Self-regulation and academic achievement in elementary school children

Self-regulation is a key construct in children's healthy and adaptive development. In this chapter, the authors situate self-regulation in a theoretical context that describes its underlying components that are most important for early school success: flexible attention, working memory, and inhibitory control. The authors review evidence that supports substantive links between these aspects of self-regulation and academic achievement in young children. They also discuss methodological challenges in reliably and validly assessing these skills (involving measures that are biased, are not applicable across broad age ranges, or triangulated) and describe some recent advances in measures of self-regulation (involving the NIH Toolbox or the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders assessment) that are reliable, ecologically valid, and predictive of children's school achievement.     

Personality,self-regulated learning,and academic entitlement

The current study explored the relation between the Big-Five personality domains, self-regulated learning, and academic entitlement. Academic entitlement is defined as the tendency to possess expectations of unearned academic success, unearned/undeserved academic services, and/or the expectation of unrealistic accommodation (Chowning and Campbell in J Indiv Diff 101(4): 982, 2009; Singleton-Jackson et al. in Innov Higher Educ, 2010. doi: 10.1007/s10755-010-9151-y). Academic entitlement is a pervasive problem in today’s university environment (Twenge and Campbell in The narcissism epidemic: living in the age of entitlement. Simon and Schuster, New York, 2009), making it important to understand risk factors for academic entitlement. Previous research on academic entitlement has reported a relation between personality factors and academic entitlement (Chowning and Campbell 2009), and between academic entitlement and self-regulated learning (Achacoso 2002). The current study explores the relations among these three constructs from a multivariate perspective using canonical correlation analysis. Results suggested two significant canonical correlations that accounted for approximately 48% of the variance in the academic entitlement subscales.     

Academic buoyancy,academic motivation,and academic achievement among filipino high school students

Academic buoyancy refers to students’ capability of dealing with day-to-day obstacles in the school contexts. Previous studies have demonstrated that academic buoyancy is linked to optimal outcomes. However, limited research has been conducted to explore why academic buoyancy can predict positive academic functioning. This research examined the association of academic buoyancy with academic motivational dimensions and achievement among 393 Filipino high school students. The indirect effects of academic buoyancy on achievement via the intermediate variable - academic motivational orientations were explored. Findings showed that academic buoyancy was associated with higher levels of academic achievement as well as controlled and autonomous motivational orientations. Academic buoyancy had indirect effects on achievement via autonomous motivation. This means that intrinsic motivation serves as a potential mechanism through which academic buoyancy may be associated with perceived academic achievement. Findings of this research emphasize the academic benefits of cultivating students’ capability to deal with daily academic hassles.

     

The relationship between procrastination,delay of gratification,and job satisfaction among high school teachers

The present study aimed at determining whether a significant relationship exists between procrastination, delay of gratification, and job satisfaction, with work‐related stress as an intervening variable among high school teachers. The sample consisted of 150 high school teachers from Karachi, Pakistan. The analysis showed a negative correlation between procrastination and job satisfaction, and a positive correlation between delay of gratification and job satisfaction. Also, procrastination and delay of gratification were significant predictors of work‐related stress, and work‐related stress was also a significant predictor of job satisfaction. In conclusion, when the teachers are not procrastinating on their job and score high on delay of gratification they will be more satisfied with their job and feel less stressed.     

Intrinsic,identified, and controlled types of motivation for school subjects in young elementary school children

Background. There are two approaches to the differential examination of school motivation. The first is to examine motivation towards specific school subjects (between school subject differentiation). The second is to examine school motivation as a multidimensional concept that varies in terms of not only intensity but also quality (within school subject differentiation). These two differential approaches have led to important discoveries and provided a better understanding of student motivational dynamics. However, little research has combined these two approaches. Aims. This study examines young elementary students' motivations across school subjects (writing, reading, and maths) from the stance of self‐determination theory. First, we tested whether children self‐report different levels of intrinsic, identified, and controlled motivation towards specific school subjects. Second, we verified whether children self‐report differentiated types of motivation across school subjects. Sample. Participants were 425 French‐Canadian children (225 girls, 200 boys) from three elementary schools. Children were in Grades 1 (N=121), 2 (N=126), and 3 (N=178). Results. Results show that, for a given school subject, young elementary students self‐report different levels of intrinsic, identified, and controlled motivation. Results also indicate that children self‐report different levels of motivation types across school subjects. Our findings also show that most differentiation effects increase across grades. Some gender effects were also observed. Conclusion. These results highlight the importance of distinguishing among types of school motivation towards specific school subjects in the early elementary years.     

Multiple goals,motivation and academic learning

Background: The type of academic goals pursued by students is one of the most important variables in motivational research in educational contexts. Although motivational theory and research have emphasised the somewhat exclusive nature of two types of goal orientation (learning goals versus performance goals), some studies (Meece, 1994; Seifert, 1995, 1996) have shown that the two kinds of goals are relatively complementary and that it is possible for students to have multiple goals simultaneously, which guarantees some flexibility to adapt more efficaciously to various contexts and learning situations. Aim: The principal aim of this study is to determine the academic goals pursued by university students and to analyse the differences in several very significant variables related to motivation and academic learning. Sample: Participants were 609 university students (74% women and 26% men) who filled in several questionnaires about the variables under study. Method: We used cluster analysis ('quick cluster analysis' method) to establish the different groups or clusters of individuals as a function of the three types of goals (learning goals, performance goals, and social reinforcement goals). By means of MANOVA, we determined whether the groups or clusters identified were significantly different in the variables that are relevant to motivation and academic learning. Lastly, we performed ANOVA on the variables that revealed significant effects in the previous analysis. Results: Using cluster analysis, three groups of students with different motivational orientations were identified: a group with predominance of performance goals (Group PG: n = 230), a group with predominance of multiple goals (Group MG: n = 238), and a group with predominance of learning goals (Group LG: n = 141). Conclusions: Groups MG and LG attributed their success more to ability, they had higher perceived ability, they took task characteristics into account when planning which strategies to use in the learning process, they showed higher persistence, and used more deep learning strategies than did the students with predominance of performance goals (Group PG). On the other hand, Groups MG and PG took the evaluation criteria more into account when deciding which strategies to use in order to learn, and they attributed their failures more to luck than did Group LG. Students from Group MG attributed their success more to effort than did the other two groups and they attained higher achievement than Group PG. Group LG tended to attribute their failures more to lack of effort than did the other two groups.     

The role of delay of gratification,substance abuse,and violent behavior on academic achievement of disciplinary alternative middle school students

Disciplinary alternative education programs are academic environments where students are detained for 45 days by the county or court for delinquent and/or deviant behavior in their traditional schools. This study examined individual differences in academic performance, violence, willingness to delay gratification, and substance abuse of 391 students enrolled in a disciplinary alternative middle school program. Results revealed that students who reported a high propensity to delay gratification and low tendencies towards violent behavior and substance abuse obtained high math scores on the state standardized test. In addition, the negative association between violent behavior on math scores was attenuated by race/ethnicity status. Socio-economic status was not significantly associated with math test scores. Implications for further studies and educational implications are discussed.     

Academic engagement of elementary school children with learning disabilities

Variability of attention-to-task and its relation to instructional contexts for children with learning disabilities was investigated. Twenty-four mainstreamed children were observed in both the regular class and the resource room. Student behaviors relating to academic engagement and the situational contexts in which they occurred were coded. Significant differences in rate of engagement were found for classroom setting, type of instruction, and level of peer involvement, indicating that degree of attending is not stable but a function of the context in which it occurs. Implications for the assessment of attentional problems and instructional practices, especially as related to the resource room program, are discussed.     

Individual and class moral disengagement in bullying among elementary school children

A cross‐sectional study from a sample of 663 elementary school children assessed the four sets of moral disengagement mechanisms conceptualized by Bandura (i.e., cognitive restructuring, minimizing one's agentive role, disregarding/distorting the consequences, blaming/dehumanizing the victim) at both the individual and the class level. Additionally, an analysis of the relations of these mechanisms to pro‐bullying behavior was conducted. Multilevel analysis showed a significant relationship between cognitive restructuring and individual pro‐bullying behavior. Moreover, between‐class variability of pro‐bullying behavior was positively related to minimizing one's agentive role and blaming/dehumanizing the victim at the class level. Conversely, class disregarding/distorting the consequences was negatively associated with between‐class variation in the outcome behavior. Implications for understanding the role of morality in children's bullying are discussed. Aggr. Behav. 38:378‐388, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Modeling relationships between physical fitness,executive functioning,and academic achievement in primary school children

ObjectivesThe relationship between physical fitness and academic achievement in children has received much attention, however, whether executive functioning plays a mediating role in this relationship is unclear. The aim of this study therefore was to investigate the relationships between physical fitness, executive functioning, and academic achievement, more specifically to test whether the relationship between physical fitness and academic achievement is direct or indirect, via executive functioning.DesignCross-sectional.MethodThis study examined 263 children (145 boys, 118 girls), aged 7–12 years, who performed tests on physical fitness, executive functioning, and academic achievement.ResultsIn a structural equation model linking physical fitness to executive functioning and academic achievement there was a significant relationship between physical fitness and executive functioning (r = .43, R² = .19) and academic achievement (r = .33, R² = .11). Adding a relationship from executive functioning to academic achievement resulted in a non-significant direct link between physical fitness and academic achievement (r = −.08, R² = .006). However, a significant indirect relation through executive functioning persisted. The indirect relation between fitness and academic achievement (r = .41), was stronger than both the direct and total relation (r = .33).ConclusionExecutive functioning thus served as a mediator in the relation between physical fitness and academic achievement. This highlights the importance of including executive functioning when studying the relationship between physical fitness and academic achievement in children.     

Affect and delay of gratification

Three experiments investigated the influence of positive and negative affect manipulations on children's preferences for small immediate versus large delayed rewards. Positive and negative affect were induced via verbal instructions to imagine happy and sad experiences. Elementary school children were randomly assigned to a control condition or to one of several treatment conditions consisting of two affect manipulations: a positive followed by a negative, the reverse, and (in the third experiment) two positives or two negatives. In some conditions (in the second and third experiments) measurement of delayed reward preference followed the first and second affect inductions whereas in other conditions (in the second and third experiments) measurement followed only the second affect manipulation. As predicted, negative affect subjects chose fewer large delayed rewards than did positive affect subjects during the first assessment (p < .02). At the second assessment, comparison among treatment and control conditions revealed the influence of a prior commitment effect which negated the potential influence of a second affect manipulation on preference for delayed rewards.     

Attraction and delay of gratification

The present study examined the degree to which differential attraction to the prizes could explain children's decisions in a delay of gratification situation. After rating the attractiveness of prizes, each child responded to four delay choice situations. While significant effects were obtained on only one choice pair, the results generalized to the other choices: nondelayers consistently perceived less discrepancy in attraction between the immediate and delayed rewards than did delayers. In general, the smaller discrepancy among nondelayers was due to a greater attraction to the immediate prize. As predicted, these results held only for “inconsistent” children and not for children who consistently delayed or did not delay across all four choices. The implications of this finding for trait-situation explanations of delay are discussed. While it was predicted that differential attraction would explain previously reported SES differences in delay tendencies, middle and lower SES children responded similarly, both in level of attraction to the prizes and actual delay behavior.     

Relationships among attributes, physical fitness, and self-concept development of elementary school children.

The purpose of the investigation was to examine the relationships among children's selected attributes, health-related physical fitness; and self-concept development. Subjects were 97 elementary school children in Grades 1 through 6. Correlations were examined for significance and effect size among the attributes of age, weight, body mass index, four scores from the Health Related Physical Fitness Test, and the total score from the Martinek-Zaichkowsky Self-concept Scale for Children. A max R2 forward stepwise multiple regression analysis was performed to assess which attribute and physical fitness variables were the best predictors of self-concept scores. Analysis indicated that the one-variable model of weight was the best predictor of self-concept.     

Retrieval-based learning: The need for guided retrieval in elementary school children

Three experiments were aimed at adapting retrieval practice techniques that are effective with college students to work with elementary school children. Children participated in their classrooms and completed activities with educational texts selected from the school curriculum. In Experiment 1, when children were asked to freely recall the texts, they recalled very little of the material (about 10%) and showed almost no improvement after rereading. In another condition that involved creating concept maps, the children produced only about 20% of the ideas on their maps, even though they viewed the texts during the entire activity. Experiments 2 and 3 explored ways to provide support during retrieval activities. In Experiment 2, children were very successful at retrieving knowledge on concept maps that were partially completed. In Experiment 3, a question map activity, where questions were displayed in a relational map format, was effective for guiding retrieval practice and improving learning relative to repeated studying. The results demonstrate the importance of examining strategies that work with college students with young children in educational settings using authentic materials. The results also highlight the need for guided retrieval practice in young children.     

The ability of children to delay gratification in an exchange task

The ability to wait for a reward is a necessary capacity for economic transactions. This study is an age-related investigation of children's ability to delay gratification in an exchange task requiring them to wait for a significant reward. We gave 252 children aged 2-4 a small piece of cookie, then offered them an opportunity to wait for a predetermined delay period before exchanging it for a larger one. In a first experiment, the children had to exchange the initial food item for rewards two, four or eight times larger. Results showed that children aged 3-4 years old sustained longer time lags for larger rewards than for smaller rewards. This effect was not found in 2-year-old subjects. In a second experiment, a reward 40 times larger than the initial piece was offered to determine the maximum waiting time that children could sustain. All age groups increased their performances. Older children were more successful at waiting, but some children as young as 2 years old were able to tolerate delays of up to 16 min. Older children who chose to give up waiting earlier than their known capacity demonstrated anticipation skills which had not been seen in younger children, showing that they had anticipated an increase in the time lag, and that they had considered both time and reward value when making their decision. Despite the age effect, we did not establish any limits for delaying gratification in children. This study may have educational implications for dealing with behavioral misconduct, which is known to be related to impulsivity control in young children.