6.27.2008

Religion and mathetics

In their recent paper de Heus en Dronkers explore the extent to which educational systems and general societal features of destination and origin countries can explain differences in immigrant children's scientific literacy. Using data from the 2006 PISA survey, they perform a cross-classified multilevel analysis on the science performance of 9414 15 year old immigrant children, originating from 46 countries and living in 16 countries of destination.

Striking is the effect of religious affiliation on scientific performance of the children.
Immigrant children from Islamic countries perform worse that their counterparts from Christian or non religious countries. Although the study does not focus on the capacity to learn in a mathetic way, it starts at the other side: the influence of two schoolsystems (the educational/didactical entrance)

From several sides the research is critisized for it's methodology and conclusions.

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1 reacties:

Anonymous Anoniem zei...

I belong to the critizing group. It's quite easy to juggle a little bit with PISA data, doing a regression analysis and of course finding some significant correlations. But is that an answer to the far more complex question of a culture and it's geopolitical backgrounds? Donkers c.s needed perhaps attention, but better do it in a more professional way.

Doris, University, Toronto

5:59 p.m.  

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