Learning Style,Academic Belief Systems,Self-report Student Proficiency and Academic Achievement in Higher Education

Both learning style and academic belief systems have been identified as significant factors contributing to academic achievement. This paper evaluates the efficacy of teaching and learning in higher education by investigating the relationship between students assessment of their own academic proficiency (in this case Research Methods Proficiency [RMP]), learning style, academic locus of control, academic self-efficacy and academic achievement. First and second year undergraduate students' RMP was measured before and after completing modules in Research Methods. Students also completed measures of approaches to learning, academic self-efficacy and academic locus of control. Academic achievement (module mark) was also recorded. Results showed that perceived proficiency increased after completing the taught modules and that perceived proficiency was positively correlated with academic performance. Level 1 students, taught under the recently modified programme, reported significantly higher perceived proficiency than Level 2 students taught under the previous programme. Perceived proficiency was positively correlated with a strategic learning approach and negatively correlated with a surface learning approach and external locus of control beliefs. Academic achievement was also positively correlated with a strategic learning approach and negatively correlated with an apathetic learning approach. A deep learning approach failed to be associated with either RMP or academic achievement. It is suggested that: (i) these findings confirm, to some degree, the suggestion that there is an emphasis in later education on performance rather than learning (Lyddy, 1998); and (ii) perceived proficiency is a useful evaluation measure and is likely to contribute to effective and productive teaching and learning within higher education.     

成就目标、自我效能、学习策略和学业成就的关系研究

对545名中学生进行测量，以探讨成就目标、自我效能、学习策略与学业成绩的关系。结果表明：掌握目标、成绩目标与自我效能、学习策略有显著的正相关，回避目标与自我效能、学习策略存在显著的负相关，自我效能与学习策略有显著的正相关；掌握目标、自我效能和学习策略与学业成绩有显著的正相关，而回避目标与学业成绩则有显著的负相关；学习策略直接影响学业成绩，成就目标和自我效能对学业成绩的影响是间接的。     

A self-determination theory approach to predicting school achievement over time: the unique role of intrinsic motivation

Although many studies have examined the relation of academic motivation to school achievement using the Self-Determination Theory perspective, the results have been inconsistent. The present investigation represents the first systematic attempt to use a meta-analysis and controlled, longitudinal studies to examine the relations of specific types of motivation to overall academic achievement. The meta-analysis (Study 1) pointed toward a potentially important role of intrinsic motivation in predicting school achievement. Three empirical studies of high school and college students in Canada (Studies 2 and 3) and in Sweden (Study 4) showed that intrinsic motivation was the only motivation type to be consistently positively associated with academic achievement over a one-year period, controlling for baseline achievement. Amotivation was significantly associated with lower academic achievement in Studies 3 and 4. Interestingly, intrinsic motivation was also associated with reduced amotivation in two of our studies and it was reciprocally associated with higher school achievement in another study. Overall, our findings highlight the unique importance of intrinsic motivation for the future academic success of high school and college students.     

Relationship Between Psychosocial Factors and Academic Achievement Among African American Students

Abstract

The authors of this cross-sectional study used surveys based on the noncognitive model of W. E. Sedlacek and C. G. Brooks (1976) to determine psychosocial factors associated with African American students' high school achievement Psychosocial variables explored included community service, academic motivation, social support, and students' methods of handling unfair treatment. Results showed that after gender and absenteeism were controlled for, only the method of handling unfair treatment was positively associated with grade point average (GPA), p < .05. Those findings suggest that students who talk to others about being treated unfairly instead of keeping it to themselves are more likely to have higher GPAs; the findings also have important implications for individuals involved in the counseling and education of high school students. Sedlacek and Brooks's model provides an effective guide for predicting academic achievement and for developing programs to improve academic achievement among students of color. Further research is needed into psychosocial factors and their effects on academic achievement.     

Toward a Positive Psychology of Academic Motivation

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to integrate constructs from positive psychology with constructs from motivation theories that have received most of the attention in studies of academic motivation. Achievement goals, expectancy beliefs, and value were predictive of the positive psychology variables. Task goals were associated positively with optimism and with invitations, whereas performance-avoid goals were associated negatively with optimism and perceived authenticity. Expectancy and value constructs were associated positively with optimism, perceived authenticity, and invitations. Positive psychology variables were stronger in high-achieving students than in low-achieving students; boys had stronger perceived authenticity than girls did. Findings indicate that constructs drawn from positive psychology can help explain academic motivation and achievement.     

学业自我概念和学业成绩的纵向关系:流动与城市儿童的比较分析

为了探讨学业自我概念和学业成绩的纵向关系,以及该纵向关系在城市与流动儿童之间的差异,本研究使用问卷调查法对653名城市儿童和686名流动儿童进行连续五次追踪。交叉滞后结构方程模型分析发现:(1)虽然总体上学业自我概念和学业成绩的纵向关系支持了交互影响模型,但儿童类型具有显著调节作用,城市儿童支持了发展观,而流动儿童则支持了交互影响模型;(2)在七年级上学期到八年级下学期期间,流动儿童先前的学业成绩对后来的学业自我概念的影响显著大于城市儿童。未来教育实践中要注重群体差异,因材施教,努力培养流动儿童的积极学业心理品质。     

Residential Mobility,Inhibitory Control,and Academic Achievement in Preschool

Research Findings: The present study investigated the direct effects of residential mobility on children's inhibitory control and academic achievement during the preschool year. It also explored fall inhibitory control and academic skills as mediators linking residential mobility and spring achievement. Participants included 359 preschool children (49% female) studied in the fall and spring of the preschool year (73% were enrolled in Head Start). Residential mobility was significantly and negatively associated with fall inhibitory control and fall math and literacy. Significant indirect effects of mobility were found for spring math and literacy through inhibitory control and fall achievement. Specifically, the negative relation between mobility and spring math and literacy was partially explained by lower scores on fall inhibitory control and academic skills. Practice or Policy: The current study contributes to the existing literature by specifying pathways linking frequent moves and achievement for young children. Policy implications are discussed.     

Greater Mindfulness is Associated With Better Academic Achievement in Middle School

Despite increasing interest in improving academic outcomes for students by enhancing mindfulness, there is a paucity of evidence that greater mindfulness is associated with success in school. We measured mindfulness with the short‐form Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) in over 2,000 urban students in Grades 5–8. The MAAS had good internal consistency and scale homogeneity. Greater mindfulness correlated significantly with better academic achievement as measured by grade point average and standardized tests of mathematics and literacy, greater improvement in academic performance from the prior school year, better attendance, and fewer suspensions. The relation between mindfulness and academic achievement was similar across demographic characteristics. These findings support the reliability of the MAAS as a measure of mindfulness among youth and provide initial evidence of an association between mindfulness and academic achievement. This association strengthens the rationale to explore whether mindfulness‐based interventions can enhance academic outcomes by leveraging the malleability of mindfulness.     

Academic goal orientations,multiple goal profiles,and friendship intimacy among early adolescents

This study investigated the relations between early adolescents’ academic motivational orientations and an aspect of quality of friendship: intimacy. Two-hundred and three Jewish-Israeli seventh grade students responded to surveys asking them about their academic achievement goals and about characteristics of their friendships. Variable-centered regression analyses suggested that mastery goals were positively associated with mutual sharing of difficulties, trust, and adaptive social problem-solving between friends, whereas performance-approach goals were negatively associated with intimacy friendship. Moreover, both performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals were associated with mistrust, inconsideration, and tension between friends. A person-centered analysis, employing cluster analysis, suggested that profiles with a higher level of mastery goals relative to both types of performance goals were associated with less mistrust among friends in comparison with profiles with a higher level of performance goals relative to mastery goals. The findings point to the connection between academic motivation and social relationships in school.     

一带一路背景下南亚东南亚来华留学生学习动机对学业成绩的影响研究

对留学生的个人特征、学习动机与学业成绩进行比较分析,学习动机主要从学习成就、职业价值、社会取向成就、技能成就四方面进行调查研究。采用随机抽样的方法选取100名学生,利用SPSS 19.0对样本数据进行分析,结果表明:年级、年龄及性别对留学生的学习动机水平和学业成绩均无显著性影响;不同学科对学生学业成绩有一定影响;学业成绩与学习动机呈显著正相关,与职业价值动机相关程度最高;社会取向动机对学习动机水平相关程度最高;学习动机水平与学业成绩呈极显著正相关关系。同时,针对留学生的学习动机与学业成绩现状,提出针对性的建议。     

Universal and Specific Services for University Students with Specific Learning Disabilities: The Relation to Study Approach,Academic Achievement,and Satisfaction

In recent years, an increasing number of students with specific learning disabilities (SLDs) have enrolled in universities. The present exploratory study examined the frequency of use and appreciation of universal (open to every student) and specific services (offered to students with SLDs) and their relation to age, academic achievement, satisfaction, self-efficacy, and use of self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies. Participants were 147 Italian university students with SLD diagnoses (42 males; mean age: 22.49, SD = 3.29). Results showed that, overall, the frequency of use and appreciation of specific services were positively related to academic satisfaction, self-efficacy, and SRL strategies. Furthermore, frequency of use of compensatory tools and dispensatory measures was positively associated with academic achievement. These findings suggest that universities play an important role in supporting students with SLDs during their academic years by providing them with useful services and accommodations.     

小学生课堂学业情绪与写作成绩的关系研究

采用问卷和量表相结合的方法,对随机抽取的2所小学四年级与六年级学生施测,调查小学生课堂学业情绪和写作成绩间的关系。发现课堂学业情绪与写作成绩之间呈正线性相关;六年级学生的写作成绩更多地受到课堂学业情绪的影响;女生的写作成绩更多地受到课堂学业情绪的影响。     

Self-Regulation and Academic Measures Across the Early Elementary School Grades: Examining Longitudinal and Bidirectional Associations

ABSTRACT

This study evaluated the association between children’s (N = 301) self-regulation and math and reading achievement in kindergarten, 1st grade, and 2nd grade. Children’s self-regulation was assessed using the Head–Toes–Knees–Shoulders (HTKS) task (involving control of gross body movements) and a computerized continuous performance task (CPT; assessing primarily inhibitory control) in kindergarten, 1st grade, and 2nd grade. Research Findings: Based on cross-lagged structural equation panel models, HTKS task performance positively predicted later math and reading achievement. Math achievement significantly and positively predicted later HTKS and CPT scores. Earlier math and reading achievement moderated the association between CPT scores and later math and reading achievement; inhibitory control–based self-regulation assessed with the CPT predicted higher math or reading achievement in subsequent grades for children with lower math or reading achievement in prior grades. Performance on the CPT moderated the paths from HTKS scores to later reading achievement; behavioral self-regulation assessed with the HTKS task predicted higher reading achievement in subsequent grades for children with low or average CPT performance in prior grades. Practice or Policy: Results from this study have the potential to inform targeted academic interventions focused on enhancing self-regulation in school contexts. The findings highlight the utility of assessing multiple measures of self-regulation.     

The Influence of Additional Educational Support on Poverty-Stricken Adolescents’ Resilience and Academic Performance

Abstract

Resilience can be viewed as successful adaptation despite challenging or threatening circumstances (e.g. poverty). This article reports on an investigation of which the primary aim was to establish how additional educational support enhances adolescents’ resilience and academic performance. A quantitative approach was followed using two schools. One was a poverty-stricken school where additional educational support was officially offered, while the other school offered normal required tuition and was located in a middle class suburb. In total, 117 Grade 9 and 10 learners participated in the research. The results indicated that resilience related positively to academic performance and to other factors which are associated with academic performance such as teacher-learner relationships, parental involvement and study methods. Additional educational support to poverty-stricken learners resulted in higher resilience and academic achievement. Amongst the variables used in the investigation, additional educational support explained the largest proportion of the variance in academic achievement, followed by resilience and cognitive development.     

初中生成就目标取向与学业效能感、学业成绩的关系研究

为了解初中生成就目标取向与学业效能感、学业成绩的关系,采用问卷对204名初中生进行了调查,所有数据采用SPSS16.0进行统计分析。结果发现：（1）初中生在成绩接近目标和成绩回避目标上存在显著的性别差异,学业效能感在年级上差异显著。（2）掌握目标取向和成绩接近目标取向与学业效能感和学业成绩之间有显著正相关,对学业效能感和学业成绩有正向预测作用;成绩回避目标取向与学业效能感之间相关不显著,对学业成绩有负向预测作用。（3）学业效能感在成就目标取向与学业成绩之间起着部分中介作用。     

初中生认知灵活性与学习风格的关系及其对学业成绩的影响

采用《认知灵活性问卷》和《所罗门学习风格自测问卷》对273名初中生进行调查,考察认知灵活性、学习风格对学业成绩的影响,结果表明：（1）认知灵活性与学习风格关系密切,认知灵活性高的学生偏爱直觉型、沉思型的学习风格;（2）认知灵活性与语文、数学及各学科总成绩均呈显著正相关,并对语文、数学及各学科总成绩均具有显著的正向预测作用;（3）学习风格各维度中,信息输入对数学及各学科总成绩具有显著的正向预测作用,信息感知对数学成绩具有显著的正向预测作用。     

Caregiving Practices of Low-Income Adolescent Mothers and the Academic Competence of Their First-Grade Children

Objective. This study examines the relation between the caregiving practices of teenage mothers and the academic performances of their children in first grade. Design. The teenage mothers were involved in a family support program, and data were collected on the sample for 7 years (the prenatal period through first grade). The sample included 89 children who participated in the first-grade follow-up and who resided with their biological mothers. Children's school performance was assessed with an achievement test in the fall semester of first grade and with teachers' ratings of academic performance at the end of the spring semester. Caregiving practices were assessed by both the research team and the family advocates who worked with the young mothers during the 5-year family support program; mothers also reported on home support for academic achievement during the first-grade interview. Results. Measures of home environment, advocates' ratings of parenting, and mothers' self-report of support for achievement were positively correlated with children's achievement in first grade. Conclusions. Results from multiple regression analyses were consistent with the view that differences in parenting prior to school entry and in maternal support for achievement once the child enters school are predictive of individual differences in first-grade achievement among children born to low-income adolescent mothers.     

Physical Activity,Self-Regulation,and Early Academic Achievement in Preschool Children

Research Findings: The present study investigated whether active play during recess was associated with self-regulation and academic achievement in a prekindergarten sample. A total of 51 children in classes containing approximately half Head Start children were assessed on self-regulation, active play, and early academic achievement. Path analyses indicated that higher active play was associated with better self-regulation, which in turn was associated with higher scores on early reading and math assessments. Practice or Policy: Results point to the benefits of active play for promoting self-regulation and offer insight into possible interventions designed to promote self-regulation and academic achievement.     

Kindergarten Children's Executive Functions Predict Their Second-Grade Academic Achievement and Behavior

Whether and to what extent kindergarten children's executive functions (EF) constitute promising targets of early intervention is currently unclear. This study examined whether kindergarten children's EF predicted their second-grade academic achievement and behavior. This was done using (a) a longitudinal and nationally representative sample (N = 8,920, M_age = 97.6 months), (b) multiple measures of EF, academic achievement, and behavior, and (c) extensive statistical control including for domain-specific and domain-general lagged dependent variables. All three measures of EF—working memory, cognitive flexibility, and inhibitory control—positively and significantly predicted reading, mathematics, and science achievement. In addition, inhibitory control negatively predicted both externalizing and internalizing problem behaviors. Children's EF constitute promising targets of experimentally evaluated interventions for increasing academic and behavioral functioning.     

Parental Involvement and Students' Academic Achievement: A Meta-Analysis

The idea that parental involvement has positive influence on students' academic achievement is so intuitively appealing that society in general, and educators in particular, have considered parental involvement an important ingredient for the remedy for many problems in education. The vast proportion of the literature in this area, however, is qualitative and nonempirical. Among the empirical studies that have investigated the issue quantitatively, there appear to be considerable inconsistencies. A meta-analysis was conducted to synthesize the quantitative literature about the relationship between parental involvement and students' academic achievement. The findings reveal a small to moderate, and practically meaningful, relationship between parental involvement and academic achievement. Through moderator analysis, it was revealed that parental aspiration/expectation for children's education achievement has the strongest relationship, whereas parental home supervision has the weakest relationship, with students' academic achievement. In addition, the relationship is stronger when academic achievement is represented by a global indicator (e.g., GPA) than by a subject-specific indicator (e.g., math grade). Limitations of the study are noted, and suggestions are made for future studies.