Behavioral and relational correlates of low self-perceived competence in young children

It is developmentally normative for preschoolers (aged four to five years) to have self-perceptions that are typically positive and even over-inflated. However, because not all children have positive self-perceptions in early childhood it is important to understand factors that influence the development of self-perceptions, especially low self-perceptions, in early childhood. Therefore, this study examined the associations between self-perceptions and teacher ratings of social behaviors, subtypes of withdrawal, and peer ratings of acceptance/rejection in preschoolers. Participants included 199 children (107 males, 92 females) attending two early childhood programs in a midsized community in the western United States. The major findings were that children in early childhood who have lower self-perceptions of their abilities than their peers tended to engage in more reticence, solitary-passive withdrawal, and solitary-active behavior.     

The Self-Perceptions of Pupils with Down Syndrome in Relation to Their Academic Competence,Physical Competence and Social Acceptance

The self-perceptions of 64 pupils with Down syndrome aged between 8 and 16 years were assessed in three school related domains; academic competence, physical competence, and social acceptance. Results from the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Acceptance and a School Situations Grid suggested that pupils with Down syndrome hold very positive self-perceptions in each school related domain, that self-perceptions become more positive with age, are more positive for females than males, and remain positive regardless of school placement type. The utility of the instruments for assessing the self-perceptions of pupils with Down syndrome is discussed. Possible explanations for the study findings and suggestions for further research are also raised.     

The Relative Achievement of the Objectives of Elementary School Science in Minnesota Schools

The authors investigated the relationship between self-perceptions of ability and achievement in math, science, and English from Grades 8 to 11 (N = 342). A state-trait model that included an association between stable (i.e., trait-like) components of self-perceptions and achievement as well as time-specific (i.e., state-like) effects during the transition to high school (i.e., Grade 8 to Grade 9) demonstrated superior fit to alternative models that did not incorporate these features. Stable components of self-perceptions of ability and achievement exhibited a substantial association in this model. In most instances, however, there also was evidence of a positive effect of self-perceptions in Grade 8 on achievement in Grade 9.     

Feedback seeking in children and adolescents: associations with self-perceptions,attachment representations,and depression

Because the feedback children and adolescents receive is important to their development, 2 experimental studies were designed to examine children's (M = 12 years) and adolescents' (M = 17 years) active selection of the quality of feedback they wish to receive. In both studies evidence emerged that participants' self-perceptions influence their feedback seeking. Participants with positive self-perceptions sought more positive feedback than participants with negative self-perceptions and sought more positive feedback than expected by chance. Participants with negative self-perceptions lacked this tendency to seek positive feedback and sometimes sought less positive feedback than expected by chance. As expected, depression and attachment-related measures were also associated with participants' feedback seeking. Contributions of feedback-seeking patterns to stability and change in children's and adolescents' development are discussed.     

Self-perceptions of first- and second-grade children with learning disabilities

The present study addressed the question of the effects of developmental positive bias and repeated experiences of failure on the self-perception of mainstreamed first-and second-grade Israeli children with learning disabilities. The self-perceptions of 44 children with learning disabilities and their 36 nondisabled classmates were assessed. In addition, teachers' evaluations and objective measures of cognitive performance and social acceptance were gathered. The children with learning disabilities were found to have a greater positive bias and lower self-perception in the cognitive competence domain than their normally achieving peers. Self-perceptions of peer acceptance among children with learning disabilities are similar to their normally achieving peers' self-perceptions, in spite of their significantly lower sociometric ratings and teacher evaluations in the social domain. These findings are analyzed in the context of the globality-specificity dimension of self-perceptions at the age level studied. The obtained pattern of self-perceptions is discussed in the light of the interrelationships between cognitive deficit and experimental factors among mainstreamed first- and second-grade children.     

Any Letter for me? Relationships Between an Elementary School Letter Writing Program and Student Attitudes, Literacy Achievement, and Friendship Culture

This study involved the development, implementation, and assessment of a comprehensive schoolwide mailing program as a practical tool to communicate enthusiasm towards writing to children and actively engage them in letter writing. The author played the dual role of teacher-researcher and worked for one school year with one teacher from each grade level from grade 1 to grade 5. The objective of the study was to explore the relationship between an innovative mailing program and children’s attitudes towards letter writing. This study employed both qualitative (conference with teachers) and quantitative (survey) methods. The author initiated the study with a presentation to the teachers (during a staff meeting) and to the children (in an assembly), systematically collected feedback from teachers to assess the program throughout the year, informed parents (through school newsletters), and assessed children’s attitudes towards both writing and letter writing at the beginning and end of the program. It was anticipated that the program would provide children with authentic writing experiences, foster positive attitudes towards writing, enhance their literacy skills, and in turn strengthen a “friendship culture” in the school by being coparticipants as readers and writers in the letter writing process. Data analysis indicated that children enjoyed the responsive letter writing process and that their self-perceptions as writers and their writing skills improved. Results support the introduction of an elementary school mailing program as a means to cultivate and strengthen positive relationships between pupils and invite family participation.     

Self-perceptions, motivation, and adjustment in children with learning disabilities: a multiple group comparison study

This study examined the self-perceptions, motivational orientations, and classroom adjustment of children with learning disabilities (LD), matched-IQ non-LD, randomly selected non-LD, and low achieving children. Elementary-age children (N = 148; 37 from each group) completed domain-specific measures of their self-concepts, perceptions of control, and motivation. Teachers rated children on motivational and competence indices and classroom behavioral adjustment. Comparisons among groups indicated that children with LD were lower in perceived cognitive competence and academic self-regulation relative to the nondisabled control groups, but were comparable to the low achieving children. Children with LD were most likely to perceive academic outcomes as controlled by powerful others. No group differences were found for general self-perceptions of control or competence. Teacher ratings of children with LD were more discrepant from those of comparison groups than were self-ratings of children with LD. The results suggest the need for matched-IQ and low achieving control groups in research on children with LD. The origin and role of both environmental inputs and self-perceptions in the adjustment of students with LD are discussed.     

Social withdrawal,observed peer acceptance,and the development of self-perceptions in children ages 4 to 7 years

Children who think poorly about themselves are considered at-risk for a myriad of negative outcomes. Thus, it is important to explore possible origins of such cognitions, particularly in young children. The purpose of this study was to examine the relations between various nonsocial behaviors (i.e., reticence and social withdrawal), observed peer acceptance at ages 4 and 7 years, and self-perceptions at age 7 years in both boys and girls, respectively.Participants included 163 children (89 females, 74 males) who were seen at age 4 and then again at age 7 years. For girls, results revealed that nonsocial behavior (both reticence and solitary-passive withdrawal) was negatively related to observed peer acceptance at both ages 4 and 7, and peer acceptance, as early as 4 years of age, was found to influence self-perceptions of competence at age 7 years. For boys, results revealed that (a) reticence at age 7 predicted negatively to perceived peer acceptance, perceived physical and perceived cognitive competence at age 7 years, (b) solitary-passive withdrawal at age 4 predicted positive cognitive self-perceptions at age 7, and (c) solitary-passive withdrawal at age 7 predicted negatively to perceived peer acceptance and perceived physical competence at age 7 years.     

Effects of formal support on mothers' adaptation to the hospital-to-home transition of high-risk infants: the benefits and costs of helping

94 mothers were randomly assigned to a control group or to a group who received a formal support program designed to aid their adaptation to the transition from hospital to home care of high-risk infants. Mothers' predischarge need for support and the severity of infants' predischarge medical problems moderated program effects assessed 6 months after NICU discharge. Positive effects of the program on mothers' sense of competence, perceived control, and responsiveness were evident for mothers who had needed the most support. But at low levels of need for support, participation in the program had negative effects on these outcomes. A similar pattern was found for the effects of the program on mothers' positive mood as a function of the severity of infants' medical problems. Secondary findings suggest why some mothers may benefit from formal support after NICU discharge and others may experience at least temporary disruptions in their adaptation from such support.     

A Longitudinal Investigation of the Influence of Literacy-related Skills,Reading Self-perceptions,and Inattentive Behaviours on the Development of Literacy Learning Difficulties

Although recent research favours a bidirectional relationship between reading problems and inattentive behaviours, the risk factors that set in motion these reciprocally interacting relations remain unclear. One hundred and fifty-two new school entrants who took part in a seven-year longitudinal study of literacy development were assessed on literacy-related skills, reading self-perceptions, behaviour problems, and literacy achievement. Results revealed highly consistent and relatively robust reciprocal relationships between literacy achievement and both inattentive behaviours and reading self-perceptions, but not between inattentive behaviours and reading self-perceptions. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that early reading problems are predictive of both inattentive behaviours and poor reading self-perceptions which become established and predict further impairments in reading in a reciprocally interacting manner over time.     

A motivational model of persistence in science education: A self-determination theory approach

The purpose of this study was to propose and test a motivational model of persistence in science education. The model posits that science teachers’ support of students’ autonomy positively influences students’ self-perceptions of autonomy and competence. These self-perceptions, in turn, have a positive impact on students’ self-determined motivation toward science which leads to their intentions to pursue science education and eventually work in a scientific domain. This model was tested with high school students (n=728). Results from univariate analyses of variance and from structural equation modeling analyses (with LISREL) were found to support the proposed model. In addition, a direct link was obtained between perceptions of competence and intentions to pursue a science education, indicating that higher levels of perceived competence predicted higher levels of persistence intentions. The present findings support Self-Determination Theory and open the way to future research from a motivational approach in this area.     

Academic Self-Perceptions and Academic Achievement in Chinese Children: A Multiwave Longitudinal Study

This study examined reciprocal contributions between academic self-perceptions and academic achievement. Data were collected each year in four consecutive years from a sample of children in China (initial N = 1,156; 581 boys; initial M_age = 9.33 years). Analyses using random intercept cross-lagged panel models revealed that the effects of academic achievement on self-perceptions tended to be more evident in lower grades and the effects of academic self-perceptions on achievement tended to be more evident in higher grades. Latent growth curve analyses showed that the initial level of academic self-perceptions and achievement moderated the growth of each other. The results indicate the contributions between academic self-perceptions and achievement that occur in a progressive cascading manner in Chinese children.     

Students' perceptions of communication ease and engagement. How they relate to academic success.

The extent to which students' self-perceptions of communication ease and engagement relate to their academic achievement was assessed in a study of 95 high school students enrolled in a large urban school for the deaf. Four dimensions of classroom communication were measured: students' understanding of teachers, students' understanding of peers, and positive and negative feelings about communication at school. Engagement, the extent students report being excited and actively involved in the classroom, predicted only teacher-assigned grades when the variance of background variables such as residual hearing and IQ was removed. However, communication ease made a significant contribution to the prediction of the three standardized achievement test scores, as well as grades, when background variance was removed. The results suggest that students are more likely to learn if they perceive themselves as being effective in communicating and have positive feelings about the communication that occurs.     

Social and dimensional comparison effects on academic self-concepts and self-perceptions of effort in elementary school children

By focusing on the domains of math and German, the present study with 200 elementary school children investigated the specific relationships of self-reported grades with academic self-concepts and self-perceptions of effort within the competence-affective separation of academic self-concepts. In addition, possible mediator effects of academic self-concepts were explored. In both domains, self-reported grades positively predicted academic self-concepts of corresponding domains, which, in turn, positively predicted self-perceptions of effort of corresponding domains. However, there were no negative cross-domain achievement effects on academic self-concepts and no negative cross-domain self-concept effects on self-perceptions of effort. Both academic self-concepts mediated the effects from self-reported grades to self-perceptions of effort in corresponding domains. This research indicates that children’s self-perceptions of effort can be inferred by their competence and affective self-concepts.

• Highlights

• Self-reported grades positively predict academic self-concepts of corresponding domains.

• Academic self-concepts positively predict self-perceptions of effort of corresponding domains.

• There are no negative cross-domain achievement effects on academic self-concepts and no cross-domain self-concept effects on self-perceptions of effort.

• Academic self-concepts mediate the effects from self-reported grades to self-perceptions of effort in corresponding domains.

     

Relations of Preschoolers' Social Acceptance to Peer Ratings and Self-Perceptions

To examine the relations of preschoolers' social acceptance to peer ratings and self-perceptions, 53 preschoolers were asked to rate how much they liked or disliked their peers and to justify these ratings. Preschoolers also rated their peers' aggressive, prosocial, and sociable behavior. Finally, they completed a pictorial self-perception scale that assessed their views of their physical competence and their relationships with mother and with peers. Children who were better liked by peers were rated as more prosocial, more sociable, and less aggressive than less liked children. Preschoolers often reported liking certain peers because they perceived that those peers liked them; they often reported disliking certain peers because they perceived those peers as aggressive. In contrast to findings with older children, preschoolers' social acceptance was not significantly related to any aspect of their self-perceptions. The results provide evidence for the validity of peer ratings by preschool-age children and bring up issues related to the development and assessment of self-perceptions among preschoolers.     

Relations of Preschoolers' Social Acceptance to Peer Ratings and Self-Perceptions

To examine the relations of preschoolers' social acceptance to peer ratings and self-perceptions, 53 preschoolers were asked to rate how much they liked or disliked their peers and to justify these ratings. Preschoolers also rated their peers' aggressive, prosocial, and sociable behavior. Finally, they completed a pictorial self-perception scale that assessed their views of their physical competence and their relationships with mother and with peers. Children who were better liked by peers were rated as more prosocial, more sociable, and less aggressive than less liked children. Preschoolers often reported liking certain peers because they perceived that those peers liked them; they often reported disliking certain peers because they perceived those peers as aggressive. In contrast to findings with older children, preschoolers' social acceptance was not significantly related to any aspect of their self-perceptions. The results provide evidence for the validity of peer ratings by preschool-age children and bring up issues related to the development and assessment of self-perceptions among preschoolers.     

The relation of beginning readers' reported word identification strategies to reading achievement,reading-related skills,and academic self-perceptions

Beginning readers' reported word identificationstrategies for identifying unfamiliar words intext were examined in relation to readingachievement, reading-related skills, andacademic self-perceptions. Children who wereparticipating in a three-year longitudinalstudy of reading acquisition in a wholelanguage instructional context were placed intwo groups according to their reported wordidentification strategies obtained towards theend of their first year of schooling. Resultsindicated that children who reported usingword-based strategies showed superior readingand reading-related performance, and reportedmore positive self-efficacy beliefs in readingand more positive academic self-concepts thanchildren who reported using text-basedstrategies. The results are discussed in termsof predictions stemming from the differenttheoretical assumptions about readingacquisition that underlie the code-emphasis andwhole language approaches to beginning readinginstruction.     

论勤工助学与大学生职业能力培养——以扬州某高校烹饪专业为例

勤工助学工作是高校开展助困工作的重要手段,也是学生深入社会、开阔眼界和锻炼能力的重要途径。调查表明,勤工助学对于大学生职业能力培养具有积极的促进作用,主要体现在教育引导,实践锻炼,对学生的专业素养、就业、创新等核心能力和综合能力的培养等方面。     

Teacher development and school improvement: The process of teacher change

The overall goal of the present study was to investigate the relationship between teacher success in implementing innovative programs, teacher perceptions of self-efficacy, and the teacher-perceived value of the programs. Using behavioral observations, interviews, and questionnaires, teachers' performance, self-perceptions, and attitudes were measured at several time points during the initial year of implementation of an innovative adaptive mainstreaming program. Significant increases were observed in both teachers' levels of success and their perceptions of self-efficacy. Moreover, the timing of the most significant improvements suggests a natural sequence of development leading from improvement in teacher implementation of an innovation to subsequent increases in their perceptions of self-efficacy.