Individual differences in achievement goals: A longitudinal study of cognitive, emotional, and achievement outcomes

Within achievement goal theory debate remains regarding the adaptiveness of certain combinations of goals. Assuming a multiple-goals perspective, we used cluster analysis to classify 1002 undergraduate students according to their mastery and performance-approach goals. Four clusters emerged, representing different goal combinations: high mastery/performance (i.e., multiple goals), dominant mastery, dominant performance, and low mastery/performance (i.e., low motivation). In a longitudinal analysis over one academic year, the clusters were compared on cognitive appraisals (expected achievement, perceived success), achievement-related emotions (enjoyment, boredom, anxiety), and objective measures of academic achievement (final grade in Introductory Psychology, GPA). The low-motivation cluster demonstrated the least adaptive profile across all outcomes. The multiple-goals, mastery, and performance clusters showed equivalent levels of achievement; however, students in the performance cluster were more psychologically and emotionally vulnerable than the multiple-goals and mastery clusters. Our discussion focuses on the immediate and potentially long-term implications of specific goal combinations for students and educators, with particular attention to understanding the cognitive and emotional vulnerabilities of students in the performance cluster which appear despite satisfactory achievement levels.     

"SINUS"——新世纪联邦德国数学与科学(理科)教育改革的探索之路

提高数学与科学(理科)教学效率(Increasing the Efficiency of Mathematics and Science Education,下简称SINUS)是联邦德国于1998年起实施的跨世纪国家级课程改革的优先项目,现已完成了第一期(1998-2003年),正在实施项目的第二期(2004-2008年).其目的是改善和提高新世纪德国基础教育的数学和理科教学质量.论文对该项目的理论分析、模式设计与构建进行了研究,并对其11个研究子项目作了较详细的描述,试图呈现德国教改项目整体设计的理念和思路、特征与方法,以求对我国基础教育课程改革提供有益的借鉴.     

The chimera of the competency-based approach to teaching mathematics: a study of carpentry purchases for home projects

Educational Studies in Mathematics - The competency-based approach conceives mathematics as a necessary tool for dealing with daily-life tasks. Many studies have focused on examining the low math...     

The “new normal” in education

PROSPECTS - Effects rippling from the Covid 19 emergency include changes in the personal, social, and economic spheres. Are there continuities as well? Based on a literature review (primarily of...     

Flounders unlimited

The aim of this paper is to provide an introduction to higher mathematical concepts and techniques as applied to real-world problems. An interesting case study is the 200-mile limit for fisheries presented in Wan (1989, Mathematical Models and their Analysis (New York: Harper and Row)). It is commented upon, re-examined and solved in a different manner inspired by Turing's (1952, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society London , B237 , 37-72) paper as a suitable classroom example for undergraduate students taking a first course on mathematical modelling. Emphasis is made not only on the mathematics--always kept as elementary as possible--but also on interpretations, explanations and translation into plain language of the mathematical expressions and results.     

They have gone,and now what? Understanding re-enrolment patterns in the Catalan public higher education system

Studies of student re-enrolment patterns in higher education constitute, along with traditional studies of persistence and dropout, a key element for improving the quality of higher education institutions. However, these studies tend to be limited as they are centred on a single institution, due to the lack of national-scale data sets for monitoring students between different institutions. Using a longitudinal population-based data set provided by the Catalan University Assurance Agency (AQU), which includes information records on 21,473 undergraduate students, this paper aims to develop and test an exploratory model of student re-enrolment, specifically in the Catalan public university system. We are not only interested in student re-enrolment, but also in whether they do so during the first year after dropout or in the same area of knowledge. Results from logistic regression analysis revealed that although most students return to the university system in the first year after dropout, many of these change to a different area of knowledge, which is clear evidence of dysfunctional and inefficient guidance systems and university entrance. Findings provide a more accurate and complete picture of student re-enrolment behaviour and suggest the need to develop targeted policies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our university systems.     

Contents Vol. 1

Volume Contents

Contents Vol. 1     

Love as a Language for Educational Justice

Abstract

Schools need to do a better job of recognizing the contributions and gifts students bring with them. Such a community-spirit approach could help everyone, from teachers and parents to district leaders and the Secretary of Education, dissuade the public from individualistic school structures and instead focus on equitable solutions that include the norms and histories of the people schools serve.     

Reading ability and memory span: Long-term memory contributions to span for good and poor readers

A number of studies have shown that childrenwith reading difficulties perform poorly ontests of verbal memory span. The extent towhich differences in memory span for good andpoor readers can be explained by differences ina long-term memory component to span as well asby differences in short-term memory processeswas investigated in this study. Memory spanand rehearsal rate were measured for high andlow frequency words and nonwords. Althoughmemory span performance for high frequencywords was comparable for all reading abilitygroups, good readers had better memory spanperformance for low frequency words. This wasattributable to differences in both short-termand long-term memory contributions to spanperformance. Differences between readingability groups also emerged when memory spanfor nonwords was measured. In this case,differences between groups also appeared to bethe result of difficulties which poor readersencountered in learning newphonologically-based materials (i.e. nonwords). The nature of the inter-relationships betweenmemory span, reading and measures ofphonological awareness are discussed in thelight of these findings.