Competence Acquisition and Learning Preconditions

The project ?Competence Acquisition and Learning Preconditions” deals with the interaction of classroom teachers and students curtly enrolled in primary school.
For this purpose, we considered school-related as well as non-school-related factors influencing learning processes at the primary level. With regard to non-school-related factors, we took into account various individual preconditions, for example resources of the families associated with different social or ethnic backgrounds. The school-related factors we were interested in include characteristics of the interaction between children and teachers, such as the classroom management, the teaching structure, the classroom climate, and the teachers’ expectations and evaluations.
In order to examine the interaction processes, we conducted a longitudinal survey in 39 primary schools in North Rhine-Westphalia. Seven steps of data collection, which can be classified into three phases, have been carried out in the course of the first school year:
In the first phase, at the beginning of the first school year, the parents have been interviewed by telephone in order to determine the learning preconditions at home. In addition, linguistic and mathematic competences as well as the cognitive abilities of the children have been tested. Furthermore, the teachers have been interviewed in written form about their expectations and evaluations regarding their classes.
In the second phase, which took place in the middle of the school year, selected lessons have been filmed to gather information on the pupils’ behavior and their interaction with the teachers within the everyday school setting. In addition to the videography, the children have been interviewed personally about their educational motivation, academic self-concept, and their perception of the interaction with their teachers.
Finally, at the end of the first school year, we have again tested the pupils’ subject-specific competences and inquired the teachers’ evaluations and expectations. In this way, we were enabled to gain information about changes over time.