The Impact of Pre‐school Children's Intelligence and Adjustment on their Parents’ Long‐term Educational Expectations

The present study set out to examine the role played by preschool children's intellectual and behavioural characteristics in their parents’ expectations for school performance. Preschool children who were expected by their parents to attend university were compared with those who were expected to leave school at the earliest opportunity. Children whose parents had lower expectations came from lower social classes and tended to be boys. The two groups differed in a number of other ways. The high expectations group tended to be more intelligent and less overactive. When the associations between expectations, sex and SES were controlled for, these differences persisted. The findings show that there is already an association between high educational expectations and educational advantage before children enter school. Educationalists should be cautious when developing policy on the basis of the assumption that the reported association between parental expectations and school achievement reflects the impact of expectations rather than the persistence of early acquired competence.     

Influence of Parents' Self-Feelings and Expectations on Children's Academic Performance

Abstract

The authors examined the degree to which parents' negative self-feelings affect the relationship between their educational attainment and the educational expectations they have for their adolescent children, as perceived by their children. In turn, they investigated the degree to which parents' negative self-feelings affect the relationship between their educational expectations for their adolescent children and the current academic achievement of those children. Results provide preliminary indications that parents' expectations for their children and the transmission of those expectations may be modified by how parents feel about themselves. Those modifying effects are explained in terms of both parents' and students' motivations and behaviors.     

Parent–Child Discrepancies in Educational Expectations: Differential Effects of Actual Versus Perceived Discrepancies

This study explored how discrepancies between parents' and adolescents' educational expectations influenced adolescents' achievement using a nationally representative, longitudinal sample of 14,041 students (14 years old at baseline). Actual discrepancies (i.e., those between parents' and adolescents' actual educational expectations) and perceived discrepancies (i.e., those between adolescents' perceptions of their parents' educational expectations and adolescents' own) were examined. Achievement was higher when parents actually held higher expectations than adolescents held or when adolescents perceived that their parents' expectations were lower than their own. In contrast, achievement was lower when parents actually held lower expectations than adolescents held or when adolescents believed that their parents' expectations exceeded their own. Implications for identifying adolescents at risk and promoting adaptive parent–child educational expectations are discussed.     

Parents' Role in Adolescents' Educational Expectations

The present study examined the extent to which mothers' and fathers' expectations for their offspring's future education, their level of education, and adolescents' academic achievement predict adolescents' educational expectations. To investigate this, 230 adolescents were examined twice while they were in comprehensive school (in the 7th and 9th grades). Their parents also filled in questionnaires at the same time points. The results showed that high parental expectations concerning their offspring's future education predicted high educational expectations among adolescents and they became more similar in the 9th grade compared to 7th grade. Parents' high level of education predicted both mothers' and adolescents' high level of educational expectations in the 7th grade, which then contributed to adolescents' high expectations in 9th grade.     

The Image of a Teachers College as Seen by High-School Counselors

Abstract

Using national data, the author examined the influence of family and parenting variables on expectations regarding education. Demographic, family, and parenting variables were reported by adolescents and parents while the adolescents were seniors in high school, and educational expectations were reported by adolescents 2 years beyond high school. Socioeconomic status (SES) was most strongly related to educational expectations. Adolescents' perceptions of parents' personal involvement and parents' reports of their own behavior were both related to educational expectations. Also, both seemed to interact with SES. Variables quantifying the affective dimension of family relationships were only weakly related to educational expectations.     

Developmental trajectories of children's educational expectations in China: Contributions of academic achievement and maternal expectations

This longitudinal study examined the overall and heterogeneous developmental trajectories of children's educational expectations and the effects of children’'s previous academic achievements and maternal educational expectations on these trajectories. The educational expectations of 3868 Chinese children (1839 girls; M_age = 9.42 ± 0.52) were investigated six times from the 4th to 6th grades. Children's previous academic achievement and maternal educational expectations were also collected during the first wave. The results showed that Chinese children's educational expectations generally increased in middle childhood and could be categorized into four classes: high stable-increasing, low stable-increasing, low quickly-increasing, and high quickly-decreasing. Furthermore, maternal educational expectations have the greatest influence on the initial level of children's educational expectations, whereas previous academic achievement has the greatest impact on the increasing rate of children's expectations. In addition, both factors contribute to classifying children into a high-stable increasing class in comparison to the other three classes. The findings indicate that Chinese children increase their educational expectations in middle childhood and continually adapt their expectations mainly based on their previous achievements. These findings could advance our understanding of the development of children’s educational expectations in the middle childhood period and provide educational practitioners with prospective factors to increase children’s educational expectations.     

Longitudinal Pathways From Math Intrinsic Motivation and Achievement to Math Course Accomplishments and Educational Attainment

Abstract

Across 20 years, pathways from math intrinsic motivation and achievement (ages 9–17) to high school math course accomplishments and educational attainment (age 29) were analyzed. Academic intrinsic motivation was the theoretical foundation. To determine how initial status and change in motivation and achievement related to course accomplishments and educational attainment, a latent curve model was fit to data from the Fullerton Longitudinal Study. Levels of motivation and achievement at 9 had positive, direct, and mutually indirect paths to course accomplishments. Dual declines in motivation and achievement related to course accomplishments, directly for achievement, and indirectly for motivation via achievement. Greater decline corresponded to fewer course accomplishments which in turn predicted, and served as a mediator to educational attainment. Implications are discussed.     

The Relationship of Family Variables to Head Start Children's Preacademic Competence

This study was conducted with a sample of 93 Head Start children and their mothers. It examined the contribution of family variables (i.e., parenting style, home literacy activities, maternal school involvement, and maternal expectations) to children's preacademic competence as defined by four criteria: (a) performance on a standardized achievement battery; (b) teachers' ratings of children's cognitive competence; (c) children's self-ratings of competence; and (d) maternal reports of children's early school adjustment. In exploring these relationships the study controlled for the influence of variables (i.e., child and maternal cognitive variables, child sex, as well as risk due to daily stress) that have been suggested to influence directly, or indirectly, maternal involvement and child competence. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that educational expectations, home literacy variables, and school involvement were predictive of children's competence even after accounting for the effects of maternal education, child IQ, and daily stress. Specifically, maternal educational expectations were predictive of preacademic achievement and teacher-rated competence. Maternal engagement in educational activities at home was predictive of children's self-efficacy beliefs and school adjustment. Maternal school involvement was also predictive of school adjustment.     

ARE GRADUATES OF BACHELOR'S DEGREE PROGRAMS IN GERONTOLOGY EMPLOYED? A REPORT OF A NATIONAL SURVEY

Educators and potential students have questioned the employability of gerontology graduates from the increasing number of educational programs in this field in the United States. This study sought to determine the employment of bachelor's degree gerontology graduates, as well as their reaction to their curricula. A national sample of 303 graduates from 17 of the 20 colleges and universities offering bachelor's degrees in gerontology responded to a questionnaire on employment and curriculum needs. Results indicated the majority are employed. Graduates believe they acquired their jobs because they had a degree in gerontology and that a bachelor's degree in gerontology, in contrast to some other degrees, was valuable to their career. There is evidence of needed curriculum additions, especially in the area of business management and related skills. Salary levels representing different areas of employment are summarized. It was concluded that these graduates evidenced a wide variety of career opportunities and if choosing again would repeat their degree choice in gerontology.     

The Present Status and Significance of Manuscript Writing

Abstract

Teachers’ expectations as they relate to student achievement outcomes have received much research attention. Student expectations for their own achievement have not. Noninduced student expectations for their individual achievement, and for male and female differential achievement, in mathematics classes were assessed for 698 eighth grade students. Expectations were measured early in the school year via written self-report. Student ability level was also ascertained and controlled. Individual achievement expectations were found to relate to students’ subsequent achievement across criterion variables and times of the year.     

Do parental attitudes toward and expectations for their children's education and future jobs matter for their children's school achievement?

The traditional discourse in the scholarship on cultural capital theory has focused on how exclusive participation in elite status culture by students from higher socioeconomic status families benefits their learning in schools, the effects of which are most evident in linguistic subject areas such as reading achievement. However, some scholars have argued that cultural capital is not restricted to elite status culture but could include parental familiarity with school evaluation standards and job market requirements, and that the effects could transcend languages to include performance domains with more objective evaluation that are susceptible to school influences (e.g. mathematics and science). The present study systematically examines this position using data involving 96,591 15‐year‐old students from 3602 schools in eight countries who participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment 2012. Results of three‐level hierarchical linear modelling showed positive relationships between seven cultural capital variables and student mathematics achievement. The cultural variables comprised: home educational resources; parental educational attainment and occupational status; parental expectations of their children's educational attainment, future career in mathematics and school; and parental valuing of mathematics. In particular, the three parental expectations variables had substantively larger effect sizes on student achievement than the other cultural capital variables. The results demonstrated that parental familiarity with school evaluation standards and future job requirements, especially as measured by parental expectations, may constitute cultural capital that privileges student mathematics achievement in schools.     

Context of academic achievement: lessons from Hong Kong

Vygotsky speculated that parents play an important role in the intellectual development of their children, and that this role includes the transfer of expectations related to their children's academic achievement. Consequently, different parents can produce different contexts of academic achievement for their children. The participants were 215 Primary 5 and 6 students from four primary schools in Hong Kong, and their parents. Students were administered a test of working memory and their academic achievement was indicated by their school‐assessed mathematics and language achievement scores. Parents reported their expectations of their children's academic achievement, the extent of their home and school involvement, and their educational and income levels. Correlational and sequential regression analyses showed that different schools yielded different contexts of academic achievement. The results support the hypothesis that parents, and especially parental expectations, play an important role in children's academic achievement, and that within Hong Kong different schools can be characterised by different contexts of achievement.     

Heterogeneous paths through college: Detailed patterns and relationships with graduation and earnings

A considerable fraction of college students and bachelor's degree recipients enroll in multiple postsecondary institutions. Despite this fact, there is scant research that examines the nature of the paths – both the number and types of institutions – that students take to obtain a bachelor's degree or through the higher education system more generally. We also know little about how enrollment in multiple institutions of varying quality relates to postgraduate life outcomes. We use a unique panel data set from Texas that allows us to examine in detail the paths that students take toward a bachelor's degree and estimate how enrollment in multiple institutions is related to both degree completion and subsequent earnings. We show that the paths to a bachelor's degree are diverse and that earnings and BA receipt vary systematically with these paths. Our results call attention to the importance of developing a more complete understanding of why students transfer and what causal role transferring has on the returns to postsecondary educational investment.     

The existence and impact of floor effects for low-performing PISA participants

ABSTRACT

Modern international studies of educational achievement have grown in terms of participating educational systems. Accompanying this development is an increase in heterogeneity, as more and different kinds of educational systems take part. This growth has been particularly pronounced among low-performing, less economically developed systems. Although studies such as PISA have made modifications to account for increased diversity, the degree to which international assessments serve educational systems at the lower ends of the achievement continuum is understudied. We used modified Wright maps and PISA’s definition of proficiency to evaluate the fitness of PISA, especially among low performers. Our findings suggest that there is mismatch between some populations and PISA. Results from a simulation show that such disparities produced biased achievement estimates and correlations with policy relevant variables. Projected PISA growth and new instantiations of PISA, particularly geared toward developing educational systems, make these findings timely and especially relevant.     

Through Student Eyes: Perceptions and Aspirations of Students from the Armenian State Agrarian University and Selected European Universities

Abstract

This research compared attributes of students enrolled in the Armenian State Agrarian University (ASAU) with university students from 30 European countries (EFMD) about graduate study policy issues. A cross-national comparative design used a survey questionnaire to explore contextual, social and cultural phenomena. Samples included 801 ASAU and 3,265 EFMD students. Demographics of samples were similar. Students were largely unaware of the Bologna reforms and the impact on study abroad. Slightly more than half of EFMD participants were in a bachelor's programme compared to 96% of ASAU students. ASAU students held a more pragmatic rationale for foreign study, ranking ‘advancing professional careers’ as the top reason, while EFMD students chose ‘overall experience’. Obstacles included bureaucracy, funding and accommodations. Although groups had similar geographical preferences for foreign study, Eastern Europe was more preferred by ASAU students. Half of the EFMD students planned graduate enrollment ‘immediately following the degree’ compared to one-quarter of ASAU students. Half of the EFMD students were aware of mobility scholarships compared to three-quarters of ASAU students. One in two EFMD students reported university media rankings important compared to one in seven ASAU students.

The Bologna Declaration accelerated horizontal collaboration among European universities. Students have a larger collective voice in curriculum change. The findings of this research provide a better understanding of student aspirations, motivations, expectations and barriers. These findings can contribute to guiding policies and procedures for recruitment, admission, retention and mobility.     

No Downturn Here: Tracking E‐business Programs in Higher Education*

As the fortunes of e‐businesses fluctuate, what is the state of e‐business educational offerings? The present study attempted to explore this question by investigating the number and nature of e‐business programs available in colleges and universities. Results were compared to previously published findings on e‐business education. Data were collected from program web sites. Master's and bachelor's degree programs based in North America and elsewhere in the world were examined. Despite the “dot‐bomb” economy, the present data suggested large increases in all foreign and North American bachelor's programs between the start of the fall semester of 2000 and November 2001. The number of North American master's programs appeared to increase dramatically during the year 2000 and at a lesser rate afterward. Findings also suggested that bachelor's and foreign master's programs involved more technical e‐business courses than the North American master's programs. The educational and economic factors possibly underlying these trends are discussed.     

Project Proficiency: Assessing the Independent Effects of High School Reform in an Urban District

ABSTRACT.

The authors sought to determine if an urban school district's effort to fundamentally change teaching, assessment, and intervention practices increased student achievement and decreased achievement variation among classrooms in 11 high schools. They examined Grade 11 mathematics achievement data from the 2009–2010 and 2010–2011 Kentucky Core Content Test. The sample consisted of 2,451 students in 11 high schools that implemented an initiative called Project Proficiency. The study used hierarchical linear modeling to determine if changes in instructional practices yielded academic gains, while controlling for individual and school socioeconomic status (SES) and prior student achievement. The analysis revealed that Project Proficiency had a significant impact on state mathematics achievement and reduced classroom variation by 55% in the final model, as opposed to 16% in the control group. Results also indicated that a school's SES had a greater influence on student achievement than an individual student's SES.     

Educational research and reform: Some implications for the professional identity of early years teachers

Abstract

This paper examines the way in which recent criticisms of the work of primary school teachers in Britain, most notably those entailed in and following the publication of the so‐called ‘Three Wise Men's Report’, have attempted to redefine the professional identity of early years teachers. The paper objects to the manner in which their critiques have been formulated and calls upon educational researchers to adopt a less reverential attitude to government proposals for the reform of primary education in general and early years schooling in particular.