Spanish adaptation of the Perceived Acceptance Scale (PAS) in university students

The main objective of the present study was to adapt the Perceived Acceptance Scale (PAS), developed by Brock, Sarason, Sanghvi and Gurung to evaluate the cognitive component of perceived social support, to the Spanish language. In a sample of 855 university students registered for the first time in different degree courses, the reliability, dimensionality and external validity of the scale scores were analyzed. The results show adequate internal consistency in both the subscales (friends, family, father and mother) and in the overall scale. The factorial structure, derived from a confirmatory factorial analysis, fitted the theoretical model proposed by the authors of the scale. The scale scores showed evidence of convergent and discriminant validity from the observed relationships with the measures of perceived social support. The psychometric properties of the adapted scale provide an adequate measuring instrument for evaluating perceived acceptance in Spanish university students.     

The role of peer groups in adolescents' educational trajectories

The present study investigated whether the members of adolescents' peer groups show similar educational trajectories from comprehensive school to either senior secondary or vocational education, and to what extent their educational expectations, academic achievement, family structure, and parents' SES predict these trajectories. Five hundred thirty adolescents filled in a questionnaire focusing on their educational expectations, academic achievement and family background variables before the transition to post-comprehensive education. They were also asked to nominate three peers with whom they most liked to spend their time. After the transition, they reported the school form they were in. The results showed that adolescents who belonged to the same peer group at the end of comprehensive school shared similar educational trajectories later on. Moreover, family background factors shared by peer-group members predicted the academic trajectories typical of the peer group.     

The adaptation of an adult group screening test for dyslexia into Finland-Swedish: normative data for university students and the effects of language background on test performance

We present a Finland-Swedish adaptation of the Sweden-Swedish group screening test for dyslexia for adults and young adults DUVAN (Lundberg & Wolff, 2003) together with normative data from 143 Finland-Swedish university students. The test is based on the widely held phonological deficit hypothesis of dyslexia and consists of a self-report and five subtests tapping phonological working memory, phonological representation, phonological awareness, and orthographic skill. We describe the test adaptation procedure and show that the internal reliability of the new test version is comparable to the original one. Our results indicate that the language background (Swedish, Finnish, early simultaneous Swedish-Finnish bilingualism) should be taken into account when interpreting the results on the Finland-Swedish DUVAN test. We show that the FS-DUVAN differentiates a group of students with dyslexia diagnosis from normals, and that a low performance on the FS-DUVAN correlates with a positive self-report on familial dyslexia and with a history of special education in school. Finally, we analyze the sensitivity and specificity of the FS-DUVAN for dyslexia among university students.     

Psychological well-being and scholastic achievement among university students in a Canadian Prairie City

This article reports the findings from a questionnaire survey of university students’ scholastic achievement and psychological well-being in a Canadian prairie city. Multiple ordinary least-squares regression analyses revealed that sex, educational aspirations, hours spent on studying, father’s education, physical health, financial stress, and stress due to balancing work, school, and social life were found to be significantly associated with academic performance. More specifically, female students and those who reported higher educational aspirations, indicated better physical health, experienced less financial stress or stress due to finance or to balancing work, school, and social life, spent more time on studying, and those whose father had a higher level of education were found to perform better academically. On the other hand, income, physical health, relationship with significant other, relationship with family, relationships with friends, self image, and academic stress were found to be significantly related to psychological well-being. Put succinctly, respondents who had a higher family income, reported better physical health, expressed a higher degree of satisfaction with their relationships with family, friends, and significant other, indicated a more positive self-image, and experienced less academic stress were found to exhibit a significantly higher level of psychological well-being.     

Efficient personality questionnaire for professional training

This study falls within the theoretical framework of the construct of the Efficient Personality. In this work, we present the study of validity and reliability of an original questionnaire made up of 60 items, applied to students from formative cycles of higher Professional Training. The questionnaire was reduced to 24 items, surpassing its initial .84 Cronbach alpha coefficient. Six first-order factors were obtained: Social Self-concept, Academic Self-concept, Solving Ability, Self-esteem, and Problem Coping. One second-order factor was obtained: Efficient Personality. The six-component factorial solution is similar both to the Spanish version for secondary school and to the Chilean versions for secondary and university populations, dividing the initial dimension of Self-concept into Self-concept and Self-esteem.     

学校心理环境对小学4～6年级学生学业表现的作用及条件

本研究基于具有良好全国代表性的中国儿童青少年心理发育特征数据库,使用多水平建模,分析了来自全国100个区县421所学校的心理环境特征对10826名小学4~6年级学生学业表现的影响途径及其发挥作用的条件。研究结果表明:(1)小学4~6年级学生学习动机和态度及学业成绩中分别有10.0%和33.3%的变异来自学生个体以外的学校因素。(2)在控制学生年级、性别、家庭背景和学校所在地、师资、学校学生总体家庭社会经济地位(SES)等基本特征后,学校总体和学生个体知觉两个层次的学校心理环境对学生学习动机和态度的影响均显著大于其对学生学业成绩的影响;与个体知觉到的心理环境相比,学校总体心理环境对学生学业成绩的作用相对较强。(3)学校总体心理环境对学生学业表现的影响受到学校所在地、学校师资水平、学校学生总体社会经济地位的显著调节。学校总体心理环境对处于师资水平较低、平均家庭年收入较低学校学生的学习动机和态度具有相对更强的保护作用;对处于农村、师资水平较低、平均家长文化水平较低学校学生的学业成绩具有相对更强的保护性作用。上述结果表明,学校总体心理环境对学生学业表现具有重要影响,个体知觉到的心理环境仅部分中介其作用;且学校总体心理环境对学生学业表现的作用强度受到学校所在地、师资水平和学校学生总体社会经济地位的调节。     

Students’ individual interest in physical education: Development and validation of a questionnaire

Identifying the specificity of students’ individual interest in physical education is necessary to capture the different facets of this construct. In contrast to existing questionnaires in education which assess the multidimensionality of individual interest, the current scale used in physical education consists of a single‐item measurement which rates students’ individual interest for multiple physical activities taught during lessons. Even if this single‐item rating provides a basis for classifying interest relative to others, it does not provide information about the nature and internal components of individual interest. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop a valid and reliable questionnaire measuring the multidimensionality of students’ individual interest in physical education. Four stages were followed: (1) the development of a preliminary version based on the findings of a literature review on individual interest and a committee process validation; (2) a first study conducted on 481 secondary school students to establish the factor structure, and internal reliability of this questionnaire; (3) a second study based on 243 secondary school students to confirm its factor structure and to test its temporal stability; and finally, (4) a third study with 253 students to test its concurrent validity. The final form of the questionnaire consists of a three‐factor structure based on 14 items that measure students’ individual interest in physical education: positive affect and willingness to reengage (five items), stored utility value (four items), and stored attainment value and knowledge‐seeking intentions (five items).     

Stability of Emotion Talk in Families from the Toddler to the Preschool Years

A substantial disparity exists for academic achievement in science between Black and White primary-school children. A similar gap exists between boys and girls. The extent to which secondary education influences these achievement gaps has not been established. The authors report analyses showing how these science achievement gaps change as a function of secondary education. Analyses of data from a large, nationally representative longitudinal study of academic achievement showed that racial disparities and disparities associated with gender continue to increase throughout high school.     

Racial and gender science achievement gaps in secondary education

A substantial disparity exists for academic achievement in science between Black and White primary-school children. A similar gap exists between boys and girls. The extent to which secondary education influences these achievement gaps has not been established. The authors report analyses showing how these science achievement gaps change as a function of secondary education. Analyses of data from a large, nationally representative longitudinal study of academic achievement showed that racial disparities and disparities associated with gender continue to increase throughout high school.     

Measuring Readiness and Success at a Higher Education Institution

This study investigated readiness as a correlate of academic success among beginning university students. A total of 829 first-time entering students from a large business sciences faculty were participants (males = 319, females = 510, mean age = 19, SD = 0.50 years). They completed the Academic Readiness Questionnaire (Lemmens, 2010) during the first-year orientation week. Data on academic success, consisting of subject marks and credits were collected in 2009 after a results verification process. Data were analysed with three separate multiple regression analyses. The first analysis consisted of the overall student sample, the second and third consisted of the black and the white students separated from the overall student sample. The main findings reveal that high school marks, the number of subjects in first year (credits registered), goal orientation, race, learning-efficacy, gender and the geographical area of high school have a direct relationship with academic success. The variables that predict academic success for black students are high school marks, credits registered, and parental education. The variables that predict academic success for white students are high school marks, goal orientation, credits registered, learning-efficacy, gender, and parental education.     

Psychometric Evaluation of the Spiritual Transcendence Scale in a Chinese Sample: Is There Factorial Invariance Across Gender,Occupation, and Religion?

This study investigated the reliability and validity of the widely used 23-item Spiritual Transcendence Scale and tested whether there was factorial invariance of the scale by demographic variables such as gender, occupation, and religion in a large Chinese sample (n = 1,894). Exploratory factor analysis with a random subsample supported the original 3-factor structure (prayer fulfillment, universality, and connectedness) in a revised 16-item scale. Confirmatory factor analysis suggested that a 15-item model provided a good fit to the data of the remaining subsample. The scale had alpha reliabilities ranging from .64 to .92 in the exploratory factor analysis and .60 to .92 in the confirmatory factor analysis. Subsequent factorial invariance tests indicated that the scale was invariant across gender and occupation but not religion. Evidence of construct validity was equivocal. Additional empirical studies should be conducted to evaluate the psychometric properties of the scale in other culturally and religiously diverse settings.     

Measurement invariance of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students: A study across secondary school pupils and university students

School engagement is a multidimensional construct characterized by vigour, dedication, and absorption towards academic work that is related to school achievement. This study aimed to examine the measurement invariance of a school engagement measure – the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-Students (UWES-S) – across secondary school pupils and university students. Two samples of secondary school pupils (n = 251) and university students (n = 229) were used. The results supported the original three-factor structure (vigour, dedication and absorption) of the UWES-S instead of a two- or a one-factor structure in both samples. Evidence for the metric and scalar invariance of the measure across secondary school pupils and university students was also found. The university sample had higher scores in vigour and absorption but not in dedication. These findings demonstrate that the UWES-S can be used for developmental studies where school engagement and its relation with other variables needs to be compared across distinct educational levels.     

Development and validation of the School Social Judgment Scale for children: Their judgment of the self to foster achievement at school

Positive judgments on the Self are good predictors of academic achievement. It could be useful to benefit from an instrument able to assess how pupils elaborate self-judgments. So far, such a tool does not exist. The purpose of the present study was to develop a self-report measure of social judgment for children at school (the School Social Judgment Scale—SSJS). 660 pupils completed a questionnaire addressing 12 socio-academic behaviors. An exploratory factor analysis highlighted a four-factor structure of social judgment (Assertiveness, Competence, Effort and Agreeability). A Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) provided further support for this model, both in terms of factorial and construct validity. Reliability ranged from questionable to good depending on SSJS subscales. Multigroup CFA revealed invariance of the SSJS across gender and showed that boys had higher scores than girls for the assertiveness scale. Overall, the SSJS represents an efficient tool to better understand how social judgment for children works. As such, it could assist professionals of education to develop suitable educational support to assist poorly performing children at school.     

The Double Cohort retention and academic success comparison: are students in the new Ontario secondary school program disadvantaged?

In September 2003, Ontario universities accepted a double cohort of new students resulting from the Ontario government’s decision to eliminate Grade 13. The admission to university of two categories of students distinguished by their age and high school program raised a number of questions, not only in terms of admission infrastructure but mostly in what concerns the sum of student retention, academic success, and graduation. Factors associated with success and with the maintenance of university studies are numerous: stress, socioeconomic status, parents’ education, intellectual capacities, motivation, social abilities, and social support (Olds & Papalia, 2000). Therefore, the objectives of this study were: (1) to test the hypothesis of a double cohort effect on student academic success during the first year of university, (2) to verify the hypothesis that high school academic history, socioeconomic variables related to stress and perceived stress predict academic success and retention at the end of first year university. In September 2003, 300 first year students answered questionnaires inquiring about their high school program and high school GPA, their socioeconomic characteristics, and their perceived stress. These measures were then used to predict drop out, final GPA, number of credits attempted, passed and failed in June 2004. Results showed that school persistence and first year university academic achievement are mostly predicted by gender, high school GPA, type of financial resources, and number of hours worked at a paid job. Although not significant, we have found a higher proportion of Grade 12 students who dropped out during first year at university, suggesting a possible long-term effect of high school program on academic achievement.     

Preliminary examination of psychometric properties of the Korean version of the Specific Interpersonal Trust Scale

The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Specific Interpersonal Trust scale of Johnson-George and Swap in Korean samples as a part of the process of providing an exemplary tool for intercultural studies of trust. A translated version of the original scale was administered to 337 university students (157 males, 180 females) in Seoul, Korea. Data were subjected to a principal components analysis and a confirmatory factor analysis. In principal components analysis for the Korean sample (n= 167), three factors were identified and labeled: Overall Trust (Cronbach alpha= .89), Emotional Trust (Cronbach alpha=.88), and Reliableness (Cronbach a=.84). A confirmatory factor analysis (n= 170) showed that the three-factor model was valid for the sample (chi(2)/df= 1.78, RMR= .06, RMSEA= .07, TLI=.92, CFI=.93). Internal consistency reliability and factorial validity were satisfactory in the case of the Korean sample. The Korean version of the Specific Interpersonal Trust Scale made good use of three factors of trust and appeared to be valid without sex differences, while the original scale distinguished the Males subscale from the Females subscale. Implications and limitations of this study were discussed.     

‘The trouble with Year 10’. 13 – 16 year old school students’ attitudes to higher education

This study looked at the impact of Widening Participation interventions on the attitudes of young people towards higher education. A total of 2731 adolescents aged 13–16 years completed a self-report measure of their attitudes to higher education, general and academic self concept and identification with school, family and peers. This was matched with data on the students’ academic attainment and social backgrounds. As expected, attainment scores were significantly positively correlated with take up of Widening Participation activities aimed at increasing participation in higher education, attitudes towards going to university and academic motivation. However, attainment was negatively correlated with perceptions of family attending university and identification with family. Regression analyses found that perceptions of family views about attending university were not a predictor of taking part in Widening Participation activities but were a predictor of attitudes towards higher education. Students in Year 10 aged 14–15 were significantly more negative on most factors than either older or younger students.     

The Gender Gap in Possible Selves: Divergence of Academic Self-Views Among High School and University Students

Two studies were designed to investigate the current and possible academic self-views of university and high school students. In the first study, upper level university students were shown to diverge by gender in their current- and possible-self-views. Women reported more ability for and identification with the arts, communication, and social sciences; men reported more ability for and identification with mathematics, science, technology, and business. Gender differences were greater with respect to possible future selves than to current selves. The second study included lower and upper level university students as well as high school students. Again, a gender divergence appeared among the university students; however, it was not as marked among high school students. Analyses showed that both women and men differed significantly across educational levels in their self-ratings and that, within the masculine-stereotyped academic domains linked to powerful careers, university women endorsed fewer possibilities for themselves that high school women did. These findings suggest that, as they make the transition from high school to university, young women may be actively closing off possibilities for their futures.     

School coexistence and learning in adolescence from a gender perspective

This article reviews recent research about academic learning and school coexistence in adolescence from a gender perspective. It focuses on the research developed by the Preventive Psychology research group (UCM), specially the results from the Spanish National Study of School Coexistence using a sample of 22,247 secondary school students. Research shows that girls are overrepresented in positive indicators whereas boys are in negative indicators, not only in academic adjustment but also in school coexistence. Girls' better academic achievement can be explained by their higher tendency to overcome sexism: they identify with traditional masculinity values (such as success orientation) without giving up traditional femininity values (such as empathy). Based on this, the following conclusions are reached: 1) to extend the advantages of equality also to men; 2) to emphasize that sharing academic contexts and activities is necessary but sufficient to construct equality; and lastly, 3) to improve school coexistence, it is necessary to adopt a integrative gender approach to prevent any kind of violence, including violence against women.     

Effects of perceived parental school support and family communication on delinquent behaviors in latinos and white non-latinos

The authors examined the roles of perceived parental school support and family communication in the context of delinquent behaviors in Mexican American and White non-Latino adolescents. Family communication was defined as the degree to which adolescents endorsed that they communicated with their parents about a variety of topics. The Parental School Support scale was administered to assess adolescents' perceptions of parental support for academic pursuits. Data analysis included the relationship between these variables and their predictive relationship to delinquency, and the relationship to gender and ethnicity. Results demonstrated that adolescents' perceptions of family communication and parental school support were related to the likelihood of committing delinquent acts. There were no significant differences in gender or ethnicity in perceived levels of family communication and parental school support.     

Methods in Social Neuroscience,edited by Eddie Harmon-Jones and Jennifer Beer

Abstract

A 10-item Service Ethic Scale was developed and its relationship to personal and demographic variables was analyzed using a sample of secondary school administrators. Ninety-two usable surveys were obtained from a sample of 150 secondary school administrators randomly chosen from the 1994–1995 Louisiana Directory of Schools (Bureau of School Accountability, 1994). Results of exploratory factor analysis showed that the scale had 1 factor that explained 63.2% of the variance, and showed excellent reliability. The scale was significantly correlated with endorsement of the Protestant work ethic and the desire to implement an ethical values curriculum. However, the scale was not related to participants' gender, age, job tenure, or school location (i.e., rural or urban).