Reflection-impulsivity and academic attainment in emotionally disturbed children

Sixty-five emotionally disturbed children were administered the Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFF) and standard achievement tests. Significant correlations were obtained between MFF errors and achievement and Mental Age (MA) but not between MFF latencies and achievement and MA. Fifteen impulsive and fifteen reflective children, matched on MA and not differing on Chronological Age (CA), did not differ on their levels of academic achievement. However, the reflective group was found to be two grades above the impulsive group in actual grade placement. Results are discussed in terms of possible behavioral differences and their consequences for the individual.     

The development of optimism and perceived attainment from elementary school to junior high school

Optimism (a perception of future improvement of children's own achievement levels) and perceived present attainment were examined developmentally in relation to academic achievement and motivation. Subjects were 507 Japanese third-, fifth-, and seventh-grade children. After categorization as high or low on perceived attainment (H/L) and optimism (h/l), two (Hh, Ll), three (Hh, Lh, Ll), and four (Hh, Hl, Lh, Ll) groups were obtained in the third, fifth, and seventh grades, respectively. These groups showed characteristic features in terms of motivation- and achievement-related measures. Both optimism and perceived attainment explained the differences in scores on the measures between the two third-grade groups. In grades 5 and 7 perceived attainment was the primary factor explaining the group differences, while the optimism dimension was a secondary factor, whose influence was stronger in grade 7. The results are discussed in relation to the development of self-perceptions, as well as changes in learning environment between elementary school and junior high school.     

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.     

Mental contrasting facilitates academic performance in school children

Two brief intervention studies tested whether teaching students to mentally contrast a desired future with its present reality resulted in better academic performance than teaching students to only think about the desired future. German elementary school children (N = 49; Study 1) and US middle school children (N = 63; Study 2) from low-income neighborhoods who were taught mental contrasting achieved comparatively higher scores in learning foreign language vocabulary words after 2 weeks or 4 days, respectively. Results have implications for research on the self-regulation of commitment to solve assigned tasks in classroom settings, and for increasing academic performance in school children in low-income areas.     

来厦务工子女在初中教育的若干问题

改革开放以来,厦门作为最早的四个经济特区,吸引和接纳了大量来厦务工人员,伴随着进城务工潮而来的就是其子女(多数是未成年人)的教育问题,正确认识来厦务工子女在初中教育的若干问题,认真进行归因分析,找到解决问题的对策和建议,有助于实现教育最大化公平,构建人文、和谐、稳定的社会环境。     

Direct and relational bullying among primary school children and academic achievement

The association between bullying behaviour and academic achievement was investigated in 1016 children from primary schools (6-7-year-olds/year 2: 480; 8-9-year-olds/year 4: 536). Children were individually interviewed about their bullying experiences using a standard interview. Key Stage I National Curriculum results (assessed at the end of year 2) were collected from class teachers, and parents completed a behaviour and health questionnaire. Results revealed no relationship between direct bullying behaviour and decrements in academic achievement. Conversely, higher academic achievement at year 2 predicted bullying others relationally (e.g. social exclusion at year 4). Relational victimisation, Special Educational Needs (SEN), being a pupil from a rural school or small classes and low socioeconomic status (SES) predicted low academic achievement for year 2 children. Findings discount the theory that underachievement and frustration at school leads to direct, physical bullying behaviour.     

Psychostimulant effects on academic and behavioral measures for ADHD junior high school students in a lecture format classroom

This study evaluated the effects of two doses of psychostimulants on nine ADHD students' performance in a classroom designed to be analogous to a junior high school American history class conducted during a summer treatment program. Double-bline, placebo-controlled assessment revealed significant and clinically important effects of psychostimulants on quiz and test performance, observations of attention and behavior during lectures, and teacher ratings, as well as accuracy on assignments completed during study hall. Analysis of individual differences revealed a 66% positive response rate. The implications for use of psychostimulants with ADHD young adolescents are discussed.This research was conducted while the second author was supported in part by grants from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (AA06267) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (DA 05605). This study was conducted during the 1989 Summer Treatment Program (STP) conducted by the Attention Deficit Disorder Program at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. We thank WPIC for its support, as well as the ADD and STP program staffs for their helpful cooperation, particularly Kelly Davis, Karen Greenslade, Vincent Grudberg, Gray Vallano, and Mary Vodde-Hamilton.     

The academic trajectories of children of immigrants and their school environments

Data from approximately 14,000 children in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey--Kindergarten Cohort were analyzed to examine the associations between children's immigrant status and their academic trajectories from kindergarten to 3rd grade, with particular attention to the effects of school environments. Growth curve modeling results indicated that most children of Latin American origin improved their reading and math scores faster than non-Hispanic White children, thus narrowing their initial score gap and sometimes even surpassing White children by 3rd grade. In contrast, although they maintained higher reading and math scores, children from East Asia and India showed decreasing scores over time, which tended to narrow their initial score advantage over non-Hispanic White children. School-level factors accounted partially for these differences. Particularly in terms of the academic trajectories, children of Latin American origin responded more to school-level factors than did children of Asian origin, who responded more to child and family background, with the exception of children from Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos, who responded more to school-level factors. Simulation results point to the importance of school resources for the academic trajectories of children of immigrants.