Simona Bezjak

This paper examines how various dimensions of democratic school and classroom culture—openness in classroom discussions, peer interactions, civic learning, influence on decision-making, and civic participation—relate to perceptions of student–teacher relationships of two distinct groups of students (native and immigrant-background students) in Slovenia. Using representative data from the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS 2022 cycle), analyses revealed that student-perceived positive peer interactions and decision-making influence were consistent, strong predictors of positive student–teacher relationships for both groups of students. However, open classroom discussions and civic learning at school were only significant for native students, suggesting that these aspects of classroom life may not resonate uniformly with all students. Moreover, participation in civic activities, although often seen as an integral part of democratic school culture, emerged as a significant negative predictor of student–teacher relationships only among students with an immigrant background, indicating that these activities may inadvertently highlight barriers or differences rather than promote inclusive engagement. Results are discussed through the lens of fostering positive student–teacher relationships for all students.

International large-scale student assessments (ILSAs) have been conducted in different parts of the world for 70 years. With their constant expansion of content domains and number of participating educational systems, especially in the last 30 years, ILSAs are often perceived as an Olympiad in assessing knowledge or competencies around the globe. Therefore, league tables arising from student performance are at the forefront of different discussions, but they can be used for much more important improvements in educational policies. In this chapter, we used data from the electronic component of the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (fourth graders – e-reading), as well as the International Computer and Information Literacy Study (eighth graders – computer and information literacy), where special attention is put on within-school factors and beyond-school factors. We aimed to control those factors to provide an in-depth explanation considering the school level inclusion framework, which means ensuring that all children “partake in education in a sufficient and effective way.” In this chapter, inclusivity is measured in terms of the proportion of low-achieving students and the test performance differences between low- and high-achieving students. When controlling for within-school (e.g., school composition and school location) and beyond-school factors (e.g., family socioeconomic status), we found that the educational achievements of students changed drastically, but the changes vary across countries which means that educational systems are inclusive to a different extent related to different factors.