Academic Identity Formation and Motivation Among Ethnic Minority Adolescents: The Role of the “Self” Between Internal and External Perceptions of Identity

Identity is often studied as a motivational construct within research on adolescent development and education. However, differential dimensions of identity, as a set of internal values versus external perceptions of social belonging, may relate to motivation in distinct ways. Utilizing a sample of 600 African American and Latino adolescents (43% female; mean age = 13.9), the present study examines whether self‐regulated learning (SRL) mediates two distinct dimensions of academic identity (i.e., value and belonging) and mastery orientation. This study also examines whether self‐efficacy moderates the mediating role of SRL between identity and mastery. Results show evidence for moderated mediation between SRL and academic self‐efficacy. Self‐regulated learning played its strongest mediating role between belonging and mastery and for low‐efficacy students specifically.     

Relationship between the employment of coping mechanisms and a sense of belonging for part‐time students

This study examined the way part‐time students cope with fitting in study on top of other demands on their time. To measure the deployment of coping mechanisms, an instrument was developed based on previous qualitative work. The earlier work had identified three coping mechanisms—sacrifice, support, and negotiation of arrangements—operating in four domains of the self—work, family, and social lives. A measure for the sense of belonging to college was also developed. The combined measures were completed by a sample of 208 adult students enrolled in part‐time courses in an open university. Analysis by structural equation modelling showed that there were significant relationships between the employment of coping mechanisms and the development of a sense of belonging to the college. Students were more likely to exhibit a strong sense of belonging if: they had negotiated with their family a time to study: they had established regular study routines; they reported high levels of social support; and they declared themselves high in personal self‐determination. In addition, high levels of sacrifice were reported, most notably within the domain of the self.     

Foundations of children’s self-concepts about everyday activities: Identities and comparative contexts

Children’s motivations to engage in everyday activities draw on their experiences in thinking of oneself and the activities. In theory, these personal and social realities provide the complex foundations of self-concepts. The aim of this project was to define the foundations of children’s self-concepts about everyday activities; to focus on everyday activities of literacy and numeracy. Participants were 8- to 12-year-old girls and boys, in a pilot study (N?=?16), correlational models of identities (N?=?297) and comparative contexts (N?=?42), and experimental evidence (N?=?82). The pilot study validated materials, and Study 1 confirmed a perceptual base for self-concepts. Results of Study 2 highlighted a range of comparative contexts, and Study 3 confirmed personal and social bases of children’s self-concepts. In this situation, foundations of self-concepts cover identities (as a sense of individuality and belonging) and self-categorizations, in thinking about stability of skills and abilities over time, and in relation to children the same age. These ideas are readily applied to identities and arrays of self-categorizations in other situations. In conclusion, a personal and social theory of self-concepts extends contemporary Motivational Spiral Models that relate self-concepts to task strategies, skills, feelings and participation. Outcomes suggest foundations for differential interventions motivating children to participate in everyday activities.     

Perceived Teachers’ Behaviours and Dimensions of Adolescent Self‐concepts

The importance of teachers as significant others in the formation and development of children's self‐concepts has been widely recognised. However, the relationships between perceived specific aspects of teacher behaviours and dimensions of adolescents’ self‐concepts have not been sufficiently investigated, especially in Africa. The present study investigated the relationships between perceived teacher behaviours and adolescents’ self‐concepts. The sample included 874 students from four high schools around the metropolitan area of Cape Town, South Africa. The results showed that a significant positive relationship existed between perceived teacher support, interest, encouragement, expectations and participation, and the adolescent family, school and health self‐concepts. The findings underscore the usefulness of employing multidimensional measures in examining the intricate relationship between perceived teacher behaviours and adolescents’ self‐concepts.     

Reading self‐concepts and task choices for children with reading difficulties

Abstract

This project examined the personal and the social basis of children's self‐concepts about reading. Study 1 [N= 55] was a correlational study. Results suggest a stronger personal than social basis for children's self‐concepts about reading. In particular, children made stronger comparisons among content areas than gender groups. Study 2 [N= 18] was an intervention study. The focus was on the personal basis of self‐concepts, for children with reading difficulties. Results showed that self‐concepts were responsive to the intervention, with associated change in task choices. Findings support a self‐categorization approach to understanding children's self‐concepts, and imply that this approach would be useful in motivating children about reading.

Reading is regarded as integral to general living skills and is central to children's learning across many areas of schooling. This means that we need to understand more about the self‐concepts that motivate children to take up and persist with reading activities. H is a particularly pressing issue for children who experience difficulties with reading. This project therefore examined the personal and social basis of children's self‐concepts about reading. The focus was the salience of children's personal and social categorisations about reading that underpin reading self‐concepts and associated choices of reading tasks.     

School belonging among young adolescents with SEMH and MLD: the link with their social relations and school inclusivity

Despite the considerable institutional changes schools have made to accommodate the individual needs of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), as underpinned by key principles of inclusion, there is still international concern about the mainstream experiences pupils with SEND have in school settings. This study helps us understand the schooling experiences of pupils with behavioural difficulties and learning difficulties by investigating whether they have a sense of belonging and positive social relations and whether these vary according to the level of inclusiveness of the school ethos at the institution they attend. Perceived social relations and feelings of belonging of 1,440 (282 SEND) young adolescents from three secondary mainstream settings that differ in inclusivity, were analysed using a self-reporting questionnaire. Findings demonstrated that pupils with SEND are not a homogeneous group, as pupils with behavioural difficulties were found to have less of a sense of belonging, and social relations than those with learning difficulties. It was also found that the sense of belonging of both groups is associated with their positive perceived relations with teachers and their inclusiveness of school ethos. These findings contribute as they offer ways of enhancing the sense of belonging of pupils with behavioural and learning difficulties in schools.     

IMPACT OF ANOMIA AND LIFE SATISFACTION ON OLDER ADULT LEARNERS

An examination of the relationship between the attitudes of two populations of older adults and their participation in education‐related activities reveals statistically significant associations in both populations between Anomia and Zest and Participation in Educational Activities, and between Life Satisfaction, Mood Tone, and Zest and Self‐Directed Learning Participation. These findings indicate that self‐directed learning participation is correlated with a person's affirmation of self and its accomplishments, sense of satisfaction and pleasure, and a high level of enthusiasm and ego involvement in activities. The correlation between Anomia and Zest and Participation in Educational Activities reinforces the need for a strong social dimension in education‐related activities among older adults in order to mitigate the effects of personal isolation or anomia. The findings also call for an understanding of nonpartidpation in education‐related activities as an expression of anomia, alienation, or power‐lessness. Practitioners are encouraged to consider how educational programs may effectively bridge the gap of powerlessness and alienation experienced by many older adults.     

“Spinning Themselves into Poetry”: Images of Urban Adolescent Writers in Two Novels for Young Adults

In contrast to the educational research and policy literature depicting urban adolescents as reluctant and struggling readers and writers, young people in recent young adult novels claim writing as an efficacious practice for self-discovery and social understanding. Analysis of the images of writers and writing in Locomotion and Call Me María provide insights into both urban adolescents and literacies as social practices. Framed by New Literacy Studies, analysis of the novels finds that the characters use writing to document and process life-altering events; to seek meaning and inspiration in their surroundings; to resist ascribed identities; and to search for a sense of belonging in the sociopolitical landscape in which they are often marginalized due to their race, gender, youth, and/or language. This article argues that the novels humanize and dramatize adolescent literacies in ways that test results and crisis language often disguise and distort.     

Striving for autonomy in a contingency‐governed world: Another challenge for individuals with developmental disabilities

The purpose of this article is to provide the reader with an orientation to the concepts and principles of autonomy and self‐determination and the application of those concepts and principles to working with children and adolescents who have intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD), including autism. Self‐determination is essentially the ability of a person to be autonomous as to meaningful life choices and encompasses activities such as problem solving, decision making, goal setting, self‐observation and evaluation, self‐management and reinforcement, acquiring an internal locus of control, experiencing positive attributions of efficacy and outcome expectancy, developing a realistic and positive self‐image, and self awareness. The lack of opportunities for self‐determination, personal expression and consideration of personal preferences experienced by this population has been associated with increased psychiatric disturbance. Several principles supporting self‐determination, including positive psychology and use of positive alternatives, are discussed by the authors. Further, practices that generate more opportunities for individuals to exercise personal control and autonomy across activities and environments in order to prevent psychological problems are discussed. Finally, the school psychologist's role in promoting the development of autonomy and self initiative among children and adolescents with ID/DD are outlined within the contexts of assessment practices, interventions and curriculums, positive behavior support technology, and continued educational reforms and systems change. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 41: 143–153, 2004.     

Language Brokering and Depressive Symptoms in Mexican‐American Adolescents: Parent–Child Alienation and Resilience as Moderators

This study aimed to untangle the mixed effects of language brokering by examining a contextual factor (i.e., parent–child alienation) and a personal attribute (i.e., resilience) that may relate to adolescents’ feelings during translating (i.e., sense of burden and efficacy) and that may moderate the association between such feelings and adolescent depressive symptoms. Participants included 557 adolescent language brokers (M_age = 12.96) in Mexican‐American families. Results showed that adolescents with a strong sense of alienation from parents or low resilience (a) experienced more burden or less efficacy in translating and (b) were more susceptible to the detrimental effects of feeling a sense of burden and the beneficial effects of experiencing a sense of efficacy, as measured by depressive symptoms.     

Self in learning: Chinese adolescents' goals and sense of agency

This study examined goals and agency as the 2 core aspects of self in learning among Chinese adolescents. A sample of 259 adolescents aged 12-19 responded to open-ended probes about themselves. Counter to the common view that Chinese selves are predominantly social, adolescents expressed many more individual than social goals and agency. Moreover, older adolescents showed overall more goals and agency than younger adolescents. However, their specific goals did not differ by age. Regarding agency, older adolescents articulated more of the so-called "learning virtues." Yet their social agency did not differ by age. We interpret these findings as in reference to the Confucian learning tradition, the existing research on goals and agency, and self in culture from a domain-specific perspective.     

Minds,Brains, and Difference in Personal Understandings

If education is to make a difference it is widely acknowledged that we must aim to educate for understanding, but this means being clear about what we mean by understanding. This paper argues for a concept of personal understanding, recognising both the commonality and individuality of each pupil's understandings, and the relationship between understanding and interpretation, analysis and synopsis, and the quest for meaning.

In supporting this view, the paper advocates an emergentist notion of person‐hood, and considers the neurophysiological reasons for asserting the individuality of human minds, brains, and the creation of personal meanings. The notion of personal meanings would, however, seem to run counter to the post‐modern denial of the autonomous self, and the tradition in philosophy, most recently stemming from Wittgenstein, that insists that meanings and understandings are essentially social, and not personal—a view also advocated by John White in regard to education. In contrast, this paper argues that meanings and understandings are both social (interpersonal) and personal. Once we reinstate the notion of personal minds and personal understandings, alongside the social, we may see more clearly what it means to educate for understanding, and why this might begin to make a difference.     

Capturing the Complexity of Moral Development and Education

This article discusses challenges educators face when attempting to sequence moral education. Two factors are identified as primary sources hindering efforts to engage in effective moral education: (a) the premature application of research findings from developmental psychology to classroom practices and (b) the underestimation of the complexity of interactions between development in students' social and moral understandings and their applications in social contexts. Research is reviewed demonstrating that morality develops alongside concepts about societal conventions and zones of personal discretion and privacy. Results of an ongoing study are presented pointing toward a U-shaped pattern in moral development in which frequency of moral choices is higher among younger children and older adolescents than among early adolescents. Research examining contextual moral decision making is discussed in relation to efforts to sequence moral education.     

The faith‐based schools debate: challenging assumptions and stereotypes

This study focused on value transmission in the family and assessed adolescents’ acceptance of the values their parents want to transmit to them (socialisation values), identifying some factors that may affect the level of acceptance. Specifically, actual value agreement between parents, parental agreement as perceived by adolescents, parent–child closeness and promotion of child’s volitional functioning, were considered as predictors. Participants were 381 family triads (father, mother and adolescent child) from northern Italy; the adolescents (46.2% male) were all high‐school students from 15 to 19 years of age. Both parents and their children filled out self‐report questionnaires. Findings showed a moderate level of acceptance in families, suggesting the presence of similarities as well as differences between parents’ socialisation values and adolescents’ personal values. All the predictors considered except parents’ actual agreement, were found to be significantly and positively related to acceptance. Implications for moral development are discussed and suggestions for education and future research are provided.     

Characteristics of Moral Problems as Formulated by Gifted Adolescents

Abstract

A study was conducted to examine the nature of moral problems as formulated by gifted adolescents. Subjects from Grades 9‐12 were asked to generate stories involving a moral problem and to provide a solution. As in Kohlberg's moral dilemmas, students depicted a central protagonist as well as a definite subsidiary character. There was a significant relationship between the sex of the student and the sex of the protagonist. The protagonist and subsidiary characters were approximate to the age of the subject. Half (53 per cent) of the moral problems involved friendship or a love relationship between the protagonist and the subsidiary character. Most subjects (92 per cent) were able to give guidelines for a solution to their moral problem. Solutions to moral problems were categorized as indicating primarily either a personal (focus on self) or social (focus on group or society at large) perspective. The majority (55 per cent) of subjects gave solutions based on a social perspective, while 45 per cent offered solutions indicating a personal perspective. Comparisons by sex and grade revealed that older students (Grades 11 and 12) tended to resolve their moral problems from a personal perspective while the younger students (Grades 9 and 10) more often took a social perspective. Comparisons were also made between the stories written by gifted adolescents, the Kohlberg dilemmas, and the moral dilemmas formulated by a general population of adolescents (Yussen, 1977).     

Narratives of learning communities in environmental education

Abstract

This article introduces the core concepts that emerged from five environmental education action research studies conducted by a group called Learning Communities in Environmental Education, Science and Mathematics (CEAMECIM) from the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG) in the south of Brazil. The studies focus on teacher education processes in learning communities involving teachers, researchers and environmental educators, and the critical writing and reading texts of classroom recordings to problematise participants’ teaching practices. CEAMECIM used action research cycles to examine narratives of educational action, narratives from teachers concerning their development as environmental educators, and narratives of their development of a sense of belonging, with a particular focus on critiquing social models that are based on hierarchies and individuality. From this analysis, we propose a new perspective on being and learning how to become a learning community, crystallised by the belief that ‘we are more when we are together’.     

Self-Efficacies,Anxiety, and Aggression among African American and Latino Adolescents with Disabilities

Self-appraisals can combine with aspects of the school environment in predicting adolescent emotions and behaviors. This study examined how academic self-efficacy and social self-efficacy are related to anxiety and aggression, and how these relations are moderated by school stressors, academic achievement, and school belonging. The participants of the study were African American and Latino adolescents with an intellectual disability and/or a physical disability. Self-report surveys were completed by 98 adolescents. Regression analyses revealed that higher levels of both self-efficacies were associated with lower levels of anxiety, but these relations were reduced as school stressors increased. Also, high academic self-efficacy was associated with more aggression when academic achievement was low, and high social self-efficacy was associated with more aggression when school belonging was low. The findings have implications for the development of self-efficacy and for the management of adolescent anxiety and aggression.     

Social Interactions in the Home and the Development of Young Children's Conceptions of the Personal

Observations and interviews of 20 middle-class 3- and 4-year-olds and their mothers were conducted to examine the emergence of the personal domain. Interviews with children showed that 3- and 4-year-olds make a conceptual distinction between personal, and moral or conventional issues. Interviews with mothers indicated that they viewed it as important for young children to have freedom of choice over personal issues to develop a sense of autonomy and individuality. Observations in the home revealed that mothers tended to give direct social messages to children about moral, conventional, and prudential events, and were more likely to give indirect social messages in the form of offered choices to children in response to personal issues. Mothers were more likely to negotiate with children over personal than other social events. These data revealed a pattern of social interactions concordant with event domain, which included a reciprocal system along the border between the personal and the conventional.