An Experiment in the Teaching of General Psychology

Abstract

This study involves investigation of the relationships between a number of sociological background variables (including general categories of Social Class, Family Structure, Sibling Structure, and Religion) and school achievement at various periods in the child's academic career. The twelve achievement variables were organized into categories of Intelligence, Objective Achievement, Early Citizenship, High School Achievement, and After School Aspirations. The data was obtained from school files for 663 high-school graduates in a Midwestern city.

Using a regression analysis, significant relationships between sociological variables and achievement were examined. Each relationship was further investigated with the variables of socio-economic status and intelligence held constant in order to eliminate the effects of these two well-known predictive variables.     

PREDICTING MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT: THE INFLUENCE OF PRIOR ACHIEVEMENT AND ATTITUDES

Achievement in mathematics is inextricably linked to future career opportunities, and therefore, understanding those factors that influence achievement is important. This study sought to examine the relationships among attitude towards mathematics, ability and mathematical achievement. This examination was also supported by a focus on gender effects. By drawing on a sample of Australian secondary school students, it was demonstrated through the results of a multivariate analysis of variance that females were more likely to hold positive attitudes towards mathematics. In addition, the predictive capacity of prior achievement and attitudes towards mathematics on a nationally recognised secondary school mathematics examination was shown to be large (R ²  =  0.692). However, when these predictors were controlled, the influence of gender was non-significant. Moreover, a structural equation model was developed from the same measures and subsequent testing indicated that the model offered a reasonable fit of the data. The positing and testing of this model signifies growth in the Australian research literature by showing the contribution that ability (as measured by standardised test results in numeracy and literacy) and attitude towards mathematics play in explaining mathematical achievement in secondary school. The implications of these results for teachers, parents and other researchers are then considered.     

Motivation for School Achievement: Measurement and Validation

Abstract

An objective instrument for assessment of motivation for school learning is reported along with evidence of its validity. Rural ninth-grade students in Appalachian Kentucky constituted the sample for studying relation, ships among variables of school motivation, willingness to compete, and achievement in reading, mathematics, and language. Students in general mathematics and in algebra classes were asked to volunteer for an academic type of contest. Later the mean motivation score of volunteers exceeded the mean for non-volunteers significant at the .01 level of confidence. Algebra students’ mean motivation score was significantly higher than the mean for general mathematics students (P > .001). Three months after the motivation scores were obtained scores on the California Achievement Test were collected. Product-moment correlations between motivation scores and achievement scores ranged from .604 to .718.

Although other writers have reported correlations between objective measures of motivation and teachers’ marks, no previous correlations with achievement test results could be found for comparison. Correlations with GPA’s tend to be in the range .32 to .55 which is considerably below the range resulting from this study. Data collected in this project supported hypotheses that the objective measure of school motivation would predict levels of utility for competition and achievement. It is concluded that for the sample of students involved the test presented is reliable and has validity for the prediction of willingness to try and levels of achievement as measured by a standardized test.     

Achievement motivation revisited: new longitudinal data to demonstrate its predictive power

During recent decades, the classical one‐dimensional concept of achievement motivation has become less popular among motivation researchers. This study aims to revive the concept by demonstrating its predictive power using longitudinal data from two cohort samples, each with 20,000 Dutch secondary school students. Two measures of achievement motivation were constructed on the basis of Hermans' Achievement Motivation Test for Children. Results showed that these measures predicted later educational attainment and achievement, and were related to movements in educational career. Our measures of achievement motivation showed a certain stability over time; this stability decreased, however, with the length of the interval between measurements. In addition, a consistent decrease of motivation with age was found.     

Situational Referents of an Academic Setting and Locus of Control

The study was designed to answer the following questions: whether the various situational influences of the school environment were perceived differentially by the student with regard to his locus of control, and which situational influence was most related to the academic achievement of the student? These questions were answered by administering the Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Questionnaire and two achievement tests to 1192 sixth and seventh grade students. Results indicated that those referents which were most perceptually distinct were parents/ teachers, peer/others, and achievement situations in which the tasks or goals were well defined. Overall, the situational influences most related to achievement were those which referenced parents, parental interaction, or the home environment.     

Equalization of the Burden of Capital Outlay in a State’s Minimum Educational Program

ABSTRACT

The author aimed to investigate the variability in science achievement as a function of student-, school- and country-level factors. Achievement scores of 134,123 eighth-grade students from 4,511 schools of 29 countries who participated in the 2007 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study were analyzed. Multilevel modeling results showed that science achievement was driven largely by student-level factors. Students scored higher when they had more self-confidence in learning science, came from home with a higher level of family background, were boys, spent less time on nonacademic activities, and did job at home. Schools averaged higher when they had positive school climate, were located in urban areas, and there was no problem with attendance at school and shortages in resources for science instruction.     

Influence of Cost and Demographic Factors on Reading Achievement

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if selected noninstructional variables affect the reading achievement of fourth-grade students in Arkansas. Data for 332 of the state's 333 school districts for the 1986-87 school year were analyzed. The relationships between achievement of students, as measured by the Metropolitan Achievement Test-6 (MAT-6) and eight variables were analyzed. Four variables studied had significant relationships to fourth-grade reading scores, as measured by the MAT-6. The percentage of minority students and the percentage of students eligible for free or reduced lunches had negative relationships. The percentage of staff holding master’s degrees or above and the relative wealth of the school districts had positive relationships.     

How an inquiry-based classroom lesson intervenes in science efficacy,career-orientation and self-determination

ABSTRACT

Three subscales of the ‘Science Motivation Questionnaire II’ (SMQII; motivational components: career motivation, self-efficacy and self-determination), with 4 items each, were applied to a sample of 209 secondary school students to monitor the impact of a 3-hour structured inquiry lesson. Four testing points (before, immediately after, 6 and 12 weeks after) were applied. The modified SMQII was factor-analyzed at each testing cycle and the structure confirmed. Only self-determination was shown to be influenced by an inquiry course, while self-efficacy and career motivation did not. Only self-efficacy and career motivation were intercorrelated and also correlated with science subject grades and subsequent achievement. Implications for using the modified SMQII subscales for research and teaching in secondary school are discussed.     

Effects of Cooperative Learning on Achievement and Attitude Among Students of Color

Abstract

The author examined the effects of cooperative learning on the achievement in and attitudes toward mathematics of a group of 5th-grade students of color in a culture different from the United States (i.e., Bermuda). Students participated in 12 weeks of R. Slavin's (1978) Student Teams Achievement Division method of cooperative learning in mathematics during the fall semester. Students completed 2 measures: the computation and application sections of the California Achievement Test (1985) Form E (Level 14) and Penelope Peterson's Attitude Toward Mathematics Scale for Grades 4-6 Students at 4 different intervals. The measures were completed as pretests at the beginning of the semester (before students were exposed to cooperative learning) and as posttests at the end of Weeks 5, 9, and 13. Data were analyzed with a 1-factor (4 levels) repeated measures analysis of variance design to ascertain whether there were significant differences among the pre- and posttest scores. Results suggest that there were positive gains in attitudes and achievement.     

Experiences of violence and deficits in academic achievement among urban primary school children in Jamaica

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to examine the relationship between children's experiences of three different types of violence and academic achievement among primary school children in Kingston, Jamaica.MethodsA cross-sectional study of 1300 children in grade 5 [mean (S.D.) age: 11 (0.5) years] from 29 government primary schools in urban areas of Kingston and St. Andrew, Jamaica, was conducted. Academic achievement (mathematics, reading, and spelling) was assessed using the Wide Range Achievement Test. Children's experiences of three types of violence – exposure to aggression among peers at school, physical punishment at school, and exposure to community violence – were assessed by self-report using an interviewer administered questionnaire.ResultsFifty-eight percent of the children experienced moderate or high levels of all three types of violence. Boys had poorer academic achievement and experienced higher levels of aggression among peers and physical punishment at school than girls. Children's experiences of the three types of violence were independently associated with all three indices of academic achievement. There was a dose–response relationship between children's experiences of violence and academic achievement with children experiencing higher levels of violence having the poorest academic achievement and children experiencing moderate levels having poorer achievement than those experiencing little or none.ConclusionsExposure to three different types of violence was independently associated with poor school achievement among children attending government, urban schools in Jamaica. Programs are needed in schools to reduce the levels of aggression among students and the use of physical punishment by teachers and to provide support for children exposed to community violence.Practice implicationsChildren in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean experience significant amounts of violence in their homes, communities, and schools. In this study, we demonstrate a dose–response relationship between primary school children's experiences of three different types of violence and their academic achievement. The study points to the need for validated violence prevention programs to be introduced in Jamaican primary schools. Such programs need to train teachers in appropriate classroom management and discipline strategies and to promote children's social and emotional competence and prevent aggression.     

An Investigation of the Relationship between Recognized Problems of Adolescents and School Achievement

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to provide statistical evidence to support the assumption that adolescents have personal and social problems which affect their school achievement. 217 eighth and ninth grade students from the Shawnee Mission Public Schools, Shawnee Mission, Kansas were given the Mooney Problems Check Lists and the SRA Achievement Series in September, 1964. Coefficients of correlation were then computed between the seven areas and a composite score of the Mooney and the ten subtest scores of the SRA. The statistical analysis revealed an inverse relationship between the number of problems reported on the Mooney and the student achievement scores as reported by the SRA. The relationship was statistically significant at the .01 level of confidence.     

Junior Primary in the Van Dyke Level Plan

Abstract

Attitudes toward school subjects were explored in a group of sixth graders. First, correlations were obtained between ratings of school subjects on the Semantic Differential (SD) and scores on corresponding subtests of the SRA Achievement Series. Significant positive correlations (p < .01) were observed for boys in social studies, arithmetic, and reading and for girls in reading. Second, achievement at the end of the year was predicted from IQ, achievement and SD scores at the beginning of the year. SD ratings contributed significantly to predictions only in the case of arithmetic for boys (p < .01). Third, SD ratings of school subjects at the beginning and end of the year were compared by an anlysis of variance procedure. For both boys and girls, attitudes were significantly less favorable for most subjects at the end of the year.     

Relationship between sociometric types and academic achievement in a sample of compulsory secondary education students / Relación entre tipos sociométricos y rendimiento académico en una muestra de estudiantes de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyse the relationship between sociometric types, behavioural categories and academic achievement in a sample of 1,349 compulsory secondary education students (51.7% boys), ranging in age from 12 to 16 years. The students’ sociometric identification was performed by using the Programa Socio and academic performance was measured by school marks provided by teachers in the subjects of Spanish language, mathematics and average academic performance. The results show that sociometric types were significant predictors of academic achievement, as students who were rated positively by their peers (popular, leaders, collaborators and good students) were more likely to have high academic achievement (in mathematics, Spanish language and average academic achievement) than students rated negatively by peers (rejected-aggressive, rejected-shy, neglected and bullies).     

Motivational interference in school-leisure conflict and learning outcomes: The differential effects of two value conceptions

It was hypothesized that students' value orientations are connected to their experience of motivational interference in a conflict between a school- and a leisure-related activity as well as to school marks as indicators of learning outcomes. In a self-report study with Italian adolescents (N = 433; M = 14.5 years) using a school-leisure conflict scenario, first, the relations between the 10 values introduced by Schwartz and the Inglehart-based Achievement and Well-being value orientations were investigated. Correlations and multidimensional scaling analysis showed overlaps as well as differences between the two sets of value variables. Regression analyses revealed that the Schwartz values were significantly related to the experience of motivational interference during studying and during leisure as well as to school marks. The inclusion of Achievement and Well-being value orientations explained additional variance of the three dependent variables. The relevance of individual values in explaining students' reactions to motivational conflicts is highlighted.     

Achievement in the first 2 years of school: patterns and processes

How successfully children adapt to the routine of schooling in the first grade or two likely has long-term implications for their cognitive and affective development. This study aims to understand how home and school factors either facilitate or impede this process of adaptation by examining longitudinal data on cognitive performance for a large and diverse sample of youngsters over grades 1 and 2 in Baltimore City Public Schools. Report-card marks in reading and mathematics and scores on verbal and quantitative subtests of the California Achievement Test (CAT) battery over the 2-year period are the achievement criteria. The analysis directs attention to some of the social-structural (socioeconomic background, gender, and minority/majority status) and social-psychological (significant others and self-reactions) factors that shape youngsters' development during this period, as measured by changes in their cognitive standing. Racial comparisons (black youngsters vs. white) and comparisons by school year (first vs. second) highlight some key differences in the transition to full-time schooling. We find more numerous social-structural and social-psychological influences on CAT gains over the first year than over the second, and fall to spring stability in testing levels is more pronounced in the second year than in the first. This pattern identifies the first year of schooling as a period of considerable consequence for shaping subsequent achievement trajectories, and, for this reason, it may be especially important as a key to understanding black-white achievement differences. Minority and majority youngsters in this sample began school with similar CAT averages, but, by the end of the first year, blacks' performances lagged noticeably behind those of whites, and the cleavage widened over the second year. Blacks also received lower report-card marks than whites. This, along with smaller CAT gains, reveals that the transition to school is more problematic for blacks than it is for whites. We also observed stronger persistence of blacks' marks from one period to the next, indicating that recovering from these initial difficulties is more challenging. Social-psychological aspects of these early achievement patterns also differ by race in important ways: blacks' achievements are less influenced by parent variables than are those of whites, and black youngsters' self-expectations are less affected by the expectations held for them by their parents than are those of whites. These results and others are discussed in terms of their implications for students' development and for what they reveal about social structure in relation to the early schooling process.     

Learning Segregation in Junior High‐Schools in Israel: Causes and Consequences

ABSTRACT

Implementation of educational integration policy in Israel creates heterogeneous student compositions in the schools. Principals and teachers who, as a result, confront instructional difficulties, and who are ambiguous about this policy and its expected efficacy, press to counter‐balance this heterogeneity by resegregating students within the school in ability‐based classes. In this paper we deal with three inter‐related topics:

1. the degree of learning segregation within integrated junior high schools in Israel;

2. several factors which may explain the degree of learning segregation; (3) the effect of learning segregation on academic outcomes: achievement (in reading and science) and subsequent school career (student placement in high school track).

In doing so, we clarify an aspect of the school principal's role and his or her indirect effect on students learning. Principals have a decisive power in the organization of learning frameworks (class structure, ability grouping etc.) within the school. Their ideas and convictions about the efficacy of integration affect the actual practices of class organization in the school. This, in turn, has an effect on learning processes within the class and evetually on students’ academic outcomes, especially on those from the weaker group.     

Normative achievement assessment of gifted children: Comparing the K-ABC,WRAT, and CAT

The Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) purports to assess fluid and crystallized intelligence via processing and achievement subtests, respectively. Eight K-ABC Mental Processing and five K-ABC Achievement subtests were administered to 41 gifted students. Scores were subsequently compared to concurrent achievement measures from the California Achievement Test (CAT), as well as previously obtained mental ability measures (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised [WISC-R], Stanford-Binet [SB], and Wide Range Achievement Test [WRAT] achievement scores). In general, K-ABC mental ability scores were lower than WISC-R and SB IQs. K-ABC achievement scores were consistent with K-ABC mental ability scores, but more highly related to SB and WISC-R VIQ (r = .42 and .40, respectively) than to WISC-R FSIQ (r = .16) and PIQ (r = .09), or to the K-ABC Mental Processing (Composite r = .17), Simultaneous Processing (r = .08), and Sequential Processing scores (r = .20). With the exception of WRAT Word Recognition, WRAT, K-ABC, and CAT achievement scores were similar. The patterns of intercorrelations suggest that the K-ABC achievement scores are more verbally loaded than are the CAT and WRAT achievement measures.     

School Size Effects on Achievement in Secondary Education Evidence from the Netherlands,Sweden and the USA 1

ABSTRACT

In this article the results of an investigation into the relation between school size and achievement are reported. The findings relate to mathematics achievement in Dutch, Swedish and American secondary education and to science achievement in the Netherlands. The analyses sought to provide an answer to the following questions:

(1) Is school size related to achievement independently of student background characteristics such as sex, achievement motivation, socio‐economic status and cognitive aptitude? (2) Is the effect of school size related to any of the aforementioned background characteristics? (3) Does the effect of school size on achievement differ between the educational systems of the Netherlands, Sweden and the USA? (4) Is the effect of school size the same for different measures of student achievement (mathematics versus science)?

It was hypothesized that school size would be most strongly related to achievement in the USA. The analyses, however, revealed little empirical evidence for the existence of school size effects on achievement in any of the three countries, possibly because school size and curriculum comprehensiveness are not strongly related in these countries.

Because the investigations involved the analysis of five separate datasets, the research outcomes revealed some useful additional information with respect to the robustness of the detected relations between the five covariates and student achievement.

     

Middle school behavioral profiles of antisocial and at‐risk control boys: Descriptive and predictive outcomes

Abstract

In this investigation we report two studies of the school behavior adjustment status of two groups of middle school‐age boys—an antisocial group (N = 39) and an at‐risk control group (N = 41). In study one, we compared the two groups on a series of behavioral measures across grades five, six, and seven that included (1) teacher ratings of social skills, (2) classroom observations, (3) playground observations, and (4) school archival records. Results indicated extremely problematic behavioral profiles for the antisocial subjects and much more favorable profiles for the at‐risk control students. The behavioral profiles for the two groups appeared to be quite consistent and stable across the middle school years with the exception that several variables (social skills ratings, attendance, math achievement, and school discipline contacts) tended to show gradually increasing negative trends for the antisocial subjects. In the second study, we used a series of selected fifth‐grade variables, derived from the four major clusters of study measures, as predictors in regression analyses of subjects' status on a series of seventh‐grade criterion measures of school success or failure. The criterion measures predicted in these analyses were reading and math achievement, school discipline contacts, attendance, and time spent within a nonregular classroom. There were low multiple Rs for reading achievement and time spent in a nonregular classroom setting. The multiple Rs for math achievement, school discipline contacts, and attendance were moderate to moderately high.     

Vocational knowledge in rural children: A study of individual differences and predictors of occupational aspirations and expectations

Few studies have identified individual differences in vocational knowledge or its association with career aspirations or expectations of children. We investigated whether individual differences in grade, gender, academic achievement, and SES predict levels of vocational knowledge, and further examined the relationship between vocational knowledge and career aspirations and expectations. Children in the fourth through seventh grades (N = 132) from two rural school districts were administered measures of vocational knowledge, expectations, and aspirations. The results of this study suggest no differences in vocational knowledge in groups differing in grade, gender, and SES; however, academic achievement was a significant predictor of vocational knowledge. Moreover, results of regression analysis demonstrated that vocational knowledge adds significantly to the prediction of career aspirations and expectations. These results contribute to the emerging literature exploring mechanisms involved in the career development of rural children.