The roles of perceived parental expectation and criticism in adolescents’ multidimensional perfectionism and achievement goals

Perfectionism consists of personal predispositions and attitudes toward performance. Although there is some disagreement in the field regarding how to best define and measure perfectionism, most studies have supported a distinction between adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism. The current study examines a model in which students’ perceptions of parents’ standards and criticism are proposed as antecedents of multidimensional perfectionism, which in turn are hypothesised to be associated with types of academic achievement goal orientations. The sample consisted of 256 high school students who completed questionnaires assessing adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism, perceptions of their parents and personal achievement goals. Structural equation modelling supported the hypotheses suggesting that high parental standards are positively associated with the adaptive perfectionist characteristic of self-organised perception, which in turn are associated with a mastery goal orientation. Parental criticism predicted the maladaptive perfectionist characteristic of concern over mistakes, which in turn was found associated with a performance-avoidance goal orientation.     

Validating ‘optimizing’ concepts: the importance of personal resolve,effective functioning,and academic striving

Abstract

Capitalising on current research progress, we explored via means of structural equation modelling (SEM), the operational nature of three newly developed optimising concepts: personal resolve, effective functioning, and academic striving. We conceptualised self-efficacy as a source of origin, and effort expenditure and motivation towards learning as adaptive outcomes of the three mentioned concepts. Correlational responses from Taiwanese university students (N?=?1010) affirmed our hypothesis regarding the operational nature of personal resolve, effective functioning, and academic striving – for example – (i) self-efficacy as a source of origin of personal resolve, effective functioning, and academic striving, and (ii) the effects of personal resolve and academic striving on effort, and the effects of effective functioning and academic striving on motivation towards learning. This significant evidence, overall, contributes to the study of optimal achievement best.     

中学生学习压力、成就目标与学业成绩的关系研究

运用问卷对686名中学生进行调查,探索学习压力、成就目标与学业成绩的关系。结果发现：对于掌握目标组,掌握目标对学业成绩起正向直接作用,学习压力起负向直接作用,成绩目标通过学习压力对学业成绩起负向间接作用。对于成绩目标组,成绩目标通过学习压力对学业成绩存在间接消极作用,掌握目标通过学习压力对学业成绩存在间接积极作用。     

Longitudinal associations of student–teacher relationships and behavioural and emotional strengths on academic achievement

Positive student–teacher relationships are related to students’ academic achievement and behavioural and emotional adjustment. How a student’s behavioural and emotional strengths are associated with these relationships and how the relationships influence students’ academic performance remains unknown. We examined this framework using a cross-lagged panel model with a group of Finnish students and their parents from Grade 5 to Grade 7. The results revealed that the parents rated behavioural and emotional strengths are stable over a 1-year (r = .78) and 2-year (r = .71) period and that students’ perceptions of student–teacher relationships demonstrated greater change over time (r’s = .54, .35). Behavioural and emotional strengths demonstrated a positive relationship with student–teacher relationships as well as academic achievement (β = .39, p < .01). Strengths were also indirectly associated with academic achievement via student–teacher relationships. Study limitations, implications and future research are discussed.     

高中学业水平测试：困境与解析

高中学业水平测试如果不与高考挂钩,各高中学校对此不会有太多重视,教学会集中精力于高考科目;如果与高考挂钩,却又被过度＂重视＂而加剧应试之风,影响正常教学。比较发达国家学业成就评价改革的理论与实践研究成果,或许可为解决此两难困境、为学业水平测试的正确走向提供一些借鉴。     

School-Level Environment and Student Outcomes in Mathematics

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a relationship exists between school-level environment and student outcomes. The study involved 620 teachers and 4645 students from 57 Australian secondary schools. Student outcome measures included mathematics achievement, career aspirations and students' attitudes and beliefs about success in mathematics. Teachers' perceptions of their school environment were measured using the School-Level Environment Questionnaire (SLEQ). Because previous research has shown that factors at the school level, such as environment, influence education at the classroom level, data regarding the instructional practices of teachers were included in the analysis in order to investigate this further. The results of these analyses show that various factors of the school-level environment were linked to improved student outcomes. Relationships were also found between teaching practices and student outcomes. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The impact of training students how to write introductions for academic essays: an exploratory,longitudinal study

Successful academic writing requires strong command of the rhetorical moves that orient the reader to the theme and substantive material of an academic essay. Effective control of the introduction leads to better overall writing. The goal of this study was to devise and evaluate a pedagogy for teaching the writing of academic essay introductions. The study employed a pre-, post-, and delayed post-test design in a single university student learning site. Student writing was scored on eight aspects related to (1) structure and content and (2) style. Confirmatory factor analysis reduced the eight scores aggregated into the two scales. A single two-hour workshop increased the participants’ (n = 87) performance in the rhetorical structure and content of their introductions, but not the style. A longitudinal model (n = 20) using three sets of parcelled scores showed that the structure and content of the introduction positively predicted the grade awarded by the student’s faculty. Direct instruction in writing introductions, through a relatively short, low-cost, genre-based training programme, appears to achieve significant student learning.     

Statistics,Sound Bites,and School Uniforms: A Reply to Bodine

Abstract

It is refreshing to observe another scholar engaging the important and timely question of the effects of school uniforms on academic achievement. The extant literature is largely anecdotal, often methodologically flawed, unpublished, or published without peer review, and sometimes funded by uniform supply companies.¹ A. Bodine's (2003) “School Uniforms, Academic Achievement, and Uses of Research,” however, adds little information to increase empirical and substantive knowledge of the effectiveness of uniforms in U.S. schools. In response, the authors (a) clarified the intent and contribution of their original study (D. L. Brunsma & K. A. Rockquemore, 1998), (b) responded to the methodological issues raised by A. Bodine, and (c) reflected on the policy implications of the related studies published in The Journal of Educational Research and the Educational Testing Service. By doing so, they hoped to increase academic interest in the school uniform debate and to encourage further empirical analyses of the effects of existing policies.     

论学校民族志的研究取向——对少数民族儿童学业成功与失败原因的理论探讨

学校民族志是人类学探讨少数民族儿童学业成就的主要方法,也是认识学校与社会、寻求人类教育机会平等的有效途径.近年来,在学校民族志研究方面教育人类学家们提出了较有影响的理论观点.这些理论对理解与探讨我国少数民族学校教育中现存的问题具有一定的启发性.     

中小学生学业效能:内涵、评价与提升

促进每一个孩子身心健康和全面发展是新一轮教育规划纲要的重要目标和内容。本文剖析了基于轻负高质的中小学生学业效能的内涵,构建基于学业质量、学习生活质量的学业效能评价框架,并探索了学业效能提升的路径及围绕课堂、作业、评价、情感、课程、教师六个操作点的具体方法。这可以成为减负突围的一种尝试,也是构建绿色学业的一种具体实践。     

美国基金会如何影响教育发展①--以华莱士基金会的学校领导力项目为例

华莱士基金会的学校领导力项目始于2000年,目的是通过提升或改善学校领导力来提高学生的学业成绩。为此基金会采取了三位一体的策略,即通过研究为项目推广和实践提供理论依据和指导;与高校、非营利组织合作,探索学校领导者的培养与培训;选择不同的州直接开展领导力项目的实践。本文对此进行了较为全面的探讨。