The impact of interactive engagement methods on students' academic achievement

Interactive engagement (IE) is a process that promotes students' conceptual understanding through activities, combined with immediate feedback from peers and/or instructors. The present study investigates the impact of IE on students' academic performance, using the comprehensive model of educational effectiveness. Engineering students (n?=?158), randomly divided into three groups (self-assessment, collaborative learning, and control) provided the study data on questionnaires as well as with their test scores. Analyses of covariance reveal significant differences across groups, along with significant interaction effects. These findings have notable implications for improving students' academic achievement.     

Expectancy value interactions and academic achievement: Differential relationships with achievement measures

Motivation predicts academic achievement beyond cognitive ability. Expectancy value theory (Eccles et al., 1983) is a widely accepted and powerful approach explaining academic achievement as well as educational choices and attainment. Recently, attention to the multiplicative term of expectancy and value beliefs has increased. Trautwein et al. (2012) reported a detrimental effect of high task value when expectancy beliefs were low. We aimed to replicate and extend their study by using a large, representative sample of students attending upper secondary school in the German federal state Schleswig-Holstein (N = 3367). Following Trautwein et al. (2012), we applied latent interaction modelling to test whether the predictive value of expectancy value interactions differs for grades, final examinations, and standardized test scores as measures of achievement in two domains. We took the multi-dimensional structure of task value into consideration, analyzing the four components (attainment, intrinsic value, utility and cost) separately. Both a verbal and a non-verbal domain (English as a foreign language and mathematics) were investigated. Overall, the results supported those of Trautwein et al. (2012). However, our findings suggested measure- and domain-specific differences when using expectancy value beliefs and their interactions to predict academic achievement. Interaction terms predicted final examination results in both English and mathematics. Further, interaction effects were significant for grades in English but not mathematics. In general, effect sizes of multiplicative terms were small, especially in contrast to expectancy beliefs. Findings are discussed regarding the practical and conceptual importance of the multiplicative term in expectancy value theory applied in an educational setting.     

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 parental and peer attachment on college students' academic achievement

This study examined relations among attachment to parents and peers, cognitive ability, psychosocial functioning variables, and academic achievement in a multiethnic sample of college students (n = 357). A small subgroup (14.8%) of students reported low levels of attachment to both parents and peers. Significant positive correlations were documented between parent and peer attachment and several indices of psychosocial competence. Results from hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that indices of cognitive ability were significant predictors of college students' grade point averages, while broader measures of functioning in early adulthood (attachment, intellectual ability, self‐esteem) were significant predictors of scholastic competence. Results suggest that perceived attachment to both parents and peers is a component of wider patterns of social competence and adjustment that may function as protective or compensatory factors during key transitions in young adulthood, such as participation in college, and with its attendant demands for academic achievement. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Institutions influencing mathematics students' private work: A factor of academic achievement

The aim of the research presented in this paper is to contribute to our knowledge about problem solving in mathematics. My purpose in this paper is to compare, from this point of view, two very different institutions in the French tertiary education system, with the intention to interpret the chronic inequality of performance in problem solving between populations of mathematics students coming from these institutions. Problem solving knowledge and skills are not an explicit objective of teaching and their development depends largely on the student's private mathematical activity. This hypothesis is the reason why the inquiry aims at comparing mathematics students' ways of working as they study in both institutions. The results of the research are interpreted, on the institutional level, as effects of differences between the two teaching systems. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

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.     

Fidelity as a precondition for integrity in grading academic achievement

If a grade is to be trusted as an authentic representation of a student’s level of academic achievement, one of the requirements is that all the elements that contribute to that grade must qualify as achievement, and not be something else. The implications of taking this proposition literally turn out to be far reaching. Many elements that are technically non‐achievements are routinely incorporated into grades and thereby act as contaminants. A variety of credits and penalties are often included with the intention of helping shape student behaviours or improve their learning. Reversing the situation has ramifications not only for assessment and grading practices but also for the ways in which curriculum and teaching are conceptualised, designed and engaged in.     

Reflection-impulsivity as a predictor of children's academic achievement

To examine the implications of differences in reflection-impulsivity for later academic achievement, 70 children were administered the Matching Familiar Figures test (MFF) in grade 4 and the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS) in grades 4, 5, and 6. Children identified as reflective based on grade 4 MFF performance scored significantly higher on the CTBS achievement battery at all grade levels than those classified as impulsive. However, the 2 groups did not differ on the grade 5 or grade 6 achievement measures when scores were adjusted for initial differences in grade 4 CTBS. Similarly, while each of the continuous variables MFF error score and MFF response latency was significantly predictive of grade 5 and grade 6 achievement test scores, neither of the MFF variables significantly improved the prediction of academic performance when current level of achievement was statistically accounted for. Sex differences in the relations between the MFF variables and the achievement measures were identified; MFF error score was more strongly related to later academic achievement for boys than for girls, while MFF response latency was a better predictor of academic achievement for girls than for boys.     

Formal operations as predictor of university academic achievement

Abstract

In view of the postulated relationship between Piaget's theory of formal operations and academic achievement, this article investigates the extent to which university students in possession of proportional and combinatorial reasoning would perform in an educational psychology graduate course at the University of Transkei. The findings show that those who had the concepts of proportional and combinatorial reasoning significantly outperformed those who had not attained formal operations. This is a clear demonstration that pursuit of academic studies at university subsumes the acquisition of formal operations.     

Relational integration as a predictor of academic achievement

The current study aimed at applying a broad model of cognitive functions to predict performance in science and language courses at school as well as performance in a science course at university. We hypothesized that performance in science courses was predominantly related to the cognitive function known as relational integration, whereas performance in language courses should be best explained by individuals' short-term memory capacity. The sample consisted of 161 German undergraduate students who were asked to complete 33 cognitive tasks. School grades were also obtained. The analyses revealed that relational integration incrementally explained variance in science grades. Short-term memory acted as a predictor of language grades. However, mental speed was also substantially related to language grades. Predicting university exam scores revealed that short-term memory yielded an incremental predictive power. We conclude that academic performance requires different cognitive functions depending on a domain of study.     

Relations of middle school students' perceptions of family and school contexts with academic achievement

The purposes of this study were to examine the relations of both family and school contexts on students' academic achievement and to explore the mediating effects of students' perceptions of their motivations and academic self‐competence between the family and school contexts and achievement. Participants were 230 fifth‐ and sixth‐grade students. Students' perceptions of parenting style (demandingness and responsiveness), parental involvement (parental values and involvement in school functions), teaching style (teacher control and responsiveness), and school atmosphere (school responsiveness and supportive social environment) significantly predicted their school achievement; however, students' motivations and self‐competence mediated the relations between students' contexts and their academic achievement. Furthermore, parental values, teacher responsiveness, school responsiveness, and supportive social environment predicted students' motivations and academic competence above and beyond parenting style, parental involvement, and teacher control. The importance of students' supportive relationships and the internalization of the messages conveyed to them underscore the need for a contextual view by school psychologists when consulting with parents and education staff regarding achievement concerns. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Personality traits and abilities as predictors of academic achievement

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the respective effects of cognitive abilities and personality traits on academic achievement. The subjects were 141 sixth-grade French adolescents (mean age: 12) who took three cognitive tests (g factor, numerical ability, and spatial ability) and answered a personality questionnaire based on the Big Five Model. Path analyses indicated that Openness-intellect had an effect on junior high school achievement in all disciplines, with most effects being indirect ones mediated by verbal achievement (French). Neuroticism-anxiety also had an effect, although not as marked and mainly on mathematics. Personality is complementary to abilities in predicting academic achievement. Possible conceptual extensions and field applications are addressed in the conclusion.     

Comparison of the relationship between two measures of visual-motor coordination and academic achievement

Scores from Koppitz' scoring system for the Bender-Gestalt and Beery's Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration for a group of 86 elementary students referred for psychoeducational evaluation were correlated with Wide Range Achievement Test scores, controlling for WISC-R IQ. Although zero-order correlations of the visual-motor measures with achievement were of moderate magnitude (.33 to.48) and were all statistically significant (p<.01), first-order partial correlations were of lower magnitude (.13 to.22) and half failed to reach statistical significance (p>.05). It was suggested that visual-motor ability may not offer a unique contribution to the prediction of achievement.     

Role of the Big Five personality traits in predicting college students' academic motivation and achievement

College students (308 undergraduates) completed the Five Factor Inventory and the Academic Motivations Scale, and reported their college grade point average (GPA). A correlation analysis revealed an interesting pattern of significant relationships. Further, regression analyses indicated that conscientiousness and openness explained 17% of the variance in intrinsic motivation; conscientiousness and extraversion explained 13% of the variance in extrinsic motivation; and conscientiousness and agreeableness explained 11% of the variance in amotivation. Further, four personality traits (conscientiousness, openness, neuroticism, and agreeableness) explained 14% of the variance in GPA; and intrinsic motivation to accomplish things explained 5% of the variance in GPA. Finally, conscientiousness emerged as a partial mediator of the relationship between intrinsic motivation to accomplish and GPA. These results are interpreted within the context of what educators could do to encourage and nurture student motivation and achievement.     

An evaluation of traditional admission standards in predicting Kuwait University students' academic performance

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of the traditional admission standards utilized by Kuwait University in predicting students' academic performance. It was found that the established practice of using students' score in standardized secondary school examinations and branch of study (i.e. sciences or arts emphasis) to be highly predictive of their college cumulative grade point average. Moreover, it was established that students' secondary school scores reflect intellective as well as the non-intellective factors pertaining to students' background.     

Personality traits as a predictor of academic achievement in adolescents

The study examined the predictive value of adolescents’ personality trait ratings by different groups of informants in explaining academic achievement [grade point average (GPA)] while controlling for students’ sex and their mothers’ education. The Inventory of Child/Adolescent Individual Differences was employed as a measure of students’ personality traits at the end of elementary schooling (mean age = 14.7 years) and two years later when the participants attended secondary schools. The trait ratings were obtained through self‐, maternal and peer reports at both measurement occasions. They explained substantial portions of unique variance in the students’ GPA concurrently, and over time. Ratings by each of the three groups of informants had an incremental validity over one another in predicting school grades. Among personality variables, conscientiousness and low extraversion were consistently predictive of GPA.     

Validity and bias of academic achievement measures in the first year of elementary school

We tested the criterion-related validity and potential bias of two measures of pupils' academic achievement: the Teacher Rating Scale (TRS) and the Mathematics and Literacy Achievement Tests (MLTs). These measures are representative of assessment methods largely used in the elementary school. The aims were: (1) to verify the extent to which TRS and MLTs can be predicted by external criteria collected at kindergarten and (2) to estimate the degree to which each measure might be biased by family, teacher and children's characteristics. A total of 239 children were assessed during kindergarten. At the end of the first grade, they were tested for social-emotional adjustment and academic achievement (TRS and MLTs). Results suggest that family socioeconomic status and children's school readiness at kindergarten were associated with both measures; however, the predictors accounted for significantly more variance in TRS than in MLTs. Regarding the presence of bias, results indicate that TRS seems more sensitive to children's social competence, whereas the MLTs appears to be more sensitive to pupils' anxiety.     

Reconceptualising academic work as professional practice: implications for academic development

Despite increasing research and scholarship in the area of academic development in recent years, it remains an under-theorised field of endeavour. The paper proposes that academic developers take a view on what constitutes academic work and see it as a form of professional practice. It discusses the features of practice theory that illuminate professional practice and identifies three foci for the application of these ideas within academic development: practice development, fostering learning-conducive work and deliberately locating activity within practice. It also suggests that academic development be viewed as a practice and points to features within its own traditions on which to build.     

Cognitive and perceptual measures as predictors of fourth-grade achievement

This study used a multivariate approach and longitudinal design to examine the relationship of early perceptual and cognitive development to later school achievement. The extent to which a set of 4th-grade achievement measures could be predicted from a set of variables collected when the students were in first grade was determined through a series of canonical and multiple correlation analyses. These results were compared to results of an earlier phase of the study. Similarities between the two phases indicated that: (a) A measure of visual perception added significantly to the prediction of achievement afforded by consideration of sex and academic aptitude. (b) The variables used to predict achievement may differ somewhat between boys and girls. (c) The usefulness of sex as a predictor of school achievement depends upon the specific achievement area under consideration. Differences in the two phases involved the extent to which sex was a predictor of a specific achievement area.     

The interplay between academic emotions,psychological flexibility and self-regulation as predictors of academic achievement

Research concerning students’ emotions as well as their way of coping with their emotions in different situations has been scarce. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between self-regulated learning, academic emotions, psychological flexibility, study success and study pace during university-level studies. A total of 274 arts students participated in this study. Academic emotions were first explored with factor analyses, parallel analysis and confirmatory factor analyses. The relationship between self-regulated learning, psychological flexibility, academic emotions and study success and study pace was analysed using Pearson’s correlations and path analysis using Amos. The results revealed that there is a strong connection between self-regulated learning and academic emotions and that students’ self-regulations appear to affect students’ emotions with regard to their academic study. Furthermore, psychological flexibility appeared to be an important mediator between academic emotions and study pace. The study suggests that students’ emotions and their way of coping with these emotions should be taken into account when considering learning and teaching.