School systems across the world are working to make the classroom more inclusive for all children, regardless of their origin and capacities, so that they have equal opportunities for quality learning. It has become essential to integrate students with special needs into mainstream formal education and they are, increasingly, enrolled in regular…

Previous research shows that the lockdown of schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic increased the already existing inequalities in education but little is known about the processes underlying these outcomes. In this study we used Bourdieu's theories to explore how interactions between teachers' expectations of parents and parents' availability of…

The transition from primary to secondary education is regarded as a crucial phase in pupils' school careers. Changes in the school environment have a negative influence on pupils' perceived control and engagement. However, until now little attention has been devoted to the role of the onset of ability grouping therein, which often coincides with…

In the light of the European Union's interest in creativity and innovation, this paper, drawing on data from the EU project Creative Little Scientists (2011-2014), explores the teaching and learning of science and creativity in Early Years education. The project's conceptual framework, developed from detailed analysis of relevant literatures,…

The authors examined the relations among teacher characteristics, contextual factors, and the recognition of self-regulated learning (SRL). Participants of the survey study were 172 elementary school teachers in the Brussels Capital Region and surrounding area (Belgium). The authors assessed the interrelations of several measures on personal…

The central aim of this study was to test a model that integrates determinants of educational computer use. In particular, the article examines teacher and school characteristics that are associated with different types of computer use by primary school teachers. A survey was set up, involving 527 teachers from 68 primary schools in Flanders. A…

Fourteen word problems, half of which were problematic from a realistic point of view, were administered to 332 Belgian preservice elementary school teachers who also saw answers given by 4 students. Results revealed a strong tendency to exclude real-world knowledge from spontaneous solutions and appreciations of student-supplied answers. (SLD)

Reports a re-analysis of mathematics achievement data on 28,274 elementary students in twelve countries. Results corroborate recent studies of productive factors in academic learning. Among directly alterable variables, the amount and quality of instruction, including homework, most strongly influence achievement. (Author/JDH)

Reports on a study in which (n=40) fifth graders solved and retold one-step compare word problems. Students performed better, had shorter response times, and retold problems correctly more frequently on consistent-language problems than on inconsistent-language problems. (Contains 36 references.) (MKR)

Proposes a hierarchical item response theory (IRT) model for mastery classification in criterion-referenced measurement. In this model, items measuring the same criterion are grouped, and a difficulty and discrimination parameter for the criterion is estimated on the same scale as the person and item parameters. Illustrates the model with a test…

This study used the narrative-biographical and micro-political perspectives as a theoretical framework to explore how beginning teachers experienced the induction phase, focusing on their experience with professional socialization and ways in which they were confronted with the micro-political realities of schools during induction. Participants…

Performed a baseline assessment of the new curriculum standards of mathematics for elementary education in Flanders, studying the achievement of 5,763 sixth graders. Overall, the more innovative curriculum standards were less likely to be well mastered. Few gender differences in performance were observed. (SLD)

The two British authors visited a conference for primary mathematics teachers in Belgium. This paper records synposes of the four principal lectures given, and a discussion of the differences between British and Belgian views of the nature of mathematics and mathematics education. (SD)

The purpose of this study was to develop a theory for the relationship between primary school teachers' autonomy and collegiality and its impact on their professional development. In the first phase of the research, 39 teachers from 11 primary schools in Belgium were interviewed about autonomy, collegiality, and professional development. The…

Over the past few years a substantial body of research has yielded evidence that the semantic structure of elementary arithmetic word problems influences children's strategies to solve them. The study reported in this document considered three other task characteristics in addition to semantic structure: (1) the order of presentation of the two…