Towards a school culture of pedagogical fairness: revisiting the academic performance of immigrant children in East Asia

Abstract

Educational scholars have argued for fair pedagogical practices in response to the learning needs of diverse students. While pedagogical fairness has been widely advocated, few studies have systematically assessed its impact on student learning, and even fewer have examined pedagogical fairness from a school organisational perspective. To narrow this gap in research, the current study develops an expansive conceptualisation of pedagogical fairness as an integral part of organisational culture, which varies by school. Our data, gathered from 7,746 immigrant-background students attending 563 schools in six East Asian societies, were analysed based on a hierarchical linear model explaining their academic performance as a function of pedagogical fairness in terms of both teacher practice and school culture. The results suggest that fair pedagogy can effectively help immigrant children succeed in school. It is particularly notable that pedagogical unfairness embedded in school culture is negatively associated with the academic performance of immigrant children, even after controlling for unfair pedagogical practices exercised by individual teachers. These findings suggest that implementing fair pedagogy is not simply the responsibility of individual teachers; it is also the responsibility of school leaders, as they are in the position to substantially influence the school as an organisational whole.