Online learning: Are subjective perceptions of instructional context related to academic success?

This study explored the extent to which students' thoughts, feelings, and actions are associated with the nature of an online course and how that course relates to them personally. Following completion of an online course in aviation physiology, service academy undergraduates (N = 481) completed a survey that assessed several motivational, emotional, and behavioral outcomes. Consistent with expectations, results from a logistic regression analysis revealed that students who said they were planning to become aviators upon graduation were more likely to report greater perceptions of task value and greater use of metacognitive control strategies than their non-aviator counterparts. On the other hand, after controlling for the other variables in the model, aviators were actually less likely to report being satisfied with the online course, an unexpected finding. Taken together, these results partially substantiate the social cognitive notion that subjective perceptions of the learning environment ultimately shape students' motivational and behavioral engagement in that environment. Implications for the theory and research of online learning are discussed.     

Are success and failure experiences equally motivational? An investigation of regulatory focus and feedback

The present study extended regulatory focus theory (Idson & Higgins, 2000) to an educational setting and attempted to identify individuals with high motivation after both success and failure feedback. College students in Hong Kong (N = 180) participated in an experiment with a 2 promotion focus (high vs. low) × 2 prevention focus (high vs. low) × 2 feedback (success vs. failure) design. The results showed that after success feedback, the students with promotion focus were more motivated than their counterparts with prevention focus. This pattern was reversed after failure feedback. However, the results failed to show that students high in both regulatory focuses were motivated after success as well as failure feedback. The findings are discussed with reference to the literature on flexibility of regulatory focuses. Practical and theoretical implications of feedback are also discussed.     

Students’ achievement goals and beliefs of causes of success: Temporal relations and gender differences

According to the goal orientation model, students’ achievement goals and beliefs are interrelated. Within this framework, research and theory have so far assumed that achievement goals are associated with students’ beliefs of causes of success, the latter representing students’ subjective beliefs about the factors contributing to success at school. So far, this line of research has been restricted to a few cross-sectional studies. We examined the temporal relations between achievement goals (mastery, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance goals) and students’ beliefs of causes of success, the latter operationalized by asking the students to rate the subjective importance of diligence, effort, and ability for school success. Achievement goals and beliefs of causes of success were measured twice with a time lag of one school year with a sample of N = 2044 German secondary school students. Cross-lagged panel models were estimated to examine the temporal relations between achievement goals and beliefs of causes of success while controlling for students’ secondary school track, socio-economic status, and Grade Point Average. Former mastery goals were found to be positively related to later importance ratings of diligence for school success; former performance-approach goals were found to be positively related to later importance ratings of ability. Boys and girls were found to display similar relations among constructs but they showed differential mean levels on both the achievement goal constructs and the beliefs of causes of success. Implications for research on achievement goals and practice using intervention approaches are discussed.     

Interest,enjoyment and pride after failure experiences? Predictors of students’ state-emotions after success and failure during learning in mathematics

The current investigation was designed to identify emotion states students experience during mathematics activities, and in particular to distinguish emotions contingent on experiences of success and experiences of failure. Students’ task-related emotional responses were recorded following experiences of success and failure while working with an individualised computer-based mathematics learning environment. In addition, relations between these patterns of emotional responses after success and failure experiences and trait-like motivational variables, self-concept of ability, subject value, orientation to learning from errors, goal orientation and causal attributions, were examined. Two separate studies are reported. In Study 1 emotions associated with success and failure experiences in mathematics were investigated in relation to self-concept of ability, subject value and orientation to learning from errors. In Study 2, patterns of emotion following success and failure were examined in relation to students’ goal orientation and their causal attributions for success in school.     

Perceived ability and success: which self-efficacy measures matter? A distance learning perspective

This paper sought to determine the effects of three self-efficacy measures on the academic attainment of students who were enrolled for the first time at the University of South Africa (Unisa) in 2015. The measures of interest were self-regulated learning efficacy, distance learning self-efficacy and computer and online technologies self-efficacy. Overall, only DLSE was found to have a significant effect on academic attainment albeit with a low effect (r = ?.13), explaining only 1.7% of the variation in the academic achievement between successful and unsuccessful students. DLSE also explained 10% of the variation in academic achievement between successful and unsuccessful students who, although new to Unisa, were not new to higher education.     

Intrusion errors in working memory tasks: Are they related to reading comprehension ability?

The purpose of the present research was to investigate whether inefficient suppression mechanisms cause overload and interference in working memory and, consequently, influence reading comprehension. Two groups of children, matched for intelligence but differing in inferential comprehension ability, were compared on measures of short-term (passive storage) and working memory (maintenance and processing) and memory for relevant and irrelevant information after reading a passage. Poor comprehenders produced more intrusion errors in a working memory task and recalled more irrelevant information from the passage. The presence of irrelevant information in recall suggests that poor comprehenders are less efficient in reducing the activation (suppression) of information, which is no longer relevant. A year-long longitudinal study was conducted to investigate the influence of suppression efficiency in reading comprehension. Intrusion errors were shown to be a good predictor of comprehension performance 1 year later. Suppression mechanisms seem to play an important role in working memory by reducing interference and improving the processing and maintenance of relevant information in order to build a coherent representation during reading comprehension.     

An overview of web-based school collaboration: a history of success or failure?

The notion of school collaboration has become widely recognised as an effective means of fostering cultural links and supporting communication between geographically separated schools. As shall be acknowledged in this paper, school collaboration follows on from a long history of collaborative initiatives across the past 50 years. However, the introduction of digital technologies and the internet in the 1990s has raised new challenges and created new opportunities for ‘telecollaboration’ whilst the growth of social media over the past five years is seen to have transformed the ways in which online collaboration is experienced by most end users. Based on a review of the existing body of literature, this paper offers a critical overview of current models of web-based collaborative programmes – attempting to map out the complex nature of school collaboration and consider the actors and factors that can shape successful implementation into educational practices.     

Crosscutting concepts and achievement: Is a sense of size and scale related to achievement in science and mathematics?

This study examined the relationship between students' (N = 229) concepts of size and scale and students' achievement in science and mathematics over a 3-year period. Size and scale are considered one of the big ideas in science that permeates disparate science and mathematics content areas, yet little is known about the relationship between students' conceptualization of size and scale and students' achievement in science and mathematics. The study used a modified panel longitudinal design to follow the same class of students over a 3-year period. The goal was to explore whether understandings of size and scale are related to achievement in mathematics and science. Results indicated a strong positive significant relationship existed between students' understanding of size and scale and students' science achievement in grades 5 and 8. There was a positive significant relationship between students' concepts of size and scale and students' mathematics achievement in grades 5, 6, 7, and 8. An examination of the relationships is included as well as a discussion of the integration of crosscutting concepts into science and mathematics instruction as a way to support deep learning.     

Perceived Competency in Working With LGB Clients: Where Are We Now?

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) clients use counseling services at higher rates than their heterosexual counterparts, yet current training for counselors may be inadequate. In this online study, 234 graduate counselor education and counseling psychology students completed the Sexual Orientation Counselor Competency Scale ( Bidell, 2005 ) and provided information about their training in working with LGB clients. Participants viewed themselves as more competent on the Awareness and Knowledge subscales than on the Skills subscale. Increased level of training (doctoral vs. master's), number of LGB clients seen in practica, and attendance at LGB‐focused workshops and conferences were associated with increased competence. Implications for programmatic development are discussed.     

Combining Market and Bureaucratic Control in Education: An answer to market and bureaucratic failure?

This article focuses on institutional arrangements in education across Western countries. It essentially deals with the recent trend towards extended school choice presumably aimed at creating a competitive environment for schools and teachers. For many years the functioning of educational systems, in particular the way schools were institutionally co-ordinated, was not perceived as fundamental to economic analysis. But more and more economists now believe that the institutional setting in which schools are embedded-their governance structure-is decisive regarding both efficiency and equity. In this respect, it is worth noting that most Western countries rely essentially on bureaucratic control to co-ordinate their educational sector. Yet some of them, such as Belgium, The Netherlands, England and Wales, New Zealand and Sweden incorporate market-oriented mechanisms at the heart of their institutional arrangements. The main focus of this article is to analyse the origins, as well as the economic relevance, of this-in some cases relatively recent-tendency to mix bureaucratic and market approaches to education.     

Children's social and scholastic lives in kindergarten: related spheres of influence?

Evidence from two studies conducted with kindergarten samples (N = 200, M age = 5.58 years; N = 199, M age = 5.47 years) supported a series of interrelated hypotheses derived from a child x environment model of early school adjustment. The findings obtained were consistent with the following inferences: (1) Entry factors, such as children's cognitive maturity and family backgrounds, directly as well as indirectly influence children's behavior, participation, and achievement in kindergarten; (2) as children enter school, their initial behavioral orientations influence the types of relationships they form with peers and teachers; (3) stressful aspects of children's peer and teacher relationships in the school environment adversely impact classroom participation and achievement; and (4) classroom participation is an important prerequisite for achievement during kindergarten. Collectively, these findings illustrate the need to revise prevailing theories of school adjustment, and the research agendas that evolve from these perspectives, so as to incorporate interpersonal risk factors that operate within the school environment.     

At-risk at the gate: prediction of study success of first-year science and engineering students in an open-admission university in Flanders—any incremental validity of study strategies?

European Journal of Psychology of Education - Against the background of the increasing need for skilled scientists and engineers, the heterogeneous inflow of incoming students in science and...     

Academic failure of first-year engineering and technological students in India and assessment of motivation factors – a case study

This study has been conducted to show that there is a recent trend in engineering colleges in India that students who are considered to be highly intelligent show poor academic performance during their 1st year. This article is proposed to examine the role of motivation factors such as teaching methods and learning material in the academic performance of engineering and technological students in India. A test was carried out among engineering students. A total of 200 male and female students participated in this test. A 2-group discriminator analysis was done to analyse the data. The results showed that there was a significant correlation (p = 0.000) between motivation factors and academic performance of engineering students. The higher the rating of these factors by the students, the higher their performance.     

Are women engineers in Lebanon prepared for the challenges of an engineering profession?

This study investigates the status of women engineers in the Middle East, considering women engineers in Lebanon as a case study. The author investigated the following questions: What are the influences behind females’ decisions to choose engineering as their major course of study? What are the motives behind this decision? What are the perceptions of females regarding the essential skills for a successful engineering career? An online survey consisting of Likert-scale items was completed by 327 female engineers who graduated from universities in Lebanon and now work in various locations around the world. A genuine interest in the field appeared to be the main influence in the participants’ decisions to choose engineering profession. The potential for professional growth was the leading motivator for choosing engineering. Although participants reported that they possessed adequate theoretical knowledge and technical skills before graduation, in the actual practice of engineering, they noted weaknesses in creativity and innovation.     

Are parents’ academic gender stereotypes and changes in them related to their perceptions of their child’s mathematical competence?

In the course of their child’s school years, a group of parents were asked to assess their child’s mathematical competence and indicate whether they endorsed the gender stereotype pertaining to it. Once the child had entered upper primary school, the consistent stereotypic parents tended to rate their boys’ mathematical competence higher than the parents of girls did. Additionally, the parents whose attitude turned into an anti‐stereotypical one perceived their girls’ mathematical competencies as higher than those of the boys, which was related to their perception that the boys’ competencies were getting worse while the girls’ competencies were getting better.     

A journey of negotiation and belonging: understanding students’ transitions to science and engineering in higher education

The paper presents results from a longitudinal study of students’ decisions to enrol on a higher education science programme and their experiences of it. The aim is to give insights into students’ transition process and negotiation of identity. This is done by following a cohort of 38 students in a series of qualitative interviews during a 3-year period starting as they were about to finish upper secondary school. We find that the students’ choice of study is an ongoing process of meaning-making, which continues when the students enter higher education and continuously work on their identities to gain a sense of belonging to their science or engineering programme. The use of a narrative methodology provides understanding of choice of study as involving changes in future perspectives and in the interpretation of past experiences. Further, we gain access into how this meaning-making process over time reflects the students’ negotiations in terms of belonging to higher education and their coping strategies when their expectations of their new programme interact with their first-year experiences.     

Are university students' component reading skills related to their text comprehension and academic achievement?

Among developing and poor readers, text comprehension is strongly related to word decoding accuracy and reading fluency. However, among relatively skilled adult readers, these aspects of reading skill are largely independent of one another. The reading of 193 second- and third-year students enrolled in an educational psychology course at a public research university was described well by three orthogonal principal components: Word Decoding Accuracy, Reading Speed, and Text Comprehension Accuracy. Furthermore, component reading skills were not associated with individual differences in the extent to which students in this sample had succeeded in postsecondary education. Decoding Accuracy was most related to spelling accuracy and phonemic awareness. Only Text Comprehension Accuracy was associated even minimally with grade-point average. A subgroup of 15 students who reported various reading problems did not have a low mean grade-point average.