The relationship among positive emotional dispositions,career adaptability,and satisfaction in Italian high school students

Using a sample of 242 Italian high school students, we examined the direct relation of hope and optimism on four dimensions of career adaptability (i.e. curiosity, confidence, control, and concern) as well as the mediating effect of these four adaptability dimensions on the relations of hope and optimism on the subcomponents of satisfaction. The results of the study demonstrated that both hope and optimism significantly predicted various dimensions of career adaptability. Additionally, the degree to which hope related to students' subcomponents of satisfaction was mediated by two of the four dimensions of career adaptability (i.e. curiosity and confidence). The dimensions of adaptability did not mediate the relations of optimism on satisfaction. These findings have implications for both research and practice.     

Personal values and academic achievement

Using data from two studies, we investigate the role of basic values in predicting academic achievement. We focus on self-direction and conformity, two-value domains that have been neglected or understudied in earlier research on academic success. In line with the refined value theory, we split self-direction into independence of thought and of action, and conformity into compliance with rules and formal obligations (Rules), and avoidance of upsetting others (Interpersonal). We obtained grades as measures of academic achievement in two samples of Italian high-school students. In Study 1 (n = 234), we measured values with the PVQ-40 and academic motivation. In Study 2 (n = 215), we measured values with the PVQ-RR and both attendance rates and classroom conduct. Results: Both self-direction–thought and conformity–rules correlated with higher grades. These two values related to grades through a different path. Self-direction thought promoted grades through autonomous forms of academic motivation. Conformity rules promoted grades through better teachers’ evaluations of students’ classroom behaviour. Self-direction–action and conformity–interpersonal were unrelated to grades. Regarding the other values, hedonism and stimulation related negatively to grades. Theoretical and practical implications of results are discussed.     

Development of the Japanese Version of the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire – Elementary School (AEQ-ES-J)1,2

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a Japanese version of the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire – Elementary School (AEQ-ES), which assesses enjoyment, anxiety, and boredom experienced by elementary school students within the settings of attending class, doing homework, and taking tests. Japanese elementary school students (n = 863 for the first survey; n = 332 for the second survey) participated in the questionnaire survey. The results showed that the psychometric properties of the Japanese AEQ-ES were comparable to those of the original version. Moreover, the results showed that students' achievement emotions were associated with their control and value appraisals, as well as their academic motivation, learning strategies, academic performance, and support from teachers. These results indicated that the Japanese version of the AEQ-ES was a good measure of elementary school students' emotions and supported the propositions of the control–value theory of achievement emotions.     

Sex differences in the association of math achievement with visual-spatial and verbal working memory: Does the type of math test matter?

Previous research on sex differences in mathematical achievement shows mixed findings, which have been argued to depend on types of math tests used and the type of solution strategies (i.e., verbal versus visual-spatial) these tests evoke. The current study evaluated sex differences in (a) performance (development) on two types of math tests in primary schools and (b) the predictive value of verbal and visual-spatial working memory on math achievement. Children (N = 3175) from grades 2 through five participated. Visual-spatial and verbal working memory were assessed using online computerized tasks. Math performance was assessed five times during two school years using a speeded arithmetic test (math fluency) and a word problem test (math problem solving). Results from Multilevel Multigroup Latent Growth Modeling, showed that sex differences in level and growth of math performance were mixed and very small. Sex differences in the predictive value of verbal and visual-spatial working memory for math performance suggested that boys seemed to rely more on verbal strategies than girls. Explanations focus on cognitive and emotional factors and how these may interact to possibly amplify sex differences as children grow older.     

Civic Knowledge of High School Students in Israel: Personal and Contextual Determinants

Past research on civic education suggests that students' performance is largely influenced by individual socioeconomic background and motivational factors. There has been little attention to the effects of school and classroom ideological and social attributes, such as the socioeconomic make-up of the school or classroom, or how interested in politics are a student's classmates. The results of the present study support the contention that contextual effects play a vital role in determining students' civic knowledge scores. Analysis of Israeli 11^th graders' performance on the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) civic knowledge test shows that while individual backgrounds and motivations play a significant role, school and classroom contexts greatly contribute to civic knowledge acquisition.     

中小学生对教师的信任及问卷编制

通过查阅文献、开放式问卷调查、访谈、内容分析等方法提出了中小学生对特定教师的信任结构并编制问卷项目。以小学四年级至初中二年级学生为研究对象,对539名学生进行初步问卷调查,经探索性因素分析得到含20个项目的中小学生对教师信任问卷,然后对1012名学生进行正式调查和验证性因素分析。结果表明:中小学生对特定教师的信任是一个多维结构,包括学生对教师的教学能力、守信可靠和友善关怀三方面的判断;自编的问卷有良好的信度和效度,可作为进一步研究的工具。     

青少年学校满意度发展特点及其对学校归属感的预测

采用问卷法对1093名青少年进行调查,考察了青少年学校满意度的特点及学校满意度对学校归属感的预测。结果发现:1)青少年在学校满意度六个维度的均值排列顺序由高到低依次为:同学关系、师生关系、教学、学校管理、成就、课业学习。2)不同性别、年级、学习成绩的青少年在学校满意度各维度上的满意情况不同。3)青少年学校满意度和学校归属感紧密相关。年级、学习成绩、学校满意度均对学校归属感具有显著预测作用。     

日本的学校心理士制度及对构建我国学校心理学的启示

本文对日本学校心理学的构建背景、学科性质和宗旨作了介绍后,详细阐述了日本学校心理士的资格认定、培养要求、群体类型及发挥的主要作用、承担的主要工作等,并对当前日本学校心理士制度运作中存在的两个主要问题作了述评,指出日本学校心理士制度如完善资格认证体系、注重理论与实际结合、加强同行之间的交流学习等做法对于建设中国的学校心理学具有较大借鉴价值。     

初中男生个体攻击性与群体攻击性的差异

运用实验法和问卷法对118名初中男学生进行攻击性的研究.比较了四种不同类型的攻击行为.包括群体之间、个体之间、群体与个体之间、个体与群体之间.结果显示:群体无论是作为攻击来源还是攻击目标都能起到增加攻击行为的情境作用;个体之间与群体之间在攻击性方面有显著差异;群体之间相互作用时表现出的攻击性远高于个体之间相互作用时表现出的攻击性:个体与群体相互作用时比个体之间相互作用时表现出更高的攻击性.     

The rise of philosophy in Lithuania

The first Lithuanians to be introduced to philosophy were young members of the gentry who studied in European universities at the end of the 14th century. The recently christened Lithuania strove to adopt Western culture and to present itself as a Western state. At the end of the 14th century, the Vilnius Cathedral School was founded. The elements of logic were probably taught there. The growth of the political and economic power of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania brought about the need for higher education. The need was significantly increased by the growing activity of various religious orders. In 1507, the Dominicans started teaching philosophy and theology to their novices in Vilnius. They taught late medieval philosophy in its Thomistic interpretation. We can regard 1507 as the year Lithuania began to benefit from a new phenomenon, professional philosophy, with the Dominicans as its initiators. The Dominicans and later the Jesuits, Franciscans, Benedictines, Carmelites, Trinitarians, and other monastic orders enriched intellectual life in Lithuania by teaching philosophy in their schools. The most important event in the development of philosophy in Lithuania was the foundation of Vilnius University in 1579. The disciplines belonging to scholasticism of the second level were taught in its philosophy department.