Students' Self-Concept and Academic Achievement in Zimbabwe: A Preliminary Study

Students' personal beliefs about their capabilities to learn influence their motivation and learning. This study determined the relationship between self-concept and academic achievement of Zimbabwean primary school students. A qualitative approach was used to collect data from 75 pupils (36 girls, 39 boys: age range 9–12 years). Data were also collected from five of the students' teachers. Pupils' perceptions of comments or feedback from classmates and teachers comprised the self-concept measures. Academic achievement was measured using teachers' ratings of pupils' academic performance. Pupils who reported receiving positive comments from classmates and teachers were more likely to be rated by their teachers as having higher academic achievement compared to those who perceived themselves to be less favourably regarded by teachers.     

Optimism and Attributional Retraining: Longitudinal Effects on Academic Achievement,Test Anxiety,and Voluntary Course Withdrawal in College Students1

A longitudinal study examined how optimism and attributional retraining (AR) influenced 256 first‐year college students' test anxiety, cumulative academic achievement, and course persistence in college over an academic year. Students' optimism was assessed at the start of the academic year and they were assigned to either an AR or no‐AR (control) condition. Measures of students' test anxiety, cumulative grade point average, and voluntary course withdrawal were obtained at the end of the academic year. Results suggest that although high optimism was an academic risk factor among students who did not receive AR, high‐optimism students who did receive the AR cognitive intervention benefited from its effects to a greater extent than did low‐optimism students.     

Future time orientation predicts academic engagement among first‐year university students

Background. Enhancing student engagement is considered an important strategy for improving retention. Students' Time Perspective is an under‐researched factor that may significantly influence student engagement. Aims. This study examines interrelationships between elements of student engagement and relationship with Time Perspective. We propose that there are significant relationships between psychological and behavioural elements of student engagement. We also posit that time orientation is an important factor in facilitating psychological and behavioural elements of student engagement. Sample. Participants (N=347) were first‐year undergraduate students who had completed one semester of study and re‐enrolled for a further semester of study at an Australian university. Methods. Participants were surveyed using instruments designed to measure Academic Application, Academic Orientation ( McInnis, James, & Hartley, 2000 ), Time Perspective ( Zimbardo & Boyd, 1999 ), the shortened version of the Study Process Questionnaire ( Fox, McManus, & Winder, 2001 ) and hours spent preparing for class. Results. There were interrelationships between the elements of student engagement (e.g. Academic Application) with productive educational behaviours (e.g. deep approach to learning). Students' perceptions of time appeared as a key factor mediating levels of Academic Application and Academic Orientation. Orientation to the Future emerged as a significant predictor of these elements of engagement. Conclusions. Future orientation emerged as an important factor mediating students' academic engagement in these students who completed one semester of study. Interventions focusing on the development of time perspective may be helpful in encouraging and supporting academic engagement and, ultimately, persistence in higher education.     

The role of cost in adolescent students' maladaptive academic outcomes

Motivation wields a tangible impact on students' academic functioning. Among the theoretical frameworks used to explain students' motivation to learn, Eccles et al.'s expectancy-value theory (1983) is one of the most influential. It has been used to investigate students' competence- and value-related beliefs and how they are associated with academic-related choices, learning behaviors, and achievement. In the learning context, cost has mostly been discussed under the expectancy-value framework as a sub-dimension of task value and conceptualized as reflecting the negative aspects of task engagement. The issue of cost has recently attracted growing interest among scholars, providing a way to explain the dynamics of student motivation. However, cost is still underexplored in the empirical literature. In the present study, we assessed adolescent students' perceived cost (i.e., effort cost, opportunity cost, ego cost, and emotional cost) of studying math and examined its unique relations with academic motivation and achievement. Across a series of three studies, we found that cost is empirically distinct from the utility, attainment, and interest components of task value and is closely related to students' maladaptive academic outcomes. In particular, cost showed unique associations with adolescent students' test anxiety, disorganization, adoption of avoidance goals, avoidance intentions, and academic achievement. The present study's findings highlight the importance of including cost as a unique construct alongside value to more fully capture students' motivational dynamics in school.     

Harsh parenting and academic achievement in Chinese adolescents: Potential mediating roles of effortful control and classroom engagement

This study examined (a) the potential mediating roles of effortful control and classroom engagement in the association between harsh parenting and adolescent academic achievement, and (b) the potential moderating role of gender. Sixth through eighth graders in rural China (n = 815, mean age = 12.55 years) reported on harsh parenting, effortful control, and classroom engagement. Parents also reported on each other's harsh parenting. Academic achievement was assessed by students' test scores and teacher-rated academic performance. Results of structural equation modeling revealed gender differences in patterns of association among the model variables. Harsh parenting was negatively and directly associated with academic achievement for both boys and girls. It was also negatively and indirectly associated with academic achievement via effortful control and classroom engagement sequentially, forming a common indirect “path” for boys and girls. The indirect negative effect of harsh parenting on boys' academic achievement was mainly realized through the mediator of effortful control, whereas this same indirect effect for girls was mainly realized through the mediator of classroom engagement. Jointly, effortful control and classroom engagement precipitates more indirect effects for boys than for girls in the association between harsh parenting and academic achievement. The discussion analyzes the potential “paths” from harsh parenting to adolescent academic achievement, as well as gender differences in these “paths.” The current study has implications for teachers and parents eager to improve students' classroom engagement and academic achievement.     

Agreement among student,parent and teacher ratings of school inclusion: A multitrait-multimethod analysis

One of the central objectives of inclusive education, and education in general, is not only to support every students' academic learning, but also their social and emotional development. It therefore is important to identify difficulties in a child's socio-emotional development at school. The current study investigates students' emotional inclusion and social inclusion, as well as students' academic self-concept from four different perspectives using the Perceptions of Inclusion Questionnaire (PIQ). In particular, we analyzed the degree of agreement between teacher, mother, and father ratings with students' self-reports. Moreover, we tested if students' gender and special educational needs (SEN) are predictors for possible bias in parent and teacher reports. Survey participants included 721 Austrian, Grade 4 students from 48 classes. In addition, data from 46 teachers, 466 mother reports, and 375 father reports were included. We assessed the consistency (i.e., agreement) between the different raters by means of multitrait-multimethod analyses, or more precisely, a correlated trait–correlated method minus one (CT-C[M-1]) model. Results of the CT-C(M-1) analyses indicated a rather strong rater bias (i.e., method effects) for all three dimensions of inclusion. However, the consistency for academic self-concept was higher than for emotional and social inclusion. Furthermore, gender and SEN status affected rater bias, particularly for teacher reports. Results suggested that it matters who reports students' emotional inclusion, social inclusion, and academic self-concept, which has methodological and practical implications.     

Peer rejection, negative peer treatment, and school adjustment: Self-concept and classroom engagement as mediating processes

Data gathered from a short term longitudinal study within fifth grade classrooms (n = 378) were used to evaluate two process-oriented models linking peer rejection and negative peer treatment to children's self-concept, school engagement and adjustment. Both structural models linked peer rejection, victimization, and exclusion to children's self-concept, classroom engagement, and change in achievement (fall of fifth grade to the spring). The model evaluations indicated that peer rejection predicted both exclusion and victimization and that these forms of peer treatment, in turn, predicted academic self-competence. Academic self-competence, however, only partially mediated linkages to achievement change. Parallel (i.e. direct) linkages from exclusion and victimization to both academic self-competence and engagement were required for adequate model fit, as were direct links from academic self-concept and engagement to achievement change. An alternative model representing the hypothesis that academic self-concept fully mediated the relationships between the forms of negative peer treatment and children's engagement and achievement did not fit the data well.     

Big fish in big ponds: A multilevel analysis of test anxiety and achievement in special gifted classes

Abstract

This study analyzes the effects of individual achievement and achievement level of student reference group on test anxiety in a national sample of 769 gifted Israeli students (grade levels 4–9), which was previously investigated by Zeidner and Schleyer (1999a). We hypothesized that when controlling for individual achievement, students’ experiences of test anxiety should increase with the increasing ability level of their peer reference group. It was assumed that this effect was largely mediated by reference group effects on academic self-concept (big-fish-little-pond effect). Zeidner and Schleyer found that gifted students within a gifted peer reference group showed higher levels of test anxiety than gifted students within a non-gifted peer reference group. Of note, the present study focused exclusively on gifted students attending special gifted classes. The main research question was whether or not the assumed effects of individual and class achievement can be found for gifted students in special gifted classes when taking the variance of achievement level (grades) of the special gifted classes into account. Using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) methodology, the assumed effects were vindicated for this special group of high ability students. Thus, in line with previous results, the Worry component of test anxiety was more highly reactive to the effects of individual achievement than the Emotionality component. Also, in line with our theoretical assumptions, achievement/anxiety relations were largely mediated by the effects of academic self-concept.     

The role of achievement goal orientations in students' perceptions of and preferences for classroom environment

Background . Recent research on achievement motivation has begun to examine the effects of environmental factors affecting students' motivational beliefs and goal tendencies. However, when interpreting and applying the results, individual factors underlying students' different perceptions of their learning environment are often ignored. An implicit assumption seems to be that regardless of their dispositional differences (e.g. motivational basis), students will experience and benefit from instructional practices in the same way. Aims . This paper highlights the importance of students' dispositional motivational factors when examining differences in their perceptions of and preferences for the learning environment. The study builds on a conception of student motivation that emphasizes the interaction of individual and contextual factors. Sample and method . Questionnaires served as self‐report tools and assessed students' achievement goal orientations, self‐esteem, causality beliefs, academic withdrawal and perceptions of and preferences for the learning environment. The sample consisted of 208 sixth grade elementary school students. Results . Based on latent class cluster analysis and one‐way analyses of variance, it was found that students' perceptions of and preferences for the learning environment vary depending on differences in students' motivational tendencies. Conclusions . Students' dispositional motivational characteristics should be taken into account both in theoretical considerations and in instructional interventions.     

Big fish in big ponds: a multilevel analysis of test anxiety and achievement in special gifted classes

This study analyzes the effects of individual achievement and achievement level of student reference group on test anxiety in a national sample of 769 gifted Israeli students (grade levels 4-9), which was previously investigated by Zeidner and Schleyer (1999a). We hypothesized that when controlling for individual achievement, students' experiences of test anxiety should increase with the increasing ability level of their peer reference group. It was assumed that this effect was largely mediated by reference group effects on academic self-concept (big-fish-little-pond effect). Zeidner and Schleyer found that gifted students within a gifted peer reference group showed higher levels of test anxiety than gifted students within a non-gifted peer reference group. Of note, the present study focused exclusively on gifted students attending special gifted classes. The main research question was whether or not the assumed effects of individual and class achievement can be found for gifted students in special gifted classes when taking the variance of achievement level (grades) of the special gifted classes into account. Using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) methodology, the assumed effects were vindicated for this special group of high ability students. Thus, in line with previous results, the Worry component of test anxiety was more highly reactive to the effects of individual achievement than the Emotionality component. Also, in line with our theoretical assumptions, achievement/anxiety relations were largely mediated by the effects of academic self-concept.     

Is School Feminine? Implicit Gender Stereotyping of School as a Predictor of Academic Achievement

One cause proposed for boys’ relatively lower academic achievement is a “feminisation” of schools that might result in a lack of fit between boys’ self-concept and academic engagement. Research so far has investigated math-male and language-female stereotypes, but no school-female stereotypes. Our study tested for implicit gender stereotyping of school and its impact on boys’ achievement in N?=?122 ninth-graders from a large city in Western Germany using the Go/No-go Association Task (GNAT). Gender role self-concept and grades in math (representing an academic domain stereotyped as male) and German (domain stereotyped as female) were assessed using written questionnaires. It was found that, overall, students associated school more strongly with female than with male, and that this association of school with female was related to boys’ academic achievement. The more strongly boys associated school with female and the more they ascribed negative masculine traits to themselves, the lower their grades in German were. Boys’ academic achievement in math was unrelated to the extent to which they perceived school as feminine and themselves as masculine. Girls’ grades in both German and math were unrelated to their gender stereotyping of school. These findings emphasize the importance of fit between a student’s gender, gender role self-concept and gender stereotyping of school for academic achievement. Strategies to improve this fit are discussed.     

School engagement trajectories in adolescence: The role of peer likeability and popularity

This accelerated longitudinal study examined how peer status (i.e., peer likeability and popularity) is involved in adolescents' school engagement trajectories. A large sample of students was followed from Grades 7 to 11 (N = 1116; M_age = 13.79 years). Students' school engagement and peer status were assessed using self-reports and peer nominations, respectively. Latent growth curve modeling revealed that different engagement dimensions were differentially associated with peer status. Likeability was positively related to both behavioral and emotional engagement in Grade 7, but not to behavioral and emotional disaffection. In contrast, popularity was related to less behavioral engagement and more behavioral disaffection at the start of secondary education, but not to emotional engagement and disaffection. Moreover, students' aggressive behavior moderated the relation between popularity and behavioral engagement in Grade 7, denoting the risk of popularity in combination with average and high levels of aggression. Results suggest that adolescents' popularity may interfere with meeting academic demands in general and with showing engagement in particular.     

Polite Girls and Creative Boys? Students' Gender Moderates Accuracy of Teachers' Ratings of Creativity

The aim of this study was to examine whether, and to what extent, teachers are able to recognize the creativity of their students. The study measured the creative abilities, creative attitude, creative activity, as well as intrinsic motivation, intelligence, and school functioning of 589 Polish high school students, while their teachers (N = 178) rated students' creativity. The structural equation model (SEM) demonstrated that the accuracy of teachers' ratings of students' creativity is generally low—the latent factor of students' creativity reliably, however weakly, predicted teachers' ratings. The accuracy of teachers' ratings was moderated by gender: Only in the case of male students did the latent creativity factor reliably predict teachers' ratings. Students' school functioning emerged as a key factor positively associated with the perception of students as creative.     

Finding Motivation to Learn: Exploring Achievement Goals in California Community College CalWORKs Students

This study investigated the achievement goals and motivations of California Community College CalWORKs students in an effort to better support student success and persistence. This study was guided by three research questions: (1) What type of achievement goals do CalWORKs students enter with? (2) What are their rationales for these types of achievement goals? (3) How malleable are these achievement goals? Interviews with 48 participants focused on better understanding the relationship between achievement goal type and motivation changes while in college. Findings indicate that CalWORKs students enter college with a range of goal types, but formany changes in goal type led to more intrinsic motivation and ultimately persistence toward graduation and career goals. Findings from this study also reveal thatexperiences highlighting students' ability to be competent as learners while balancing other roles helped catalyze change in achievement goal type and/or rationale. The results of this study emphasize that CalWORKs students' achievement goals are malleable, and particular college experiences can facilitate students' movement toward more academically focused goals. More specifically, placing more focus on additional student support programs that can foster peer networking, faculty interactions, and additional career exploration opportunities can lead to change in academic persistence.     

Motivation as a Mediator of Social Disparities in Academic Achievement

The present study aimed at contributing to the understanding of social disparities in relation to students' academic achievement in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics domains. A sample of n = 321 German 11th graders completed measures of their family socio‐economic status (SES), general intelligence, domain‐specific ability self‐concepts and subjective scholastic values in math, physics and chemistry. Students' grades in these subjects received four months after testing served as criteria. Significant mediation effects were found for all motivational variables between fathers' SES and students' achievement, whereas for mothers' SES, only children's academic self‐concept in chemistry was a significant mediator. These results also held when students' general intelligence was controlled. Additionally, we controlled for students' grades before testing to investigate which variables mediated the influence of SES on change in school performance. Motivational variables significantly mediated the influence of fathers' SES on change in school performance in math but not in chemistry and physics. Intelligence significantly mediated the influence of fathers' SES on change in school performance in physics and chemistry but not in mathematics. The impact of mothers' SES on change in grades in chemistry was mediated by intelligence. Among others, the reasons potentially accounting for the differential influences of fathers' and mothers' SES are discussed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

家庭作业与学业成绩的关系

家庭作业不仅是一种被广泛采用的教学手段,也是学生课后最为重要的学习活动。本文从家庭作业特征、家庭作业完成过程、家庭作业中父母参与和家庭作业对学习效果影响的机制几个方面探讨了家庭作业与学业成绩的关系。最后指出了家庭作业学习效果研究的实践价值和未来研究方向。     

Development of the Japanese Version of the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire – Elementary School (AEQ-ES-J)1,2

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a Japanese version of the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire – Elementary School (AEQ-ES), which assesses enjoyment, anxiety, and boredom experienced by elementary school students within the settings of attending class, doing homework, and taking tests. Japanese elementary school students (n = 863 for the first survey; n = 332 for the second survey) participated in the questionnaire survey. The results showed that the psychometric properties of the Japanese AEQ-ES were comparable to those of the original version. Moreover, the results showed that students' achievement emotions were associated with their control and value appraisals, as well as their academic motivation, learning strategies, academic performance, and support from teachers. These results indicated that the Japanese version of the AEQ-ES was a good measure of elementary school students' emotions and supported the propositions of the control–value theory of achievement emotions.