Work

Teaching quality and socioeconomic achievement gaps: International evidence from two complementary processes

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: The association between teaching quality and socioeconomic disparities in student achievement remains underexplored, with existing studies offering competing perspectives. Two main hypotheses guide this debate. The differential effectiveness hypothesis suggests that certain teaching practices disproportionately benefit students depending on their socioeconomic background. In contrast, the inequality of educational opportunity hypothesis focuses on disparities in access to high-quality teaching across schools serving different populations. Drawing on TIMSS 2019 data from 46 education systems, we tested these hypotheses using mediation and moderation analyses. Our findings provide support for the inequality of opportunity perspective: in several countries, higher classroom discipline and instructional clarity partly mediate the association between classroom socioeconomic composition and achievement. By contrast, we find limited evidence for differential effectiveness, as neither instructional clarity nor classroom discipline consistently moderated the relationship between individual SES and achievement.

Source: Studies In Educational Evaluation

DOI: 10.1016/j.stueduc.2026.101695

Authors: Zhijun Chen, Ana María Mejía Rodríguez, Rolf Strietholt, Andres Sandoval Hernandez

Institutions: University of Bath, Aarhus University, Hamburg Institut (Germany)

Language: English

Topic: School Choice and Performance

Subfield: Education

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Quality education, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,570