Learning environment,motivation, and achievement in high school science

In a study of the relationship between high school students' perceptions of their science learning environments and their motivation, learning strategies, and achievement, 377 students in 22 introductory science classrooms completed surveys in the fall and spring of their ninth‐grade year. Hierarchical linear regression was used to model the effects of variables at both the classroom and individual level simultaneously. High intraclass agreement (indicated by high parameter reliability) on all classroom environment measures indicated that students shared perceptions of the classroom learning environment. Controlling for other factors, shared perceptions that only the most able could succeed in science classrooms and that instruction was fast‐paced and focused on correct answers negatively predicted science achievement, as measured on a districtwide curriculum‐linked test. Shared perceptions that classrooms focused on understanding and independent thinking positively predicted students' self‐reported satisfaction with learning. Implications of these results for both teaching and research into classroom environments are discussed. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 40: 347–368, 2003     

高中生成就动机与学业情绪、学业成绩的关系研究

为探讨高中生成就动机与学业情绪、学业成绩的关系,采用问卷对285名高中生进行调查.结果显示,趋近动机(Ms)与积极学业情绪和学业成绩呈正相关,且对两种积极学业情绪和学业成绩均有正向预测作用,对消极低唤醒学业情绪有负向预测作用;回避动机(Mf)与积极学业情绪和学业成绩呈负相关,而与消极学业情绪呈正相关,并能正向预测消极低唤醒学业情绪,负向预测积极低唤醒学业情绪和学业成绩.积极低唤醒情绪和消极低唤醒情绪在成就动机和学业成绩之间起部分中介效应,积极高唤醒情绪只在趋近动机和学业成绩间部分中介效应.     

Dominant achievement goals and academic outcomes across tracks in high school

The self-reported grades Dutch, English and Math of 13,970 students in the third grade of Dutch secondary education (US grade 9) were investigated with regard to educational track-level and dominant achievement goal (DAG). The performance approach goal group scored significantly higher on all three subjects than the performance avoidance group, the mastery approach group, the mastery avoidance group and the group without a DAG. In addition, the differences between the performance approach group and the other groups with regard to the three school subjects were of the same size, suggesting that the DAG is associated with the same processes across various school subjects. The magnitude of the differences between the other DAG groups, however, decreased with decreasing track level, suggesting that the DAGs’ adaptive value varies systematically with ability level.     

Predictive value of attitude,cognitive ability,and personality to science achievement in the middle school

This article examines the factors of attitude toward science, spatial ability, mathematical ability, and the scientific personality, as measured by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, in a sample of middle school students. Males and females with science grades of A and B were found to have several characteristics of the scientific personality, good grades in mathematics, but negative attitudes toward science. Males and females with science grades of C and D had a more positive attitude toward science, but poor mathematical and spatial abilities and few characteristics of the scientific personality. There were no sex differences except on the Thinking/Feeling (TF) scale of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. As expected females portrayed themselves as preferring the (F) scale, the use of personal values when making decisions and males portrayed themselves as preferring the (T) scale, the use of logical analysis when making decisions.     

Junior high school science teacher preparation,teaching behavior,and student achievement

The findings challenge both practices and prejudices in junior high school science teacher preparation.     

A technique for evaluating skills in high school science

This report sets out the procedures followed in developing a set of science items to test a variety of intellectual skills deemed important in secondary school science and then analyzing them in order to examine their construct validity in relation to a technique of evaluation which analyzes the way in which individuals structure their responses to previously learned material (Biggs & Collis, 1982). The items covered the four sciences commonly taught in Australian schools, Geology, Biology, Physics, and Chemistry. Each item followed the superitem format devised by Cureton (1965) and consisted of a stem followed by four questions. Each group of four questions was devised so that they formed a hierarchy of difficulty levels. Nineteen of the items finally accepted as meeting the initial criteria were arranged for group testing to enable a validation trial to be carried out. The analysis showed that the items had construct validity in terms of the theory and were viable for testing certain science skills at the High School level. Implications of the study point to a need for further investigations in both the curriculum and teaching areas of school science.     

The development of achievement strategies and academic skills during the first year of primary school

The aim of the study was to investigate whether children's achievement strategies would predict the development of their reading and mathematical skills during the first school year, or whether it is rather these skills that predict the changes in their achievement strategies. One-hundred and five 6- to 7-year-old children were examined three times during their first year of primary school: in each measurement, their self-reported achievement strategies were assessed, and their reading and mathematical skills were rated by their classroom teacher. Their overall cognitive competence was also measured before entry into school. The results showed that the use of maladaptive achievement strategies hampered the children's subsequent improvement in reading and mathematical skills. By contrast, children's skills did not have any impact on their subsequent use of achievement strategies.     

Classroom management,school staff relations,school climate,and academic achievement: testing a model with urban high schools

Urban learning environments pose distinct instructional challenges for teachers and administrators, and can lead to lower achievement compared to suburban or rural schools. Today’s educational climate increasingly emphasises a need for positive academic outcomes, often measured by standardised tests, on which student educational opportunities, teacher benefits and school funding can be based. By applying an ecological framework to the urban school environment, it could be possible to better understand and ultimately improve the educational context at multiple levels. This study examined how classroom management, staff relations and school climate contribute to academic achievement, as measured by ACT scores. In a large urban American public school system, 208 teachers from 38 high schools were surveyed. A model was tested in which, when academic achievement was accounted for over time, classroom management and staff relations contributed positively to school climate, and climate in turn contributed to academic achievement. Structural equation modeling revealed that the data fitted the proposed model. Results illustrate the roles of school and classroom factors related to academic performance and underline the importance of classroom management strategies and positive learning environments. Results suggest avenues for interventions to increase academic achievement by supporting students through the lens of an ecological framework.     

The genetic-environmental etiology of cognitive school readiness and later academic achievement in early childhood

Using a genetic design of 840 60-month-old twins, this study investigated the genetic and environmental contributions to (a) individual differences in four components of cognitive school readiness, (b) the general ability underlying these four components, and (c) the predictive association between school readiness and school achievement. Results revealed that the contribution of the shared environment for cognitive school readiness was substantial. Genetic effects were more important for the core abilities underlying school readiness than for each specific skill, although shared environment remained the largest factor overall. Genetic, shared, and nonshared environmental factors all accounted for the predictive association between school readiness and early school achievement. These results contribute to a better understanding of the early determinants of school readiness.     

Robotics and science literacy: Thinking skills,science process skills and systems understanding

This paper reports the results of a study of the relationship of robotics activity to the use of science literacy skills and the development of systems understanding in middle school students. Twenty‐six 11–12‐year‐olds (22 males and 4 females) attending an intensive robotics course offered at a summer camp for academically advanced students participated in the research. This study analyzes how students utilized thinking skills and science process skills characteristic of scientifically literate individuals to solve a robotics challenge. In addition, a pre/post test revealed that course participants increased their systems understanding, t (21) = 22.47, p < .05. It is argued that the affordances of the robotics environment coupled with a pedagogical approach emphasizing open‐ended, extended inquiry prompts the utilization of science literacy‐based thinking and science process skills and leads to increased systems understanding. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 373–394, 2008     

Chronotype, cognitive abilities, and academic achievement: A meta-analytic investigation

Four meta-analyses examined relationships between morningness and cognitive ability (total N = 2177), eveningness and cognitive ability (total N = 1519), morningness and academic achievement (total N = 3220), and eveningness and academic achievement (total N = 700). The analyses focused on the population effect size (to reveal the effect across studies) and the homogeneity (to determine if the results of the several experiments are sufficiently similar to warrant their combination into an overall result). In all four cases, the aggregated correlations between chronotype and cognitive ability, as well as chronotype and academic achievement were found to be significant. Eveningness was found to be positively related to individuals' cognitive ability (r = .08), yet negatively related to indicators of academic achievement (r = −.14). Conversely, morningness had a negative relationship with cognitive ability (r = −.04) and a positive correlation with academic indicators (r = .16). Practical implications, including those pertaining to educational policy, are discussed.     

Unequal academic achievement in high school: the mediating roles of concerted cultivation and close friends

Building from the classic Wisconsin model of status attainment, this study examines whether a specific style of parenting, concerted cultivation, and a close friend’s school-related attitudes and behaviors mediate the relationship between a family’s socioeconomic status and their child’s academic achievement in the United States. Using a recursive path model on nationally representative panel data of high school students (N = 10,350), the results confirm a direct association between socioeconomic status and concerted cultivation. In addition, concerted cultivation and close friends are shown to mediate the relationship between a family’s socioeconomic status and their child’s academic achievement.     

Transition from high school to university: a person-centered approach to academic achievement

Although a vast body of studies regarding the variables related to students’ achievement exists, only a handful has investigated how these variables combine and interact together. Such an investigation might make it possible to more accurately illustrate the heterogeneity of students enrolling in university and assess the impact of this diversity on academic achievement. The current study focused on the person-centered approach and investigated the possibility of determining significant subgroups of freshmen in the very first week of the academic year in the Belgian educational context. Using k-mean clustering, 2178 freshmen were classified according to their past performance, socioeconomic status, study choice process, and academic self-efficacy beliefs at the beginning of the first year at university. Analyses of variance were also conducted to analyze the relationship between these student clusters and academic achievement outcomes. Six distinct profiles of students were identified representing different combinations of achievement predictors. Results revealed different odds of success among these profiles. The implications of our approach to the understanding of the heterogeneity of freshmen and the first-year achievement process are discussed.     

Impact of instructional leadership on high school student academic achievement in China

Asia Pacific Education Review - The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of instructional leadership on high school students’ academic achievement in the Chinese context and to...     

Testing a model of science process skills acquisition: An interaction with parents' education,preferred language,gender, science attitude,cognitive development,academic ability,and biology knowledge

Path analysis techniques were used to test a hypothesized structural model of direct and indirect causal effects of student variables on science process skills. The model was tested twice using data collected at the beginning and end of the school year from 67 9th- and 10th-grade biology students who lived in a rural Franco-American community in New England. Each student variable was found to have significant effects, accounting for approximately 80% of the variance in science process skills achievement. Academic ability, biology knowledge, and language preference had significant direct effects. There were significant mediated effects by cognitive development, parents' education, and attitude toward science in school. The variables of cognitive development and academic ability had the greatest total effects on science process skills. Implications for practitioners and researchers are discussed.