Does School-Level Instructional Quality Matter for School Mathematics Performance? Comparing Teacher Data across Seven Countries

Abstract

Based on the TALIS 2013 and PISA 2012 linkage data, we examine the measurement properties of school instructional quality and study its relationship with mathematics performance, considering school context characteristics (school composition, teacher–student relationship, and teacher qualifications). The study adopts a cross-country perspective. In five of the seven countries, a three-dimensional framework has been confirmed to study mathematics instructional quality (disciplinary climate, supportive climate, and cognitive activation). As a common factor, disciplinary climate explains the variation in school mathematics achievement in four countries. The key is the interaction with socioeconomic status. Schools composed of students with favourable socioeconomic backgrounds reflect a disciplinary climate conducive to learning. Schools consisting of students with low socioeconomic backgrounds benefit more from a supportive climate, contributing to the reduction in the achievement gap. Schools with harmonious teacher–student relationships reflect differential effects on mathematics performance of schools consisting of students from lower- and higher-socioeconomic status families. Low-SES schools are more likely have less academically qualified teachers. School collective teacher qualification seems not directly related to school mathematics performance, but disciplinary climate mediates this link. Consistently, schools composed of students from high-socioeconomic status families tend to perform better.