Perceived Social Support and Mental Health: Cultural Orientations as Moderators

This study investigated unique and shared effects of social support and cultural orientation on mental health indicators (depressive and anxiety symptoms, stress, and life satisfaction) of 896 college students. Results indicated that perceived social support predicted mental health variables and that cultural orientation variables (independent and interdependent self‐construal) moderated this association. Conclusions and counseling implications for university counselors are discussed on the basis of cultural orientation theory.     

The Influence of Student Perceptions of School Climate on Socioemotional and Academic Adjustment: A Comparison of Chinese and American Adolescents

This study explored students' perceptions of 3 dimensions of school climate (teacher support, student–student support, and opportunities for autonomy in the classroom) and the associations between these dimensions and adolescent psychological and academic adjustment in China and the United States. Data were drawn from 2 studies involving 706 middle school students ( M  = 12.26) from Nanjing, China, and 709 middle school students ( M  = 12.36) from New York City. Findings revealed that students in China perceived higher levels of teacher support, student–student support, and opportunities for autonomy in the classroom than students in the United States. Furthermore, students' perceptions of teacher support and student–student support were positively associated with adolescents' self-esteem and grade point average but negatively associated with depressive symptoms for both Chinese and American adolescents.     

Protective factors for depressive symptoms in adolescents: Interpersonal relationships and perceived social support

The association between interpersonal relationships, perceived social support, and depressive symptoms in adolescents was investigated in the present study. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depressive Symptoms Scale (CES‐D‐SF), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), and Interpersonal Relationship Scale (IRS) were administered to 1,573 high school students. There were four main findings: all three types of interpersonal relationships (same‐sex peer, opposite‐sex peer, and teacher–student relationship) and perceived social support had direct effects on depressive symptoms; perceived social support was a mediator in the relationship between interpersonal relationships and depressive symptoms; gender differences were present in the relationship between interpersonal relationships and depressive symptoms; and the three types of interpersonal relationships exerted different effects on depressive symptoms between adolescent boys and girls. Same‐sex relationships exerted the strongest effect on depressive symptoms among girls, whereas teacher–student relationships exerted the strongest effect among boys.     

A meta‐analysis of parent and teacher reports of depression among students with learning disabilities: Evidence for the importance of multi‐informant assessment

We conducted a meta‐analysis to examine depressive symptomatology among students with learning disabilities (LD), as reported by their parents and teachers. A 2006 meta‐analysis by Maag & Reid of the self‐reports of students with LD indicated that this group's higher report of depressive symptoms compared to non‐LD students was small in magnitude (d = .35). In our meta‐analysis, 31 studies in which depressive symptomatology among school‐age (K–12) students with LD was examined were included. The overall effect size was statistically significant and medium in magnitude (d = .75) and indicated that parents and teachers reported students with LD to experience significantly more depressive symptoms than non‐LD students experience. When integrated with Maag and Reid's findings, these results suggest that parents and teachers appear to report greater depressive symptomatology for students with LD than these students report for themselves. Due to the observed discrepancy, multi‐informant assessment practices and the need for clinical judgment are discussed. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Relationships between social support sources and early adolescents' mental health: The moderating effect of student achievement level

This study examined how perceived social support from parents, classmates, and teachers jointly and uniquely predicted psychopathology (i.e., internalizing and externalizing symptoms) and wellness (i.e., life satisfaction) in a sample of 390 middle‐school students. This study also explored the protective nature of high student academic achievement in the relationship between social support and mental health. Social support was a significant predictor of all mental health outcomes, particularly life satisfaction. Although classmate and teacher support were significant unique predictors of students' internalizing and externalizing symptoms, respectively, parent support emerged as the strongest predictor of all indicators of mental health. Academic achievement moderated the direction and strength of the relationships between externalizing behavior and (a) classmate support, and (b) parent support, respectively. Specifically, classmate support emerged as adaptive for average‐ and high‐achieving students only, whereas academic achievement functioned as a protective factor against the manifestation of externalizing psychopathology among students with low parental support. Implications for school psychologists and directions for future research are discussed. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

How Physical Education Teachers’ Interpersonal Behaviour is Related to Students’ Health-Related Quality of Life

ABSTRACT

Grounded in self-determination theory (SDT), this cross-sectional study tested relations of students’ perceptions of autonomy-supportive and controlling behaviour from teachers in physical education with students’ health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and the potential role of students’ perceived need satisfaction and need frustration as a mediator of these relationships. School students (N?=?1031) completed self-report measures of perceived autonomy support, perceived teachers’ controlling behaviour, students’ need satisfaction and need frustration, and HRQoL. Results indicated that students’ perceptions of autonomy support from teachers was positively associated with HRQoL through need satisfaction. Students’ perceptions of controlling behaviour from teachers was negatively related with HRQoL through need frustration. There was no significant association between autonomy support and need frustration, or between controlling behaviour and need satisfaction. Findings provide evidence that perceived autonomy support and controlling behaviour from the teacher in PE contributes to students’ HRQoL through unique pathways.     

Parental autonomy support,community feeling and student expectations as contributors to later achievement among adolescents

This longitudinal study examined the relationships among parental autonomy support, student intrinsic life goals (i.e. community feeling), student expectations for long-term educational attainment and later academic performance (measured by GPA) in 227 students in an ethnically and racially diverse high school. Hypotheses were tested with structural equation models, which included gender, parent education and prior GPA as control variables. As self-determination theory suggests, parental autonomy support was indirectly and positively related to academic performance via intrinsic life goals. Intrinsic life goals and student expectations were moderately and positively related and both contributed to growth in academic performance, which suggests that self-determination theory and expectancy-value theory provide additive insight in predicting educational achievement. Fifty per cent of the variance in intrinsic life goals was explained by parental autonomy support and 77% of the variance in later GPA was explained collectively by variables in the study. The way in which student expectations and intrinsic life goals work in concert to promote achievement should be examined in future intervention studies. The significant indirect effect of parental autonomy support on GPA via intrinsic life goals and student expectations suggests that students will benefit from parents fostering intrinsic life goals through autonomy supportive communication.     

Managing the expectations of non‐traditional students: a process of negotiation

In the past decade there has been a dramatic growth in UK student numbers. Widening participation policies are encouraging students from non‐traditional backgrounds to enter higher education. Southampton Institute has found that many non‐traditional students have had little preparation for academic life. These students often have unrealistic expectations of higher education, expectations that sometimes are at odds with a successful transition from secondary to higher education. In addition higher education institutions are often unaware of the way that higher education is perceived by non‐traditional students. This situation cannot remain unchecked and requires some form of discourse. In this paper, a framework used to model a reflective discourse between stakeholders (student, institution) is introduced, and a case study demonstrating the behaviour of an automated negotiation mechanism is presented.     

Mentors in life and at school: impact on undergraduate prote´ge´ perceptions of university mission and values

University undergraduates (84 women, 80 men: M age=19.1 years old) reported school mission and value perceptions, life and/or school mentor relationships, and social desirability tendencies. No significant social desirability effect was obtained. Prote´ge´s with mentors at school and in life (n=52) reported greater cognitive and informational support but equal rates of emotional and tangible support plus modeling of appropriate behaviors as prote´ge´s with mentors from life alone (n=55). Furthermore, prote´ge´s with a mentor in life and at school stated stronger perceptions of their institution's educational mission, a greater sense of campus altruism, and a commitment to lifelong engagement in education than prote´ge´s with mentors from life alone or students with no mentor (n=48). Implications for developing school‐based mentorship initiatives which augment life‐based mentor programs may enhance student understanding of a university's mission and its values are discussed.     

TEACHING STRATEGIES BASED ON LEARNING STYLES OF ADULT STUDENTS

One of the major purposes of community and junior colleges has been to provide easy access to postsecondary educational opportunities for a broad spectrum of the general population. Access alone does not justify the existence of these institutions, instead, successful student learning determines their worth. Achieving this success is no small task when the student population is largely non‐traditional both in age and experiential background.

The study was conducted to examine the effect of adjusting teaching methods to coincide with the learning preferences of students enrolled in a small, predominantly black, community college. Previous research, conducted in elementary and secondary schools, had indicated significant gains in student learning as a result of this modification.

The learning styles of students entering a freshman level social science class were assessed with the Productivity Environmental Preference Survey (PEPS). Students were assigned to experimental or control groups based on the results of the PEPS. Teaching strategies for the experimental group were modified to suit their learning styles, while the control group was taught by the traditional lecture method. The CLEP Social Studies Test was used to measure achievement during the semester.

The Mann‐Whitney U‐Test for Independent Populations was used to test the hypothesis of no difference in the achievement of the two groups. A calculated U of 7.5 indicated a significant gain by the experimental group.     

Integrating mathematics,science, and technology: effects on students

Few studies have examined the student learning effects of integrating science with mathematics and technology. We compared a school that integrated mathematics, science and technology in grade 9 to a school in the same district that taught the three courses separately. The distinguishing feature of the integrating school was the reorganization of instruction in the three subjects to prepare students for seven group projects (involving a total of 25 h) that required the application of knowledge and skill that were shared by the three subjects, as well as learning outcomes that were unique to each. The study detected benefits for students in the integrated setting in terms of their ability to apply shared learning outcomes, student motivation, ability to work together and attitudes to appraisal of group work. Female students in the integrated school had a better understanding of selected science learning outcomes. Attitudes toward mid‐term exams were higher in the control school.

     

70 Candles! Women thriving in their 8th decade

A sample of 141 predominately working class middle age (X = 53.03 years; SD = 6.92) and young adult (X = 21.34 years; SD = 3.65) university students responded to a survey instrument that assessed motives for enrolling in university classes and reactions to instructional strategies commonly used in the classroom. Results indicated that middle age and younger students’ motives for enrolling in university classes were intrinsic in nature and based on needs for intellectual growth and self‐development. In addition, findings revealed that younger students viewed learning life adjustment skills as a more powerful motivator for pursuing advanced education than did middle age students (p < .01). Both age groups of students were found to have similar attitudes about the effectiveness of teaching techniques presently used in the university classroom. Middle age and younger students reported positive reactions to the use of hands‐on‐experiences, lectures with discussions, and the lecture‐only format and negative reactions to the use of student presentations and role playing. It was concluded that the findings of this study supported the design of age‐integrated university programs and suggested that much of the present curricula satisfies the educational goals and needs of middle age and younger students.     

Participation in part‐time special education and its correlation with the educational paths,self‐concepts and strengths of young adults

This follow‐up study, written by Kristiina Lappalainen of the University of Eastern Finland and Hotulainen Risto of the University of Helsinki, investigated whether young adults designated as having part‐time special education needs (PtSEN) during their comprehensive schooling had differentiated educational and vocational paths, perceived self‐concept, strengths, and self‐worth when compared with students not designated as having such needs. Results show that young adults with PtSEN (n = 38) have less academically oriented educational paths than those not having special educational needs (No SEN) (n = 165). The self‐perceptions of young adults between the groups under study differ from each other only in the physical appearance domain for the PtSEN group. Strength perceptions showed that those in the PtSEN group consider neither learning nor mathematical skills as their strengths when compared with the No SEN group. In addition, the PtSEN group has higher global self‐worth ratings than the No SEN group. According to our comparison, young adults with PtSEN backgrounds perceive deficiencies only in those domains which are directly linked to school.     

Pre‐school Verbo‐sensory Motor Status as a Predictor of Educational Life‐courses and Self‐perceptions of Young Adults

During a 15‐year longitudinal study, 31 Finnish students (risk group) who had been identified as having deficiencies in reading and writing readiness at pre‐school through the German Breuer–Weuffen Differentiation Test were compared with their peers (n = 62) in order to study long‐term differences that emerged at the starting point of the study. In 1999, the students in the risk group were found to achieve significantly lower final school grades and they also had lower perceptions of their own scholastic competence. In 2005, students in the risk group perceived themselves as less competent than their peers in social acceptance, sense of global self‐worth areas and in the strength‐perceptions related to mathematical thinking, learning skills, and self‐regulation. Path analyses showed that verbo‐sensory motor status measured at pre‐school age had long‐term effects on participants’ educational life‐course and global self‐worth. Possible explanations of the findings and implications for early identification are discussed.     

The impact on career direction of a tertiary management programme for mid‐career ICT professionals

The motivation of mid‐career students can be expected to be more considered and intense than students whose studies continue from undergraduate programmes. How students perceive their personal circumstances and their career when they first make the decision to enrol and what happens as a result of their studies can reveal how mid‐career management programmes can be structured to ensure greater alignment with student needs and therefore greater student satisfaction. It can also inform curriculum development and marketing strategy. This investigation indicates that the motivators that triggered the enrolment decision often evolve into intrinsic motivators as a result of the study experience and this can lead on to deeper learning and greater satisfaction with learning outcomes. Self‐determination theory posits the need for autonomy as an antecedent of intrinsic motivation. Providing autonomy support in course content and curriculum design as well as competence support and relatedness in assignments and assessment can be expected to result in greater intrinsic motivation and deeper learning.     

Teacher and child variables as predictors of academic engagement among low‐income African American children

A causal model for understanding the complex interplay between student‐reported teacher behaviors, student self‐systems, and student engagement was tested. One hundred seventeen African American students in grades 1 through 12 completed a comprehensive questionnaire regarding teacher context, self, and engagement variables. A series of hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to test the hypothesized mediation models and to construct a path model. Most hypotheses were supported. Student self‐system variables (perceived competency and autonomy) mediated relations between teacher context (structure and autonomy support), and engagement. Contrary to predictions, however, teacher involvement exerted a strong and direct effect on student engagement even when controlling for grade level and self‐system variables. Given existing research showing that African American students are at risk for low teacher involvement and that engagement is critical for academic success, research and intervention strategies are urgently needed to promote teacher involvement with these students. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A Written Knowledge Test for Postgraduate Medical Students: Reliability in Relation to Different Educational Goals

ABSTRACT

The use of written knowledge tests in (medical) education is widespread. Only few of them are thoroughly validated. Usually, validity studies are restricted to establishing ‘face‐validity’, the apparent similarity between test‐material and real life problems. Reliability studies are usually restricted to estimation of the coefficient alpha, representing the reproducibility of rank‐ordering of students at repeated test administration. This study addresses reliability from a broader perspective, using generalizability theory. The approach enables faculty to gain insight into the suitability of the test to serve different educational goals.

A written knowledge test was examined, applied in postgraduate training for general practice in the Netherlands. Test‐reliability was approached from different perspectives: the norm‐oriented perspective, aiming at rank‐ordering (groups of) students, the domain‐oriented perspective, aiming at determining the absolute score level of (groups of) students and the decision‐oriented perspective, aiming at taking pass‐fail decisions.

Reliability estimates differed for the different perspectives. The implication of the results and feasible options to increase reliability are discussed.     

The impact of wireless keypads in an interprofessional education context with health science students

The aim of this study was to identify if wireless keypads could facilitate interprofessional interaction among undergraduate paramedic, nursing, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, health science, social work and midwifery students. Secondary research aims included the examination of students' perceptions of interprofessional education and how students perceived using wireless keypads in large lecture classes and smaller tutorials. The study used a mixed methodology approach via self‐reporting questionnaires and focus groups that included (n = 210) students in week 1 and (n = 151) students in week 13 of an undergraduate unit. Overall, students were satisfied with the use of wireless keypads in their interprofessional undergraduate unit of study. While modest findings supported the use of wireless keypads in improving student interaction, other findings were statistically significant in understanding the roles of other health professions and why collaboration in health‐care environments was important for professional growth. The following themes emerged from the qualitative data: engagement, satisfaction, use of educational technology, interprofessional education and learning environment. Integration of wireless keypads has assisted undergraduate students to better appreciate and understand other health‐care disciplines within an interprofessional education setting. Students reported that they appreciated the alternative teaching and learning approach that wireless keypads offered, thus improving engagement and interactivity, and providing a broader understanding of other allied health‐care professions.     

Motivational influences on school‐prompted interest

Some argue that the goal of education is to influence out‐of‐school learning activity, yet little research exists on how teachers can help students develop an interest in a topic and continue to pursue that interest outside of school. The current study tested classroom context variables from self‐determination theory (teachers’ autonomy support) and from achievement goal theory (teachers’ mastery goals) that may predict students’ school‐prompted interest above and beyond students’ mastery goals and self‐efficacy. Survey data were collected from 178 high school students in 15 mathematics classes. Hierarchical multiple regression revealed that students’ perceptions of a teacher who focuses on mastery goals account for little variance above and beyond students’ own motivation, whereas perceived teachers’ autonomy support emerged as a significant predictor. While the results are correlational and do not support causal claims, they suggest that teachers who support student autonomy might foster school‐prompted interest.     

Explaining Chinese students' academic motivation: filial piety and self‐determination

This study investigated the relevance of filial piety and the three components of self‐determination, namely, competence, autonomy and relatedness, on academic motivation among Hong Kong Chinese secondary school students. A total of 461 students completed the questionnaire which consisted of five scales assessing attitudes towards filial piety, perceived scholastic competence, perceived autonomous support from parents, relatedness with parents and academic motivation. By using structural equation modelling, a predictive model of academic motivation, with filial piety, competence, autonomy, relatedness, age and gender as antecedents, was developed. All variables explained the prediction of academic motivation, with competence acted as the strongest effect, followed by relatedness and filial piety. The findings highlight the important contribution of the three self‐determination theory (SDT) components and the value of filial piety for Chinese adolescents' academic motivation. The implications of the findings for future research and educational practice were discussed.