The Longitudinal Relationship Between School Belonging and Subjective Well-Being in School Among Elementary School Students

Situated within a positive psychology perspective, the present study explored the relationship between school belonging and subjective well-being (SWB) in school among elementary school students. In order to ensure the applicability of the Brief Adolescents’ Subjective Well-Being in School Scale (BASWBSS) to elementary school students, firstly, we provided evidence for its validity using two samples (total n?=?1333) of elementary school students. Secondly, we used cross-lagged structural equation modeling techniques to evaluate the nature and directionality of relationships between school belonging and SWB in school. To test these relationships, 890 students (58.54 % male) completed a measure of school belonging and SWB in school at two time points, 6 weeks apart. The results showed that (1) BASWBSS has good applicability among elementary school students and (2) significant bidirectional relationships were found between school belonging and SWB in school. Overall, the present study provided important evidence of applicability of the BASWBSS with elementary school students and the role of school belonging in elementary school age children’s SWB in school.     

儿童掌握能力概念的特

选取4岁组、5岁组、7岁组、10岁组和12岁组儿童共160名（各年龄组32名,男女各半）为被试,采用个别测验法,从能力的跨情境稳定性、能力的效力和能力的不可控性3个维度探讨学前和小学儿童的能力概念的发展。结果表明,（1）儿童对能力的跨情境稳定性、对能力的效力和对能力的不可控性的认识代表着儿童不同的能力概念。（2）儿童对能力的跨情境稳定性的认识和对能力的效力的认识均存在显著的年龄差异,它们都反映了儿童能力概念的发展性差异,两者在4~12岁期间都随年龄而不断发展,但发展的时间与速度不同,前者的发展早且快。（3）儿童对能力不可控性的认识不存在显著的年龄差异,它反映了儿童能力概念的个体差异     

The Heterogeneity of Truancy among Urban Middle School Students: A Latent Class Growth Analysis

This longitudinal study explores heterogeneity of middle school students by identifying subgroups of youth characterized by distinct truancy trajectories and by determining disability profiles that distinguish these subgroups. Participants comprised an entire 7th through 9th grade student population, with approximately 58,000 students, in a large urban school district. Latent class growth analysis was used to identify subgroups of truant youth. This analysis yielded five distinct truant subgroups: Very-Low (37 %), Low (43.4 %), Declining (3.3 %), Rising (12.8 %), and Chronic (3.6 %). Further, differential disability profiles were found in each subgroup with the control of demographic characteristics (i.e., gender, race/ethnicity, free/reduced lunch, Limited English Proficiency, grade, and prior school absences), students with serious emotional disturbance and learning disabilities demonstrated amplified risks of being classified in the Chronic or Rising subgroups, which show chronic or incremental upward truant trajectories over time. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for future research.     

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.     

Examining the Growth Trajectories of Physical Education Students’ Motivation,Enjoyment, and Physical Activity: A Person-Oriented Approach

The study examined the growth trajectories in 757 (M age = 12.71) Finnish middle school students’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivation along with their enjoyment and physical activity. In addition, the study aimed to examine the role of intrinsic and extrinsic physical education motivation in the development in adolescents’ enjoyment and physical activity by identifying adolescents’ subgroups. Adolescents’ enjoyment and physical activity declined, intrinsic motivation was stable, and extrinsic motivation increased across middle school. Adolescents with highest levels of intrinsic motivation and moderate to high levels of extrinsic regulation had the highest levels of enjoyment and physical activity.     

Psychometric Properties of the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form: A Study of Portuguese Speaking Children/Youths

The development of measures of children and adolescents’ subjective well-being is crucial to the conceptualization and evaluation of positive mental health. The aim of this study was to investigate the factorial structure and invariance of the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF—adolescents) across children and youths. Participants were from two different samples: 208 elementary school children (sample 1) and 216 middle school youths (sample 2). Results confirmed the three-dimensional structure of subjective well-being in both samples. The three sub-scales of the MHCSF yielded high internal consistency and results from the HTMT85 indicated discriminant validity. Measurement invariance testing across three different age groups (7–8, 9–10 and 11–14 years) confirmed the full metric and approximate scalar invariance of the MHC-SF. Full scalar invariance was achieved across gender. The study also compared the latent means for mental well-being in the three age groups, and found that the younger groups showed significantly higher levels of wellbeing. The present research study strongly suggests that the MHC-SF (adolescents) is an appropriate instrument to measure the positive mental health and well-being of children and pre-adolescents as multidimensional construct.     

School profiles of at-risk student concentration: Differential growth in oral reading fluency

The present study provides a data-driven approach to identifying groups of schools based on the concentration of at-risk students the school serves. The percentage of English language learners, minority students, and students eligible for free or reduced priced lunch were used as indicators in a latent profile analysis of 569 schools. The goal of the present study was to determine whether school-level average student reading performance varied as a function of the groups identified in the latent profile analysis. To do so, groups extracted by the latent profile analysis were used as school-level predictors of growth in oral reading fluency, which was modeled at the within-student level of a three-level hierarchical growth curve model. Oral reading fluency was measured at four points during the year in a large cross-sectional sample of first-, second-, and third-grade students. Results indicated that schools were able to be classified into four distinct groups based on their concentrations and types of at-risk students. Further, in all three grades, there were significant differences between the four identified groups observed in average reading fluency scores at the beginning of the year, the end of the year, and growth during the year indicating that groups based on school-concentration of at-risk students were significantly related to average student achievement in reading ability.     

Individual cognitive patterns and developmental trajectories after preterm birth

Cognitive outcome after preterm birth is heterogeneous, and group level analyses may disguise individual variability in development. Using a person-oriented approach, this study investigated individual cognitive patterns and developmental trajectories from preschool age to late adolescence. As part of a prospective longitudinal study, 118 adolescents born preterm, with a birth weight < 1,500 g, participated in neuropsychological assessments at age 5½ years and at 18 years. At each age, four cognitive indices, two tapping general ability and two tapping executive functions, were formed to reflect each individual’s cognitive profile. Cluster analyses were performed at each age separately, and individual movements between clusters across time were investigated. At both 5½ and 18 years, six distinct, and similar, cognitive patterns were identified. Executive functions were a weakness for some but not all subgroups, and verbal ability was a strength primarily among those whose overall performance fell within the normal range. Overall, cognitive ability at 5½ years was highly predictive of ability at age 18. Those who performed at low levels at 5½ years did not catch up but rather deteriorated in relative performance. Over half of the individuals who performed above the norm at 5½ years improved their relative performance by age 18. Among those performing around the norm at 5½ years, half improved their relative performance over time, whereas the other half faced increased problems, indicating a need for further developmental monitoring. Perinatal factors were not conclusively related to outcome, stressing the need for cognitive follow-up assessment of the preterm-born child before school entry.     

Do Teachers maintain their Expectation Bias for students? A longitudinal investigation

Whether teachers maintain their expectation bias for students over time is crucial for understanding self-fulfilling prophecy effects. However, the stability of teacher expectation bias has been largely ignored in the literature. We examined the stability of teacher expectation bias across a sample of teachers and the change trajectories of teacher expectation bias across high-, medium-, and low-expectation teacher groups across all teachers and in the curriculum areas of mathematics, Chinese, and English. Our analyses were based on two-year longitudinal data with four time points from 567 Chinese senior high school students and their 50 teachers. The results showed that across all teachers, teacher expectation bias at the individual student level was dynamic over time. That is, teachers seemed to adjust their initial expectation bias in the first few months but then maintained the adjusted expectation bias afterwards. However, when students moved from Grade 11 to Grade 12 (the last year of high school), teachers seemed to change their expectation bias again. The evidence from HLM analyses further supported these results. That is, all the high- and low-expectation teachers alleviated their initial expectation bias significantly in the first six months and then adhered to their adjusted expectation bias. However, when students moved to the last year of high school, some high- and low-expectation teachers’ expectation biases were volatile again. Nevertheless, most high- and low-expectation teachers (except for Chinese low-expectation teachers) tended to either over-estimate or under-estimate their students across two school years. Further, compared to Chinese and mathematics teachers, English teachers’ biases seemed to be even more stable. Our findings suggested that some teachers consistently over- or under-estimated their students over an extended time period and this could have implications for student outcomes.

     

The Structure of Creative Thinking: Visual and Verbal Areas

The main purpose of this study was to study the structure of creative thinking of students in visual and verbal areas. The Torrance Test of Creative Thinking Figural and Verbal forms were used. The participants were Turkish elementary school 7th grade students (M = 13 years, range = 12–14 years). The findings indicated that the relationship between visual and verbal areas of creative thinking of students were statistically significant and meaningful. Additionally, gender differences were statistically significant and meaningful. The results indicate that the structure of creative thinking of students is holistic in early puberty age, at least in terms of visual and verbal areas of creative thinking. However, the holistic structure of students’ creative thinking has flexible character regarding to low (r = .25) level of relationship between visual and verbal areas. This result suggests that the visual and verbal materials can be used with presentation and narrative techniques in balanced education activities for the development of students’ creative thinking effectively.     

Challenges affecting the development of metalearning capacity in Taiwanese secondary school students

This paper examines the challenges faced in the Taiwanese secondary school context during the development of the students’ metalearning capacity. During two rounds of action research over the 2011–2012 and 2012–2013 school years, 12 and 15 10th grade students respectively took full part in a metalearning programme as an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) elective course. The students’ reflective journals and interview responses were qualitatively examined through content analysis. The results showed that despite the effects of the programme on the students’ development of metalearning capacity, challenges remained, including (1) the cultural norms in education; (2) scaffolding difficulties; (3) assessment of reflection; and (4) linguistic challenges.     

A longitudinal person-centred approach to the job demands-control model

We used a longitudinal design and a person-centred methodology to test the strain and learning hypotheses of the job demands–control model among Finnish employees (n = 926), who were followed-up at three time points covering a period of 2 years (2008–2010). First, we identified longitudinal subgroups in demands and control across three measurement points. Second, we examined how these subgroups differed in strain (job exhaustion) and motivation-related outcomes (vigour at work, work–family enrichment). Growth mixture modelling revealed four subgroups: “stable high strain”, “stable low strain”, “increasing control”, and “decreasing control”. The stable high- and low-strain subgroups also differed in the outcomes studied (exhaustion, work–family enrichment) as suggested by the demands–control model. The findings also suggest that job control is subject to changes over time and that these changes are likely to be associated with changes in employee outcomes. Malleability of job control should be kept in mind in job stress interventions, likewise the fact that some employees suffer from chronic job stress.     

Classroom Peer Relationships and Behavioral Engagement in Elementary School: The Role of Social Network Equity

Applying social capital and systems theories of social processes, we examine the role of the classroom peer context in the behavioral engagement of low-income students (N = 80) in urban elementary school classrooms (N = 22). Systematic child observations were conducted to assess behavioral engagement among second to fifth graders in the fall and spring of the same school year. Classroom observations, teacher and child questionnaires, and social network data were collected in the fall. Confirming prior research, results from multilevel models indicate that students with more behavioral difficulties or less academic motivation in the fall were less behaviorally engaged in the spring. Extending prior research, classrooms with more equitably distributed and interconnected social ties—social network equity—had more behaviorally engaged students in the spring, especially in classrooms with higher levels of observed organization (i.e., effective management of behavior, time, and attention). Moreover, social network equity attenuated the negative relation between student behavioral difficulties and behavioral engagement, suggesting that students with behavioral difficulties were less disengaged in classrooms with more equitably distributed and interconnected social ties. Findings illuminate the need to consider classroom peer contexts in future research and intervention focused on the behavioral engagement of students in urban elementary schools.     

Reading and Writing Motivation of Third to Sixth Graders

Motivational questionnaires (MRP-R and MWP) were used to investigate reading and writing motivation (self-concept and value) among 252 Hebrew-speaking students in third to sixth grade. CFA for reading and writing motivation revealed a close to reasonable fit, for the total sample and by gender. It yielded a low fit across the four grade levels. Four main results were obtained: (1) reading and writing motivation remained at the same level in all four grades; (2) reading motivation was higher than writing motivation; (3) students’ self-concept was higher than value in both reading and writing; (4) value of reading was higher than value of writing. It is suggested that educators take into account the importance of increasing reading and writing motivation in the early years of elementary school, before motivation stabilizes in third grade. Additionally, attention should be paid to the value that students attach to reading and especially writing, since it may be related to their involvement in reading and writing tasks. Further examination and development of the questionnaire assessing writing motivation is required. More implications of the results for developmental aspects of reading and writing motivation are discussed.     

Parallel reading and mathematics growth for English learners: Does timing of reclassification matter?

This study compared reading and mathematics growth trajectories in a statewide dataset of 33,715 students across third through fifth grades. Specifically, we examined growth for English Learners (ELs) who were reclassified as no longer needing English Language services at different grade levels as compared to their never-EL peers. Overall, EL students performed significantly below never-EL students on reading and mathematics assessments at Grade 3, with EL students making greater academic gains across time points than never-EL students. Students who were reclassified after third grade and after fourth grade closed, or began to close, the academic opportunity gap by the end of fifth grade, providing promising evidence suggesting that reclassification policies are adequate for identifying those students who no longer need EL services. Students who continued to be classified as EL from third through fifth grades continued to score significantly lower than never-ELs, and in many cases other EL groups, indicating that there exists a group of EL students who continue to make inadequate reading and mathematics gains across late elementary school. Implications for policy and practices that support EL students' mathematics and reading growth are discussed.     

Impact of Low Social Preference on the Development of Depressive and Aggressive Symptoms: Buffering by Children’s Prosocial Behavior

Holding a low social position among peers has been widely demonstrated to be associated with the development of depressive and aggressive symptoms in children. However, little is known about potential protective factors in this association. The present study examined whether increases in children’s prosocial behavior can buffer the association between their low social preference among peers and the development of depressive and aggressive symptoms in the first few school years. We followed 324 children over 1.5 years with three assessments across kindergarten and first grade elementary school. Children rated the (dis)likability of each of their classroom peers and teachers rated each child’s prosocial behavior, depressive and aggressive symptoms. Results showed that low social preference at the start of kindergarten predicted persistent low social preference at the start of first grade in elementary school, which in turn predicted increases in both depressive and aggressive symptoms at the end of first grade. However, the indirect pathways were moderated by change in prosocial behavior. Specifically, for children whose prosocial behavior increased during kindergarten, low social preference in first grade elementary school no longer predicted increases in depressive and aggressive symptoms. In contrast, for children whose prosocial behavior did not increase, their low social preference in first grade elementary school continued to predict increases in both depressive and aggressive symptoms. These results suggest that improving prosocial behavior in children with low social preference as early as kindergarten may reduce subsequent risk of developing depressive and aggressive symptom.     

Motivational clusters in a sample of British physical education classes

Objectives: Based on recommendations from a recent review of self-determination theory (Vallerand, R. J. (1997). In: M. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (pp. 271–360). New York: Academic Press) the present study aimed to uncover the different motivational profiles in physical education. It was expected that at least two motivational profiles would emerge: a self-determined profile and a controlling motivation/amotivation profile.Design: Cross-sectional survey.Method: Questionnaires were administered to 428 British students, aged between 14 and 16 years, from two schools in the Northwest of England.Results: A cluster analysis produced three motivational profiles in the first school, which were replicated in the second school. The first was named the ‘self-determined profile’ because the students displayed high self-determined motivation, effort, enjoyment, and cooperative learning, and low controlling motivation, amotivation, boredom, and unequal recognition. The second profile was the ‘moderate motivation profile’ with moderate scores on all variables measured. The third was named the ‘controlling motivation/amotivation’ profile because the students demonstrated high controlling motivation, amotivation, boredom, and unequal recognition, and low self-determined motivation, effort, and enjoyment.Conclusions: The results demonstrate the importance of developing self-determination in physical education, as it is associated with desirable behavioural and affective outcomes.     

Is the Positive Illusory Bias Common in Young Adolescents with ADHD? A Fresh Look at Prevalence and Stability Using Latent Profile and Transition Analyses

The goal of this study was to use novel approaches that do not require the use of arbitrary cut-points (i.e., latent profile/transition analysis) to evaluate the prevalence and stability of the positive illusory bias (PIB) in young adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Participants were 326 middle-school students diagnosed with ADHD (Mage = 12.26 years, 71% male, 77% Caucasian). The Self-Perception Profile for Children (SPPC) was completed by participants and their parents at baseline and again 12 and 18 months later. Cross-sectional results revealed four subgroups based on SPPC responses. Only a small subset (18.4%) of youth with ADHD exhibited a global PIB, across the behavioral, scholastic, and social domains, with an additional 29% displaying a PIB in the scholastic domain only. Additionally, average parent/adolescent-rated competence within each subgroup was in line with an objective measure of scholastic competence (i.e., grades). When examined longitudinally, only a PIB in the social domain was stable across the 18-month study period and only for half of the sample. These findings suggest that the PIB is not ubiquitous in youth with ADHD, with many young adolescents rating themselves accurately relative to their parents and their grades. Further, when stability across time is considered, the PIB may be specific to social functioning, as opposed to a global, cross-domain phenomenon. Implications for the future measurement of the PIB are discussed.     

The impact of empathy on burnout in medical students: new findings

Introduction: Research on medical students has shown they are at a higher risk for burnout and that this burnout may become more prevalent as they advance in medical school. The literature, thus far, has not explored the construct of ,emotional empathy and whether this can impact burnout in medical students. Objective: To understand the relationship between empathy (Empathic Concern [EC] and Personal Distress [PD]) and burnout in medical students. Method: Five successive classes of medical students enrolled at a new medical school were given the Maslach Burnout Inventory and Davis’ Interpersonal Reactivity Index over the course of three successive years (n = 353). Two dimensions of empathy were evaluated to determine if they have an impact on three dimensions of burnout (Emotional Exhaustion/EE, Depersonalization/DP, Personal Accomplishment/PA). Results: data was analyzed using a linear mixed model for each of the three components of burnout based on gender, age, year in medical school, and two types of empathy: EC, and PD. Conclusion: It was discovered that students with high levels of EC had statistically lower scores of burnout over time while students with high levels of PD empathy showed statistically higher scores of burnout over three years. Implications for these findings are discussed.     

Trait vs. nontrait conceptualizations of intrinsic/extrinsic motivational orientation

The present study questioned whether intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation should be conceptualized as a trait among elementary school students. Previous instruments employing question formats that pit an intrinsic orientation against an extrinsic orientation typically result in normal distributions around the midpoint of the scale. Such a pattern could only result from a majority of children endorsing both intrinsic and extrinsic items. In the present study we investigated the hypothesis that such children may be intrinsically motivated in some school subjects but extrinsically motivated in others. Questions designed to assess motivational orientation in each of four academic subjects (math, social studies, English, and science) revealed three types of students: (a) those that were intrinsic in some subjects but extrinsic in others, (b) those that were intrinsic in all school subjects, and (c) those that were extrinsic in all school subjects. It was concluded that for the first group, motivational orientation does not function as a trait, but rather is specific to the academic content. However, for the second and third groups, motivational orientation does appear to be trait-like since children consistently report the same orientation across academic subjects. A similar analysis was applied to consistency vs. change over time where three groups were also identified. Discussion focused on the larger issues involving trait- vs. situation-specific approaches.