Schools, Classrooms, and Pupils

Schools, Classrooms, and Pupils: International Studies of Schooling from a Multilevel Perspective examines "multilevel" or "hierarchical" linear models of research on schooling and the statistical and computational issues that arise in applying them. Some of the likely benefits of using multilevel methods to study schools and classrooms are also discussed, including the increased credibility of the statistical findings. Comprised of 15 chapters, this book begins by considering how the explicit modeling of the organizational structure of schooling creates new opportunities for research. After presenting a basic guide to the techniques of multilevel modeling, the effect of school, class, and individual variables on science achievement in Israeli elementary schools is analyzed using a two-level hierarchical model, with emphasis on reform in the science curriculum which began in the early 1970s. Subsequent chapters focus on the use of multilevel models to link educational progress with curriculum coverage; trends in attainment in Scottish secondary schools; the technical and vocational education initiative in Britain; and sex discrimination in teachers' salary. This monograph should be of considerable interest to students, teachers, school administrators, researchers, and educational policymakers.