Social skills and problem behaviors as mediators of the relationship between behavioral self-regulation and academic achievement

Early behavioral self-regulation is an important predictor of the skills children need to be successful in school. However, little is known about the mechanism(s) through which self-regulation affects academic achievement. The current study investigates the possibility that two aspects of children's social functioning, social skills and problem behaviors, mediate the relationship between preschool self-regulation and literacy and math achievement. Additionally, we investigated whether the meditational processes differed for boys and girls. We expected that better self-regulation would help children to interact well with others (social skills) and minimize impulsive or aggressive (problem) behaviors. Positive interactions with others and few problem behaviors were expected to relate to gains in achievement as learning takes place within a social context. Preschool-aged children (n = 118) were tested with direct measures of self-regulation, literacy, and math. Teachers reported on children's social skills and problem behaviors. Using a structural equation modeling approach (SEM) for mediation analysis, social skills and problem behaviors were found to mediate the relationship between self-regulation and growth in literacy across the preschool year, but not math. Findings suggest that the mediational process was similar for boys and girls. These findings indicate that a child's social skills and problem behaviors are part of the mechanism through which behavioral self-regulation affects growth in literacy. Self-regulation may be important not just because of the way that it relates directly to academic achievement but also because of the ways in which it promotes or inhibits children's interactions with others.     

Goal self-concordance moderates the relationship between achievement goals and indicators of academic adjustment

This study examined whether the good or bad outcomes associated with mastery- and performance-approach achievement goals depend on the extent to which these goals are pursued for self-concordant reasons. A sample of 220 undergraduate students completed measures of achievement goals, goal self-concordance, academic satisfaction, and academic anxiety before mid-term exams. A total of 115 participants completed a follow-up measure of their semester GPA. Results of moderated regressions revealed that mastery-approach goals were positively associated with academic satisfaction and performance, but only for students with high levels of mastery goal self-concordance. Performance-approach goals were also associated with higher performance, but only for students with high levels of performance goal self-concordance. Both types of goals were positively associated with anxiety for individuals with low levels of goal self-concordance. This study illustrates the importance of considering the joint influence of goal content and goal motivation in their association with consequential educational outcomes.     

Moving beyond academic achievement goal measures: A study of social achievement goals

The current research explored the theory of social goal orientation. More specifically, we conducted three studies utilizing six-independent university student samples to evaluate the construct validity of the Social Achievement Goal Orientation Scale (SAGOS; Ryan & Hopkins, 2003), a measure representing the construct of social goal orientation. The purpose of Study 1 was to: (1) compare the three-dimensional (mastery, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance) model of social goal orientation to three theoretically based competing models, (2) examine item functioning, and (3) assess generalizability of the factor structure. The fit of the proposed three-factor model was promising; however, areas of misfit and problematic items were identified. Stronger support for the three-factor structure of goal orientation was found using scores from an abbreviated 13-item SAGOS. In Study 2, item wording was altered slightly to evaluate a revised Social Achievement Goal Scale (SAGS), yet resulted in similar findings. Study 3 examined external validity evidence for the SAGS, garnering some support for the meaning of the scores. Although continued refinement of the SAGOS and SAGS is recommended, the findings help contribute to our general understanding and conceptualization of social goal theory and the role that social goals may play in academic contexts.     

The influence of achievement goals and social goals on help-seeking from peers in an academic context

The influence of achievement goals and social goals on help-seeking from peers in an academic context was examined in two studies. A total of 551 high school students participated in the two studies. The results across the studies demonstrated strong convergence, revealing that mastery-approach, mastery-avoidance, and friendship-approach goals were positive predictors of instrumental help-seeking, whereas performance-avoidance and friendship-avoidance goals were negative predictors. Study 2 additionally demonstrated that attitudes toward help-seeking mediate the influence of achievement and social goals on instrumental help-seeking. These results add to the body of work investigating achievement and social motivation together to more fully understand motivational influences on academic outcomes.     

The relationship between cognitive style and academic achievement

Field independent students are generally expected to perform better academically than those who are field dependent, and this is particularly marked in distance learning where students learn without the traditional support offered in conventional instruction. In this paper two studies of the relationship between field dependence and academic learning in the context of distance learning are reported with Bachelor of Health nursing students in Hong Kong. In both studies field independent nurses performed significantly better than field dependent ones. Some implications of these findings for distance learning are discussed.     

Adolescent academic achievement: A model of social support and grit

Grit has been defined as passionate perseverance toward long-term challenging goals and it is associated with various positive outcomes for youth, including academic achievement. However, less is known about these associations for the two facets of grit (i.e., perseverance of effort, consistency of interest) and few studies have examined the link between grit and perceived social support. The present study examined the group-level demographic differences (i.e., gender, grade, socioeconomic status, and special education status) of grit in a high school sample (N = 1,077). In addition, direct associations between grit and perceived social support from multiple sources (i.e., teacher, classmate, parent) were examined, as well as a potential enhancing effect of social support as a moderator of the relation between grit and academic achievement. Results indicated positive associations among grit and its facets with social support from parents and classmates. Furthermore, the positive relation between grit and achievement was stronger for students reporting high social support from teachers, but not other sources (i.e., classmates, parents). Practical and theoretical implications for promoting student success are discussed.     

The interaction between social goals and self-construal on achievement motivation

The motivational effects of mastery goals and performance goals have been widely documented in previous research on achievement motivation. However, recent studies have increasingly indicated a need to include social goals so as to gain a more comprehensive understanding of achievement motivation. The purpose of the present research was to examine how social goals predicted achievement motivation among students with different self-construals (independent versus interdependent). In Study 1, 134 Chinese 8th graders completed a questionnaire on self-construal, social goals, and avoidance behaviors. In Study 2, the causal effect of self-construal and social goals on students’ willingness to take a course for improvement after failure was examined with experimental manipulation. Participants were 121 Chinese 7th graders. Results demonstrated that social goals yielded higher report of avoidance behaviors (Study 1) and lower willingness to improve after failure (Study 2) for students with independent self-construal, but lower report of avoidance behaviors (Study 1) and higher willingness to improve after failure (Study 2) for those with interdependent self-construal. The research sheds light on the theoretical framework of achievement motivation that goes beyond mastery and performance goals.     

Mentor support and academic achievement

How does the support of mentors based in Study Centres affect the performance of distance education students, both in their course assignments and in their final examinations? Helmut Fritsch and Gerhard Ströhlein ‐ from the Central Institute for Distance Education Research (ZIFF) in the FemUniversitat in West Germany ‐ address this question through an analysis of some of the data collected at the University. In their discussion, they also shed light on some of the methodological problems raised by this kind of analysis, while stressing the system‐specific nature of their findings.     

Academic identification as a mediator of the relationship between parental socialization and academic achievement

This study examines whether academic identification, or one’s psychological and emotional investment in academics, mediates the association between child-reported parental educational socialization and standardized achievement test scores among a predominantly ethnic minority sample of 367 urban middle school students. We predicted that academic identification would mediate the relationship between five forms of perceived parental academic socialization (future-oriented, teaching-oriented, effort-oriented, shame-oriented, and guilt-oriented) and achievement when controlling for prior achievement. We found confirmation for this effect among analyses involving teaching, future, and guilt forms of socialization. For teaching, this effect was not present for Black boys. Direct effects indicated that teaching and future socialization was inversely related to student achievement, but when mediated by academic identification it was positive. Guilt was only related to achievement through academic identification. Results suggest the importance of the manner in which parental educational socialization is engaged.     

The relationship between the WAIS-R and academic achievement among EMR adolescents

This study examined the relationship between the WAIS-R and WRAT-R among 78 EMR adolescents enrolled in resource classes in a public school setting. Results indicated that the WAIS-R Verbal IQ was significantly correlated with all WRAT-R subtests (r range = .66 to .77). The Performance IQ was found to be significantly related only to Arithmetic (r = .26). The Full Scale IQ was significantly related to Reading (r = .25) and Arithmetic (r = .56), but not Spelling. Results suggest that the WAIS-R Verbal IQ and Full Scale IQ generally show moderate correlations with achievement but the Performance IQ generally shows no or little relationship to achievement. This pattern of findings is somewhat different from prior Wechsler research with other populations. Implications for the diagnostic activities of school psychologists are discussed.     

Metacognition, achievement goals, study strategies and academic achievement: pathways to achievement

The purpose of this research was to develop and test a model of effective self-regulated learning. Based on effort expenditure we discerned effective self-regulators and less effective self-regulators. The model comprised achievement goals (mastery, performance-approach and -avoidance goals), metacognition (metacognitive knowledge, regulation and experience), study strategies (metacognitive, deep cognitive, surface cognitive and resource management strategies) and academic achievement. The relationships in the model were tested with controlling for intellectual ability, gender and age. The results showed that effective self-regulated learning involved two pathways: a metacognitive and a strategy pathway. The first pathway involved a positive relationship of mastery goals and a negative relationship of performance-avoidance goals with metacognition. Metacognition positively affected the use of the four study strategies. The strategy pathway involved positive effects of mastery and performance-approach goals on the use of metacognitive and deep cognitive strategies. Further, performance-approach goals positively affected the use of surface cognitive and resource management strategies. The use of metacognitive and resource management strategies had a positive and the use of surface cognitive strategies had a negative effect on exam scores.     

Qualitative review synthesis: the relationship between inattention and academic achievement

Background: A body of literature has emerged that links inattentive symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to poor academic achievement. Major variation across studies renders conclusions about this relationship complex.

Purpose: This review will provide a qualitative synthesis of these studies that (1) use community samples and (2) examine inattention as a separate dimension from hyperactivity/impulsivity. The aim of this review is to ascertain whether the relationship documented between inattention and academic outcomes in ADHD also holds for the dimensional trait of inattention as manifest in non-clinical community samples of children and adolescents, taking into consideration both academic achievement and academic performance across age.

Design and methods: A comprehensive search was carried out using two databases. The PRISMA guidelines were used to report the search steps. The QUIPS tool was used to rate the quality of studies, followed by a best evidence synthesis to summarise these results.

Results: Out of 1748 citations found, 27 articles met the specific inclusion criteria. Results point to a strong effect according to the best evidence synthesis: 7 studies that have low risk of bias found that teacher-rated inattention is significantly predicative of poor academic achievement in community samples of children.

Conclusions: This review provides support for a consistent, negative relationship between classroom inattention as reported by teachers and both standardised academic test achievement and classroom performance outcomes for children in preschool (moderate evidence), elementary school and longitudinally from elementary to high school. The average relationship was stronger when classroom performance was measured, as compared to standardised achievement. However, the quantitative strength of relationship has not been confirmed with a meta-analysis due to heterogeneity and too few high-quality studies identified. Variance across the studies in terms of the strength of association suggests that other unexamined factors (e.g. cognitive function or motivation) may be contributing to this relationship. Implications for educators and clinicians who work within the school setting are discussed.     

The relationship between inclusion and academic achievement in English mainstream schools

This article presents the key findings and discusses the implications of a major study that explored the relationship between academic achievement and the inclusion of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream schools in England. It is based on a statistical analysis of nationally held data on all pupils in England that is collected at the end of each of the 4 key stages, when pupils are aged 7, 11, 14, and 16. The analysis considered the relationship between academic achievement and inclusivity having controlled for a range of other variables. Findings indicate that there is no relationship between academic achievement and inclusion at the local authority (LA) level while there is a small but, for all practical purposes, insubstantial relationship at the school level. In addition, there is also a large degree of variation at the school level, suggesting strongly that there are other factors within a school's make up, rather than its degree of inclusivity, that impact on the average academic achievements of its pupils. The overall conclusion, therefore, is that mainstream schools need not be concerned about the potentially negative impact on the overall academic achievements of their pupils of including pupils with SEN in their schools.     

Endorsing achievement goals exacerbates the big-fish-little-pond effect on academic self-concept

The big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE) model predicts students’ academic self-concept to be negatively predicted by the achievement level of their reference group, controlling for individual achievement. Despite an abundance of empirical evidence supporting the BFLPE, there have been relatively few studies searching for possible moderators. Integrating the BFLPE model with Achievement Goal Theory, the present study aims to determine whether the negative effect of class-average achievement on academic self-concept is moderated by individual and class-average achievement goals. Our sample comprised of 2987 students (50% boys) from Grade 6 in 112 elementary schools in the Flemish region of Belgium (174 classes). Applying multilevel modelling, we found a stronger BFLPE when students’ individual achievement goals were higher, regardless of the specific nature of these goals. The BFLPE was not moderated by class-average levels of achievement goals. Overall, our findings demonstrate that the BFLPE is moderated by individual goal-related factors.     

Dominant achievement goals and academic outcomes across tracks in high school

The self-reported grades Dutch, English and Math of 13,970 students in the third grade of Dutch secondary education (US grade 9) were investigated with regard to educational track-level and dominant achievement goal (DAG). The performance approach goal group scored significantly higher on all three subjects than the performance avoidance group, the mastery approach group, the mastery avoidance group and the group without a DAG. In addition, the differences between the performance approach group and the other groups with regard to the three school subjects were of the same size, suggesting that the DAG is associated with the same processes across various school subjects. The magnitude of the differences between the other DAG groups, however, decreased with decreasing track level, suggesting that the DAGs’ adaptive value varies systematically with ability level.     

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.     

Coping mediates the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and academic achievement

Research examining the relationships between performance measures of emotional intelligence (EI), coping styles, and academic achievement is sparse. Two studies were designed to redress this imbalance. In each of these studies, both EI and coping styles were significantly related to academic achievement. In Study 1, 159 community college students completed the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) and problem-focused, emotion-focused, and avoidant coping scales. Collectively, the coping variables significantly mediated the relationship between EI and grade point average (GPA) for Emotion Perception, Emotion Facilitation of Thought and Emotion Management (but not for Emotional Understanding). Problem-focused coping was the only single significant mediator, mediating the relationship between emotion management and GPA (but not other branches and GPA). In Study 2, 293 middle school students completed the Situational Test of Emotion Management for Youths (STEM-Y) and scales measuring the same three coping strategies. In this study, the coping variables again significantly mediated the relationship between emotion management and GPA. Once again, problem-focused coping was a significant mediator. Collectively, these results suggest that better educational outcomes might be achieved by targeting skills relating to emotion management and problem-focused coping.