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.     

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.     

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.     

学习动机与多媒体网络课堂环境下的小学生学业成就关系的研究

多媒体网络环境创设了学习者控制的学习环境,对学习者的自我调控学习能力提出了更高的要求和挑战,要求学习者较强的学习动机,以获得良好的学业成就。本文研究了网络班学生的学习动机和语文学业成就的关系,认为在多媒体网络课堂环境下,小学生的学习动机和学业成就具有显著的积极影响,其中内部动机和学业成就具有较高的一致性,外部动机中的成就型动机对学业成就也有积极的作用,但表面型动机呈不显著的负相关。基于这一结论,本文最后对多媒体课堂网络环境下的教学提出了若干建议。     

再议大学课程的价值取向及其关系

“两种取向论”(即“个人本位的价值取向”和“社会本位的价值取向”)并没有全面地表达大学课程价值取向的现实,也不利于协调各种价值取向之间的关系。包括“知识本位的价值取向”在内的“三种取向论”则改变了审视大学课程价值取向的框架,使不同价值取向之间形成了一个合理、整体的结构。协调大学课程价值取向之间关系的核心,是恰当地处理人的发展、社会发展和知识发展的要求之间的关系。     

高中生成就动机与学业情绪、学业成绩的关系研究

为探讨高中生成就动机与学业情绪、学业成绩的关系,采用问卷对285名高中生进行调查.结果显示,趋近动机(Ms)与积极学业情绪和学业成绩呈正相关,且对两种积极学业情绪和学业成绩均有正向预测作用,对消极低唤醒学业情绪有负向预测作用;回避动机(Mf)与积极学业情绪和学业成绩呈负相关,而与消极学业情绪呈正相关,并能正向预测消极低唤醒学业情绪,负向预测积极低唤醒学业情绪和学业成绩.积极低唤醒情绪和消极低唤醒情绪在成就动机和学业成绩之间起部分中介效应,积极高唤醒情绪只在趋近动机和学业成绩间部分中介效应.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

研究积累限度与高校教师学术行为取向

从研究积累限度的视角探究了影响高校教师学术行为取向的相关因素。通过对积累限度因素在学术行为取向与选择过程中可能发生的作用的阐释,辨析了能力限度因素、心理与情绪限度因素、社会环境限度因素等在负责任、受质疑和学术不端三类学术行为取向中的作用与效应,以期对规范学术行为、抑制失范学术行为的理论阐释与实践应用有一定的参考价值。     

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.     

Modeling academic achievement by self-reported versus traced goal orientation

We examined achievement goals measured by self-reports and by traces (behavioral indicators) gathered as undergraduates used software tools to study a multimedia-formatted article. Traces were operationalized by tags participants applied to selections of text and hyperlinks they clicked in the article. Tags and hyperlinks were titled to represent achievement goal orientations. Self-reported goal orientations did not correlate with goals traced as actions. In separate regression models, traces of goal orientations were stronger predictors of achievement than self reports. We suggest future research include traces in studies of achievement goals because traces reflect proximal events that comprise learning activities that can supplement static orientations that are operationally defined to be indifferent to the dynamics of learning activities.     

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.     

Learner self-efficacy,goal orientation,and academic achievement: exploring mediating and moderating relationships

ABSTRACT

Within the context of Pintrich’s self-regulated learning model, recent reviews of the literature show that motivational factors are the strongest predictors of academic performance. Even so, gaps remain in terms of which goal orientation constructs area most strongly related to performance, and whether academic self-efficacy is involved in such relationships, either as mediator or moderator. This study addresses these gaps using a sample of 478 university students; 409 females aged 17–62 (M?=?23.28, SD?=?7.22) and 69 males, aged 18–47 (M?=?22.5, SD?=?6.31). Analyses revealed that academic self-efficacy (ASE) mediated relationships between both mastery and performance-approach goal orientation with achievement, though the mediation effect was larger for the relationship involving mastery approach goal orientation. ASE did not moderate the relationship between performance-approach goal orientation and achievement. Findings suggest teaching programmes should foster learning environments that encourage persistence and effort when learning, and consider how course delivery and feedback can enhance academic self-efficacy, regardless of the goal orientation adopted by students.