Contribution of sex-differentiated experiences to spatial and mechanical reasoning abilities

For 137 women and 115 men first-year college students tested spatial visualization and mechanical reasoning were most strongly correlated with four everyday spatial abilities--understanding mathematics/science and graphs/charts, drafting and drawing things, and arranging objects. Despite greater practice on only 2 of 10 activities, men uniformly judged they had significantly better spatial ability compared to their same-gender peers than did the women.     

Mathematics beliefs and achievement of elementary school students in Japan and the United States: results from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study

Student self-beliefs are significantly related to several types of academic achievement. In addition, results from international assessments have indicated that students in Japan have typically scored above international averages (D. L. Kelly, I. V. S. Mullis, & M. O. Martin, 2000). In this study, the author examined relationships between mathematics beliefs and achievement of elementary school-aged students in the United States and Japan. The students had participated in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS; A. E. Beaton et al., 1996). The author examined several self-beliefs and used variance estimation techniques for complex sampling designs. The author identified a number of significant relationships between self-beliefs and mathematics achievement. Students who attributed success in mathematics to controllable factors (e.g., hard work, studying at home) showed higher test scores whereas students who attributed success in mathematics at school to external factors (e.g., good luck) tended to earn lower mathematics test scores. These results extend the findings of previous research results because the author examined large national samples of students in cross-cultural settings as part of a comprehensive international assessment.     

School Mobility and Achievement: Longitudinal Findings From an Urban Cohort

This study investigated the effects of school mobility on reading and math achievement for 1,087 low-income Black children in the Chicago Longitudinal Study. Between kindergarten and seventh grade, 73% of the students changed schools at least once during elementary school and 21% changed schools three or more times. The prospective longitudinal design of the Chicago Longitudinal Study allowed for controlled analyses of both the predictors and the consequences of school mobility. The significant predictors of the number of moves included prior achievement, the number of years of preschool participation in an education intervention program, and parent education. Although the students who changed schools frequently between kindergarten and seventh grade performed approximately one year behind their nonmobile peers on reading and mathematics achievement tests taken at the end of seventh grade, only one half of this difference appears attributable to frequent mobility. The remaining portion is due to the fact that the mobile students were lower achieving even before they started to change schools. The negative consequences of past school mobility are lower for students who moved into better quality schools such as magnets or academic academies. Findings indicate that it is frequent, rather than occasional, mobility that significantly increases the risk of underachievement.     

Music training and mathematics achievement

Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) mathematics scores of eighth graders who had received music instruction were compared according to whether the students were given private lessons. Comparisons also were made between students whose lessons were on the keyboard versus other music lessons. Analyses indicated that students who had private lessons for two or more years performed significantly better on the composite mathematics portion of the ITBS than did students who did not have private lessons. In addition, students who received lessons on the keyboard had significantly higher ITBS mathematics scores than did students whose lessons did not involve the keyboard. These results are discussed in relation to previous research on music training and mathematics achievement.     

Structured and unstructured exposure to computers: Sex differences in attitude and use among college students

A classroom-integrated structured introduction to computer use was compared to an unstructured, voluntary exposure in a group of 362 first-year college students. It was hypothesized that sex differences in attitude and use would be mitigated for students whose training in computer use was integrated into their classroom work. The data supported the hypothesis, indicating that higher male ratings with regard to computer use, attitude toward computers and perceived efficacy at the onset of the experiment were attenuated in the structured condition and amplified in the unstructured condition. Further analysis of the responses of females and males in the unstructured condition suggested different determinants of subsequent use, attitude, and efficacy. For females, prior computer use most strongly influenced the three subsequent dependent measures, while for males prior attitude was the most influential determinant.The authors wish to thank Susan E. Kirschner for proposing and implementing the course structure that enabled us to carry out this investigation.     

Attitudes toward and approaches to learning first-year university mathematics

This study examined the relationship for 180 undergraduate students enrolled in a first-year university calculus course between attitudes toward mathematics and approaches to learning mathematics using the Mathematics Attitude Scale and the Approaches to Learning Mathematics Questionnaire, respectively. Regression analyses indicated that scores for the Mathematics Attitude Scale were negatively related to scores for the Surface Approach and accounted for 10.4% of the variance and scores for the Mathematics Attitude Scale were positively related to scores for the Deep Approach to learning mathematics and accounted for 31.7% of the variance.     

Attitudes of university precalculus students toward mathematics

To investigate the attitudes of 200 university students (83% freshmen) toward mathematics, a questionnaire was administered to report on their attitudes toward mathematics. Analysis indicated that students studying precalculus had a somewhat positive attitude toward mathematics.     

Who Benefits from Diagrams and Illustrations in Math Problems? Ability and Attitudes Matter

How do diagrams and illustrations affect mathematical problem solving? Past research suggests that diagrams should promote correct performance. However, illustrations may provide a supportive context for problem solving, or they may distract students with seductive details. Moreover, effects may not be uniform across student subgroups. This study assessed the effects of diagrams and illustrations on undergraduates' trigonometry problem solving. We used a 2 (Diagram Presence) × 2 (Illustration Presence) within‐subjects design, and our analysis considered students' mathematics ability and attitudes towards mathematics. Participants solved problems more accurately when they included diagrams. This effect was stronger for students who had more positive mathematics attitudes, especially when there was an illustration present. Illustrations were beneficial for students with high mathematics ability but detrimental for students with lower ability. Considering individual differences in ability and attitude is essential for understanding the effects of different types of visual representations on problem solving. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Two investigations of “female modesty” in achievement situations

Two experiments examined motivations underlying the common finding that females present themselves more modestly than males in achievement situations. In Study 1, 388 first-year college students, primarily European-Americans, predicted their first semester grade point averages (GPAs) in one of 3 public and 2 private conditions, which varied the salience of modesty concerns and/or concerns about the others' feelings. In the public conditions combined, but not in the private conditions, women's predictions were lower than men's, although there were no gender differences in actual GPA. The public condition in which the others' feelings and modesty concerns were made salient accounted for this difference between men and women. In Study 2, 230 first-year college students predicted their first-semester GPAs in private, in public to a “nonvulnerable” other, or in public to a “vulnerable” other (someone who supposedly had earned a low GPA). Women's estimates were lower than men's in the latter condition only and lower than their estimates in the other conditions. These results suggest that relational motivations, rather than a simple lack of self-confidence or modesty alone, are a factor in gender differences in self-presentation of achievement.     

Intragroup or Intergroup Attitude Projection Can Increase Opinion Certainty: Is There Classism at College?1

Two processes were examined by which estimation of the attitude positions of others can increase opinion certainty. In Study 1, sophomore and senior students exhibited greater conviction about their own opinions following an opportunity to estimate the attitudes of in‐group members compared to persons who did not receive this opportunity. In an out‐group projection condition, as expected, reduced attitude similarity to freshman students augmented the opinion certainty of sophomores only. In this condition, sophomore opinion certainty was predicted by their perceived status similarity to the freshman out‐group. In Study 2, the relationships between intergroup status similarity, projected intergroup attitudes, and increments in opinion certainty were reexamined and replicated. These findings are discussed in accord with the motivational and cognitive factors that account for the interface between group dynamics and attitude strength.     

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.     

智力水平与人格类型特征对高中生学业负担态度形成的影响

以829名高中生为对象,对“瑞文标准推理测验”、“加利福尼亚人格调查表”和“中学生学业负担态度量表”的测试数据进行聚类分析和F检验,探讨学生智力水平与人格类型特征对其学业负担态度形成的影响。结果显示,不同智力水平学生对待学业负担的态度无显著差异,但积极进取型学生与固执冲动型及消极退缩型学生间的差异显著。积极进取的人格类型特征有助于形成学生对待学业负担的积极态度,而消极人格类型特征导致学生对待学业负担更为消极的态度。     

A longitudinal assessment of early acceleration of students in mathematics on growth in mathematics achievement

Early acceleration of students in mathematics (in the form of early access to formal abstract algebra) has been a controversial educational issue. The current study examined the rate of growth in mathematics achievement of accelerated gifted, honors, and regular students across the entire secondary years (Grades 7–12), in comparison to their non-accelerated counterparts. Using data from the Longitudinal Study of American Youth, hierarchical linear models showed that early acceleration had little advantage among gifted students, small advantage among honors students, but large advantage among regular students. Equity issues, especially gender, racial, and socioeconomic equities, are not a concern once regular students were accelerated, but there are serious concerns about racial gaps among honors students and both gender and racial gaps among gifted students once they were accelerated. Schools played an important role in early acceleration, with school context rather than school climate affecting accelerated students. Students, particularly regular students, having high achievement and attending schools with high average achievement were advantageous in early acceleration. Overall, early acceleration of students in mathematics benefits regular students significantly in terms of growth in mathematics achievement.     

“Math is Hard!” The effect of gender priming on women’s attitudes

In three studies, we examined the effect of a self-relevant category prime on women’s attitudes towards the gender-stereotyped domains of arts (positively stereotyped) and mathematics (negatively stereotyped). In Study 1, women who were subtly reminded of the category female (Study 1a) or their gender identity (Study 1b) expressed more stereotype consistent attitudes towards the academic domains of mathematics and the arts than participants in control conditions. In Study 2, women who were reminded of their female identity similarly demonstrated a stereotype-consistent shift in their implicit attitudes towards these domains relative to women in a control condition. The potential role of the working self-concept in mediating social category priming effects as well as the practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

University students' conceptions of first-year mathematics.

The 1998 Crawford, Gordon, Nicholas, and Prosser Conceptions of Mathematics scale was administered to 156 first-year university students at a large public university in the midwestern United States. The scale represented fragmented and cohesive conceptions of mathematics. The reliability estimated as internal consistency had a Cronbach alpha of .80 for the fragmented scale and .87 for the cohesive scale. Factor analysis of the intercorrelations indicated the same two factors of fragmented and cohesive as in the original and other replicating studies. Students' conceptions of mathematics in this study were comparable to those reported in the original study.     

Opportunities For Learning: Course Sequences and Positional Advantages

Course sequences are strands of courses in particular content areas that span a student's educational career. Courses that are differentiated and sequentially organized, such as mathematics and science course sequences, create opportunities for positional advantages in a school's curricular structure. When students make a nonroutine change of schools – that is, transferring to a school outside of the regular attendance zone – they are at risk of changing their positional advantage. Using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988–94 (NELS:88–94), we examine the educational outcomes of sequences and explore curricular dislocations within the context of school choice. We find that the strongest predictors of 12th-grade mathematics and science course sequences are a student's course sequences at 10th grade. With regard to outcomes, students in higher mathematics and science sequences show greater achievement gains. Furthermore, students in higher mathematics sequences are less likely to have behavior problems and are more likely to graduate from high school and attend college. Students who make a nonroutine change of schools are more likely to be in lower course sequences than students who do not transfer. Thus, course sequences in mathematics and science are tangible experiences with real consequences for students' lives during and beyond high school and are sensitive to transitions which disrupt the continuity of students' high school careers.     

Characteristics of students receiving counselling services at the University of Cape Town, South Africa

The aim of the study was to document the correlates of receiving counselling services at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. The 932 students who received counselling over a 3-year period were compared with the other 23,158 students registered at the university. Data were obtained from the university computerised record system. Women, Black people and 20-24-year-olds were significantly more likely to receive counselling services. When adjusting for these demographic variables, non-English speakers, humanities students, undergraduates, first-year students, students who were eligible to receive financial assistance, and students from outside Cape Town were significantly more likely to receive counselling. New research is required to determine the reasons for these findings.     

中小学生创造性倾向、智力及学业成绩的相关研究

本研究采用威廉斯创造性倾向量表和瑞文标准推理测验,结合中小学生语文、数学成绩,对524名中小学生进行创造性倾向、智力和学业成绩的相关研究.研究发现:(1)中小学生创造性倾向从小学到初中都处于发展阶段,高中以后基本趋于稳定,中小学生的智力一直处于发展增长趋势;(2)小学生的语文、数学成绩与创造性倾向总分有显著相关,初中生的数学成绩与创造性倾向总分以及四项行为特质都有显著相关,小学、初中和高中学生的语文、数学成绩与智力有显著相关;(3)小学中、低分段语文成绩和低分段数学成绩与其创造性倾向有显著相关,初中学生的语文成绩只有高分段与创造性倾向有显著相关,小学和高中语、数成绩三个分段学生的学业成绩跟智力显著相关.     

Hope as a resource for career exploration: Examining incremental and cross-lagged effects

Hope is believed to be beneficial for vocational pursuits, but the question of how and why hope is related to pivotal career development variables remains largely unaddressed. In a series of three studies, we investigated the relationship between hope and career exploration. Study 1 examined at-risk adolescents (N = 228) in Switzerland and showed that hope explains variance in career exploration beyond the significant effects of generalized self-efficacy beliefs and perceived social support. Study 2 found the same result among a group (N = 223) of first-year students at a Swiss university with a measure of state hope. Study 3 applied a one-year cross-lagged design with a diverse group of students (N = 266) at a German university to investigate the mutual effects of dispositional hope and career exploration over time. Although both variables were found to be related within and over time, we could not confirm lagged effects in either direction. The results suggest that hope is significantly correlated with career exploration because both are related to personality and social–contextual variables.