Knowing Who You Are for Not Feeling Lonely? A Longitudinal Study on Identity and Loneliness

In adolescence, both identity concerns and feelings of loneliness are of utmost importance to the experiences of young people. Yet, a theoretically grounded hypothesis that identity and loneliness are developmentally related has never been tested. Thus, the aim of this study was to disentangle the longitudinal associations between identity processes in educational and interpersonal domains and loneliness in adolescence. The sample consisted of 632 Lithuanian adolescents (53.2% girls; M_age = 14.32; SD_age = 1.09) participating in a four-wave study with 6-month intervals between assessments. Cross-lagged analyses revealed reciprocal associations between identity processes and loneliness in the educational domain and unidirectional effects of adolescents' reconsideration of commitment on loneliness in the interpersonal domain.     

Profiles and predictors of behavioral resilience among children in child welfare

Children living in out-of-home care have experienced a multitude of adversities, often resulting in compromised functioning. The current study used Ontario Looking After Children (OnLAC) project data to estimate developmental trajectories of behavioral outcomes (i.e., conduct and emotional problems) over a 4-year period (i.e., ages 6–10 to 9–13) in 313 children living in out-of-home care. Predictors measured at baseline (e.g., sex) and across the subsequent 4-year period (e.g., parenting practices) were also investigated. Findings indicated that 64.2% and 58.6% followed resilient trajectories for conduct behaviors and emotional functioning, respectively. Predictors of resilient trajectories included internal developmental assets, number of children in the home, whether the child was receiving treatment, and positive parenting. Findings need to be interpreted with an understanding that children in out-of-home care have varying levels of functioning across various domains (e.g., educational, social) other than the ones measured here. Predictors were static and dynamic and cut across various contexts, emphasizing the importance of considering child functioning within an ecological model.     

Identity and relatedness as mediators between child emotional abuse and adult couple adjustment in women

The empirical literature indicates that childhood emotional abuse (CEA) produces long lasting impairments in interpersonal relatedness and identity, often referred to as self-capacities. CEA has also been shown to negatively impact couple functioning. This study examined the role of identity and interpersonal conflicts in mediating the relationship between CEA and women's report of couple adjustment among 184 French Canadian women from the general population. Path analysis revealed that CEA was related to poorer couple adjustment through its impact on dysfunctional self-capacities and the experience of greater conflicts in relationships. Findings highlight the importance of assessing CEA to better explain couple adjustment in women with relationship difficulties and provide potential intervention targets based on the self-capacities framework.     

Trajectories of Ethnic–Racial Identity and Autonomy Among Mexican‐Origin Adolescent Mothers in the United States

This study examined trajectories of ethnic–racial identity (ERI) and autonomy development among Mexican‐origin adolescent females in the United States (N = 181; M_age at Wave 1 = 16.80 years, SD = 1.00) as they transitioned through the first 5 years of parenthood. Trajectories of ERI and autonomy also were examined in relation to psychosocial functioning. Unconditional latent growth models indicated significant growth in autonomy, ERI resolution, and ERI affirmation from middle to late adolescence. Conditional latent growth models indicated that autonomy and ERI exploration growth trajectories were positively associated with psychosocial adjustment. Although adolescent mothers are experiencing transitions that are not normative during adolescence, they also engage in normative developmental processes, and their engagement in such processes is linked with better adjustment.     

Group Therapy for Improving Self-Esteem and Social Functioning of College Students With ADHD

The present study examined the effectiveness of interpersonal group therapy designed to improve self-esteem and social functioning in college students with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Participants with documented ADHD diagnoses completed self-report measures of self-esteem and social functioning at the initiation of the study, after 6 weeks, and at 12 weeks. Half the participants completed a 12-week interpersonal group therapy while the other half served as a control group matched by gender and age. Findings suggest that interpersonal group therapy improves self-esteem, psychosocial competence, and emotional maturity, and should be a treatment option for college students with ADHD. Implications for practice are discussed.     

The influence of parental and peer attachment on college students' academic achievement

This study examined relations among attachment to parents and peers, cognitive ability, psychosocial functioning variables, and academic achievement in a multiethnic sample of college students (n = 357). A small subgroup (14.8%) of students reported low levels of attachment to both parents and peers. Significant positive correlations were documented between parent and peer attachment and several indices of psychosocial competence. Results from hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that indices of cognitive ability were significant predictors of college students' grade point averages, while broader measures of functioning in early adulthood (attachment, intellectual ability, self‐esteem) were significant predictors of scholastic competence. Results suggest that perceived attachment to both parents and peers is a component of wider patterns of social competence and adjustment that may function as protective or compensatory factors during key transitions in young adulthood, such as participation in college, and with its attendant demands for academic achievement. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Experience of disadvantage: The influence of identity on engagement in working class students’ educational trajectories to an elite university

Pervasive socio‐economic differences in relation to participation in higher education in the United Kingdom are particularly prominent in the most prestigious institutions. This study provides insight into why some individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds are successful in being admitted into one of these institutions. Underpinned by phenomenology, semi‐structured interviews were carried out to examine the lived experiences of high‐achieving students from socio‐economically disadvantaged backgrounds throughout their educational trajectories from primary school to a Russell Group university. Two main themes emerged from the data: identity and educational engagement. Various sources of disadvantage associated with material hardship, socio‐cultural and interpersonal factors were strongly linked to identity and students’ perceptions of their own social status. In turn, these factors and identity‐related constructs associated with peer‐group memberships, low expectations and negative group stereotypes affected how individuals engaged with education, contributing, for instance, to their lack of active involvement at school/college and poor attendance. However, identity‐related factors were also found to influence individuals’ educational engagement positively, including their motivations for overcoming obstacles, achieving high grades and pursuing HE. The barriers and facilitators discussed by these individuals have important implications for widening access to HE and thus require further consideration.     

Foundational aspects of classroom relations: associations between teachers’ immediacy behaviours,classroom democracy,class identification and learning

This study focused on foundational aspects of classroom relations. Specifically, relationships between teachers’ immediacy (interpersonal) behaviours, classroom democracy, identification and learning were considered. Previous work suggests that these variables can be used as a foundation to shape classroom climate, culture and learning outcomes and, by extension, assist educational institutions to achieve their civic mission. This study examined classroom democracy and class identification as variables that mediate the relationship between immediacy behaviours and learning using data collected from 529 students in six institutions of higher learning in Rwanda. Structural equation modeling revealed that classroom democracy mediates the relationship between immediacy behaviours and that classroom democracy and class identification covary substantially. The significant relationships in the final structural model suggest that immediate teachers are likely to have a positive influence on perceptions of classroom democracy, class identification and learning. Based on the growing scholarship of instructional dissent, this study highlights the foundational and strategic aspects underlying these relationships within the context of relating in the classroom and beyond.     

Developing different identity trajectories: lessons from the Chinese teachers

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to investigate how three Chinese teachers developed their teacher identities in a reform context. Drawing upon data from a larger social historical study, the work-life narratives of the three teachers at different stages of their careers were used as case studies to showcase three types of teacher identity development trajectories, namely, learning to be both professional educator and subject teaching expert，learning to be subject teaching expert, and navigating to balance between educator and subject teacher. This study also investigated the factors that influence identity development trajectories of teachers and develops a conceptual framework for understanding teacher identity development in China. The framework shows that Chinese teachers’ exertion of their individual agency is embedded in the institutional context. Meanwhile, interpersonal relationships can work as a buffer to alleviate the tension between the institution and individual teachers. The study also shows the ways in which Chinese teachers’ exert their agency when developing their identities. The findings have significant implications for teacher education in terms of how to develop positive teacher identity over the course of a teacher’s career.     

Co-developmental trajectories of psychological need satisfactions at school: Relations to mental health and academic functioning in Chinese elementary school students

This study explored the co-developmental trajectories of autonomy, competence and relatedness need satisfactions at school and their relations to mental health and academic functioning in Chinese elementary school students. An accelerated longitudinal design was used with a sample of three cohorts (grade 3, grade 4, and grade 5) (N = 1070, 45.8% female; M_age = 9.44, SD = 0.97) on four occasions at 6-month intervals. Parallel process latent class growth models revealed five heterogeneous patterns (i.e., Congruent-moderate; Congruent-high; Congruent-low; Congruent-decreasing; Low-autonomy, High-competence and relatedness), all of which significantly associated with time-varying mental health and academic functioning indicators. The findings highlight the importance of subgroup differences and possible cultural considerations in understanding the progression of psychological need satisfactions and the need for universal screening and dynamic monitoring of students’ psychological need satisfactions at school and implementing more sophisticated interventions tailored to the unique characteristics of the relevant subgroups to promote optimal mental health and learning.     

Teacher behavior and student outcomes: Results of a European study

This study investigates the extent to which the factors included in the dynamic model of educational effectiveness are associated with student achievement gains in six different European countries. At classroom level, the dynamic model refers to eight factors relating to teacher behavior in the classroom: orientation, structuring, questioning, teaching-modeling, application, management of time, teacher role in making classroom a learning environment, and classroom assessment. This paper presents results concerned with the impact of the teacher factors on student achievement. In each participating country (i.e., Belgium/Flanders, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Ireland, and Slovenia), a sample of at least 50 primary schools (n?=?334) was drawn. Written tests in mathematics and science were administered to all grade 4 students (n?=?10,742) at the beginning and at the end of the school year 2010–2011. Students were also asked to complete a questionnaire concerning the eight teacher factors of the dynamic model. Structural equation modeling techniques were used to test the construct validity of the student questionnaire. Both across and within country analyses revealed that student ratings are reliable and valid for measuring the functioning of the teacher factors included in the dynamic model. Multilevel analyses revealed that teacher factors are associated with student achievement gains in mathematics and science. Implications for the development of educational effectiveness research and for improving quality of teaching are drawn.     

The effects of deeper learning opportunities on student achievement: Examining differential pathways

This study investigates relations between cognitive, interpersonal, and intrapersonal opportunities, noncognitive outcomes, and student achievement in 1,096 students from 20 high schools (10 Deeper Learning [DL] network, 10 control) who participated in the Study of DL (SDL). DL is an umbrella term used to encompass the cognitive, interpersonal, and intrapersonal skills and knowledge that students need to be successful in school and the workforce. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test a theoretical model that hypothesizes plausible pathways between DL opportunities to interpersonal, intrapersonal, and cognitive outcomes. Further, a multigroup structural equation modeling examined differences in these relations between DL and matched nonnetwork schools. Cognitive and intrapersonal opportunities were related to both interpersonal and intrapersonal outcomes. Further, cognitive opportunities were indirectly related to student achievement through interpersonal outcomes. Similar patterns of relations were found in DL and control schools. This study helps to build a stronger understanding of how types of DL opportunities and strategies can best develop the complex skills that students need to be successful in school and can also be used to inform future intervention designs and research studies.     

School Life and Adolescents' Self‐Esteem Trajectories

This study investigates heterogeneity in adolescents' trajectories of global self‐esteem (GSE) and the relations between these trajectories and facets of the interpersonal, organizational, and instructional components of students' school life. Methodologically, this study illustrates the use of growth mixture analyses, and how to obtain proper student‐level effects when there are multiple schools, but not enough to support multilevel analyses. This study is based on a 4‐year, six‐measurement‐point, follow‐up of 1,008 adolescents (M_age = 12.6 years, SD = 0.6 at Time 1.) The results show four latent classes presenting elevated, moderate, increasing, and low trajectories defined based on GSE levels and fluctuations. The results show that GSE becomes trait‐like as it increases and that school life effects, moderated by gender, played an important role in predicting membership in these trajectories.     

THE CONTRIBUTION OF SLEEP PROBLEMS TO ACADEMIC AND PSYCHOSOCIAL FUNCTIONING

The current study examined the concurrent and longitudinal relations among sleep problems with academic and psychosocial functioning in a prospective cohort study, the Tucson Children's Assessment of Sleep Apnea study (TuCASA). Children were assessed between the ages of 6 and 11 years and again approximately 5 years later. Sleep disordered breathing was assessed via polysomnography and sleep duration, sleep consistency, excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), and insomnia symptoms were evaluated via parental and self‐report. Although regression models for sleep problems yielded minimum effect sizes in predicting standardized achievement scores, they jointly related to lower parent‐reported grades and adolescent‐reported school problems. Additionally, hierarchical multiple regression revealed that sleep parameters significantly predicted measures of psychosocial functioning with medium (Behavior Assessment Scales [BASC‐2] Parent Report Form [PRF]‐Behavioral Symptoms Index, Internalizing Behaviors Composite; Self‐Report of Personality [SRP] Emotional Symptoms Index, Internalizing Behaviors, Personal Adjustment Composite) to small‐medium effect sizes (BASC‐2 PRF Externalizing Problems, Adaptive Skills Composites, BASC‐2 SRP Inattention/Hyperactivity Composite) above and beyond sociodemographics and IQ. Similar findings occurred for BASC‐2 subscales. Parent‐reported current EDS and youth‐reported insomnia symptoms were the most consistent contributors. School psychologists should screen for and treat or make referrals for sleep problems, taking into account chronicity and multiple informants' perspectives, to maximize academic intervention benefits.     

Educational Change: a model for its analysis

This article is concerned with theorising educational change. Working within a Marxist reproduction problematic, power and domination are theorised in terms of Social Forms—wage, state and civil‐forms—which are the product of capitalist social relations. Since these forms are a feature of the social formation, including the education system, a ‘translation effect’ between different levels of analysis can be identified. This approach entails recognition of the fact that reproduction is contested and has a political aspect, which is revealed by a ‘content‐theoretical’ model of educational change. This model delineates the relationship between the economic and political (the wage and state‐forms) as the dynamic for change, thereby demonstrating how the political makes possible the reproductive role of the education system. The utility of this model, and in particular its capacity to account for unintended consequences of educational change, is illustrated by reference to the recent introduction of the ‘new vocationalism’ into Further Education.     

Gender differences in adolescents' daily interpersonal events and well-being

This study examined daily interpersonal events with parents and friends and daily well-being among 589 ninth-grade students (mean age = 14.9 years) from Mexican, Chinese, and European backgrounds. Associations were examined using a daily diary methodology whereby adolescents reported on positive and negative interpersonal experiences and mood each day for 2 weeks. Analyses using hierarchical linear modeling revealed bidirectional associations between adolescents' daily social interactions and mood. Findings indicated gender differences in adolescents' reactivity to daily interpersonal events as well as in the strength of daily mood as a predictor of interpersonal events. Furthermore, the ratio of positive to negative events experienced daily was consequential for adolescents' daily mood. Findings have practical implications for adolescents' everyday functioning and potential long-term adjustment.     

Using student ratings to measure quality of teaching in six European countries

This paper argues for the value of using student ratings to measure quality of teaching. An international study to test the validity of the dynamic model of educational effectiveness was conducted. At classroom level, the model consists of eight factors relating to teacher behaviour: orientation, structuring, questioning, teaching modelling, application, management of time, teacher role in making classroom a learning environment and assessment. In each participating country (i.e. Belgium/Flanders, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Ireland and Slovenia), a sample of at least 50 primary schools was used and all grade 4 students (n?=?9967) were asked to complete a questionnaire concerning the eight factors of the dynamic model. Structural equation modelling techniques were used to test the construct validity of the questionnaire. Both across- and within-country analyses revealed that student ratings are reliable and valid for measuring the functioning of the teacher factors of the dynamic model. Implications for teacher education are drawn.     

Learning trajectories among educational psychologists

In this article, special attention is paid to psychologists’ experiences of learning trajectories in educational counseling. The data consists of two case studies. They were selected from a total of 15 interviews with psychologists conducted as part of a research project on ‘Changing Practices in Educational Psychological Practice (CPEPP) in Denmark’. The article analyses learning trajectories along what we refer to as the clinical versus the educational track in educational psychological practice. Learning trajectories are examples of how individuals combine and connect learning across both time and different places of work, formal education and further education. The clinical and the educational learning trajectories are analysed in relation to the psychologists’ previous educational and present work experience within a context of very substantial organizational change. A general theme of the article is therefore that learning should be analysed over (1) time, past–present–future over the course of a person's life; and (2) place, across contexts of activity and communities of practice with different and overlapping goals, values and rules. In this respect continued learning entails negotiating and coming to terms with a professional identity across time and space.     

“美育”视角下的高校和谐校园建设探析

校园和谐主要体现为学校教育培养模式、校园内人际以及校园综合环境和谐三大方面。寓美育于高校和谐校园建设之中,以美育视角着手探析美育与高校和谐校园之间的关系,对于构建高校和谐校园具有十分重要的理论和现实意义。     

Effects of the peer group on the development of social functioning and academic achievement: a longitudinal study in Chinese children

This longitudinal study examined, in a sample of Chinese children (initial mean ages = 9.5 and 12.7 years, N = 505), how the peer group contributed to social functioning and academic achievement and their associations. Data on informal peer groups, social functioning, and academic achievement were collected from multiple sources. Multilevel structural equation modeling revealed that group academic performance made direct contributions to children's social development. Group academic performance also moderated the individual-level relations between academic performance and later social functioning. Whereas high-achieving groups strengthened the positive relations between academic achievement and social competence, low-achieving groups facilitated the negative relations between academic achievement and social problems. The results indicate the significance of the peer group for social functioning from a developmental perspective.