Perceived social support and life satisfaction among freshmen: Mediating roles of academic self-efficacy and academic adjustment

This study investigated the mediating roles of academic self-efficacy and academic adjustment in the relationship between perceived social support and life satisfaction among Nigerian university freshmen. A total of 621 beginning university students (females = 50.4%, mean age = 19.67years, SD = 4.56) completed surveys of their academic self-efficacy, academic adjustment, perceived social support, and life satisfaction. Results, following regression analysis with partial mediation, revealed only academic adjustment to significantly mediate the relationship between perceived social support and life satisfaction. Social support networks from family and faculty members might enhance freshmen’s academic adjustment related life satisfaction.     

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.     

When an academic culture based on self-enhancement values undermines female students’ sense of belonging,self-efficacy,and academic choices

ABSTRACT

Although overall women are better represented in higher education than men, women’s psychological experience in various academic contexts is qualified by a decreased sense of belonging and academic self-efficacy, including in fields where they are not targeted by a negative stereotype. To clarify this phenomenon, we develop the hypothesis of a mismatch between female students’ values and the values associated with success in the increasingly selective realm of higher education. We argue that, whatever the fields of study, these values are self-enhancement values (competitiveness, self-affirmation, dominance). Three studies showed that when success was depicted in terms of self-enhancement values, women – but not men – expressed a lower sense of belonging, had lower self-efficacy and were less likely to pursue a given academic opportunity both in STEM and non-STEM fields of study. These effects did not appear in an academic context depicting success as being rooted in self-transcendence values (helpfulness, cooperation, benevolence).     

Sense of meaning and academic performance: A brief report

This study examined sense of meaning and academic performance among a sample of South African university students (n = 210, mean age = 19.49, SD = 1.99, female = 54.29%). Data on meaning were collected using the Purpose in Life Test. End of semester marks served as the academic attainment measure. Simple regression analysis with post-hoc independent-samples t-tests revealed that meaning predicts academic performance. No significant differences between genders emerged from the data. Sense of meaning is an important factor in supporting students to enhance their academic performance.     

Grit and academic performance among first-year university students: A brief report

This study examined grit and academic performance among a sample of South African university students (n = 121, mean age = 19.55, SD = 1.77, female = 57.85%). Data were collected using the Grit Scale and academic performance was assessed over one academic semester. Simple regression analysis was computed to predict students’ academic achievement from components of their self-reported grit. The grit component of consistency of interest accounted for 3% of the variance in the student’s academic achievement scores. Similarly, the grit component of perseverance of effort explained 9% of the variance in scores. Students who scored high on the Grit Scale also obtained higher academic marks compared to participants who scored low on the same instrument. The findings suggest that grit is an important personal resource for higher education students.     

初二学生目标取向、自我效能及学习成绩与学业求助的关系

本研究以152名初中二年级学生为被试,采用问卷法研究了目标取向、自我效能及学习成绩与学业求助的关系.结果表明:(1)自我取向的确可以区分出趋向型自我取向和逃避型自我取向,它们对学业求助的影响模式是不同的,逃避型自我取向对学业求助有更大的负面作用.(2)社会目标与学业求助有显著关系,支持本研究的假设.(3)自我效能低及学习成绩差的学生更不愿求助,支持脆弱假说.     

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。     

Shaping academic task engagement with percentile schedules

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of percentile schedules as a method of quantifying the shaping procedure in an educational setting. We compared duration of task engagement during baseline measurements for 4 students to duration of task engagement during a percentile schedule. As a secondary purpose, we examined the influence on shaping of manipulations of the number of observations used to determine the criterion for reinforcement (the m parameter of the percentile formula). Results showed that the percentile formula was most effective when a relatively large m value (20 observations) was used.     

ADHD symptoms,academic achievement,self‐perception of academic competence and future orientation: A longitudinal study

In the investigation of the effect of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms on school careers there is a need to study the role of adolescent and childhood ADHD symptoms and academic achievement, and to incorporate measures that include the individual's perspective. Our aim was to gain an overview of the long‐term development of school careers in relation to ADHD symptoms. We studied associations between ADHD symptoms and academic achievement at different time‐points and future orientation at the end of high school, and assessed the role of self‐perceptions of academic competence in these associations. Participants were 192 children (47% girls) with a range of ADHD symptoms taken from a community sample. Collecting data at three time points, in 6th, 11th and 12th grade we tested a structural equation model. Results showed that ADHD symptoms in 6th grade negatively affected academic achievement concurrently and longitudinally. ADHD symptoms in 11th grade negatively affected concurrent academic achievement and academic self‐perception and future orientation in 12th grade. Academic achievement had a positive influence on academic self‐perception and future orientation. Given the other factors, self‐perception of academic competence did not contribute to outcomes. We concluded that early ADHD symptoms may cast long shadows on young people's academic progress. This happens mainly by way of stability in symptoms and relations to early low academic achievement.     

Resurgence of previously taught academic responses

Resurgence is often discussed in relation to the relapse of undesirable behavior. However, resurgence may also describe the recurrence of socially appropriate behavior, including academic responding. The recurrence of academic responses following periods of extinction may aid in the solution of novel problems. The aims of this study were to evaluate the resurgence of complex, desirable behavior related to college-level instruction and to explore problem form as an aspect of environmental context. Each participant was taught 2 response chains to solve quadratic equations across experimental phases, followed by a phase in which neither chain resulted in the correct solution (extinction). During Experiment 1, the equations presented during extinction resembled those presented during reinforcement of the alternative response. Of the 8 participants in Experiment 1, 4 attempted to use the first-taught chain to solve an equation in the extinction phase. During Experiment 2, the equations presented during extinction resembled those presented during reinforcement of the target response. Of the 8 participants in Experiment 2, 6 attempted to use the first-taught chain to solve an equation in the extinction phase. Results demonstrate the resurgence of academic responses and suggest that the form of the problem may constitute a context that affects resurgence.     

Motivations for social withdrawal and academic adjustment in emerging adulthood

While social withdrawal in childhood is typically associated with lower academic functioning, little is known about how motivations for social withdrawal may be connected to academic adjustment in emerging adulthood. The purpose of the present study was to examine associations between social withdrawal motivations (i.e., shyness, avoidance and unsociability) and indices of academic adjustment, including academic achievement (i.e., grade point average [GPA]) and academic motivation (i.e., intrinsic value, self-efficacy and test anxiety), while accounting for gender and conscientiousness. Participants were 623 emerging adults between the ages of 18 and 25 (M_age = 20.15, SD = 1.67; 79% female) who were currently attending university. Hierarchical regression results showed that shyness was negatively associated with intrinsic value and self-efficacy. Whereas shyness was positively associated with test anxiety, avoidance was negatively associated with test anxiety. Social withdrawal motivations were not associated with GPA. The findings suggest that some motivations for social withdrawal play a role in university students’ academic motivation, but not their academic achievement.     

Anxiety,coping and academic performance

Anxiety is a frequent response to stressful evaluation situations and may be correlated with the performance being evaluated. The present study investigated individual differences in social evaluation trait anxiety and coping dimensions as predictors of state anxiety and performance on a university examination. Separate multiple regressions were computed for coping assessed as a style, an individual difference measure, and as situational specific responses. Emotion-oriented coping predicted state anxiety in the evaluation situation. Social evaluation trait anxiety and task-oriented and emotionoriented coping responses predicted exam performance. The regression models predicted approximately a quarter of the variance in course grades. When coping was measured as a response, task-oriented coping response was a significant predictor of course grade. When coping was measured as a style or individual difference, avoidance-oriented coping style predicted aggregated course grade. It was suggested that different coping dimensions predict different outcomes and that coping be assessed over time to better understand its relation to performance.     

Parental influences on academic performance in African-American students

We investigated the relationship between parental influences and academic outcomes for African-American students. Secondary data analysis was conducted on the National Survey of Family and Household data set. Multiple regression analysis showed that parenting style (nurture and control) and parental involvement significantly predicted academic outcomes. Research has traditionally focused on the reasons for the failure of African-American students to succeed in school. This study focused on factors that determine success. The problem of negative school outcomes may be alleviated by studying what works to promote school success rather than what does not work for African-American students.     

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.     

个体与群体歧视知觉对流动儿童学业倦怠的影响：学业自我妨碍的中介作用和认同整合的调节作用

以363名初中阶段流动儿童为被试,采用问卷法考察学业自我妨碍在流动儿童个体和群体歧视知觉与学业倦怠关系中的中介作用,以及认同整合的调节作用。结果如下：（1）个体和群体歧视知觉正向预测流动儿童学业倦怠;（2）学业自我妨碍在流动儿童个体和群体歧视知觉与学业倦怠关系中起中介作用;（3）认同整合会调节个体歧视知觉、学业自我妨碍对学业倦怠的影响。