Views of Different School Stakeholders on Middle School Students’ Learning Losses

Authors: Demet Duman - Kerim Gündoğdu

This study examines the perspectives of diverse school stakeholders regarding student learning loss, contextualized through an analysis of policy documents on academic attrition issued by the Ministry of National Education. Employing a qualitative case study design, the research adopts extreme/outlier case sampling—a purposive sampling strategy—to select two contrasting school contexts: one characterized by acute learning loss and another exhibiting mitigated attrition. The participant cohort (n=18) comprised school psychological counsellors, branch teachers (Mathematics, Turkish, Science, English), and administrators from both school tiers, identified in collaboration with the Provincial Directorate of Education. Semi-structured interview protocols, tailored to distinct stakeholder roles, served as the primary data collection instrument. Thematic content analysis of responses revealed pronounced learning loss in Mathematics across both school contexts, with English additionally emerging as a critical domain in high-attrition settings. Stakeholders unanimously emphasized the necessity of early targeted interventions, evidence-based guidance systems, and contextual adaptation of pedagogical environments—integrating school, familial, and community resources—to align with student needs. These findings underscore the imperative of multidimensional strategies to address learning loss, as advocated in Ministry’s policy frameworks, while highlighting subject-specific vulnerabilities requiring prioritized remediation.

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