Longitudinal and differential effects of differentiated instruction on academic achievement and subjective well-being in inclusive secondary education
IPC
- Zurbriggen, Carmen L.A. ORCID University of Fribourg, Switzerland
- Pozas, Marcela University of Luxembourg
- Gehrer, Karin Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories, Bamberg, Germany
- Nusser, Lena Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories, Bamberg, Germany
- 2026
Published in:
- Learning and Instruction. - Elsevier BV. - 2026, vol. 105, p. 102431
Differentiated instruction
Academic achievement
Subjective well-being
Inclusive education
Competencies.
English
Background: Differentiated instruction (DI) is a fundamental component of teaching quality, particularly in
diverse and inclusive classrooms. While DI has been shown to enhance students' academic achievement, research
at the secondary education level remains limited, and its impact on students’ subjective well-being—widely
recognized as essential for learning—has been largely unexplored. Moreover, effects may differ for students with
special educational needs in learning (SEN-L).
Aim: This study investigated cross-sectional and longitudinal effects of classroom-level DI practices on students’
academic achievement and subjective well-being in lower secondary education, incorporating both student and
teacher perspectives. Additionally, it examined whether the effects of DI differ between students with and
without SEN-L.
Sample: Data were drawn from a longitudinal study with three measurement occasions (Grades 6, 7, and 9). The
sample comprised 4654 sixth-grade students, along with 417 German and 398 mathematics teachers.
Methods: Multilevel regression analyses with latent variables were conducted to investigate cross-sectional effects.
To examine longitudinal effects, latent neighbor change models were applied.
Results: Cross-sectionally, DI showed some small positive associations with academic achievement and, particularly
student-reported DI, small positive associations with subjective well-being. DI predicted some changes in
both outcomes over time, albeit inconsistently and with small-to-negligible effect sizes. The findings indicate
only two small differential effects for students with SEN-L compared to other students.
Conclusions: The study extends research on DI by focusing on both students’ academic achievement and subjective
well-being in lower secondary education, while calling for continued research into its longitudinal effects
and underlying mechanisms.
diverse and inclusive classrooms. While DI has been shown to enhance students' academic achievement, research
at the secondary education level remains limited, and its impact on students’ subjective well-being—widely
recognized as essential for learning—has been largely unexplored. Moreover, effects may differ for students with
special educational needs in learning (SEN-L).
Aim: This study investigated cross-sectional and longitudinal effects of classroom-level DI practices on students’
academic achievement and subjective well-being in lower secondary education, incorporating both student and
teacher perspectives. Additionally, it examined whether the effects of DI differ between students with and
without SEN-L.
Sample: Data were drawn from a longitudinal study with three measurement occasions (Grades 6, 7, and 9). The
sample comprised 4654 sixth-grade students, along with 417 German and 398 mathematics teachers.
Methods: Multilevel regression analyses with latent variables were conducted to investigate cross-sectional effects.
To examine longitudinal effects, latent neighbor change models were applied.
Results: Cross-sectionally, DI showed some small positive associations with academic achievement and, particularly
student-reported DI, small positive associations with subjective well-being. DI predicted some changes in
both outcomes over time, albeit inconsistently and with small-to-negligible effect sizes. The findings indicate
only two small differential effects for students with SEN-L compared to other students.
Conclusions: The study extends research on DI by focusing on both students’ academic achievement and subjective
well-being in lower secondary education, while calling for continued research into its longitudinal effects
and underlying mechanisms.
- Faculty
- Faculté des sciences de l'éducation et de la formation
- Department
- Département de pédagogie spécialisée
- Language
-
- English
- License
-
CC BY
- Open access status
- hybrid
- Identifiers
-
- DOI 10.1016/j.learninstruc.2026.102431
- ISSN 0959-4752
- Persistent URL
- https://folia.unifr.ch/unifr/documents/336256
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