Interplay of motivational and cognitive strategies in predicting self‐efficacy and anxiety

The purpose of the present study was to test a model explaining self‐efficacy and anxiety by the interrelationships with task value, cognitive strategies (rehearsal, elaboration and organisation) and metacognitive self‐regulation in the domain of chemistry. Data were collected from 518 college students in Turkey. Findings of structural equation modelling indicated that chemistry self‐efficacy and anxiety were predicted as a function of task value, cognitive strategies and metacognitive self‐regulation, supporting the proposed model. That is, students with high levels of task value tended to use more learning strategies which promoted the use of regulatory strategies. In turn, these students may decrease their chemistry anxiety, leading to an increase in chemistry self‐efficacy indirectly.     

The influence of students’ cognitive and motivational variables in respect of cognitive conflict and conceptual change

In this study, the relationships among students’ cognitive/motivational variables, cognitive conflict, and conceptual change were investigated. Subjects were 159 seventh graders in Korea. Tests regarding logical thinking ability, field dependence/independence (FDI), meaningful learning approach, failure tolerance, mastery goal orientation, and self‐efficacy were administered to examine students’ cognitive/motivational characteristics. A preconception test and a test of responses to discrepant event were also conducted to examine the degree of students’ cognitive conflict induced by a discrepant event. Computer‐assisted instruction, designed to change an undifferentiated weight‐density concept into a scientific density concept, was then provided to students as a conceptual change intervention. A conception test was administered as a post‐test. The results indicated that FDI was the only statistically significant variable correlated with the degree of cognitive conflict. A stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that logical thinking ability, FDI, and failure tolerance were statistically significant predictors of the conception test scores. Educational implications are discussed.     

Students’ motivational beliefs in science learning,school motivational contexts,and science achievement in Taiwan

ABSTRACT

Taiwanese students are featured as having high academic achievement but low motivational beliefs according to the serial results of the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Moreover, given that the role of context has become more important in the development of academic motivation theory, this study aimed to examine the relationship between motivational beliefs and science achievement at both the student and school levels. Based on the Expectancy-Value Theory, the three motivational beliefs, namely self-concept, intrinsic value, and utility value, were the focuses of this study. The two-level hierarchical linear model was used to analyse the Taiwanese TIMSS 2011 eighth-grade student data. The results indicated that each motivational belief had a positive predictive effect on science achievement. Additionally, a positive school contextual effect of self-concept on science achievement was identified. Furthermore, school-mean utility value had a negative moderating effect on the relationship between utility value and science achievement. In conclusion, this study sheds light on the functioning of motivational beliefs in science learning among Taiwanese adolescents with consideration of the school motivational contexts.     

How we train high‐school teachers in colleges and universities

History of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy. By Horatio W. Dresser. New York: Thomas Y. dwell Co., 1926. Pp. xii + 338. Price, $2.50.

Readings in Civic Sociology. By Edward Alsworth Ross (University of Wisconson) and Mary Edna McCaull. Yonkers, N. Y.: World Book Co., 1926. Pp. xxi + 398. Price, $1.80.

Better Teaching. By Frank Leslie Clapp (University of Wisconsin) and Thomas M. Risk (University of Wisconsin). Newark: Silver, Burdett &; Co., 1926. Pp. iv + 58. Paper bound. Price, 68 cents.

Texas Flag Primer. By Karle Wilson Baker. Yonkers, N. Y.: World Book Co., 1926. Pp. iv + 124. Price, 72 cents.

The Puppet as an Elementary Project. By Emma Pettey (Dallas City Schools). Fort Worth: Pioneer Publishing Co., 1925. Pp. 76.

Better Dress Charts. By Florence Bigelow. St. Paul, Minn.: Webb Publishing Co., 1925.

Seventeenth‐Century Essays (edited by Jacob Zeitlin), The Patrician (John Galsworthy), and Ethan Frome (Edith Wharton). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1926. The Modern Student's Library. Price, $1 each.

A Child's Map of the Ancient World. Originated by Alice York. Designed by Ilonka Karasz. New York: The John Day Co., 1926. Price, $1.50.

Rewards of Reading. By Frank Luther Mott. New York: Henry Holt &; Co., 1926. Pp. x + 208.

The Constitution of the United States. By William B. Guitteau and Hanson Hart Webster. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1926.

Fundamentals of Human Physiology. By R. G. Peaece and J. J. R. Macleod (University of Toronto). St. Louis: The C. V. Mosby Co., 1924. Pp. 349.

The Foundation of Health. By William Barnard Sharp (University of Texas). Philadelphia: Lea and Febiger, 1924. Pp. vi + 256.     

Students' self‐regulation and teachers' influences in science: interplay between ethnicity and gender

The purpose of this study is to explore students' self‐regulation and teachers' influence in science and to examine interplay between ethnicity and gender. Analysis of data from seven Oslo schools (1112 sampled students in the first year of high school) shows that the ethnic minority students reported using learning strategies in science more intensively than ethnic majority students and they had a stronger motivation to learn science. Ethnic majority students are defined here as students who were born in Norway and have at least one parent born in Norway. The study also shows that minority students generally evaluate their science teacher's influence on their learning more positively than the majority. The strongest interplay effects between gender and ethnicity are found in students' perceptions of the relevance of science, as well as their degree of negative responses to the pressure to learn science.     

An aristocracy of talent? Describing self and other at an early twentieth‐century high school

This paper is a reading of early twentieth‐century government high school culture as it was expressed through a twenty‐year run of one Australian high school’s student‐authored magazines. From its first issue the editors of The Parramatta High School Magazine were keen to promote its role in the making of a community. The idea that high school people belonged to a special and exclusive group was reiterated in a number of ways. Writing in the magazines described the features of a shared culture – whiteness, literacy, good taste, rational behaviour – and implicitly defined high school students as different from other categories of people, including non‐English speaking foreigners and ‘the uneducated’. Central to the process of classification and identification were statements of ‘who we are’ and ‘who we are not’ which were grounded in the language of meritocracy, and encompassed particular contemporary understandings of social class, race and gender.     

Gendered pathways from academic performance,motivational beliefs,and school burnout to adolescents’ educational and occupational aspirations

This study examined Finnish 9th-graders’ (N = 966) pathways to educational and occupational aspirations considering two academic domains: mathematics and reading. Multi-group structural equation models were conducted to investigate how domain-specific performance and motivational beliefs (self-concept and interest), and more general school burnout (exhaustion, cynicism, and inadequacy) relate to boys' and girls' aspirations. Performance in both domains was related to girls' educational aspirations, but only mathematics was linked to boys' aspirations. Positive within-domain relations from girls' motivational beliefs were also found, but their reading self-concept was negatively linked to their math-related occupational aspirations. For boys, only math-related motivational beliefs were associated with their aspirations. Lastly, school burnout was both directly and indirectly linked to students' aspirations. Overall, the study demonstrated the importance of including several factors when investigating students’ aspired educational degrees and occupational plans and, also, the added value of examining educational and occupational aspirations across academic domains.     

Self‐concept,enterprise and educational attainment in late adolescence

Abstract

This study used data obtained from a large random sample of 16‐19 year olds in four areas in U.K. and from a smaller university student sample to construct an easy‐to‐use measure of purposefulness, a characteristic lying at the core of the concept of enterprise, and to examine the relationship between purposefulness and educational attainment.

This instrument was found to be reasonably valid and reliable for both samples. Further, for women, purposefulness was positively related to educational attainment whilst for men this was not the case. The implications of this study are threefold: conceptualising enterprise in terms of a person's motivational, attributional and behavioural style has implications both for the content of, and expectations from, enterprise education and training. Second, the difference in the relationship between educational attainment and purposefulness for the two sexes suggests that there may be different opportunities that the educational system and the labour market offers to men and women. Third, this measure can be usefully employed for vocational guidance.     

Learning arithmetic outdoors in junior high school – influence on performance and self-regulating skills

This study aims to explore the influence of outdoor teaching among students, aged 13, on arithmetic performance and self-regulation skills as previous research concerning outdoor mathematics learning is limited. This study had a quasi-experimental design. An outdoor and a traditional group answered a test and a self-regulation skills questionnaire before and after a 10 weeks unit in arithmetic. Findings suggest differences in changes in academic performance between the groups in favour of the outdoor group and no significant changes in self-regulation skills, apart from a decrease in intrinsic motivation in the traditional group.     

What do I want to feel? Emotion goals in childhood,adolescence, and adulthood

Beliefs about emotion utility can influence context-sensitive emotion goals (i.e., desired emotional responses). Although key for emotion regulation, emotion goals have been overlooked in children and adolescents. In 2018–2019 results of Studies 1 and 2 showed that children (N = 192, M_age = 8.65, 47% girls, 96% White) were less motivated by and found anger less useful in confrontation than adolescents (N = 192, M_age = 12.96, 50% girls, 93% White) and adults (N = 195, M_age = 29.82, 51% women, 96% White). The link between emotion goals and beliefs about emotion utility was weaker in children. In 2021, Study 3 (N = 60, 8-year-olds, 47% girls, 90% White) ruled out expectations as a possible explanation for the previous findings. Context-sensitive utility of emotions may be acquired during development.     

Self‐regulation strategies improve self‐discipline in adolescents: benefits of mental contrasting and implementation intentions

Adolescents struggle with setting and striving for goals that require sustained self‐discipline. Research on adults indicates that goal commitment is enhanced by mental contrasting (MC), a strategy involving the cognitive elaboration of a desired future with relevant obstacles of present reality. Implementation intentions (II), which identify the action one will take when a goal‐relevant opportunity arises, represent a strategy shown to increase goal attainment when commitment is high. This study tests the effect of mental contrasting combined with implementation intentions (MCII) on successful goal implementation in adolescents. Sixty‐six 2nd‐year high school students preparing to take a high‐stakes exam in the fall of their third year were randomly assigned to complete either a 30‐minute written mental contrasting with implementation intentions intervention or a placebo control writing exercise. Students in the intervention condition completed more than 60% more practice questions than did students in the control condition. These findings point to the utility of directly teaching to adolescents mental contrasting with implementation intentions as a self‐regulatory strategy of successful goal pursuit.     

Teacher self‐efficacy and successful intelligence among Chinese secondary school teachers in Hong Kong

This study assessed perceptions of self‐efficacy and successful intelligence among 220 Chinese prospective and in‐service secondary school teachers in Hong Kong. Teacher self‐efficacy in six domains – teaching highly able learners, classroom management, guidance and counselling, student engagement, teaching to accommodate diversity, and teaching for enriched learning – was related to the three triarchic dimensions (analytical, creative, and practical) of successful intelligence. Each of the three triarchic abilities was found to contribute independently and in combination to the prediction of the six domains of teacher self‐efficacy. Practical abilities were the most significant predictor of self‐efficacy beliefs in five domains. Teaching teachers for successful intelligence, in strategies to enhance teacher self‐efficacy, is discussed.     

Role models,approaches to studying,and self‐efficacy in forensic and mainstream high school students: a pilot study

This study investigated the relationships between role models, approaches to studying, and self‐efficacy in students attending a high school specialising in educating those with emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD, n = 30) and students attending a mainstream high school (n = 41) in the UK. Types and quantity of role models held by students were assessed using semi‐structured interviews. Approaches to studying and self‐efficacy were measured using the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students and the General Self‐Efficacy Scale, respectively. In the EBD sample, the quantity of personally known role models correlated positively with deep and strategic approaches to studying, while quantity of media role models correlated negatively with a deep approach to studying and general self‐efficacy. In the mainstream sample, no association was found between quantity of role models, on the one hand, and approaches to studying and self‐efficacy, on the other hand. The findings suggest that EBD students would benefit from direct exposure to more interpersonal role models, which would further their chances of selecting and assimilating adaptive attitudes and behaviours.     

Effects of explicit instruction in cognitive and metacognitive reading strategies on Iranian EFL students’ reading performance and strategy transfer

This study explored the impact of explicit teaching of reading strategies on English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) students?? reading performance in Iran. The study employed a questionnaire adapted from Chamot and O??Malley??s (1994) cognitive and metacognitive strategies framework. To test the effects of explicit teaching of cognitive and metacognitive reading strategies on reading performance and strategy transfer, the study has a quasi-experimental design involving a contrast group and a treatment group, with whom an intervention program was implemented. The treatment group achieved significantly better results than the contrast group after four months of strategy-based instruction. Results of paired-sample t-tests and independent t-tests and effect size showed that reading comprehension and reading strategy use improved with strategy instruction. Moreover, SPANOVA analyses showed that the participants in the treatment group performed better than those in the contrast group in reading comprehension and reading strategy transfer. Results also showed that strategy instruction contributed to autonomous reading behaviors. Recommendations for further research are discussed.     

Emotional intelligence,self‐efficacy,and coping among Chinese prospective and in‐service teachers in Hong Kong

Emotional intelligence (intrapersonal and interpersonal) and general teacher self‐efficacy were assessed to represent personal resources facilitating active and passive coping in a sample of 273 Chinese prospective and in‐service teachers in Hong Kong. Intrapersonal emotional intelligence and interpersonal emotional intelligence were found to predict significantly active coping strategy, but teacher self‐efficacy did not contribute independently to the prediction of active coping even though there was some evidence that teacher self‐efficacy might interact with intrapersonal emotional intelligence in the prediction of active coping, especially for male teachers. The implications of the findings for preventive intervention efforts to combat teacher stress through teaching to enhance emotional intelligence are discussed.     

Market‐oriented school reform in England and Finland: school choice,finance and governance

This paper explores the introduction of market‐oriented reforms into school‐based education in England and Finland. The contexts into which reforms were introduced differed, with a fully comprehensive system being in place in Finland but not in England; the motives were also different; and different trajectories have since been followed. Whilst there are apparent similarities, with choice and diversity having a high political profile in each country, the policy mix varies: two different models can be discerned, with the Finnish reforms being characterised by more regulatory control in relation to school access and choice, but less in relation to the financing of schools by local authorities. It is argued that the mediating role played by local authorities in jurisdictions with high levels of decentralisation means that the legislative framework needs to be taken into account when examining policy implementation and educational outcomes.     

Ability Grouping: year group differences in self‐concept and attitudes of secondary school pupils

The vast international literature on the effects of different types of ability grouping on self‐concept and pupils' attitudes towards school has focused on pupils from single year groups. This article aimed to explore year group differences in pupils' self‐concept and attitudes towards school as influenced by ability grouping. The study was cross‐sectional in design and measured attitudes towards school and mathematics, general and school self‐concept and preferences for different kinds of grouping in 234 pupils from years 7 through 10 attending a mixed comprehensive school. The findings indicated that mathematics self‐concept was consistently lower than school and general self‐concept; all aspects of self‐concept increased up to Year 9 and then declined in Year 10, pupils in the higher sets tended to have higher self‐concepts; pupil preferences for setting were greater in the higher year groups, as was the extent to which the top set was perceived to be the best. A substantial proportion of pupils wanted to move set, usually to a higher set. Set placement itself did not appear to have a consistent effect on attitudes towards mathematics. This seemed to be mediated by the quality of teaching.     

Resisting images of the ‘diminished self’: the implications of emotional well‐being and emotional engagement in education policy

Developing people’s emotional well‐being and emotional engagement are official aims in social policy. A growing number of initiatives respond to diverse, often contradictory public, political and professional concerns about individuals’ emotional needs. These concerns are a powerful discourse in ‘personalised learning’.

The article contributes to debates in critical policy research. It evaluates the subtle ways in which policy initiatives to develop emotional well‐being and encourage emotional engagement with public services resonate with images of the ‘diminished self’ emerging in broader cultural discourses. Critical evaluation is necessary in order for researchers and educators committed to social justice to challenge the influential idea that emotional well‐being should be a prominent educational goal and to resist the diminished images of human potential that underlie it.     

Girls at risk. Early school‐leaving and early marriage in the 1950s

Britain in the 1950s offered increased opportunities for secondary education leading to better career prospects at a time of full employment. A government report into early leaving in 1954 noted that it was girls of all social classes who were most ‘at risk’ of not staying the course. The following article discusses first the nature of risk and suggests that for girls perhaps, staying at school and delaying marriage, at a time when unequal pay and opportunities were the norm, was perceived as more of a risk than the safety of marriage and dependent domesticity. It then considers the concerns of the Early Leaving Report in more detail. Despite the attempts by policy makers to encourage girls into education, there were rival discourses which persuaded girls into domesticity and the article concludes by indicating the varied and pervasive nature of some of this rhetoric.