Exploring first‐year academic achievement through structural equation modelling

The purpose of this research was to develop and test a multicausal model of the individual characteristics associated with academic success in first‐year Australian university students. This model comprised the constructs of: previous academic performance, achievement motivation, self‐regulatory learning strategies, and personality traits, with end‐of‐semester grades the dependent variable of interest. The study involved the distribution of a questionnaire, which assessed motivation, self‐regulatory learning strategies and personality traits, to 1193 students at the start of their first year at university. Students' academic records were accessed at the end of their first year of study to ascertain their first and second semester grades. This study established that previous high academic performance, use of self‐regulatory learning strategies, and being introverted and agreeable, were indicators of academic success in the first semester of university study. Achievement motivation and the personality trait of conscientiousness were indirectly related to first semester grades, through the influence they had on the students' use of self‐regulatory learning strategies. First semester grades were predictive of second semester grades. This research provides valuable information for both educators and students about the factors intrinsic to the individual that are associated with successful performance in the first year at university.     

Validity and bias of academic achievement measures in the first year of elementary school

We tested the criterion-related validity and potential bias of two measures of pupils' academic achievement: the Teacher Rating Scale (TRS) and the Mathematics and Literacy Achievement Tests (MLTs). These measures are representative of assessment methods largely used in the elementary school. The aims were: (1) to verify the extent to which TRS and MLTs can be predicted by external criteria collected at kindergarten and (2) to estimate the degree to which each measure might be biased by family, teacher and children's characteristics. A total of 239 children were assessed during kindergarten. At the end of the first grade, they were tested for social-emotional adjustment and academic achievement (TRS and MLTs). Results suggest that family socioeconomic status and children's school readiness at kindergarten were associated with both measures; however, the predictors accounted for significantly more variance in TRS than in MLTs. Regarding the presence of bias, results indicate that TRS seems more sensitive to children's social competence, whereas the MLTs appears to be more sensitive to pupils' anxiety.     

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.     

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.     

Parental involvement and academic achievement among elementary and middle school students

Asia Pacific Education Review - This study investigates the associations between parental involvement and academic achievement across three criteria: school level (elementary and middle school),...     

What contributes to low achievement of middle school students: Evidence from multigroup structural equation modeling

The authors' purpose was to examine the degree to which low achievement is related to ontogenetic factors (i.e., personal psychological traits expressed as attention and depression) or microsystemic factors (i.e., socioeconomic status, parenting, relationship with peers and teachers), using a total of 721 middle school students in South Korea. Based on the percentile rank, low-achieving students (bottom 15%; n = 323) and high-achieving students (top 15%; n = 398) were grouped, and a multigroup structural equation modeling was employed to determine which ecological factor(s) contribute to predict low achievement of middle school students. Results from multigroup structural equation modeling showed that 3 of the 6 ecological and ontological factors had significant direct or indirect effect on low achievement: socioeconomic status (direct effect), attention (direct effect), parenting (indirect effect). The findings are discussed in terms of the intertwined influences of ecological factors on low achievement, finally leading to the discussion on the limitations and future directions for research.     

Resource use and academic performance among first year psychology students

Multiple questionnaires completed over the semester by 514 students enrolled in a first year psychology course reveal that no single pattern of reliance on print, online, or in-person resources guarantees a high mark. Analyses of the reported and measured frequency of use of various resources correlated against students’, performance on both individual assessments and their final marks suggests that students employ a range of strategies in their use of class resources. They tend to rely on their textbooks, Web-based lecture notes, and online quizzes, but their final marks are more strongly determined by their university entrance scores than by their resource use strategy, their sex, or whether or not English is their first language. The data suggest that students adapt their learning strategies to the resources available, with an apparent emphasis on learning what will be assessed rather than exploring for understanding. Importantly, the results argue that investment in development of educational technologies – and students’, use of educational technologies – must be informed by empirical data concerning its impact on the efficiency and quality of learning.     

Beginning school age and academic achievement

One hundred and seventeen students who began kindergarten in 1978-79 were studied to determine effects of beginning school age and gender on later school achievement and retention in grade. No significant differences among the three age groups were found at kindergarten, 2nd, or 4th grade. Differences in achievement between boys and girls were noted. Results are similar to those of other recent studies and suggest that parents and teachers may be unduly cautious when delaying the entry of children to school on the basis of chronological age considerations. Local district studies are recommended.     

Achievement-oriented beliefs and their relation to academic expectations and school achievement among Qatari students

This study investigated the relation between motivational goals and university intentions, school valuing and school achievement. The premise of this study is that motivational goals play a key role in academic values and achievement. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to establish the construct validity of the motivational measures drawn from the Inventory of School Motivation (ISM): mastery (effort and task), performance (competition and social power), social solidarity (social concern and affiliation), extrinsic (praise and token). A set of eight regression analyses was conducted to examine the relations among these eight motivational measures, future goals to attend college, the value of school and six school subjects. Eight regression equations revealed that effort and task were the most significant predictors of the dependent variables of university intention, valuing school and school achievement scores. Students in Qatar exhibited ‘effort and task’ in goal motivation in relation to students’ beliefs regarding future academic goals and achievement scores in school subjects. As Qatar is a highly gender-segregated society, analyses were also conducted by gender.     

The extent to which teacher attitudes and expectations predict academic achievement of final year students

Competition in the market is a perennial and ever‐increasing problem for independent schools. How schools can meet this pressure and find ways to attract (the best) students is a continuing question and one that will get more onerous as the government funding for education is, in relative terms, decreasing. One of the ways in which schools can show their worth is the attraction of the best teachers and being able to show potential clients how their staff contribute to the academic success of their graduating students. This study considers the relationship between teachers’ attitudes toward their work and the expectations and the extent to which their attitudes and expectations predict the academic achievements of their final year students. Results found that academic achievement is enhanced when school leadership provides an academically oriented context where values and expectations of high academic achievement are part of the school culture. Other teacher variables found to improve academic achievement are the teachers’ need for greater input into decision‐making at their schools; less formalisation of rules, procedures and process; and support through personnel, facilities, finances, equipment and resources.     

Cultural capital and academic achievement of first generation domestic and international students in Canadian universities

In Canada little research has been conducted on those who are the first in their families to attend university. Cultural reproduction theory suggests that such students would be less likely to engage in the type of activities that, according to the college impact model, contribute to academic achievement. In order to test these and other possibilities a longitudinal survey‐based study of domestic and international students was conducted at four Canadian universities. Overall it was found that university experiences did vary by the educational background of parents; however, such experiences were not always of consequence for academic achievement.     

The readiness of high school students to pursue first year physics

Abstract

A high failure rate at first year physics is often attributed to the lack of readiness of high school students to pursue such studies. This research explores this issue and reports on the perceptions of five physics lecturers at a South African university on the preparedness of high school students for first year physics. Qualitative data was collected through in-depth, non-directive, semi-structured interviews and analyzed for emerging themes using the Atlis.ti software. Readiness factors that were identified included the ability to engage with physics problems qualitatively rather than merely assuming an algorithmic approach, having a sound understanding of basic physics concepts, and competence in reading and speaking the scientific language. Other factors related to personal attributes and behavior and these were work ethic, perseverance, working independently and time management. These findings and their implications are discussed.     

Identifying science students at risk in the first year of higher education: the incremental value of non-cognitive variables in predicting early academic achievement

European Journal of Psychology of Education - Science students’ study success rates in the first year of higher education (FYHE) are problematic. Although a considerable amount of previous...     

Testing for invariance in a structural model of academic achievement across underachieving and non-underachieving students

This work aimed to test the invariance of a causal structural model of the determinants of academic achievement in underachieving and non-underachieving students. A theoretical model of the relationships between personal, social, and familial variables and academic performance was derived empirically using data from a large sample obtained in a previous study, prior to testing for invariance across the two student groups. Underachieving students were identified using the Rasch model procedure. The sample comprised 259 underachieving and 258 non-underachieving students. The latter were selected randomly from a large non-underachieving sample of Spanish secondary education students. For model comparisons between groups, multiple-group causal structural analyses were performed, following a sequence of nested models with increasing constraints. The results showed a good fit of the model in both groups, although about half of the parameters were not invariant across groups. Underachieving students were characterized by their lack of learning strategies, an academic self-concept that exerted less influence on achievement, and a positive effect of the parent-school relationship on academic performance/achievement. Non-underachieving students were characterized by their use of metacognitive strategies, which led to higher academic achievement, a greater effect of self-concept on their achievement, the perception of parental support leading to higher performance, and the positive effects of peer acceptance on academic achievement.     

The developmental interplay of academic self-concept and achievement within and across domains among primary school students

The reciprocal internal/external frame of reference model (RI/EM) extends the internal/external frame of reference model (I/EM) over time and the reciprocal effects model (REM) across domains. The RI/EM postulates positive developmental relations between academic achievement and self-concept within a domain and negative relations across two non-matching domains (e.g., math and English). However, until now, empirical investigations of the RI/EM had only focused on secondary school students from specific countries. In the present study, we test whether the RI/EM also applies to primary school students and to students in the United States, by using a representative longitudinal data set: the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten (ECLS-K: 1998–1999). We found positive reciprocal relations between academic self-concept and standardized test scores within a domain, whereas the effect of prior achievement on self-concept was much stronger (skill-development part) than the effect of self-concept on achievement (self-enhancement). Furthermore, we found negative effects of achievement on subsequent self-concepts across domains (I/E frame of references). Overall, the findings of the study strongly support the RI/EM for primary school students. Our results are compared to previous findings in the literature for secondary school students and are discussed with regard to self-concept formation in primary school.     

A longitudinal study in learning preferences and academic performance in first year medical school

This is a longitudinal study of first year medical students that investigates the relationship between the pattern change of the learning preferences and academic performance. Using the visual, auditory, reading‐writing, and kinesthetic inventory at the beginning of the first and second year for the same class, it was found that within the first year, 36% of the class remained unimodal (single) modality learners (SS), 14% changed from unimodal to multimodality learners (SM), 27% changed from multimodality to unimodal modality learners (MS) and 21% remained as multimodality learners (MM). Among the academic performance through subsequent didactic blocks from Clinical Anatomy, Cell and Subcellular Processes to Medical Neuroscience during first year, the SM group made more significant improvement compared to the SS group. Semi‐structured interview results from the SM group showed that students made this transition between the Clinical Anatomy course and the middle of the Medical Neuroscience course, in an effort to improve their performance. This study suggests that the transition from unimodal to multimodality learning among academically struggling students improved their academic performance in the first year of medical school. Therefore, this may be considered as part of academic advising tools for struggling students to improve their academic performances. Anat Sci Educ 11: 488–495. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.     

Isolated learners: young mature-age students,university culture,and desire for academic sociality

The differentiated experiences of young mature-age students are under-researched and often unacknowledged in higher education literature and university policy. This article contends that, due to their age (early 20s to early 30s), many younger mature-age students feel ‘out of the loop’ and ‘alienated’ from university culture. The sample is drawn from a large first-year subject and analyses students’ written ethnographic reflections on their identities as students within university culture. Using interpretive theory and NVivo coding software to analyse the written assignments, the experience of isolation amongst the young mature-age demographic was a prominent and unanticipated finding. Students in this age range want academic-based sociality but do not identify as either school leaver or ‘mature-age’. They feel like isolated learners. We argue young mature-age students’ experiences of social isolation pose a significant barrier to full participation, negatively impacting their identities as students and their university transition. In Australia and internationally, governments and universities have increased their enrolments of young mature-age students, but their capacity to structure learning environments to suit them are limited without greater knowledge of their diverse experiences. Taking a cultural, socially situated view of learning allows insights into students’ experiences and suggests opportunities for understanding and supporting them.