Utilizing Need for Cognition and Perceived Self‐Efficacy to Predict Academic Performance1

A study was conducted to determine whether academic performance could be predicted on the bases of the constructs need for cognition (NFC) and academic self‐efficacy. Two hypotheses were generated: Positive correlations will be found between academic self‐efficacy, NFC, and grade point average (GPA); and efficacy and NFC will serve as significant predictors of GPA. The path mediation technique recommended by Baron & Kenny (1986) for testing mediated relationships was also performed in order to assess the causal direction of the NFC and academic self‐efficacy variables. Participants were 138 undergraduate students. The first hypothesis was generally supported in that significant correlations were found between NFC, efficacy beliefs, and GPA. In support of the second hypothesis, path analysis revealed that NFC and academic self‐efficacy were significant predictors of GPA. Furthermore, the NFC‐GPA relationship was shown to be mediated by efficacy beliefs.     

Don't cheat,be happy. Self‐control,self‐beliefs,and satisfaction with life in academic honesty: A cross‐sectional study in Poland

Academic dishonesty is dishonest behavior at school or university which is supposed to result in a passed exam or in a positive grade. Academic dishonesty is a global problem, present at every stage of education. Since the consequences of this phenomenon may be serious, such as a low level of knowledge despite receiving a diploma from a school or university or carrying dishonest behaviors over into other domains of functioning, research into this phenomenon also seems to be of high significance. Cheating, plagiarism, and falsification are the forms of academic of dishonesty. The aim of this study was to establish how academic dishonesty is related to self‐control, self‐beliefs, and satisfaction with life. The sample consisted of 631 participants, to whom we administered the Academic Honesty Scale, the Brief Self‐Control Scale, the Social Success Index, the Normalcy Feeling Scale, the Social Comparison Scale, and the Satisfaction With Life Scale. We found that academic dishonesty was linked with some of the variables. The results indicated that academic dishonesty and self‐control were negatively related to academic cheating and that social comparison was positively related to plagiarism and falsification. It also turned out that women scored lower than men on academic dishonesty. Research findings on academic dishonesty have a number of important implications for education, particularly for psychologists, teachers, and sociologists.     

The Attributes Adolescents Associate with Peer Popularity and Teacher Preference

Perceived popularity and perceived teacher preference were investigated in a sample of 351 (179 boys, 172 girls) 10th-grade students from an urban community experiencing a moderate degree of economic distress. Students completed rating scale sociometric and behavioral nomination measures. Data on GPAs and unexplained absences were obtained from the school. Multiple regression analyses revealed that different behaviors were associated with perceived popularity and perceived teacher preference. Low GPA, low submissiveness, and high rates of absenteeism were associated with high perceived popularity and a low perceived teacher preference. Snobbishness and prosociality were more strongly associated with perceived popularity than perceived teacher preference. Students who were perceived as high on both dimensions simultaneously maintained a commitment to their scholastic success at school while behaving in a highly friendly nonsubmissive manner. A relation was also found between individuals' ratings of students' peer popularity and their own behavioral and academic attributes.     

Exploring Individual‐Level Factors Related to Employee Energy‐Conservation Behaviors at Work1

The higher costs of energy have increased organizations' interest in searching for ways to reduce energy use. Typically, organizations have utilized structural or operational changes to decrease their energy use. Another approach involves the energy‐conservation behaviors of an organization's employees. Drawing on value‐belief‐norm theory ( Stern, 2000b ), we examined the individual‐level factors related to energy‐conservation behaviors at work among employees of a large state university. Using path analysis, we found that environmental personal norms predicted self‐reported energy‐conservation behaviors, as well as behavioral intentions. Environmental personal norms also mediated the relationship of environmental worldviews with self‐reported energy‐conservation behaviors, as well as behavioral intentions. Implications for theory and organizational energy‐conservation interventions are discussed.     

An Ecological View of School Counselor Ratios and Student Academic Outcomes: A National Investigation

The effect of student‐to‐school‐counselor ratios on academic outcomes has been widely studied, yet few researchers have taken a multilevel approach. Using the nationally representative High School Longitudinal Study: 2009 dataset, the authors found ratios were significantly associated with student grade point average (GPA) and graduation. Attending a Title I school also was associated with students’ GPA, advanced placement/international baccalaureate credits earned, and postsecondary course taking. The authors discuss implications for advocacy and practice, contextualizing their findings within an ecological framework.     

Academic performance and perceived validity of grades: an additional case for self-enhancement

The authors investigated the role of academic self-esteem and academic performance in U.S. college students' perceptions of the validity of their grades (overall grade point average [GPA]). A sample of 208 (80 male, 128 female) college students completed a survey that included an academic self-esteem scale and a measure of the perceived validity of grades. The authors assessed academic performance level by the participants' actual overall GPAs. The results of a hierarchical multiple regression analysis supported the weak form of self-enhancement theory (J. S. Shrauger, 1975). Thus, regardless of their self-esteem levels, the students with higher GPAs, compared with those with lower GPAs, tended to see the overall GPA as a more valid indicator of academic ability.     

Peer relationships and adolescents’ academic and non‐academic outcomes: Same‐sex and opposite‐sex peer effects and the mediating role of school engagement

Background. The literature has documented theoretical/conceptual models delineating the facilitating role of peer relationships in academic and non‐academic outcomes. However, the mechanisms through which peer relationships link to those outcomes is an area requiring further research. Aims. The study examined the role of adolescents’ perceptions of their relationships with same‐sex and opposite‐sex peers in predicting their academic performance and general self‐esteem and the potentially mediating role of school engagement in linking these perceived peer relationships with academic and non‐academic outcomes. Sample. The sample comprised 1,436 high‐school students (670 boys, 756 girls; 711 early adolescents, 723 later adolescents). Method. Self‐report measures and objective achievement tests were used. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was performed to test the hypothesized model and its invariance across gender and age groups. Results. Perceived same‐sex peer relationships yielded positive direct and indirect links with academic performance and general self‐esteem. Perceived opposite‐sex peer relationships yielded positive direct and indirect links with general self‐esteem and an indirect positive link with academic performance, but mediation via school engagement was not as strong as that of perceived same‐sex peer relationships. These findings generalized across gender and age groups. Conclusion. Adolescents’ same‐sex and opposite‐sex peer relationships seem to positively impact their academic performance and general self‐esteem in distinct ways. It appears that school engagement plays an important role in mediating these peer relationship effects, particularly those of same‐sex peer relationships, on academic and non‐academic functioning. Implications for psycho‐educational theory, measurement, and practice are discussed.     

Individual Differences in Course Choice Result in Underestimation of the Validity of College Admissions Systems

ABSTRACT— We demonstrate that the validity of SAT scores and high school grade point averages (GPAs) as predictors of academic performance has been underestimated because of previous studies' reliance on flawed performance indicators (i.e., college GPA) that are contaminated by the effects of individual differences in course choice. We controlled for this contamination by predicting individual course grades, instead of GPAs, in a data set containing more than 5 million college grades for 167,816 students. Percentage of variance accounted for by SAT scores and high school GPAs was 30 to 40% lower when the criteria were freshman and cumulative GPAs than when the criteria were individual course grades. SAT scores and high school GPAs together accounted for between 44 and 62% of the variance in college grades. This study provides new estimates of the criterion-related validity of SAT scores and high school GPAs, and highlights the care that must be taken in choosing appropriate criteria in validity studies.     

A Meta‐analysis of Letters of Recommendation in College and Graduate Admissions: Reasons for hope

Letters of recommendation are used extensively in academic admissions and personnel selection. Despite their prominence, comparatively little is known about their predictive power for multiple outcomes. This meta‐analysis combine the existing literature for college grade point average (GPA), academic outcomes of GPA, performance ratings, degree attainment, and research productivity for nonmedical school graduate programs, and GPA and internship performance ratings for medical school students. Intercorrelations with other commonly used predictors are also estimated and used to estimate incremental predictive power. Overall, letters of recommendation, in their current form, are generally positively but weakly correlated with multiple aspects of performance in post‐secondary education. However, letters do appear to provide incremental information about degree attainment, a difficult and heavily motivationally determined outcome.     

Education,Ethnic Identity,and Acculturation as Predictors of Self‐Esteem in Latino Adolescents

This study examines the self‐esteem, acculturation, and ethnic identity of 150 Latino adolescents enrolled in either a bilingual or traditional education program. Bilingual education programs were established to ensure that academic failure was not the product of limited English proficiency. Grade point average (GPA), acculturation, and ethnic identity significantly predicted self‐esteem for students in bilingual programs, whereas only GPA and acculturation significantly predicted self‐esteem for students in traditional educational programs.     

Academic Performance and Perceived Validity of Grades: An Additional Case for Self-Enhancement

Abstract

The authors investigated the role of academic self-esteem and academic performance in U.S. college students' perceptions of the validity of their grades (overall grade point average [GPA]). A sample of 208 (80 male, 128 female) college students completed a survey that included an academic self-esteem scale and a measure of the perceived validity of grades. The authors assessed academic performance level by the participants' actual overall GPAs. The results of a hierarchical multiple regression analysis supported the weak form of self-enhancement theory (J. S. Shrauger, 1975). Thus, regardless of their self-esteem levels, the students with higher GPAs, compared with those with lower GPAs, tended to see the overall GPA as a more valid indicator of academic ability.     

Behavioral Self‐Regulation,Early Academic Achievement,and the Effectiveness of Urban Schools for Low‐Income Ethnic Minority Children

The independent and joint associations between child behavioral self‐regulation ability and school effectiveness in relation to academic achievement were examined in a sample of low‐income African American (n = 132) and Latino (n = 198) children attending kindergarten and first grade across a large metropolitan area. Child behavioral self‐regulation and school effectiveness were positively associated with both reading and mathematics performance. School effectiveness moderated the effect of behavioral self‐regulation on reading but not math achievement. Lower child behavioral self‐regulation during early elementary school was associated with lower reading achievement the following year but only among children attending less effective schools. Behavioral self‐regulation was not related to reading achievement among children attending more effective schools. Implications of these findings for policies addressing disparities in early academic achievement are discussed.     

Morningness‐eveningness and educational outcomes: the lark has an advantage over the owl at high school

Background. Chronotype refers to individuals’ preference for morning or evening activities. Its two dimensions (morningness and eveningness) are related to a number of academic outcomes. Aims. The main goal of the study was to investigate the incremental validity of chronotype as a predictor of academic achievement after controlling for a number of traditional predictors. In so doing, a further aim was ongoing validation of a chronotype questionnaire, the Lark‐Owl Chronotype Indicator. Sample. The sample comprised 272 students attending 9th and 10th grades at five German high schools. Data was also obtained from 132 parents of these students. Method. Students were assessed in class via self‐report questionnaires and a standardized cognitive test. Parents filled out a questionnaire at home. The incremental validity of chronotype was investigated using hierarchical linear regression. Validity of the chronotype questionnaire was assessed by correlating student ratings of their chronotype with behavioural data on sleep, food intake, and drug consumption and with parent ratings of chronotype. Results. Eveningness was a significant (negative) predictor of overall grade point average (GPA), math–science GPA, and language GPA, after cognitive ability, conscientiousness, need for cognition, achievement motivation, and gender were held constant. Validity evidence for the chronotype measure was established by significant correlations with parent‐ratings and behavioural data. Conclusions. Results point to the possible discrimination of adolescents with a proclivity towards eveningness at school. Possible explanations for the relationship between chronotype and academic achievement are presented. Implications for educational practice are also discussed.     

Pupils' liking for school: Ability grouping,self‐concept and perceptions of teaching

Background. Research indicates that affective aspects of development provide a basis for autonomous learning. Pupils' liking for school may be a useful indicator of their relationships with teachers and the school. Aims. The aim of the research reported in this paper is to establish the properties of a measure of pupils' liking for school and to examine associations between this measure, pupils' experiences in lessons, their self‐concepts and the amount of setting implemented in school. Sample. A stratified sample of 45 mixed secondary comprehensive schools was selected for the research. Schools represented a variety of ability‐grouping practices in the lower school (Years 7–9), from completely mixed‐ability to setting in all academic subjects. All Year 9 pupils were included in the sample. Methods. Pupils completed a questionnaire containing items on their self‐concept, liking for school, and their perceptions of teaching in English, mathematics, and science. Data on pupils' gender, ethnic origin, social disadvantage and attainment was also collected. Results and conclusions. The properties and correlates of scales indicating pupils' liking for school and their perceptions of teaching in English, mathematics, and science are established. Liking for school is greater among girls, pupils with higher academic self‐concepts, and those with more positive perceptions of teaching. Pupils are more positive about teaching they experience in English than in mathematics or science. When other variables are statistically controlled, there is no significant effect of the extent of ability grouping in the school as a whole. Affective aspects of learning should not be neglected in the drive to raise standards.     

Prediction of Children's Academic Competence From Their Effortful Control, Relationships, and Classroom Participation

The authors examined the relations among children's effortful control, school relationships, classroom participation, and academic competence with a sample of 7- to 12-year-old children (N = 264). Parents and children reported on children's effortful control, and teachers and children reported on children's school relationships and classroom participation. Children's grade point averages (GPAs) and absences were obtained from school-issued report cards. Significant positive correlations existed between effortful control, school relationships, classroom participation, and academic competence. Consistent with expectations, the teacher-child relationship, social competence, and classroom participation partially mediated the relation between effortful control and change in GPA from the beginning to the end of the school year. The teacher-child relationship and classroom participation also partially mediated the relation between effortful control and change in school absences across the year.     

Friendships with Peers Who are Low or High in Aggression as Moderators of the Link between Peer Victimization and Declines in Academic Functioning

This paper reports two prospective investigations of the role of friendship in the relation between peer victimization and grade point averages (GPA). Study 1 included 199 children (105 boys, 94 girls; mean age of 9.1 years) and Study 2 included 310 children (151 boys, 159 girls; mean age of 8.5 years). These children were followed for two school years. In both projects, we assessed aggression, victimization, and friendship with a peer nomination inventory, and we obtained children's GPAs from a review of school records. Peer victimization was associated with academic declines only when children had either a high number of friends who were above the classroom mean on aggression or a low number of friends who were below the classroom mean on aggression. These results highlight the importance of aggression levels among friends for the academic adjustment of victimized children.     

Emotional intelligence: impact on post-secondary academic achievement

This research examined the simultaneous influences of emotional intelligence, adjustment to university, authoritative versus other parenting style, and high school average on first year university students’ grade point average (GPA) via structural equation modeling. The participants were 299 first year students from the social science faculty at Laurentian University, Canada. The sample was comprised of 86 males (28.7 %) and 213 females (71 %); most students (96.7 %) were between the ages of 17 and 23. The results showed that high school average had a direct influence on first year university GPA. Emotional Intelligence was not directly associated with first year university GPA, but it was significantly associated with adjustment to university which in turn was significantly associated with the first year GPA. This tends to suggest that the influence of emotional intelligence on academic achievement may be mediated by adjustment to university. Furthermore, parenting style (authoritative versus other) had a significant influence on adjustment to university but not on emotional intelligence and university GPA. Students who came from families with authoritative parenting styles tended to be better adjusted than students who came from families with other parenting styles (authoritarian and permissive). Problem behaviors such as alcohol use, academic dishonesty and academic procrastination were found to have a negative influence on university GPA and adjustment to university. In conclusion, emotional intelligence and an authoritative parenting style are influential in enhancing adjustment to university which in turns affects academic achievement in university.     

The Effect of Shame‐Proneness,Guilt‐Proneness,and Internalizing Tendencies on Nonsuicidal Self‐Injury

Nonsuicidal self‐injury is especially common in adolescents and young adults. Self‐injury may be related to shame or guilt—two moral emotions—as these differentially predict other maladaptive behaviors. Using a college sample, we examined not only how shame‐proneness, guilt‐proneness, and internalizing emotional tendencies related to self‐injury, but also whether these moral emotions moderate the relation between internalizing tendencies and self‐injury. High shame‐proneness was associated with higher frequencies of self‐injury. High guilt‐proneness was associated with less self‐injury, although this effect was mitigated at higher levels of internalizing tendencies. These results suggest shame‐proneness is a risk factor for self‐injury, while guilt‐proneness is protective.     

The contribution of personality traits and self‐efficacy beliefs to academic achievement: A longitudinal study

Background. The personal determinants of academic achievement and success have captured the attention of many scholars for the last decades. Among other factors, personality traits and self‐efficacy beliefs have proved to be important predictors of academic achievement. Aims. The present study examines the unique contribution and the pathways through which traits (i.e., openness and conscientiousness) and academic self‐efficacy beliefs are conducive to academic achievement at the end of junior and senior high school. Sample. Participants were 412 Italian students, 196 boys and 216 girls, ranging in age from 13 to 19 years. Methods. The hypothesized relations among the variables were tested within the framework of structural equation model. Results and conclusions. Openness and academic self‐efficacy at the age of 13 contributed to junior high‐school grades, after controlling for socio‐economic status (SES). Junior high‐school grades contribute to academic self‐efficacy beliefs at the age of 16, which in turn contributed to high‐school grades, over and above the effects of SES and prior academic achievement. In accordance with the posited hypothesis, academic self‐efficacy beliefs partially mediated the contribution of traits to later academic achievement. In particular, conscientiousness at the age of 13 affected high‐school grades indirectly, through its effect on academic self‐efficacy beliefs at the age of 16. These findings have broad implications for interventions aimed to enhance children's academic pursuits. Whereas personality traits represent stable individual characteristics that mostly derive from individual genetic endowment, social cognitive theory provides guidelines for enhancing students’ efficacy to regulate their learning activities.     

Family Background and Individual Measures as Predictors of Turkish Primary School Children's Academic Achievement

The primary purpose of this study was to predict academic grade point averages (GPAs) of Turki primary school children, using family background and individual measures (sociometric standing, self-reported loneliness, and social efficacy) as predictors. We hypothesized that these two measures would explain the wide variation in GPA for samples differing with respect to sex and paternal education. Regression analyses with male and female subsamples revealed that the background measures explained twice as much variance in GPA, popularity, and loneliness for girls as for boys. Another finding was that the background measures explained a greater proportion of the variance in GPA for children with less-versus more-educated fathers, whereas individual measures explained a greater proportion of the variance for children with more as opposed to less educated fathers.