Black adolescents: a descriptive study of their self-concepts and academic achievement

This study was designed to determine the relationships among global self-concept, self-concept of academic ability, and academic achievement of black American adolescents. The subjects were 211 tenth-grade students in five public high schools in the Pacific Northwest school district who volunteered to participate in the study. Global self-concept was measured by the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (SEI), self-concept of academic ability by the Brookover Self-Concept of Ability (General) Scale, and academic achievement by the California Achievement Test (CAT). The major statistical tools were the Pearson product-moment correlations and Fisher Z statistic. In all of the tests the decision was made to reject the null hypothesis at the .05 level of significance. No significant relationship was found between global self-concept and academic achievement, although the relationship between self-concept of academic ability and academic achievement reached significance. The relationship between self-concept of academic ability and academic achievement correlated more strongly than the relationship between global self-concept and academic achievement. These results suggest that the enhancement of global self-concept might not be a potent intervention for academic improvement for black adolescents.     

父母教养与学业成就：心理因素的中介作用

近十几年来,研究者们致力于探究父母教养与子女学业成就关系的内在机制。认知、大五人格、动机与自我概念作为学习者的心理特质,在父母教养与学业成就间起着重要的中介作用。父母教养能通过影响这些心理因素间接地影响子女的学业成就。尽管研究者们在该领域已经取得较为丰富的研究成果,仍需要在将来加强综合性研究、应用研究和跨文化比较研究,以深化和拓展对这一领域的探索,同时促进已有研究成果的应用。     

Cognitive abilities, sociocultural background and academic achievement

The influence of students' sociocultural background on academic achievement is a well established fact. Research also points out that sociocultural background is related to students' cognitive abilities and these have an effect on their academic achievement. However, the mediator role of cognitive abilities on the relationship between sociocultural background and academic achievement is less well known. A structural equation model that represents these relationships was tested in a sample (N= 728) of Portuguese junior high school students. Multigroup analysis of the model showed the importance of the cognitive ability mediation effect between sociocultural background and academic achievement in the 7th and 9th grades, but not in the 8th grade. This difference may be the result of the academic transition experienced in the 7th and 9th grades in the Portuguese educational system, which requires parents' higher involvement in school.     

The relative importance of global self-concept and self-concept of academic ability in predicting academic achievement

The aim of this study was to establish whether the relationship between self-concept of academic ability and academic achievement correlated more strongly than the relationship between global self-concept and academic achievement among high school students. Data on these variables were collected from 229 tenth-grade students in the U.S. Pacific Northwest public school district. The results indicate that global self-concept and self-concept of academic ability correlate positively with academic achievement, but the relationship between self-concept of academic ability and academic achievement correlated more strongly than the relationship between global self-concept and academic achievement. The results suggest that educational intervention strategies geared to raising academic achievement would probably be more likely to succeed if they were to focus on enhancement of the self-concept of academic ability rather than global self-concept.     

Does learning behavior augment cognitive ability as an indicator of academic achievement?

Measures of cognitive ability have a rich history of accounting for meaningful levels of achievement variance. In contrast to other student characteristics, however, they are somewhat limited in terms of their intervention relevance and treatment validity. Alternatively, children's observable learning behaviors are believed to enhance both treatment validity and the predictions afforded by cognitive ability. This study examined student learning behaviors in the context of cognitive ability and academic achievement. Three structural models were evaluated on a sample of 1304 students ranging in age from 6 to 17 years. Results supported the unique relationship between learning behavior and academic achievement, beyond cognitive ability. Multi-group structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis revealed that these findings were invariant across groups differing by gender and ethnicity. These findings are consistent with previous observations that children's behavioral features in learning situations will supplement the outcome-oriented standardized tests of cognitive ability.     

An explanatory model of academic achievement based on aptitudes, goal orientations, self-concept and learning strategies

As a result of studies examining factors involved in the learning process, various structural models have been developed to explain the direct and indirect effects that occur between the variables in these models. The objective was to evaluate a structural model of cognitive and motivational variables predicting academic achievement, including general intelligence, academic self-concept, goal orientations, effort and learning strategies. The sample comprised of 341 Spanish students in the first year of compulsory secondary education. Different tests and questionnaires were used to evaluate each variable, and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was applied to contrast the relationships of the initial model. The model proposed had a satisfactory fit, and all the hypothesised relationships were significant. General intelligence was the variable most able to explain academic achievement. Also important was the direct influence of academic self-concept on achievement, goal orientations and effort, as well as the mediating ability of effort and learning strategies between academic goals and final achievement.     

The mediating role of cognitive ability on the relationship between motor proficiency and early academic achievement in children

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between motor proficiency and academic achievement in 7 years-old children. A mediating model in which the relation between motor proficiency and academic achievement is mediated by cognitive ability was tested. Participants included 152 children from the longitudinal study Jeunes enfants et leurs milieux de vie (Young Children and their Environments). Motor proficiency was evaluated with the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOT2), cognitive ability with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) and academic achievement with the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test II (WIAT II). Results showed that motor proficiency, cognitive ability and academic achievement were positively correlated with each other. A structural equation modeling analysis revealed that motor proficiency had a positive effect on academic achievement through an indirect path via cognitive ability. These results highlight the fundamental importance of motor skills in children's academic achievement in early school years.     

Relationships among perceptual-motor, self-concept, and academic measures for children in kindergarten, grades one and two.

Most studies reporting correlations of psychomotor and cognitive measures deal with perceptual-training programs for the remediation of academic deficiencies. This study provided additional information about the relationships of perceptual-motor ability and academic achievement for children in kindergarten through the second grade, and included self-concept. A small positive relationship between perceptual-motor ability and academic ability was observed for all three grade levels. There was little indication of any significant relationship between self-concept and academic ability, which provides no basis for the hypothesis proposing self-concept as an intervening variable in the relationship between the perceptual-motor and academic areas, at least for such young subjects.     

中学生成就目标相关因素的发展研究

探索了影响中学生成就目标各因素间的相互关系及其对学业成绩的影响,并就此提出一个中学生学业活动的简洁模式。(1)中学生的认知参与和能力知觉、成就目标之间极显著正相关,学业焦虑和认知参与、能力知觉、成就目标之间显著负相关;两成就目标间的相关不显著;(2)能力知觉、认知参与、学业焦虑是学业成绩的有效预测因子。     

Generalizability in the Mediation Effects of Parental Expectations on Children’s Cognitive Ability and Self-concept

Previous research involving Hong Kong Chinese parents and their children showed that parental home involvement, beliefs of their children’s cognitive ability and their expectations for academic achievement mediated the relationship between their children’s cognitive ability and school achievement scores. This mediation effect was interpreted as the cognitive-affect model of academic achievement. The current research confirms the generalizability of the findings and tests the hypothesis that there are cultural differences in the mediation effects with the inclusion of non-Chinese students and their parents as a comparison group. The responses from 103 Chinese speaking (CS) and 163 non-Chinese speaking (NCS) primary students and parents from two schools in Hong Kong were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Student measures included self-concept, cognitive ability and academic achievement in mathematics, English and Chinese. Parent measures included home involvement, beliefs of their child’s cognitive ability and expectations of academic success. Initial model showed that parental expectations mediate the link between cognitive ability and academic achievement for both CS and NCS groups, with parental involvement predicting English achievement for only the NCS group. After the inclusion of academic self-concept, the model showed that CS parental expectations also mediate the link between self-concept and academic achievement. However, the model showed that the parental expectations of NCS play a lesser role in mediating the link between academic self-concept and their children’s academic achievement. Despite the differences, the results provide evidence for the generalizability of the cognitive-affect model.     

An experimental analysis of dynamic hypotheses about cognitive abilities and achievement from childhood to early adulthood

This study examined the dynamics of cognitive abilities and academic achievement from childhood to early adulthood. Predictions about time-dependent "coupling" relations between cognition and achievement based on R. B. Cattell's (1971, 1987) investment hypothesis were evaluated using linear dynamic models applied to longitudinal data (N=672). Contrary to Cattell's hypothesis, a first set of findings indicated that fluid and crystallized abilities, as defined by the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery-Revised (WJ-R; R. W. Woodcock & M. B. Johnson, 1989-1990), were not dynamically coupled with each other over time. A second set of findings provided support for the original predictions and indicated that fluid ability was a leading indicator of changes in achievement measures (i.e., quantitative ability and general academic knowledge). The findings of this study suggest that the dynamics of cognitive abilities and academic achievement follow a more complex pattern than that specified by Cattell's investment hypothesis.     

Accounting for the shared environment in cognitive abilities and academic achievement with measured socioecological contexts

Behavioral and molecular genetic research has established that child cognitive ability and academic performance are substantially heritable, but genetic variation does not account for all of the stratification of cognitive and academic outcomes across families. Which specific contexts and experiences contribute to these shared environmental influences on cognitive ability and academic achievement? Using an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse sample of N = 1728 twins ages 7–20 from the Texas Twin Project, we identified specific measured family, school, and neighborhood socioecological contexts that statistically accounted for latent shared environmental variance in cognitive abilities and academic skills. Composite measures of parent socioeconomic status (SES), school demographic composition, and neighborhood SES accounted for moderate proportions of variation in IQ and achievement. Total variance explained by the multilevel contexts ranged from 15% to 22%. The influence of family SES on IQ and achievement overlapped substantially with the influence of school and neighborhood predictors. Together with race, the measured socioecological contexts explained 100% of shared environmental influences on IQ and approximately 79% of shared environmental influences on both verbal comprehension and reading ability. In contrast, nontrivial proportions of shared environmental variation in math performance were left unexplained. We highlight the potential utility of constructing “polyenvironmental risk scores” in an effort to better predict developmental outcomes and to quantify children's and adolescents’ interrelated networks of experiences. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/77E_DctFsr0     

The relationship between intelligence,working memory,academic self-esteem,and academic achievement

Academic achievement is crucial for life and long-term outcomes. The aim of the present study is to examine the joint role of cognitive (intelligence and working memory) and non-cognitive (academic self-esteem) factors in predicting academic achievement (mathematics and reading literacy) in a sample of Italian sixth and eighth graders. The results showed that within the cognitive factors considered, intelligence was the best predictor of achievement. As regards to non-cognitive factors, academic self-esteem was effective at predicting achievement after controlling for cognitive measures. Academic self-esteem was also found to have an indirect effect, mediated by intelligence, on academic achievement. Both theoretical and practical implications of the present results are discussed.     

Assessing the predictive validity of emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence has become a fashionable topic in the popular press, and has been heralded as an effective predictor of successful performance. However, little empirical evidence has borne out these claims. The present study was conducted in order to determine the relationship of emotional intelligence, cognitive ability, and personality with academic achievement. Emotional intelligence was assessed using the EQ-i (total EQ-i score and five EQ-i composite factor scores). Both cognitive ability and personality (in terms of extraversion and self control) were significantly associated with academic achievement. None of the EQ-i factor scores, nor the total EQ-i score, was significantly related to academic achievement.     

Mental abilities and school achievement: A test of a mediation hypothesis

This study analyzes the interplay of four cognitive abilities - reasoning, divergent thinking, mental speed, and short-term memory - and their impact on academic achievement in school in a sample of adolescents in grades seven to 10 (N = 1135). Based on information processing approaches to intelligence, we tested a mediation hypothesis, which states that the complex cognitive abilities of reasoning and divergent thinking mediate the influence of the basic cognitive abilities of mental speed and short-term memory on achievement. We administered a comprehensive test battery and analyzed the data through structural equation modeling while controlling for the cluster structure of the data. Our findings support the notion that mental speed and short-term memory, as ability factors reflecting basic cognitive processes, exert an indirect influence on academic achievement by affecting reasoning and divergent thinking (total indirect effects: β = .22 and .24, respectively). Short-term memory also directly affects achievement (β = .22).     

Cognitive ability,academic achievement and academic self‐concept: Extending the internal/external frame of reference model

Background. Marsh's internal/external (I/E) frame of reference model depicts the relationship between achievement and self‐concept in specific academic domains. Few efforts have been made to examine concurrent relationships among cognitive ability, achievement, and academic self‐concept (ASC) within an I/E model framework. Aim. To simultaneously examine the influences of domain‐specific cognitive ability and grades on domain self‐concept in an extended I/E model, including the indirect effect of domain‐specific cognitive ability on domain self‐concept via grades. Sample. Tenth grade respondents (628 male, 452 female) to a national adolescent survey conducted in Taiwan. Method. Respondents completed surveys designed to measure maths and verbal aptitudes. Data on Maths and Chinese class grades and self‐concepts were also collected. Results. Statistically significant and positive path coefficients were found between cognitive ability and self‐concept in the same domain (direct effect) and between these two constructs via grades (indirect effect). The cross‐domain effects of either ability or grades on ASC were negatively significant. Conclusions. Taiwanese 10th graders tend to evaluate their ASCs based on a mix of ability and achievement, with achievement as a mediator exceeding ability as a predictor. In addition, the cross‐domain effects suggest that Taiwanese students are likely to view Maths and verbal abilities and achievements as distinctly different.     

Using personality and cognitive ability to predict academic achievement in a young adult sample

This study examined the relationship between cognitive ability, personality, and academic achievement in post-secondary students, using latent variable models. Testing both simple and complex relationships, we found that cognitive ability and personality predicted reading achievement independently, but that they interact when predicting math achievement - at least in the Conscientiousness and Openness to Experience domains.     

学生感知的学校氛围与主客观学业成绩:心理素质及其分维度的中介作用

本研究旨在探究心理素质及其分维度在学生感知的学校氛围与主客观学业成绩之间的中介作用。采用整群抽样的方法选取被试,样本一抽取北京、陕西等七个省市10所中学7~12年级共1274名学生,样本二抽取重庆、湖南等四个省市7所中学7~12年级共2190名学生。结果表明：（1）学生感知的学校氛围与主观学业成绩存在显著正相关,与客观成绩的正相关呈边缘显著,与心理素质存在显著正相关;（2）心理素质在感知的学校氛围与主客观学业成绩之间中介作用显著;（3）心理素质的不同维度在学生感知的学校氛围与学业成绩关系之间中介作用存在差异,其中认知品质在学生感知的学校氛围与学业成绩之间存在稳定的正向中介作用。研究结果启示教育者在实施素质教育的过程中,应注意营造积极的学校氛围,以此提高学生心理素质,尤其是认知品质的发展,从而提高学生的学业成绩。     

认知能力对学业成绩的影响:有中介的调节模型

学业成绩是衡量学生掌握知识水平的重要指标,受到认知能力、社会支持和学习动机等多重因素的显著影响,而这多重因素间的关系及其对学业成绩的共同作用机制尚不明确。本研究采用标准化的认知能力测验、社会支持量表、学习动机量表对4,973名初中生进行测试,并以各科测验成绩总分的平均值作为学业成绩指标。结果表明：（1）认知能力、社会支持、学习动机均与学业成绩正相关;（2）社会支持在认知能力对学业成绩的影响中起调节作用,学生感受到的社会支持水平越高,学业成绩表现越好,且其认知能力对学业成绩的预测作用越强;（3）社会支持的调节作用部分通过学习动机这一中介变量实现。本研究构建了一个基于个体因素（认知能力和学习动机）和环境因素（社会支持）共同影响学业成绩的理论模型,有利于人们深入理解认知能力影响学业成绩的内在机制和边界条件,为提升学生学业成绩提供了理论依据和实证支持。     

The relation between perceived parental involvement and academic achievement: the roles of Taiwanese students' academic beliefs and filial piety

The excellent academic performance among East-Asian students has drawn international attention from educators and psychologists. However, the process that underlies student academic achievement for this particular group has rarely been documented. The present study examines how the relation between perceived parental involvement and Taiwanese students' academic achievement is mediated by student academic beliefs (i.e., beliefs about effort, academic self-concept, and perceived control). The study further explores whether this mediating effect varies with types of filial piety. Participants were 468 first-year students from colleges and universities in Taiwan. Multiple-group mediating models were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). Results indicated that, for the Taiwanese sample, students' academic beliefs mediated the relation between perceived parental involvement and academic achievement. Furthermore, the mediational effect was significant for the reciprocal filial type, but not for the authoritarian filial type. The importance of the quality of the parent-child relationship and the internalization process related to children's assumptions of their parents' educational values indicate the need for a contextual view when examining predictors of student academic achievement.