ORBIS SCHOLAE
ORBIS SCHOLAE

We inform authors and readers that, following an agreement with the Karolinum publishing house, from 2024 (Volume 18), the journal Orbis scholae will be published only in electronic form.

Orbis scholae is an academic journal published by Charles University, Prague. It features articles on school education in the wider socio-cultural context. It aims to contribute to our understanding and the development of school education, and to the reflection of teaching practice and educational policy.

The journal is indexed in SCOPUS, CEEOL, DOAJ, EBSCO, and ERIH Plus.

ORBIS SCHOLAE, Vol 14 No 3 (2020), 73–92

Vliv akademického optimismu na výsledky žáků středních škol

[The Impact of Academic Optimism on Achievement of Upper Secondary School Students]

Jana Straková, Jaroslava Simonová, Petr Soukup

DOI: https://doi.org/10.14712/23363177.2021.5
published online: 13. 04. 2021

abstract

A number of studies have shown the impact of teachers’ attitudes on student achievement. One of the concepts through which teachers’ attitudes can be operationalized is academic optimism. It includes perceptions of self-efficacy, trust in students and their parents, and an emphasis on academic outcomes. The influence of academic optimism on student achievement was demonstrated in the Czech Republic in lower secondary education. This study examines its application at the upper secondary level. The research seeks answer to the question of whether teachers’ academic optimism influences educational outcomes in mathematics and reading literacy, taking into account prior achievement, socioeconomic status, school composition and type of study (grammar vs. vocational). The analysis using multilevel structural equation modelling in the Mplus program was performed on data collected in 2016 and 2018 from 2320 students in the first and third years of grammar schools, and secondary technical and apprenticeship schools from 117 classes in 66 secondary schools and from 795 upper secondary teachers. Findings revealed that teachers’ attitudes differ between secondary school types. However, their influence on student outcomes could not be proven at the upper secondary school level.

keywords: academic optimism; student achievement; upper secondary education; longitudinal study; multilevel structural equation modelling

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