Mathematics beliefs and achievement of adolescent students in Japan: results from the TIMSS 1999 assessment

A recent study (1) of undergraduate students in a precalculus course indicated that they expressed slightly positive attitudes toward mathematics. It is important, however, to examine relationships between students' initial attitudes and achievement outcomes. The present purpose was to assess the relationship between self-beliefs and mathematics achievement for a large national sample of students from the TIMSS 1999 international sample (eighth graders) from Japan. Several significant relationships between mathematics beliefs and test scores were noted. In addition, the overall multiple regression equation that assessed the joint significance of the complete set of self-belief variables was significant (F7.65 = 159.48, p < .001) and explained 20.6% of the variance in mathematics achievement test scores.     

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.     

Study strategies and beliefs about learning as a function of academic achievement and achievement goals

Prior research by Hartwig and Dunlosky [(2012). Study strategies of college students: Are self-testing and scheduling related to achievement? Psychonomic Bulletin &; Review, 19(1), 126–134] has demonstrated that beliefs about learning and study strategies endorsed by students are related to academic achievement: higher performing students tend to choose more effective study strategies and are more aware of the benefits of self-testing. We examined whether students’ achievement goals, independent of academic achievement, predicted beliefs about learning and endorsement of study strategies. We administered Hartwig and Dunlosky’s survey, along with the Achievement Goals Questionnaire [Elliot, A. J., &; McGregor, H. A. (2001). A 2 × 2 achievement goal framework. Journal of Personality &; Social Psychology, 80, 501–519] to a large undergraduate biology course. Similar to results by Hartwig and Dunlosky, we found that high-performing students (relative to low-performing students) were more likely to endorse self-testing, less likely to cram, and more likely to plan a study schedule ahead of time. Independent of achievement, however, achievement goals were stronger predictors of certain study behaviours. In particular, avoidance goals (e.g., fear of failure) coincided with increased use of cramming and the tendency to be driven by impending deadlines. Results suggest that individual differences in student achievement, as well as the underlying reasons for achievement, are important predictors of students’ approaches to studying.     

Contexts as switchmen: The variable effects of formal and informal instructional strategies on student achievement

This study presents an exploratory theoretical framework that analyzes the extent by which the contexts of classroom instruction mediate the effects of instructional strategies on achievement. The study first presents the two main tasks that teachers face in classrooms-teaching, and controlling the social order. The study then elaborates on formal and informal instructional strategies that teachers use to manage these tasks. The main foci of the study is to show that the effects of these different instructional strategies on student achievements vary by grade level. The results suggest that the contexts of instruction determine the magnitude and direction of the effects of instructional strategies on achievement. Positive effects on student achievement appear when a functional congruence occurs between teachers' instructional strategies and the contexts wherein they are used. The analyses suggest that changes in the cognitive, social, and institutional contexts of classrooms may change the relative efficacy of specific instructional strategies. Consequently, researchers should pay more attention to the changes in the sociology of classrooms during students' school careers. This study was supported by a post-doctoral fellowship from the Fulbright Foundation and by a small research grant from The Spencer Foundation. My wholehearted appreciation is given to the support I received from the Foundations. I am especially grateful to Charles Bidwell from the University of Chicago, who encouraged me to pursue this study during my post-doctoral visit in 1994–95. Discussions with Benjamin Wright and his warm support have been more than essential. The hospitality and the academic environment at the NORC and the University of Chicago have done wonders to the fruition of ideas advanced in this study. Yechezkel Dar and Ruth Butler made suggestions to the improvement of this article. Daniel Shalem and Rivka Berman assisted with editorial as well as substantive comments. The reviewers ofSocial Psychology of Education insightfully suggested ways to improve the final version.     

Contexts as switchmen: The variable effects of formal and informal instructional strategies on student achievement

This study presents an exploratory theoretical framework that analyzes the extent by which the contexts of classroom instruction mediate the effects of instructional strategies on achievement. The study first presents the two main tasks that teachers face in classrooms-teaching, and controlling the social order. The study then elaborates on formal and informal instructional strategies that teachers use to manage these tasks. The main foci of the study is to show that the effects of these different instructional strategies on student achievements vary by grade level. The results suggest that the contexts of instruction determine the magnitude and direction of the effects of instructional strategies on achievement. Positive effects on student achievement appear when a functional congruence occurs between teachers' instructional strategies and the contexts wherein they are used. The analyses suggest that changes in the cognitive, social, and institutional contexts of classrooms may change the relative efficacy of specific instructional strategies. Consequently, researchers should pay more attention to the changes in the sociology of classrooms during students' school careers.     

The mediation effect of student self-efficacy between teaching approaches and science achievement: findings from 2011 TIMSS US data

Over the past two decades, researchers consistently demonstrated the importance of science teaching approaches and student self-efficacy in influencing their science achievement. These findings have become the foundation of science education reform. However, empirical supports of these relationships are limited to direct relationships and small-scale studies. Therefore, little is known about the mechanism of how teaching approaches and student self-efficacy affect student achievement. In order to fill these gaps, this study used a multilevel structural equation modeling approach to analyze the direct and indirect relationships between teaching approaches, student self-efficacy, and science achievement by using the data of US eighth grade students in the 2011 TIMSS assessment. The results indicated that none of the teaching approaches identified in this study were directly associated with student science achievement, but significant mediation effect was found between generic teaching and student science achievement through student self-efficacy. Implications of these results for US educational system and reform were discussed.

     

Amalgamation of future time orientation,epistemological beliefs,achievement goals and study strategies: Empirical evidence established

Background Recently research evidence emphasizes two main lines of inquiry, namely the relations between future time perspective (FTP), achievement goals (mastery, performance‐approach, and performance‐avoidance) and study processing strategies, and the relations between epistemological beliefs, achievement goals and study processing strategies. To date, however, there have been very few attempts made to amalgamate these two strands of inquiry within one study and how they in totality determine the success of academic learning. Aims This study proposed and tested a conceptual model of relationships among FTP, epistemological beliefs, achievement goals (mastery, performance‐approach, and performance‐avoidance), study processing strategies and academic performance. Sample Two hundred and seventy‐five tertiary second‐year students (167 females, 108 males) enrolled in a university in the Pacific participated in this study. Method Likert‐scale inventories were used to elicit relevant data from students; for example, the epistemological questionnaire (EQ; Schommer, 1990 ) and the Zimbardo time perspective inventory ( Zimbardo & Boyd, 1999 ). Academic performance was collated from students' course and final exam marks in the course educational psychology. LISREL 8.72 and SPSS 15 was used to test and evaluate the conceptual model proposed. Results Latent variables procedures supported the conceptual model in general, although not all hypothesized paths were significant. MANOVA indicated no gender differences in the five theoretical frameworks or academic performance. Discussion The determinants of academic performance from our findings are deep and surface processing strategies. Furthermore, the established supports the mediating roles of deep processing strategies, mastery goals, and performance‐approach and performance‐avoidance goals.     

Naturals and strivers: Preferences and beliefs about sources of achievement

To understand how talent and achievement are perceived, three experiments compared the assessments of “naturals” and “strivers." Professional musicians learned about two pianists, equal in achievement but who varied in the source of achievement: the “natural” with early evidence of high innate ability, versus the “striver” with early evidence of high motivation and perseverance (Experiment 1). Although musicians reported the strong belief that strivers will achieve over naturals, their preferences and beliefs showed the reverse pattern: they judged the natural performer to be more talented, more likely to succeed, and more hirable than the striver. In Experiment 2, this “naturalness bias” was observed again in experts but not in non-experts, and replicated in a between-subjects design in Experiment 3. Together, these experiments show a bias favoring naturals over strivers even when the achievement is equal, and a dissociation between stated beliefs about achievement and actual choices in expert decision-makers.     

Women abuse: beliefs and attitudes in university students

Beliefs and attitudes positives toward domestic violence are one of the risks factors for his occurrence. Among his most studied predictors are gender, gender role attitudes or educational level. In this paper, domestic violence beliefs and attitudes are analysed in 1395 university students. "Inventory of Thoughts Distorted on the Woman and the Violence" (Echeburúa and Fernández-Montalvo, 1997) and "Inventory of Social Desirability" by Crowne and Marlowe (Form C, Reynolds, 1982) were administrated. Boys and students without specific formation about this subject show more positive beliefs and attitudes toward domestic violence. Though social desirability introduces some limitations, these results suggest the importance of incorporating matters on this subject in the curriculum of university students in general and, especially, in future professional that will work with these groups.     

Adjustment and acceptance beliefs in achievement settings: Implications for student wellbeing

Social Psychology of Education - Research suggests that when dealing with personal setbacks, secondary control (SC) adjustment and acceptance beliefs can foster psychological wellbeing. However,...     

Dopaminergic polymorphisms and educational achievement: results from a longitudinal sample of Americans

Although educational attainment has been found to be moderately heritable, research has yet to explore candidate genes for it. Drawing on data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, in the current study, we examined the association between polymorphisms in three dopaminergic genes (DAT1, DRD2, and DRD4), a dopamine index, and educational attainment. Statistically significant effects were found for DAT1, DRD2, DRD4, and the dopamine index for highest level of education. This study is the first to our knowledge that links measured genes to educational attainment.     

Perception of the teaching-learning process and academic achievement in diverse instructional contexts of Higher Education

In Higher Education, performance and Teaching-Learning (T-L) contexts are highly current concerns. Based on the DEDEPRO model, interdependence can be established between instructional contexts and levels of performance as they relate to the T-L process. Partitipants were 2020 pupils from two Spanish universities. Measurements of both variables were used in a quasi-experimental and correlational design. The univariate and causal analyses showed the effect of context on the T-L process and on performance; thus, the interdependent relationships between the latter and perception of the T-L process. Partial interaction effects also appeared, as well as a causal model of academic performance. Results are discussed and implications for the ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) are analyzed.     

Predicting reading achievement in the first year of schooling: A comparison of readiness tests and instructional programs

Data from four reading-related tests, including a measure of knowledge about books and print conventions, and two demographic variables, obtained at the end of the first year of schooling, were used to predict a range of students' word and discourse reading achievement at the conclusion of that year. Students were enrolled in a reading program that emphasized either the subskills involved in breaking the reading code or the more holistic gaining of meaning from print. The results indicated that a measure of knowledge about books and print conventions is strongly related to end-of-year reading achievement, but that, over and above the other more traditional measures, it is a significant predictor of only one type of comprehension - that involving the inferential linking of two pieces of information separated in the text. Students in a subskills-emphasis program outperformed those in a meaning-emphasis program on tests of word knowledge but not of comprehension of discourse.     

Social perceptions of achieving students and achievement goals of students in Malaysia and the Philippines

The study investigates the hypothesis that country differences in achievement goals of students are associated with differences in how students with different achievement goals are perceived by students in different cultures. University students from Malaysia and the Philippine were asked to complete questionnaires on their achievement goals and on their perceptions of hypothetical students who exemplify the different achievement goals. The perception questions related to social goals such as peer affiliation, personal qualities, and likeability. The achievement goals data indicated that Filipino students reported higher levels of mastery goals compared to their Malaysian counterparts, who in turn reported higher levels of performance approach goals. Hierarchical regression analysis indicate that country differences in mastery and performance goals can be accounted for by differences in perceptions of mastery- and performance-goal oriented peers, particularly those perceptions that relate to social affiliation and social approval. The results are discussed in terms of how achievement goal constructs are perceived in different countries, and how differences in perception may relate to some social dimensions in the adoption of achievement goals.     

Aspects of suicidal behavior, depression, and treatment in college students: results from the spring 2000 national college health assessment survey

The National College Health Assessment Survey (NCHA), sponsored by the American College Health Association, measured depression, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts among 15,977 college students in the academic year 1999-2000. Similar to the National College Health Risk Behavior Survey, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 1995, 9.5% of students reported that they had seriously considered attempting suicide and 1.5% of students reported that they had attempted suicide within the last school year. The NCHA findings show a relationship between suicidal behavior and depressed mood. Depressed mood, difficulties of sexual identity, and problematic relationships all increase the likelihood of vulnerability to suicidal behavior. Less than 20% of students reporting suicidal ideation or attempts were receiving treatment.     

Gender gap in reading achievement: the mediating role of metacognitive strategies and reading-related attitudes

The purpose of this study is to explain the gender differences in reading achievement with the mediating role of metacognitive strategies and reading-related attitudes. Hypotheses were tested with 6890 students [3396 (49.3%) females, 3494 (50.7%) males] who participated in PISA 2018 in Turkey. The path analysis results indicated that gender had significant associations with metacognitive strategies and reading-related attitudes. One remarkable result is that gender affected metacognitive strategies about lower cognitive levels more than strategies about higher cognitive levels, and that the female advantage was reduced for upper metacognitive strategies. Additionally, reading-related attitudes, except for perception of reading competence, and metacognitive strategies were significantly associated with reading achievement. In addition, the results revealed that metacognitive strategies and reading-related attitudes, except for perception of reading competence, fully mediated gender and reading achievement. Overall, the results show that the gender difference in reading achievement is not only due to gender itself, but may also be due to differentiation of the metacognitive strategies and reading-related attitudes of girls and boys. As a result, the teaching of metacognitive strategies and development of reading-related attitudes to students are recommended, in order to reduce the gender gap in reading achievement. Limitations, practical implications, and recommendations for future research are discussed.

     

Locus of control and academic achievement in high school students

This study investigated the hypothesized relationship between internal locus of control and academic achievement among a sample of 187 students in Grades 8 through 12 using the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale for Children. Analysis indicated that students in the higher GPA group reported higher scores on internal locus of control.     

Influence of motivation,self-beliefs,and instructional practices on science achievement of adolescents in Canada

This study examined the effects of motivation to learn science, science self-beliefs, and science instructional practices on science achievement of 13,985 15-year-old students from 431 schools across Canada. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analyses, while controlling for student- and school-level demographic characteristics, revealed the substantial predictive effects of motivation to learn science, science self-beliefs, and science instructional practices on science achievement of adolescents. Motivational beliefs—self-efficacy and self-concept—and enjoyment of science had substantial positive predictive effects on science achievement. In contrast, general interest in science had a negative predictive effect on science achievement in the context of other variables. Whereas science teaching using hands-on activities had a substantial positive predictive effect on science achievement, science teaching using student investigations had a substantial negative predictive effect in the context of other variables. The final HLM model indicated that only 8% of the variance in science achievement was between schools and 92% of the variance involved students within schools.     

Stage of physical activity and approach-avoidance achievement goals in university students

ObjectivesThe main purpose of the present investigation was to examine approach-avoidance achievement goal patterns across stages of physical activity participation. In addition, sex differences in the approach and avoidance goals were examined as well as goal contrast scores (i.e., approach minus avoidance) as secondary purposes.DesignThe research was cross-sectional in design.MethodParticipants were 804 university students who completed a questionnaire assessing their stage of physical activity, 2 × 2 achievement goals, and demographics.ResultsMANOVA results revealed hypothesized and significant (p < .001) physical activity stage differences in the mastery and performance approach goals as well as significant (p's < .05) gender differences in both performance goals. A significant (p < .01) gender by physical activity stage interaction emerged for the performance goals and surprisingly, was found mainly in the advanced exercise stages (i.e., action, maintenance, and long-term maintenance). Last, significant (p < .001) gender and physical activity stage main effects emerged for the achievement goal contrasts. Males endorsed both the mastery and performance contrasts more than females. Collapsed for both sexes, the contrast scores were greater in the physically active than the non-active stages.ConclusionsFindings suggested that interventions targeting physical activity in university students should emphasize approach goals relative to the avoidance goals. Particular attention should be paid to the performance goals in the maintenance and long-term maintenance stages as they appeared theoretically inconsistent for the female participants. Last, the split in the preparation stage (active, non-active) should be incorporated into future stage based investigations as the split demonstrated two meaningfully different subgroups.     

Grouping students for instruction: effects of learning style on achievement and attitudes

The present study examined the effects of matching and mismatching American middle-school students with a preference for learning alone or learning with peers with selected instructional treatments in order to determine the impact upon their attitudes and achievement in social studies. Analysis revealed that the learning-alone preference performed significantly better in the learning-alone condition and that the learning-with-peers preference performed significantly better in the learning-with-peers condition. However, no-preference students also performed significantly better in the learning-alone condition than with peers. In addition, data revealed that the learning-alone and the learning-with-peers students had significantly more positive attitudes when matched with their preferred learning style; the nopreference students had more positive attitudes in the learning-alone condition.