Class teachers’ beliefs on classroom skill composition: effects on mathematics teaching and student performance

Teacher beliefs about their students’ ability to learn are a strong, established predictor of students’ academic performance and especially relevant in elementary education. This study investigates how Finnish class teachers characterize the connection of teacher affiliation and control and classroom skill composition to their practices of teaching mathematics. The mixed-method analysis complements teacher interviews with two-level structural equation modeling on the effect of teacher-rated constructs on students’ mathematics performance and perceived competence. The findings indicate that even though the teachers highlight high affiliation and simultaneously communicate practices of control regardless of their classroom skill composition, the only teacher-rated variable affecting mathematics performance was the proportion of high-achieving students. In times of increasing class segregation, teachers should reflect on what are the best practices to teach each specific class.