The mediating effect of leader-member exchange between strengths use and work engagement

This study investigated the mediating effect of leader-member exchange (LMX) (as perceived by subordinates) in the relationship between strengths use and work engagement. Participants numbered 213 employees in a South African financial organisation (females=53.10%, blacks=19.40%). Data on their perceptions of LMX, strengths use and work engagement were collected with the LMX-7, SUDIQ and UWES-17. Structural equation modelling methods with bootstrapping were used to determine the role of LMX in the relationship between strengths use and work engagement. Findings showed that perceived organisational support for strengths use (POSSU) had a positive relationship with both LMX and work engagement, and that LMX had a positive relationship with work engagement. Furthermore, LMX mediated the relationship between POSSU and work engagement, indicating the important role of high quality leader- member exchange in organisations.     

Problematic internet use and academic achievement: a focus on interpersonal behaviours and academic engagement

In accordance with the Self-Determination Theory, the interpersonal behavior of others can support or thwart the basic psychological needs and influence the well-being of students. Furthermore, several studies have shown that problematic internet use has a negative influence on the academic field. However, no studies have investigated the impact of need-supportive and need-thwarting interpersonal behaviors (using the SDT theoretical framework) on internet addiction, academic engagement, and academic achievement. For this reason, the main purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between students’ perceptions of others’ behaviors that supported or thwarted their basic psychological needs, internet addiction, and academic engagement and the impact on academic achievement through two studies. In the first study, 889 students (age: M?=?20.26, SD?=?3.16), were used to investigate the dimensionality of the Italian version of the Interpersonal Behaviour Questionnaire (IBQ) and the reliability, convergent and concurrent validity. In the second study, 515 students (age: M?=?20.26, SD?=?3.16) were tested to investigate the mediating role of problematic internet use on the relationship between students’ perceptions of others’ behaviors that supported or thwarted their basic psychological needs and academic engagement and the impact on academic achievement. The results of the first study suggested that the Italian version of the IBQ shows good psychometric characteristics in the Italian context. The results of the second study confirmed the mediating role of problematic internet use and academic engagement as mediators between students’ perceptions of need-thwarting interpersonal behaviors and academic achievement.

     

大学生学习体验与学习结果的关系：学生投入的中介作用

选取3063名大学二年级本科生（平均年龄19.76 ± 0.73岁）为被试,考察大学生投入在学习体验（课堂学习体验和课外学习体验）和学习结果（学业成就、共通能力和学习满意度）间的中介作用。结果发现：（1）大学生投入在学习体验和学业成就间起部分中介作用;（2）大学生投入在学习体验和共通能力间起完全中介作用;（3）大学生投入在学习体验和满意度间起部分中介作用。     

家庭环境对中学生阅读能力的影响:阅读投入、阅读兴趣的中介作用

采用学生阅读能力测试卷和学生阅读状况调查问卷,对随机选取的559名中学生进行调查,并运用结构方程模型探讨了家庭环境影响阅读能力的内在机制。结果发现,家庭环境影响阅读投入的路径系数为0.18,阅读投入影响阅读兴趣的路径系数为0.51,阅读兴趣影响阅读投入的路径系数为0.80,阅读投入影响阅读能力的路径系数为0.46,各路径系数均达到显著水平(p0.05)。结果表明,(1)家庭环境通过阅读投入的完全中介作用影响阅读兴趣;阅读兴趣通过阅读投入的完全中介作用影响阅读成绩;(2)家庭环境对阅读能力的影响是通过阅读投入和阅读兴趣的循环互动作用实现的。     

Expatriates’ success in Ethiopia: Empirical evidence on the overlooked impact of cultural value alignment

The present study assessed the impact on the work engagement of expatriates’ personal value orientation alignment with the host country’s national culture. Participants were 231 expatriates from seven countries who are working in Ethiopia (females = 17%; mean age = 36 years, SD = 2.72 years). The expatriates completed measures of personal value orientation, cross-culture adjustment, and work engagement levels. Structural equation modelling analysis indicated expatriates with personal value orientations that align with the host country’s national culture to have a higher work engagement level. Cross-cultural adjustment mediated the relationship between personal value orientation and work engagement. Expatriates’ personal value orientation fit with the host country’s national culture is a resource to accomplish their work successfully.     

当事人的投入与会谈效果、咨询效果的关系研究

本研究探索了当事人会谈时的投入与即时会谈效果的关系;当事人咨询初期的投入与整体咨询效果的关系。结果发现当事人会谈时的投入与即时会谈效果、在咨询初期的投入与整体咨询效果都呈现显著的正相关。进一步回归分析发现,当事人在咨询初期的投入与整体咨询效果呈现正U型的偏态分布,少数投入水平最低的当事人获得中等水平的咨询效果,中等投入水平的当事人咨询效果最差,投入水平最高的当事人的咨询效果最好。     

Strengths use and work engagement: a weekly diary study

The present study among 65 civil engineers investigates the impact of organizational support for strengths use on weekly work engagement and proactive behaviour. Positive psychology postulates that strengths use makes people feel authentic and efficacious. We argue that employees use these positive psychological states as resources that fuel work engagement and proactive work behaviour. Participants completed a general questionnaire regarding strengths use support, and a weekly quantitative diary questionnaire regarding their strengths use, self-efficacy, work engagement, and proactive behaviour over a period of five consecutive workweeks. In line with the hypotheses, the results of multilevel structural equation analyses showed that organizational strengths use support was positively related to weekly strengths use. Furthermore, the results indicated that weekly strengths use was positively related to weekly work engagement and proactive behaviour, through weekly self-efficacy (sequential mediation). Although strengths use support contributed indirectly to work engagement (mediated by strengths use and self-efficacy), there was no significant indirect relationship with proactive behaviour. Our study indicates that strengths use is associated with employees’ levels of self-efficacy, work engagement, and proactive behaviour and that organizations can help employees to use their strengths more often by giving them the opportunity to do what they are good at.     

Check & Connect: The importance of relationships for promoting engagement with school

The purpose of this study was to examine whether the closeness and quality of relationships between intervention staff and students involved in the Check & Connect program were associated with improved student engagement in school. Participants included 80 elementary and middle school students referred to the Check & Connect program for poor attendance, an early sign of disengagement, while in elementary school. After accounting for student risk and prior attendance, student and interventionist perceptions of the closeness and quality of their relationship were found to be associated with improved engagement in terms of school attendance, and interventionist perceptions of their relationships with students were associated with teacher-rated academic engagement (e.g., prepared for class, work completion, persistence). The importance of designing and evaluating relationship-based interventions for students at-risk for school failure is discussed.     

How ‘other people matter’ in a classroom-based strengths intervention: Exploring interpersonal strategies and classroom outcomes

Interventions that identify and develop character strengths have been shown to benefit well-being, academic engagement and achievement. Strengths research within positive psychology has focused primarily on individual outcomes with less attention on group or relationships effects. This study (N?=?193) examined the effect of a classroom-based strengths intervention on class cohesion and friction, relatedness, engagement, well-being and strengths use. A six-session programme was trialled with 9–12-year-old students. Students learned to recognise strengths and practised strengths-related goal setting. At three-months post-test, multi-level modelling indicated that intervention group participants scored significantly higher on class cohesion and relatedness need satisfaction, and lower on class friction than the non-randomised control group. Programme participants also reported higher levels of positive affect, classroom engagement, autonomy need satisfaction and strengths use. School-based strengths interventions may influence individual perceptions of class climate, engagement and student relatedness in addition to individual well-being.     

Are perceived school climate dimensions predictive of students’ engagement?

Students’ engagement is known to be associated with academic success and to prevent school dropouts. While many studies have considered this variable when examining school trajectories, more research is needed to investigate the factors that may sustain and promote engagement in school, regarded as a multidimensional construct (affective vs. cognitive vs. behavioral engagement). In the present cross-sectional study, associations between students’ perceptions of school climate dimensions and their level of engagement were explored. The differential effects on these associations of sex and social background were also examined. Results from a sample of 955 high-school students showed that a model incorporating six dimensions of perceived school climate explained a large proportion of the variance in students’ engagement, especially affective engagement. The perceived climate of relations between teachers and students appeared to be highly predictive of students’ engagement. Analyses also revealed that the predictiveness of school climate factors for affective, cognitive and behavioral engagement varied slightly according to sex and social background. These results highlight important levers associated with students’ engagement in school.     

Parent and teacher effects on academic coping and classroom engagement: Testing a motivational model

Little is known about the contextual antecedents and consequences of children’s academic coping. One hundred and eighty-three-sixth grade students participated in a study that examined a process model whereby children’s perceptions of parent and teacher behaviors were associated with children’s coping strategies through children’s appraisals of failure. It also examined whether these coping strategies were then associated with students’ classroom engagement. Results revealed that parent autonomy support was indirectly associated with defensive coping through its effects on children’s appraisals of failure. There was also some support that cognitive appraisals, particularly threat appraisals were indirectly associated with child reported engagement through coping, suggesting that coping appraisals impact children’s engagement and participation in the classroom through their effects on coping behavior/strategy use. The findings underscore the importance of parent autonomy support for children’s appraisals of failure, coping, and engagement.     

课堂公平对高中生学习投入的影响及其机制：链式中介模型

学习投入是预测学生学业成就的重要指标。如何提高学习投入一直是学者们探讨的具有较强现实意义的研究课题。然而,以往鲜有从课堂公平的视角进行的探索。本研究从社会交换理论出发,以621名高中生为被试,探讨课堂公平对高中生学习投入的影响,以及师生交换关系和学习自我效能感在二者关系中的链式中介机制。发现：（1）课堂公平与师生交换关系、学习自我效能感以及学习投入两两之间均呈显著正相关;（2）课堂公平不仅能直接正向预测中学生的学习投入,而且还能够通过师生交换关系的单独中介作用、学习自我效能感的单独中介作用及二者的链式中介作用间接影响学习投入。研究结果揭示了课堂公平对学习投入影响的内部心理机制,为通过营造课堂公平而改进师生交换关系与学习自我效能感以及更好地提高中学生学习投入提供了科学参考。     

Triangulating School Climate: Areas of Convergence and Divergence Across Multiple Levels and Perspectives

Students often have differing perceptions of their school's climate. Although these subjective perceptions can be meaningful outcome predictors, discrepancies create challenges for those seeking to globally characterize or intervene to improve the climate of a school. Trained, independent  observers can provide insights on perceptible and ostensibly malleable aspects of the school; however, the extent to which these observations help us to understand differences in students’ report of school climate has not been examined. To study this, we assessed convergence and divergence between independent observers’ assessments and students’ perceptions of school climate at the classroom and school levels. Data come from the Maryland Safe and Supportive Schools Initiative (MDS3), which included 20,647 students and observations of 303 teachers in 50 high schools. Students responded to survey items regarding safety, engagement, and environment; independent observers assessed teachers’ classroom practices and the school physical environment. A three-level model partitioned variance to the individual, classroom, and school levels. The variance in students’ climate perceptions was primarily between students, with most classroom and school intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) ranging from 0.01 to 0.08, though one was as high as 0.20; however, observations explained large percentages of between-school variation in climate (58%–91%). Findings suggest the potential utility of outside observations for explaining school-level variation in school climate to inform decision-making and future research.     

双职工家庭父母工作投入对初中生学业投入的影响

基于资源保存理论,采用工作投入问卷、关系网络问卷、学业自我效能感问卷、学业投入问卷对326个双职工家庭的父母及其初中生子女进行调查,探讨父母工作投入对初中生学业投入的影响。结果表明：（1）父母工作投入、父母社会支持、子女学业自我效能感、子女学业投入两两之间呈显著正相关;（2）父母社会支持和子女学业自我效能感在父母工作投入影响子女学业投入中起中介作用;（3）父母社会支持和子女学业自我效能感的中介效应不存在显著的性别角色差异。从资源保存理论来看,父母工作投入对子女学业投入的影响,在一定程度上反映了资源在家庭系统内的投资和增益过程。     

双职工家庭父母工作投入对初中生学业投入的影响

基于资源保存理论,采用工作投入问卷、关系网络问卷、学业自我效能感问卷、学业投入问卷对326个双职工家庭的父母及其初中生子女进行调查,探讨父母工作投入对初中生学业投入的影响。结果表明：（1）父母工作投入、父母社会支持、子女学业自我效能感、子女学业投入两两之间呈显著正相关;（2）父母社会支持和子女学业自我效能感在父母工作投入影响子女学业投入中起中介作用;（3）父母社会支持和子女学业自我效能感的中介效应不存在显著的性别角色差异。从资源保存理论来看,父母工作投入对子女学业投入的影响,在一定程度上反映了资源在家庭系统内的投资和增益过程。     

Positive Feelings at School: On the Relationships Between Students’ Character Strengths,School-Related Affect,and School Functioning

The present study was designed to examine the relationships between students’ character strengths, school-related affect, positive school functioning (i.e., motivation to learn, interest, and engagement at class), and school achievement following the “engine model of well-being” that is focusing on inputs (e.g., personality traits), processes (e.g., moods, emotions), and outcomes (e.g., engagement, accomplishments) within the context of well-being research. A sample of 196 children completed the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths for Youth, which assesses 24 character strengths, and the PANAS-C that assesses school-related positive and negative affect. Additionally, homeroom teachers rated students’ positive school functioning (i.e., motivation, engagement, and interest at school) and their overall school achievement. The character strengths of zest, love of learning, perseverance, and social intelligence showed the strongest positive correlations with school-related positive affect. Teamwork, hope, self-regulation, and love were substantially negatively correlated with school-related negative affect. Certain character strengths showed positive relationships with positive school functioning and overall school achievement. A path model, testing the “engine model of well-being”, found—additionally to direct effects—indirect relationships between character strengths and positive school functioning (through school-related positive affect), which in turn leads to higher school achievement. The presented findings show character strengths as meaningful resources in the schooling context. Character strengths emerge to be crucial for students to experience school-related positive affect, which in turn supports students’ positive school functioning and their overall school achievement. The results demonstrate the complex interplay between students’ personality traits, affect, school functioning, and achievement at school.     

Ethics culture and ethics climate in relation to employee engagement in a developing country setting

The study investigated the relationship between employees’ perceived workplace ethics culture and climate variables and their level of engagement. A non-probability sample (N?=?839; females?=?32%) was permanently employed in a railway organisation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The research constructs were measured using the Corporate Ethical Virtues (CEV) Scale, Ethical Climate Questionnaire (ECQ), and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES). A canonical analysis indicated that the participants’ perceived workplace ethics culture and workplace ethics climate were significantly and positively related to their level of engagement. Structural equation modelling indicated a moderate fit between the workplace ethics culture, workplace ethics climate and employee engagement canonical variate constructs. The findings provide evidence that individual's perception of work ethics culture and work ethics climate explain their level of work engagement.     

Female adolescent soccer players' perceived motivational climate,goal orientations,and mindful engagement

The purpose of this study was to examine two objectives: a) a moderation effect of task orientation in the predictive relationship of ego orientation to mindful engagement, and b) the mediational role of female high school soccer players' mindful engagement in the relationship between their perceptions of a caring/task-involving climate and task orientation to their practice strategy use and ability to peak under pressure. Athletes (N = 190, Mage = 15.59) completed measures of aforementioned psychometric variables. The moderation analysis revealed that athletes' task orientation and their mindful engagement were in a positive and significant liner relationship. The final mediation model results suggest that both female high school soccer athletes' mindful engagement and practice strategy use mediate the relationship of their perceptions of a caring/task-involving climate and goal orientations to their ability to peak under pressure. Results suggest that coaches' efforts to create a caring/task-involving climate in sport may help athletes be more task oriented and mindfully engaged in their sport, and thus experience more positive outcomes.     

Strengths and Subjective Wellbeing in Adolescence: Strength-Based Parenting and the Moderating Effect of Mindset

Recent research suggests that strength-based parenting—the tendency for parents to see and encourage children to use their strengths—relates to lower stress and higher life satisfaction in adolescents. The current study tests whether strength-based parenting, in conjunction with a teenager’s strengths use, influences the teenager’s subjective wellbeing, and whether a growth mindset moderates the relationship between strength-based parenting and strengths use. Three hundred and sixty three adolescents (M _age = 13.74, 51% female) completed questionnaire measures of strength-based parenting, strengths use, subjective wellbeing (life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect), Extraversion, Neuroticism, and two aspects of growth mindset. A hierarchical regression using latent variables found that strengths use and strength-based parenting were both significant independent predictors of subjective wellbeing, over and above the effects of extraversion and neuroticism. A mediation analysis found that strengths use partially mediated the relationship between strength-based parenting and subjective wellbeing. Finally, a novel measure of strengths mindset significantly moderated the relationship between strength-based parenting and strengths use. These results suggest that adolescents who see their parents as strength-based report greater strengths use (especially when they have a growth mindset about their strengths) and greater subjective wellbeing.     

中职生家长投入与子女学业投入的关系：教养风格的调节作用

中职生的家庭资源是影响其学业发展的重要因素。本研究调查了国内8个省市1185名中职生和高中生,探讨了中职生家长投入的现状特点及其与教养风格、学业投入的关系。结果发现：中职生家长投入水平显著低于高中生家长;家长教养风格（自主支持/控制）调节了家长投入对中职生学业投入的预测作用。在自主支持的教养风格条件下,家长的在家辅导、参与决策能显著预测学生学业投入的水平,而在控制的教养风格条件下则不成立。