An integrative model of scholastic judgments: Pupils’ characteristics, class context, halo effect and internal attributions

This article proposes a model that integrates some of the determinants of scholastic judgment. The model is based on the assumption that a teacher’s judgment in a particular discipline is influenced by different variables: the pupil’s actual performance in the discipline, his/her actual performance in other disciplines (halo effect), the average performance of the class in the discipline (class context effect), the pupil’s individual characteristics such as whether he/she has ever repeated a grade and the teacher’s perception of the pupils’ causal explanations. Furthermore, the model proposes that a teacher’s perceptions are related to the pupil’s spontaneous expression of causality, which in turn is influenced by the pupil’s knowledge of the social value of causal explanations. In order to test the validity of the proposed model, the authors conducted a study in a real classroom setting on a population of 663 pupils from 38 classes (3rd grade) and their respective teachers. Path analyses showed that the theoretical model fit the data to a satisfactory extent. However, a comparison of the fit indexes of the theoretical model and two alternative models (one nonhierarchical and one hierarchical) showed that the initial theoretical model could be significantly improved by additional paths.     

Social support,academic adversity and academic buoyancy: a person-centred analysis and implications for academic outcomes

The present study employed person-centred analyses that enabled identification of groups of students separated on the basis of their perceptions of social support (home and community), academic support, academic adversity and academic buoyancy. Among a sample of 249 young people, including many from high-needs communities, cluster analysis revealed three distinct groups of students: the thriver, supported struggler and at-risk struggler. We compared the three groups on their academic motivation. Analyses revealed significant differences between groups in adaptive motivation outcomes, but no differences in impeding or maladaptive motivation outcomes. Combined, the results speak to the importance of support and academic buoyancy for positive student outcomes.     

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.     

Social supports from teachers and peers as predictors of academic and social motivation

Young adolescents’ perceptions of teachers’ and peers’ multiple classroom supports were examined in relation to motivational outcomes (interest and social goal pursuit). Responses from sixth (n = 120), seventh (n = 115), and eighth (n = 123) grade students concerning four dimensions of support (expectations for specific behavioral and academic outcomes, provisions of help, safety, and emotional nurturing) indicated that social supports differ as a function of students’ sex, grade level, teacher, and classroom, and in their relations to interest and social goal pursuit. Relations of students’ perceptions to motivational outcomes differed as a function of source of support. In addition, students’ perceptions of teacher and peer supports differed as a function of teacher and classroom. In general, findings confirm the utility of a multi-dimensional approach to social support that acknowledges the independent as well as interactive contributions of teachers and peers to student motivation.     

Understanding academic performance of international students: the role of ethnicity,academic and social integration

More than 3 million students study outside their home country, primarily at a Western university. A common belief among educators is that international students are insufficiently adjusted to higher education in their host country, both academically and socially. Furthermore, several groups of international students experience considerable amounts of stress while adapting to the culture of the host-institute. Several researchers argue that studies on adaptation of international students should widen its focus to the underlying mechanisms that leads towards this “misalignment”. In a cross-institutional comparison among 958 students at five business schools in the Netherlands, differences in academic performance between local and international students were identified by focussing on their levels of academic and social integration. Students’ academic integration was measured with the Students’ Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ), while students’ social integration was measured with a newly developed and validated questionnaire. The results indicate that the degree of academic success of international students is multi-faceted. International students with a (mixed) western ethnic background perform well on both academic and social integration, and also attained higher study-performance in comparison to domestic students. In contrast, international students with a non-Western background are less integrated compared to other international students. Nevertheless, they have a similar study-performance. Finally, academic adjustment is the main predictor of study-performance for Dutch, Western and Mixed-Western students. Social adjustment was negatively related to study-performance. The lack of fit for predicting long-term study success of non-Western students indicates that their academic and social integration processes are more complex and non-linear.     

Voluntary freshman attrition and patterns of social and academic integration in a university: A test of a conceptual model

This study assessed the validity of Tinto's (1975) theory of student attrition, which asserts that withdrawal relates most directly to students' integration in the social and academic systems of an institution. The study also examined the relative importance of these two dimensions. Multivariate analyses of variance indicated that both social and academic integration were significantly and independently related to voluntary freshman attrition. Discriminant analysis suggested, when the two variable sets were combined, that the joint contributions of the two sets were approximately equal, tending to support Tinto's assertion of the concomitant importance of these two constructs. The findings also suggest that informal interaction with faculty may play a more important role than presently specified by the model in the socialization of students, contributing to their integration into both the academic and social systems of the institution. The results also indicate that sizeable reductions in attrition may be possible only through actions which touch both the social and academic dimensions of the institutional environment.     

学生学术素质评价模式的创新与实践

学生学术素质的评价一直是个难题,它不仅需要一个好的评价方案,还需要为评价方案构建一个与其契合的实施场景,否则再好的方案亦难发挥好的作用。在研究性课程中,学生学术素质的各个层面可以完美展现,这样的课程非常适合用作学生学术素质测评的场景。基于石墨烯相关研究性实验,创建了学生学术素质评价模式。该模式采用了在基础分上加减的简化计分方法,兼顾了可定量、公平、准确、易操作的要求,且遵从奖优罚过、最终实验结果不作为计分项等规则,可发挥良好的激励与导向作用,经适当调整后可试用于其他研究性课程。     

Toward a theory of teaching: A social learning view

Two hypotheses were investigated: Do teachers spontaneously use modeling techniques during instruction, and are teachers who are trained to use these procedures more effective? Twenty-four teachers attempted to instruct a like number of 5-year-olds to seriate length. Twelve additional youngsters served as uninstructed controls. Untrained teachers made little use of modeling techniques and were generally ineffective. Trained teachers were significantly more effective than their untrained counterparts. Teacher use of specific modeling behaviors correlated with teaching success. The results were discussed from a Social Learning Theory view of teaching.     

Short-term forecasts of the number and scholastic ability of enrolling freshmen by academic divisions

The difference between accepted and enrolling students was modeled over a 30-week period using total number of students accepted, mean composite SAT scores, and mean high school quarter rank. Time until the application deadline was regressed onto the difference function to produce week-by-week forecasts. The enrollment yield and academic ability difference functions were collectively modeled for the university and separately modeled for each academic college. The 33 regressions were applied to cumulative values for the subsequent year, and the forecasts proved to be reasonably accurate. These short-term forecasts can be used to assess the likelihood of reaching both freshman enrollment count objectives and objectives concerning the academic ability of entering students. Using this method, undesirable trends can be identified well before application deadlines which allows recruitment efforts to be directly aimed at appropriate populations.     

Thinking in categories or along a continuum: consequences for children's social judgments

Can young children, forming expectations about the social world, capture differences among people without falling into the pitfalls of categorization? Categorization often leads to exaggerating differences between groups and minimizing differences within groups, resulting in stereotyping. Six studies with 4‐year‐old children (N = 214) characterized schematic faces or photographs as falling along a continuum (really mean to really nice) or divided into categories (mean vs. nice). Using materials that children naturally group into categories (Study 3), the continuum framing prevented the signature pattern of categorization for similarity judgments (Study 1), inferences about behavior and deservingness (Studies 2 and 5), personal liking and play preferences (Study 4), and stable and internal attributions for behavior (Study 6). When children recognize people as members of continua, they may avoid stereotypes.     

Dual agenda: social participation and academic instruction in a developmental kindergarten

The classroom is both a social occasion and a learning place. In this study of a developmental kindergarten, this dual classroom agenda and the impact on teacher and student behavior is explored. Among the at‐risk children in this study, these two classroom purposes did not peacefully coexist. Social‐participation goals took precedence for the children. The teacher, frustrated in her need to “get through the lesson,” interfered with group formation, causing students to work even harder at social connections. The implications of the recognition of these two agendas for young children with special needs are discussed.     

Analysis of the relation between academic procrastination, academic rational/irrational beliefs, time preferences to study for exams, and academic achievement: a structural model

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relations between academic rational/irrational beliefs, academic procrastination, and time preferences to study for exams and academic achievement by using the structural equation model. The sample consisted of 281 undergraduate students who filled in questionnaires at the 7-week-long summer course. Students responded to questionnaires assessing their levels of (a) academic procrastination, (b) academic rational/irrational beliefs, and (c) time preferences to study for exams and demographic information sheet. In general, the results showed that rational academic beliefs have a direct impact on academic procrastination and time preferences to study for exams. Academic rational beliefs also have an impact on academic achievement indirectly by mediation of academic procrastination and time preferences to study for exams. The results also showed that academic procrastination has an impact on academic achievement both directly and by mediation of time preferences to study for exams. This study suggested that there is a relation between academic procrastination and rational academic beliefs, which should be addressed further in counseling intervention. Knowledge about the role of irrational academic beliefs and their relations with academic procrastination may assist school/ college counselors to develop interventions for students that suffer from delaying behaviors that negatively affect academic success.     

Self-regulating academic learning and achievement: The emergence of a social cognitive perspective

For three decades, social cognitive researchers have studied children's development of self-regulation as an achievement of socialization processes. I recount historically the emergence of a social cognitive perspective on self-regulation and identify its unique features. Two essential characteristics of students' self-regulated academic learning have been identified — their use of strategies and perceptions of self-efficacy. A social cognitive model of academic self-regulated learning is proposed that integrates triadic determinants of self-regulated learning (personal, behavioral, and environmental) on the basis of a strategic control loop. When students monitor their responding and attribute outcomes to their strategies, their learning becomes self-regulated, and they display increased self-efficacy, greater intrinsic motivation, and higher academic achievement.     

Toward a social pedagogy of classroom group work

In any classroom, pupils will be drawn together for many purposes and we can refer to such within classroom contexts as ‘groupings’. The teacher often creates these, and the way that they are set up, and how they are used for particular learning purposes. If the relationships between grouping size, interaction type and learning tasks in groups are planned strategically then learning experiences will be more effective. However, research suggests that the relationships between these elements are often unplanned and the ‘social pedagogic’ potential of classroom learning is therefore unrealised. In this paper we explore the notion of social pedagogy in relation to group work. It is argued that research and theory relevant to group work in classrooms is limited, and that a new approach, sensitive to group work under everyday classroom conditions is required. This paper identifies key features of a social pedagogy of classroom group work, which can inform effective group work in classrooms. It also describes the background to a current large scale UK project which has been set up to design with teachers a programme of high quality group work in classrooms at both primary and secondary phases.