The impact of remembered success experiences on expectancies,values, and perceived costs

The “remembered success effect” (Finn, 2010) refers to the finding that challenging academic tasks that start or end with extra opportunities for success are often preferred to challenging tasks that do not include these opportunities. Research on the remembered success effect has identified some memory processes that are thought to give rise to the effect. To date there has been no research on how experiences of remembered success relate to motivational constructs that may be associated with the effect. Accordingly, we examined how challenging math experiences designed to induce remembered success impacted individuals’ expectancies for success, positive task value and perceived costs, and how these motivational constructs related to two future task choices; expectancy-value theory posits that expectancies and task values are the most direct motivational predictors of choice. In two studies, participants completed two challenging math tasks under two conditions: a short task of all difficult problems and a longer, “extended” task that had the same number of difficult problems plus a set of moderately difficult problems. Results demonstrated that expectancies and subjective task value were higher, and perceived costs lower in the “extended” condition than in the short condition. In both experiments, the between-task difference scores (i.e., extended task minus short task) for positive task values, expectancies, and perceived costs were significantly correlated with both task choices. Notably, the positive task value difference score uniquely predicted at least one of the two choices in both experiments. Costs and expectancies were less consistent unique predictors of choice: the between-task difference in perceived costs predicted one choice in Experiment 1, but neither choice Experiment 2, and the difference in expectancies only predicted the choices in Experiment 2.     

Social interactions and play patterns of parents and toddlers with feminine, masculine, and neutral toys

Children as young as 18 months display sex-stereotyped toy choices. The present study was designed to determine whether parents encourage involvement with sex-stereotyped toys or avoidance of cross-sex-stereotyped toys and to determine whether masculine and feminine toys lead to different patterns of parent-child interaction, regardless of gender. 40 parent-toddler dyads were videotaped while playing with 6 different sets of sex-stereotyped toys. Equal numbers of boys and girls were observed with mothers and fathers. The children showed greater involvement when playing with same-sex-typed toys than with cross-sex toys even when statistically controlling for parents' behaviors. Parents' verbal behaviors, involvement, and proximity to the child differed across toy groups, regardless of the parent's or child's gender. Parents' initial nonverbal responses to the toys, however, were more positive when the toys were stereotyped for the child's and parent's gender than when they were not.     

The influence of group size on children's competitive behavior

The present research was designed to test the hypothesis that children would compete more in tetrads than in dyads. Twenty-two pairs of male and 14 pairs of female target children (N = 72) played a competitive game in both tetrads and dyads. Consistent with the hypothesis, male target children competed more in tetrads than in dyads. This hypothesis was not supported for females, however. Analyses of the dynamics of tetrads and dyads further demonstrated that based on a global measure of smiling, the emotional atmosphere was less positive in tetrads than in dyads. The causes and consequences of interaction in different sized social groups are discussed.     

The achievement gap: The impact of between-class attainment grouping on pupil attainment and educational equity over time

Despite extensive research on attainment grouping, the impact of attainment grouping on pupil attainment remains poorly understood and contested. This paper presents evidence from a study conducted with 2944 12–13 year olds, from 76 schools in England, who were allocated to between-class attainment groups (‘setting’) in English and mathematics over the first 2 years of secondary schooling. After controlling for prior attainment, pupils in the top set performed significantly better than pupils in the middle and bottom sets in both English and mathematics. The findings indicate a widening gap in attainment, especially in the case of English. Findings, especially in the case of mathematics, provide more evidence of a relative benefit for pupils placed in top sets than a relative detriment for those in bottom sets.     

Poverty,family resources and children's early educational attainment: The mediating role of parenting

This study uses longitudinal data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study to show the extent to which episodic and more persistent poverty in early childhood and the lack of other family resources disadvantage children at the start of their school careers in terms of whether they have achieved the target indicator of ‘good level of achievement’ on the Foundation Stage Profile. Positive parenting is shown to be an important contributor to school achievement that matters for children, regardless of poverty experience or family disadvantage. It is also shown to be an important mediator in redressing the effects of poverty and disadvantage.     

Peer group status as a moderator of group influence on children's deviant, aggressive, and prosocial behavior

Group status was examined as a moderator of peer group socialization of deviant, aggressive, and prosocial behavior. In the fall and 3 months later, preadolescents and early adolescents provided self-reported scores for deviant behavior and group membership, and peer nominations for overt and relational aggression, prosocial behavior, and social preference. Using the social cognitive map, 116 groups were identified involving 526 children (282 girls; M age=12.05). Hierarchical linear modeling revealed that high group centrality (visibility) magnified group socialization of relational aggression, deviant behavior, and prosocial behavior, and low group acceptance magnified socialization of deviant behavior. Results suggest group influence on behavior is not uniform but depends on group status, especially group visibility within the larger peer context.     

The influence of student perceptions of parenting and coping on achievement and classroom behavior among African American children

The present study examined children's coping strategies as mediators and moderators of the association between parenting factors and outcomes in 235 African American children (mean age = 10.37 years). Information about parenting and child coping strategies was obtained by child self‐report. School adjustment was assessed by standardized achievement scores and by teacher ratings of behavior. Structural equation modeling indicated that positive parenting was related to higher achievement and lower behavior problems. Contrary to the hypotheses, coping strategies did not mediate or moderate this association. The results are discussed in terms of how factors at the family and child level may influence child behavior and academic performance in the classroom. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The influence of achievement goal orientation on plagiarism

This investigation considered how undergraduate students with different achievement goal orientation profiles view plagiarism. Thai student volunteers (N = 867) completed an achievement goal survey [Niemivirta, M. (1998). Individual differences in motivational and cognitive factors affecting self-regulated learning — A pattern-oriented approach. In P. Nenninger, R. S. Jäger, A. Frey, & M. Woznitza (Eds.), Advances in motivation (pp. 23–42). Landau, DE: Verlad Empirische Pädagogik] and a “Dimensions of Plagiarism” survey [Koul, R. (2007). Dimensions of Plagiarism. Downloaded April 8, 2008 from http://dimensions-of-plagiarism.wikispaces.com/]. Mixed analysis of variance of attitudes towards plagiarism with goal orientation and gender showed several significant findings: high performance oriented students were substantially stricter than low performance orientated students in evaluating all Dimensions of Plagiarism. Low mastery oriented students were stricter regarding the “motive” dimension of plagiarism while high mastery oriented students were stricter regarding the “source” dimension of plagiarism. Significant differences between females and males were observed across the six factors of the Dimensions of Plagiarism survey. These results are interpreted within the framework of social comparison theory in respect to competitive learning environments.     

The relationship between young children's academic achievement and measures of intelligence

To test the construct validity of brief measures of intelligence and explore how well these instruments relate to academic performance, the WPPSI-R, the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Scale (K-BIT), Draw-A-Person: Quantitative Scoring System (DAP:QSS), and the K-ABC Achievement Scale were administered to 50 kindergarten and first-grade children. Results indicated that all measures provide similar scores, all in the average range. All brief measures related significantly to academic achievement. Implications of the findings are discussed, and a battery for screening young children is offered.     

Effects of cochlear implants on children's reading and academic achievement

This article presents a critical analysis of empirical studies assessing literacy and other domains of academic achievement among children with cochlear implants. A variety of recent studies have demonstrated benefits to hearing, language, and speech from implants, leading to assumptions that early implantation and longer periods of implant should be associated with higher reading and academic achievement. This review, however, reveals that although there are clear benefits of cochlear implantation to achievement in young deaf children, empirical results have been somewhat variable. Examination of the literature with regard to reading achievement suggests that the lack of consistent findings might be the result of frequent failures to control potentially confounding variables such as age of implantation, language skills prior to implantation, reading ability prior to implantation, and consistency of implant use. Studies of academic achievement beyond reading are relatively rare, and the extent to which performance in such domains is mediated by reading abilities or directly influenced by hearing, language, and speech remains unclear. Considerations of methodological shortcomings in existing research as well as theoretical and practical questions yet to be addressed provide direction for future research.     

儿童假想伙伴现象探究及其对儿童实际生活的影响

随着生活节奏的加快和独生子女数量的增多,假想伙伴现象在儿童生活中普遍存在。近些年来,许多学者在前人研究的基础上把儿童假想伙伴现象单独作为一个重要课题进行专门研究,使之成为一个新兴领域。本文从认知发展的角度和精神分析的角度探析了儿童假想伙伴现象可能出现的原因,同时阐述儿童假想伙伴现象对儿童的实际生活产生的影响,并提出家长和教师在面对儿童假想伙伴现象时所处理的策略。     

Dynamics of teacher-student relationships: stability and change across elementary school and the influence on children's academic success

This study modeled teacher–student relationship trajectories throughout elementary school to predict gains in achievement in an ethnic‐diverse sample of 657 academically at‐risk students (mean age = 6.57 years, SD = .39). Teacher reports of warmth and conflict were collected in Grades 1–5. Achievement was tested in Grades 1 and 6. For conflict, low‐stable (normative), low‐increasing, high‐declining, and high‐stable trajectories were found. For warmth, high‐declining (normative) and low‐increasing patterns were found. Children with early behavioral, academic, or social risks were underrepresented in the normative trajectory groups. Chronic conflict was most strongly associated with underachievement. Rising conflict but not declining Conflict coincided with underachievement. The probability of school failure increased as a function of the timing and length of time children were exposed to relational adversity.     

The influence of socioeconomic status,working memory and academic self-concept on academic achievement

European Journal of Psychology of Education - There is today ample evidence that academic achievement depends on individual disparities in socioeconomic status (SES), working memory (WM) and...     

Expectancy of success,attainment value,engagement, and Achievement: A moderated mediation analysis

The aim of this study was to examine how expectancy of success, attainment value, and their interaction predicted behavioural engagement, and how behavioural engagement, in turn, predicted achievement. Data were collected from 586 English students aged 10–11 years in their final year of primary school. Expectancy of success was positively related to subsequent achievement directly and indirectly, mediated by behavioural engagement, over and above the variance accounted for by prior achievement and behavioural engagement. Indirect relations from expectancy of success to achievement were moderated by attainment value. Higher attainment value protected performance from low expectancy of success by increasing behavioural engagement. The compensatory role of high attainment value diminished at higher levels of expectancy of success.     

The influence of children's gender and age on children's use of digital media at home

This study is the first to systematically investigate the influence of child gender and age, on parents’ perceptions of UK children's digital media use at home. It provides an in‐depth exploration of how children's age and gender influence the balance between children's use of digital and non‐digital media at home. The data draw on 709 parents’ responses to an open‐ended question asked in the context of a national survey investigating the digital reading habits of children, conducted in 2015. Parents’ responses were analysed using content and thematic analysis, which yielded eight main categories, collapsed into three major themes: control, child's healthy development and diversity of experiences. Quantitative analyses evidenced that more parents of boys were concerned about the health implications of their children's digital media use and this was a concern especially for parents of the youngest (0–2‐year‐old) children. More parents of 6–8‐year olds cited the appeal of technology as the main reason for the perceived imbalance in their children's engagement with digital media. The study provides a more secure understanding of the factors that influence parental perceptions of their children's digital media use at home, which has implications for policy‐makers, digital designers and early years professionals.     

The influence of achievement goals on collaborative interactions and knowledge convergence

Although there is evidence of the influence of achievement goals on individuals’ learning, less is known about their influence on collaborative groups. In this study, 45 pairs of college students engaged in a building task. Twenty-three of the pairs were assigned to a learning goal condition and 22 to a performance goal condition. Pre- and post-test measures were used to quantify differences in outcomes, knowledge convergence and knowledge convergence mechanisms between conditions; qualitative coding was conducted to understand differences in interactions. Results indicated no difference in overall measures of learning and performance outcomes between conditions. However, groups with a learning goal showed more knowledge convergence than groups with a performance goal. Groups with a learning goal engaged in more reflection and more explanations during the task than groups with a performance goal. These results suggest that achievement goals influence interaction behaviors when students are engaged in collaborative activities.     

The influence of early science experience in kindergarten on children's immediate and later science achievement: Evidence from the early childhood longitudinal study

This study explores the impacts of selected early science experiences in kindergarten (frequency and duration of teachers' teaching of science, availability of sand/water table and science areas, and children's participation in cooking and science equipment activities) on children's science achievement in kindergarten and third grade using data for 8,642 children from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study‐Kindergarten cohort (ECLS‐K). A theoretical model that depicts the relationships between the study variables was developed and tested using structural equation modeling. Results demonstrated that availability of science materials in kindergarten classrooms facilitated teachers' teaching of science and children's participation in science activities. Likewise, the frequency and the duration of kindergarten science teaching was a significant predictor of children's science activities but not of the children's end of kindergarten science achievement scores. Children's engagement with science activities that involved using science equipment also was not a significant predictor of their end of kindergarten science achievement. However, children's participation in cooking activities was. Children's prior knowledge, motivation, socio‐economic status, and gender were all statistically significant predictors of their science achievement at the end of kindergarten and end of third grade. Results of this study indicate that early science experiences provided in kindergarten are not strong predictors of children's immediate and later science achievement. Findings of the study suggest that the limited time and nature of science instruction might be related to the limited effect of the science experiences. Implications for teacher education programs and educational policy development are discussed. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 48: 217–235, 2011