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函数之间的关系和影响，如学校投入和家庭，对学业成绩（弗赖尔，2017）。现有的研究发现，教师资格，师生比例和班级规模可能在学生学习中发挥重要作用（哈蒙德，2000年; Hanushek，1999年; Hanushek，2007年）。然而，证据好坏参半。在肯尼亚的研究发现，教师聘用和合同制度影响学生的考试成绩（Bold等人，2018年）。在坦桑尼亚，学校补助金与教师奖励相结合，对学生考试成绩产生了积极影响（Mbiti等人，2019年）。然而，关于学校大笔资金的证据是混合的（Glewwe和Muralidharan，2016）。此外，增加学生人均支出对学习成绩的积极影响有限（Hanushek，2007年）。在课程和学习方法方面，Banerjee等人（2016年）表明，"在正确的水平上教学"在提高印度的学习成果方面很有希望。计算机辅助学习的使用被证明是有效的，以提高生产力在提供教育（Muralidharan，辛格和加尼米安，2019年）。此外，一些研究发现，合作和协作学习的做法提高学生的成绩（尼科尔斯，1996; Vercellotti，2017;斯莱文，1983）。然而，在发达国家，学校的学习活动对学生成绩的影响有多大，以及与男生相比，学校的学习活动对女生的影响是否不同，人们对此知之甚少。本研究旨在了解科学课堂学习活动与学生分组对科学、数学、阅读成绩的影响。此外，我们将回答的影响是否是不同的几组学生：女性和男性学生;国立学校和独立学校;农村和城市，密集和不太密集的学校社区。最后，本研究作为一个探索性的研究，以找到一些可能的干预措施，以改善学习活动和支持在苏格兰的弱势学生。估计方法本研究将使用丰富的国际学生评估项目（比萨）分数和调查数据。对于教师的特征，我们将收集有关教师教育和认证，教师培训和教学经验的额外信息。我们亦会搜集教师所采用的课程及评核模式的资料，以确保比萨评分对学生表现的代表性。本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。附加分析使用类似的比萨2015年调查数据，我们将分析学生成绩是否受到学生在学校的行为的影响（例如，旷课、迟到、上课不专心等）;以及学校的同伴效应，女生占主导地位，男生占主导地位。

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.