The effects of school anxiety on self-esteem and self-handicapping in pupils attending primary school

School anxiety appears to be related to self-esteem and self-handicapping strategies. This study aims at identifying children with atypical levels of anxiety and examining the relationship between their self-esteem at school and their use of self-handicapping strategies. The sample included 120 pupils (M = 8.6 years) attending third grade of primary school and was divided into three groups: pupils with low anxiety, average anxiety and high anxiety. Children were administered the Scale for Evaluation of Anxiety (SAFA A), the TMA - Multidimensional test of Self-esteem- and the Self-Handicapping Scale for Children. On the whole, results demonstrate a nearly normative distribution of school anxiety in a nonclinical sample. Pupils with an average level of school anxiety showed a higher level of Self-esteem and engaged more in self-handicapping strategies. The developmental perspective suggests the importance of preventive research in order to identify any risk factors of subsequent anxiety disorders at an early age.     

Cognitive style,working memory and learning behaviour and attainment in school subjects

Background: Both working memory capacity and cognitive style have independently been found to affect performance on school‐type tasks, but their effects in interaction have not been considered. Aims: The aims of this study were to consider the relationship between working memory, cognitive style and gender on (a) overall learning behaviour, and (b) performance on a range of school subjects. Sample: The sample comprised 206 13‐year‐old secondary comprehensive school Year 8 pupils, being all pupils in that year who completed the principal assessments. Method: The pupils did an assessment of working memory efficiency — the Information Processing Index (Riding, 2000a). They also completed the Cognitive Styles Analysis (Riding, 1991) to determine their positions on the two fundamental cognitive styles, which were indicated by two ratios: the Wholist‐Analytic ratio and the Verbal‐Imagery ratio. Overall learning behaviour was rated by the pupils' tutors. In addition, attainment in each of 10 subjects was rated by their subject teachers. Results: For overall learning behaviour, there was an interaction between working memory capacity and cognitive style. With the Wholist‐Analytic style dimension, memory made a marked difference for Analytics but had little effect for Wholists, and with the Verbal‐Imagery dimension Verbalisers were affected but not Imagers. With the school subjects, these differed in terms of their sensitivity to gender, memory and style. Conclusion: The results were discussed in terms of differences between the styles in terms of information‐processing demands. Practical ways of improving learning performance were also considered.     

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.     

The research agenda: the vital need for empirical research in child psychotherapy

In this paper I shall describe how work discussion groups offered to staff on-site as part of a mental health in schools outreach project can have a significant impact on the thinking, attitudes and culture within a school. Through the use of some detailed examples of these work discussion groups in action, I hope to illustrate the way these groups can enable staff to enhance their observational skills, develop a deeper understanding of the factors that impact on learning, behaviour and teaching, and reduce staff stress. Finally, I hope to highlight the ways in which such groups not only extend staff skills in engaging with pupils at risk of emotional breakdown and school exclusion, but can also promote a learning environment for all, in which development and growth is promoted at a personal, professional and whole-school level.     

Thirty years on – a large anti‐Flynn effect/ (II): 13‐ and 14‐year‐olds. Piagetian tests of formal operations norms 1976–2006/7

Background Shayer, Ginsburg, and Coe (2007) showed that children leaving primary school in Y6 entered secondary school with much lower levels of understanding of the physical conservations than in 1976. It seemed desirable to investigate cognitive development in the first three years of secondary education. Aims By using two Piagetian tests of formal operations, one of which had been used in the 1976 CSMS survey, the performance of Y8 and Y9 pupils would be compared with the survey results published in 1978. Sample Eight schools were selected as willing to test their Y9 or Y8 classes on either the Pendulum (in 2007) or the Equilibrium in the Balance tests (in 2006), giving 39 classes on which to make the comparison with 1976 performance. Method Regression of the pupils' class mean on each formal test on either the class's 2004 MidYIS or nferCAT standardized scores, and computing the regression at IQ = 100 allows comparison with that found in 1976. Results On Equilibrium in the Balance the Y8 pupils were down on the proportion at the early formal level or above by ?0.61 standard deviations (SD) for boys and ?0.63 SD for girls on the 1976 results. On the Pendulum the Y9 boys were down by ?0.49 SD and the girls by ?0.48 SD on the proportion at the early formal level or above. Conclusion The negative Flynn‐effect found on Volume & Heaviness for Y7 pupils is paralleled by a similar negative effect on attainment of formal operations by Y8 and Y9, compared with 1976. Yet at the same time the proportion of pupils using the top level of concrete operational thinking has increased on both tests. It seems that there has been a change either in general societal pressures on the individual or in the style of teaching in schools – or both – favouring a lower level of processing of reality.     

An Analysis of Alternative Means of Measuring Student Achievement Prior to a Scheduled School Break

Abstract

This study investigated the hypothesis that examining student performance one time in spring is an adequate method of assessing the effects of long summer breaks or the potential need for an extended school year. We examined the performanceand progressof students with learning disabilities and students with mild mental handicaps in mathematics computation at two points in time in spring. Results indicated that both types of students made gains in performance in mathematics computation until the end of the academic school year. However, students with mild mental handicaps continued to make slight increases in progress throughout the entire spring while students with learning disabilities experienced a decline in progress. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.     

Associations of teacher credibility and teacher affinity with learning outcomes in health classrooms

In the present study (N = 633), we examine the role of teacher credibility and teacher affinity in classrooms. We explore the relations among these two characteristics and student gains in knowledge and valuing of learning about HIV and pregnancy prevention across high school classrooms. Results marshaled support for the notion that teacher characteristics are associated with classroom-level gains in learning outcomes. Above and beyond student-level predictors, teacher credibility (aggregated to the classroom level) was positively related to increases in knowledge across classrooms, whereas aggregated teacher affinity was positively related to an increased valuing of learning about HIV and pregnancy prevention across classrooms. Future directions and implications for practice are discussed.     

Spacing effects in real‐world classroom vocabulary learning

As a primary goal, educators often strive to maximize the amount of information pupils remember. In the lab, psychologists have found efficient memory strategies for retaining school‐related materials. One such strategy is the spacing effect, a memory advantage that occurs when learning is distributed across time instead of crammed into a single study session. Spaced learning is not often explicitly utilized in actual classrooms, perhaps due to a paucity of research in applied settings and with school‐aged children. The current study examined the spacing effect in real‐world fifth‐grade classrooms. We taught 39 children unfamiliar English words using both massed and spaced learning. Five weeks later, we tested vocabulary recall. One‐week spacing produced superior long‐term retention compared to massed learning. This finding demonstrates that the spacing effect can be generalized to vocabulary learning in applied settings and middle‐school‐aged children. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sensibilisation interactive versus informative concernant les besoins scolaires des élèves avec autisme en collège : modifier les représentations et les pratiques inclusives des pairs, étude préliminaire

Because handicap is the result of how the environments of a person and his/her disorders interact (Chamak, 2018; Poutoux, 2011), the question of supporting this person with disabilities becomes an unavoidable thematic. This study focusses on the scholarship of pupils with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) whose prevalence amounts to one birth on hundred (APA, 2015 – DSM-5), and especially on a kind of support towards their human environment, the less studied. It deals with the sensitization of the school classmates of a pupil with ASD, aged 14. The pupils’ sensitization allows us to measure the changes in representations and inclusive actions after sensitization. This question seems to be sensitive because too many pupils leaving school aged 15 years old have an ASD . As part of a preliminary study, we submitted two kinds of sensitization (informative vs. interactive) to two groups of neurotypic pupils aged 14 years old (who have a classmate with ASD in their classroom). A survey has been filled before and after the sensitization in order to assess the changes in representation and inclusive actions to engage with their ASD classmate to foster his/her apprenticeship. The pupils who benefitted from the interactive sensitization evolve the most: both in the understanding of the special needs of the ASD classmate and in the supportive actions to help their classmate in the classroom. The pupils who received the informative sensitization evolve only in their representations of the special needs of the ASD classmate. The results, which have yet to be confirmed in larger studies, are discussed in the light of inclusive politics and the needs to assess the different kinds of sensitizations towards the human school environment.     

A cognitive perspective on Singaporean primary school pupils' use of reading strategies in learning to read in English

Background . This study is conducted in Singapore, where learning to read in English is regarded as essential because it is offered as a First Language (L1) subject in the curriculum and is stipulated as the medium of instruction in the education system, and the mother tongues are offered as Second Language (L2) subjects, although the majority still learn English as an L2. Aims . The paper reports on the reading strategies used by Singaporean primary school pupils from a cognitive perspective, which is part of a larger study that aims to investigate these pupils' language learning strategies. Sample . The participants were 18 pupils from three neighbourhood primary schools, in grades Primary 4, 5 and 6. Method . The data were collected from high‐ and low‐proficiency pupils at each of the three grades in each school, who read two texts at each level. Grounded in an information‐processing theory and based on successful experiences of scholars using think‐aloud for data collection, we asked the pupils to read and report what they were thinking about while reading. The think‐aloud protocols were recorded, transcribed verbatim, coded and analysed. Results . The results suggest that participants' flexible and appropriate use of reading strategies varies according to language proficiency and grade level, with the high‐proficiency group outperforming its lower‐proficiency counterpart and the high‐graders outnumbering the lower‐graders in terms of the number of strategies that they used. These differences were also exemplified with qualitative findings from case studies. Conclusions . The use of reading strategies differs according to proficiency levels, and the quality of pupils' strategy‐use patterns has more significant implications for understanding efficient reading among primary school pupils.     

Socialisation familiale,estime de soi et expérience scolaire chez des collégien(ne)s à haut potentiel

Our study focuses on the stakes of the school (de)mobilization of junior-high school high potential pupils; it hinges around the interconstruction between their family experiences and the meaning of their school experience. Two hundred and fifty-five high potential, 9 to 15 year-old pupils have responded to a questionnaire made up of 65 items divided into six headings (school path, school experience, their relationship to knowledge and their future; support and parental investment into the children's school-life; sociobiographic information) and a self-evaluation of their self-esteem. Their class-teachers have filled in an evaluation grid for each student's skills and behavior at school. The descending hierarchical classification highlights different sorts of evidence regarding these pupils’ school (de)mobilization, thus evincing singular experiences. These manifestations can be related to a variety of school paths, relationship to schooling, learning and the different ways parents support their children and invest themselves in them – as the children perceive them as doing so.     

Effects of Cooperative Learning on Perceived Status of Male and Female Pupils

Abstract

The effects of cooperative and individualistic learning experiences on the status of male and female American pupils were compared. Expectation states theory predicts that male pupils would have higher status than female pupils and, therefore, be more active and more influential. Social interdependence theory predicts that interaction within cooperative learning groups would result in a process of acceptance characterized by equal status of male and female pupils. Seventy-five sixth-grade boys (n = 43) and girls (n = 32) were randomly assigned to three cooperative conditions and one individualistic condition stratifying for sex, ability level, and original classroom. They participated in the study for 55 min per day for 14 instructional days. Cooperative learning resulted in greater retention and higher level learning than did individualistic learning. Although there were initial achievement differences between boys and girls, and although boys gained in status over girls in the individualistic condition, at the end of the study in the cooperative conditions there were no differences between them in achievement, verbal participation in the group, perceived leadership, and status. These results are consistent with the predictions of social interdependence theory and inconsistent with the predictions of expectation states theory. The results were basically the same in male-majority, female-majority, or equal-sex groups.     

对学生学习成绩与社会行为的交叉滞后分析

采用二元交叉滞后回归分析法考察小学四、五年级学生和初中一、二年级学生在21个月中的学校适应与学习成绩之间的关系。结果发现,在同时性测量中,由教师评价获得的中小学生的社交领导能力、定向耐挫能力、果敢性社交技能得分和同伴积极提名分数与他们的学习成绩之间均存在正相关关系,而他们的攻击破坏得分、学习适应不良得分以及小学生的同伴消极提名分均与他们的学习成绩有显著的负相关关系。二元交叉滞后回归分析结果表明,小学生在前测中的社交领导能力得分、攻击破坏得分、定向耐挫得分、学习适应不良得分、果敢性社交技能得分同伴积极和消极提名得分均可以预测21个月后的学习成绩。对中学生来说,这种预测关系只在攻击破坏行为、定向耐挫行为中存在。中小学生的害羞抑制得分和焦虑抑郁得分与他们的学习成绩之间既没有同时性的相关关系,也没有滞后性的预测关系。     

Creating metacognitive environments in primary school RE classrooms

Recent reports on Religious Education (RE) in England and Wales highlight the need for guidance on pedagogy and learning. The RE-flect project addressed this by promoting the creation of metacognitively oriented learning environments in primary school RE classrooms. Six primary school teachers and 160 pupils (eight to 10 years of age) took part in the second year of this two year project. Meta-thinking, worldview and resources zones were created in each classroom. Attainment in RE and pupil perceptions of the learning environment were measured. Data from classroom observations, Worldview Profiles (WVP), and pupil and teacher interviews were analysed qualitatively. Results show an overall increase in attainment; a positive change in pupil perceptions of the learning environment; and the ability of pupils to reflect on and articulate their worldviews. Implications for RE curricular and pedagogy are discussed.     

Error self-correction and spelling: improving the spelling accuracy of secondary students with disabilities in written expression

In order to improve the spelling performance of high school students with deficits in written expression, an error self-correction procedure was implemented. The participants were two tenth-grade students and one twelfth-grade student in a program for individuals with learning disabilities. Using an alternating treatments design, the effect of error self-correction was compared with a more traditional method of spelling practice. The intervention and follow-up phases were implemented over a 6-week period with maintenance checks conducted 4 and 8 weeks after the termination of instruction. Results indicated that the error self-correction procedure was superior to the traditional method of review during the intervention and follow-up phases, but some gains were lost during the maintenance phase.     

Peer‐assessed behavioural characteristics and sociometric rejection: Differences between pupils who have moderate learning difficulties and their mainstream peers

Background: The outcomes of social inclusion and skills training programmes for pupils with special educational needs have been mixed. Programmes are generally based on research with mainstream samples yet it has been suggested that the social skills important for sociometric acceptance may be different for children who have special educational needs. Aims: The study aims to compare peer‐assessed behavioural characteristics associated with sociometric status for included children who have moderate learning difficulties and their mainstream classmates. Sample: Mainstream classmates (N=867) of all the children ascertained as having Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD) and included in mainstream middle schools (8–12 years) in one English county. Subgroups of rejected mainstream (n=38) and pupils with MLD (n=32) were further investigated. Method: Discriminant function analysis was carried out with peer assessment items as predictors of sociometric status group membership in the mainstream sample and contrasted with previously reported data from pupils with MLD in the same classes. Cluster analysis was used to identify behavioural subtypes within the rejected groups drawn from each sample. For pupils with MLD subtypes were validated using teacher assessments of social behaviour. Results: Systematic differences were identified across different analyses between the peer‐assessed behavioural characteristics associated with rejected sociometric status for pupils with MLD and for mainstream pupils. Conclusions: The appropriateness of generic social skills training programmes for promoting the social inclusion of pupils with MLD should be questioned and consideration given to rejected pupil subtypes.     

小学生数学学习观调查研究

采用开放题、多选题与单选题相结合的问卷调查方法．调查190名二、四、六年级学生的数学学习态度和数学学习观,结果表明：1)小学生普遍喜欢数学．并对自身的数学能力有信心．但这种积极态度随年级升高而逐渐下降,尤其是在四、六年级之间达到了显著性;2)小学生的数学知识性质观是倾向于建构性的,并随年级升高而显著提高．但总体上还是比较素朴、直观和肤浅的;3)小学生的数学学习过程观总体上并不十分明确．同时注重表层上的接受学习和深层上的主观参与。     

Mixed‐methods Evaluation of the Good Behaviour Game in English Primary Schools

Inclusivity of all children in education and within educational settings is an important value and goal. Yet, where settings and practices are not oriented for inclusivity and engagement, some children can struggle with academic tasks and are often marginalised and exhibit disruptive behaviours. The study reported here addresses the social nature of school as a community for learning through a mixed‐methods concurrent triangulation evaluation of the implementation of the Good Behaviour Game (GBG) in six primary (elementary) schools with 10 classes and 222 children in Oxfordshire, England. The Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptations ‐ Revised (TOCA‐R) was administered in individual interviews with class teachers. Additionally, individual semi‐structured interviews were conducted with teachers, coaches and head teachers (n = 22). In a pre–post design, improvements in child adaptation were observed on all TOCA‐R subscales. In an integrative analysis that brought together quantitative and qualitative findings, pupil improvement was identified in three major areas: inclusion and social participation, behaviour, and concentration. Interview results also highlighted the substantial practical challenges associated with implementing and using the GBG in schools in the UK. Overall, the results of this study support the idea that social relationships within the school community, between pupils and between pupils and teachers, provide an important context for learning and social development. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Are mastery and ability goals both adaptive? Evaluation,initial goal construction and the quality of task engagement

Aims. The aims of this research were to examine the predictions that (a) the kind of evaluation pupils anticipate will influence their initial achievement goals and, as a result, the quality and consequences of task engagement; and (b) initial mastery goals will promote new learning and intrinsic motivation and initial ability goals will promote entity beliefs that ability is fixed. Sample. Participants were 312 secondary school pupils at ages 13–15. Methods. Pupils expected to receive normative evaluation, temporal evaluation (scores over time) or no evaluation. Mastery and ability goals were measured before pupils worked on challenging problems; intrinsic motivation and entity beliefs were measured after task completion. Results. Anticipation of temporal evaluation enhanced initial mastery goals, anticipation of normative evaluation enhanced ability goals and the no‐evaluation condition undermined both. Anticipation of temporal evaluation enhanced new learning (strategy acquisition and performance gains) and intrinsic motivation both directly and by enhancing initial mastery goals; anticipation of normative evaluation enhanced entity beliefs by enhancing ability goals. Conclusions. Results confirmed that evaluation conveys potent cues as to the goals of activity. They also challenged claims that both mastery and ability goals can be adaptive by demonstrating that these were differentially associated with positive versus negative processes and outcomes. Results have theoretical and applied implications for understanding and improving evaluative practices and student motivation.