“Barometers” of Influence, or Factors Which Have the Greatest Impact on Learning. A Review of John C. Hattie (2009) Visible Learning: A Synthesis of Over 800 Meta-Analyses Relating to Achievement

Abstract

This review article discusses the results of a fundamental research on factors affecting the educational achievements of students. Among the discussed concepts are meta-analysis, synthesis of meta-analyses, barometers of influence, and effect size. The author presents an abstract overview of the book contents by chapters and analyses the six main sources of influence: the student, the family, the school, the teacher, the curricula, and teaching and learning approaches. Examples of specific factors (including effect size) are presented, such as biographical factors, feedback, meta-cognitive strategies, repeated reading programs, homework, school finances, class size, etc. The reviewer draws the conclusion that, despite its uniqueness, which appears in the coverage of meta-analyses and the amount of considered factors, the results of John Hattie’s study should be transferred to Russian educational practice very cautiously.