Get Involved! Primary School

Learning in Primary School: What parents and teachers think, feel and do.
Logo of the project: the shapes of an adult and 2 children in front.

Table of contents

Project duration
-
Core fields of research
Learning, teaching and interaction
Research areas
Learning and interaction
Motivation, learning and environment for learning
Multidisciplinary research on learning and teaching
Learning, learning difficulties and factors affecting learning
Department
Department of Psychology
Co-operation
Vilnius University
Faculty
Faculty of Education and Psychology
Funding
Research Council of Finland

Project description

The aim of the project “Learning in Primary School: GET INVOLVED!“ is to investigate the role of parents and teachers in the development of children’s academic achievement, motivation, and behaviour across primary school. 

The project aims to identify the mechanisms (direct and indirect longitudinal paths) and the combined effects of home and school learning environments (moderating effects) in promoting the most favourable outcomes for children’s learning (achievement, motivation and behaviour).

Keywords: primary school, parents, teachers, instructional support, emotional support, achievement, motivation, problem behaviour, evocative effect.

The image captures kids raising hands in a classroom

Methods and data

The data is collected four times:

  1. In grade 2, autumn, 2021 (T1);
  2. In grade 2, spring, 2022 (T2);
  3. In grade 3, spring, 2023 (T3);
  4. In grade 4, spring, 2024 (T4).

The study involves 600 children, 600 parents/ guardians, and 30 teachers in Lithuania.

The image shows a flowchart with four downward arrows indicating time periods: Autumn 2021 and Spring 2022, linked to grade 2, Spring 2023, linked to grade 3, and Spring 2024 linked to Grade 4, illustrating the progression over an academic years.
Data collection timeline

Children

Children will be tested either individually or in small groups. Children’s national test scores in reading and Maths will be collected from the National Examination Centre (Grades 2 and 4).

Variables: Vocabulary, Reading fluency, Reading comprehension, Listening comprehension, Spelling, Arithmetic, Interest, Self-concept, Task persistence, etc.

The image is a table with a list of educational variables on the left column and four headers representing different time periods across the top: Grade 2 Autumn, Grade 2 Spring, Grade 3 Spring, and Grade 4 Spring.
Assessment Schedule for Key Variables for Children from Grade 2 to Grade 4
The image is a table with a list of educational variables on the left column and four headers representing different time periods across the top: Grade 2 Autumn, Grade 2 Spring, Grade 3 Spring, and Grade 4 Spring.
Assessment Schedule for Key Variables for Parents from Grade 2 to Grade 4

Parents/ guardians

Parents/ guardians will answer questionnaires concerning their own involvement in academic-related activities, affect, and cognition concerning their children.

Variables: Beliefs about performance, Expectations for performance, Homework assistance, Autonomy support during homework, Child and parent feelings in homework situations, Number of books, Reading habits, Parenting styles, Parent-child relationship, and Background characteristics.

Teachers

Teachers will answer questions about their beliefs, affect and behaviour concerning the whole classroom and each individual child.

The image is a table with a list of educational variables on the left column and four headers representing different time periods across the top: Grade 2 Autumn, Grade 2 Spring, Grade 3 Spring, and Grade 4 Spring.
Assessment Schedule for Key Variables for Teachers from Grade 2 to Grade 4

Research questions

The image is a map of Europe with two countries highlighted in different colors: one in green (Finland) and one in orange (Lithuania), against a grey background of the European continent. The countries' borders are outlined, but there are no names or other indicators provided.

RQ1: To what extent do home and school environments contribute to children’s academic outcomes in primary school?

RQ2: To what extent do primary school children’s academic performance, motivation, and adjustment have an “evocative effect” on the responses from their home and school environments?

RQ3: To what extent home and school environments moderate each other’s effect on children’s academic outcomes?

RQ4: Culture and educational systems (Finland vs. Lithuania).

Publications

The image captured a kid writing in a textbook in a classroom while adult is observing.
Both autonomous motivation (intrinsic motivation and integrated and identified regulation) and controlled motivation (introjected and external regulation) positively correlated with teachers’ frequency of literacy and maths instruction, whereas only autonomous motivation positively correlated with teachers’ affection when interacting with their class.
G. Silinskas & S. Raiziene (2023)

Project team

Project leaders

Gintautas Silinskas

Academy Research Fellow

Project members

Vilija Hiltunen

Vilija Hiltunen

Postdoctoral Researcher

Justina Davolyte

Doctoral Researcher
Noona Kiuru

Noona Kiuru

Professor
Kaisa Aunola

Kaisa Aunola

Professor
Marja-Kristiina Lerkkanen

Marja-Kristiina Lerkkanen

Professor, Vice Head of Department
Terhi-Anna Wilska

Terhi-Anna Wilska

Professor

External members

SaulÄ— RaiĹľienÄ—

Professor

Eva Pomerantz

Professor

Eve Kikas

Professor