Acessibilidade / Reportar erro

BELIEFS OF TEACHERS ABOUT GRADE RETENTION1 1 This article presents the main conclusions of the study titled Beliefs of Teachers about Grade Retention in Brazil. The study was conducted by the CENPEC Research Coordination Office, with funds from the Tide Setubal Foundation, and was coordinated by Vanda Mendes Ribeiro and Antônio Augusto Gomes Batista. The project is part of a broader research led by Marcel Crahay, a professor at the Universities of Geneva and Liege, involving researchers from Belgium, Romania and France.

Abstract:

This article aims to analyze the beliefs of basic education teachers about grade retention. To that end, it discusses possible relations between beliefs about grade retention, beliefs about justice and evaluation principles, and teachers’ knowledge about the findings of research on the effects of grade retention. We also present teacher profile characteristics that can influence teacher adhesion to grade retention. The relationship between the beliefs mentioned, and between them and knowledge of research, was analyzed by correlation and the identification of characteristics associated with retention was done by regression analysis. We used primary data concerning almost 5.5 thousand teachers that teach Portuguese Language. We found that teachers who adhere to retention tend to also adhere to a meritocratic principle of justice and to normative assessment. Having more experience in teaching, not teaching in initial years of basic education, a greater knowledge of research of the subject, and holding a Master’s or a Ph. D. degree characterize the teachers who are less likely to agree with grade retention.

Keywords:
Grade retention; Teacher education; Teachers’ beliefs; Assessment; Principles of justice

Faculdade de Educação da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais Avenida Antonio Carlos, 6627., 31270-901 - Belo Horizonte - MG - Brasil, Tel./Fax: (55 31) 3409-5371 - Belo Horizonte - MG - Brazil
E-mail: revista@fae.ufmg.br