助和教师激励相结合显示出对学生考试成绩有希望的影响(Mbiti等人，2019年)。然而，关于为学校提供大量资金的证据是喜忧参半的(Glewwe和Muralidharan，2016)。此外，增加每个学生的支出对学业成绩的积极影响是有限的(Hanushek，2007)。在课程和学习方法方面，Banerjee等人。(2016)表明，“适当水平的教学”在提高印度的学习成果方面很有希望。当时证明，使用计算机辅助学习有效地提高了提供教育的生产率(Muralidharan、Singh和GAnimian，2019年)。此外，一些研究发现，合作和协作学习实践提高了学生的成绩(Nichols，1996；Vercellotti，2017；Slavin，1983)。然而，关于发达国家的学校学习活动对学生成绩的影响有多大，以及与男性学生相比，女性学生是否受到不同的学校学习活动的影响，人们知之甚少。预期结果本研究旨在了解科学课上的学习活动和学生分组对科学、数学和阅读成绩的影响。此外，我们将回答几个学生群体的影响是否不同：女学生和男学生；公立学校和私立学校；农村和城市，密集和不密集的学校社区。最后，本研究是一项探索性研究，旨在寻找一些可能的干预措施，以改善苏格兰的学习活动，并支持贫困学生。评估方法本研究将使用RICH国际学生评估计划(PISA)的分数和调查数据。对于教师的特点，我们将收集关于教师教育和认证、教师培训和教学经验的额外信息。我们亦会收集有关教师所采用的课程和评核模式的资料，以确保PISA分数对学生表现的代表性。这项研究将使用两阶段最小二乘法(2SLS)估计学习活动对学生成绩的影响，并控制家庭特征。第一阶段将确定教师特征如何影响课堂上的学习活动，而第二阶段旨在了解学习活动与学生成绩之间的关系。使用类似的PISA 2015调查数据，我们将分析学生的成绩是否受到学生在校行为(例如逃课、迟到、学生上课不专注)的影响；以及学校对以女性为主的学生和以男性为主的学生的同伴效应。

Motivation Recent literature focuses on the relationship between and the impact of various education production function, such as school input and household, on academic achievement (Fryer, 2017). Existing studies found that teacher qualifications, teacher-student ratio, and class size may play important roles in student learning (Hammond, 2000; Hanushek, 1999; Hanushek, 2007). However, the evidence is mixed. Study in Kenya found that teacher hiring and contract system affects student test scores (Bold, et al., 2018). In Tanzania, school grant combined with teacher incentives show promising impact on student test scores (Mbiti, et al., 2019). Yet, the evidence on large fund for school is mixed (Glewwe and Muralidharan, 2016). Furthermore, the positive impact of increasing in expenditure per student on academic performance is limited (Hanushek, 2007). In terms of curriculum and learning methods, Banerjee, et al. (2016) shown that "Teaching at the Right Level" was promising in increasing learning outcomes in India. The use of computer-aided learning then was proven to be effective to improve productivity in delivering education (Muralidharan, Singh, and Ganimian, 2019). Moreover, some studies found that cooperative and collaborative learning practices improve student achievement (Nichols, 1996; Vercellotti, 2017; Slavin, 1983). However, little is known on how much learning activities at school affects student achievement in developed country setting and whether female student is affected differently by learning activities at school, compared to male student. Expected Outcomes This study aims to understand the effect of learning activities in science class and student's grouping on performance in science, math, and reading. Moreover, we will answer whether the effects are different among several groups of students: female and male student; state schools and independent schools; rural and urban, dense and less dense school community. Lastly, this study serves as an exploratory study to find some possible interventions to improve learning activities and supporting disadvantaged students in Scotland. Estimation Method This study will use rich Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) scores and survey data. For the teacher's characteristics, we will collect an additional information on teacher education and certification, teacher training, and teaching experiences. We will also collect information on curriculum used by the teachers and the mode of assessment to ensure the representativeness of PISA score on student's performance. The study will estimate the effect of learning activities on student achievement using Two-Stage Least Squares (2SLS) method, controlling for household characteristics. The first stage will determine how teacher characteristics affect learning activities in class, while the second stage aims to understand the relationship between learning activities and student achievement. Additional Analysis Using the similar PISA 2015 survey data, we will analyze whether student achievement is affected by student's behavior at school (e.g., skipping class, arriving late, students do not focus during the class); and peer effect of school with female-dominated student and male-dominated student.