Active on Facebook and Failing at School? Meta-Analytic Findings on the Relationship Between Online Social Networking Activities and Academic Achievement

The popularity of social networking sites (SNSs) among adolescents and young adults has raised concerns that the intensity of using these platforms might be associated with lower academic achievement. The empirical findings on this issue, however, are anything but conclusive. Therefore, we present four random-effects meta-analyses including 59 independent samples (total N = 29,337) on the association between patterns of SNS use and grades. The meta-analyses identified small negative effects of \( \widehat{\rho} \) = ??.07, 95% CI [??.12, ??.02] for general SNS use and \( \widehat{\rho} \) = ??.10, 95% CI [??.16, ??.05] for SNS use related to multitasking. General SNS use was unrelated to the time spent studying for school (\( \widehat{\rho} \) = ??.03, 95% CI [??0.11, 0.06]) and no support for the time displacement hypothesis could be found in a meta-analytical mediation analysis. SNS use for academic purposes exhibited a small positive association, \( \widehat{\rho} \) = .08, 95% CI [.02, .14]. Hypotheses with regard to cross-cultural differences were not supported.     

Doctoral students’ experiences leading to completion or attrition: a matter of sense,progress and distress

A central trend in qualitative studies investigating doctoral students’ dropout is to stress the importance of students’ integration and socialisation in their working environment. Yet, few of these studies actually compared the experiences of doctoral students who completed or quit their PhD. In order to overcome this limitation and identify the factors that differentiate these two groups, the present study interviewed 21 former doctoral students: 8 completers and 13 non-completers. The results show that what best differentiates these two groups of participants is the extent to which they feel that they are moving forward, without experiencing too much distress, on a research project that makes sense to them. We assume that this set of factors is central in the dropout process. Support from doctoral peers was found to play a positive role overall but did not contribute to differentiating the two groups, presumably because peers have a limited impact on dissertation progress. Supervisors’ support was central to the participants’ stories; it is thus assumed to play a role in the process, but this role is complex and needs further investigation. These results call for a stronger consideration of the doctoral task itself when investigating the process of persistence and attrition and for a more integrated framework that considers jointly both task- and environment-related aspects.     

Supporting Self-Regulated Learning With Digital Media Using Motivational Regulation and Metacognitive Prompts

Studying with digital media, learners often struggle because of inadequate self-regulation. Previous research presented clear evidence of metacognitive prompts being effective in supporting learning with digital media. This study examines the potential of motivational regulation prompts, which are assumed to additionally support self-regulated learning. During a 50-minute learning session in a digital media learning environment, 215 university students received either no prompts, only metacognitive prompts, only motivational regulation prompts, or both types of prompts. Task value, metacognitive control, task-related learning activities, and knowledge were assessed at a pretest, posttest, and follow-up. The results replicated known positive effects of metacognitive prompts and revealed additional supportive effects of motivational regulation prompts on all dependent variables. Path modeling of the experimentally induced changes was in line with a theoretical model specifying proximal and distal effects of both prompts. Altogether, this indicates that especially motivational regulation prompts could be an effective scaffold to support SRL with digital media.     

The relation between mastery goals and intrinsic motivation among university students: a longitudinal study

The present work broadens previous research on students’ mastery goals and intrinsic motivation by exploring their reciprocal effects using a longitudinal approach. To this end, a study using four measurement points was conducted during 10 weeks of one semester. The sample comprised 1156 students enrolled in psychology courses at a medium-sized university in Germany who completed questionnaires. The findings showed that both constructs were intra-individually stable over the course of one semester although the rank-order stability of mastery goals was higher than the rank-order stability of intrinsic motivation. Cross-lagged structural equation models revealed that students’ mastery goals predicted their intrinsic motivation throughout the semester. However, intrinsic motivation did not predict mastery goals. Results are discussed in terms of a potential integration of achievement goal theory and self-determination theory and their practical implications.     

An approach to assessing and facilitating causal language in adults with learning disabilities based on Piagetian theory

Salient characteristics associated with Piagetian cognitive stages served as the basis for developing a linguistic taxonomy of causal semantic relations. Causal statements from adults with learning disabilities and normally achieving adults were analyzed and organized within this taxonomy. A relationship between Piagetian cognitive stages and verbal expressions of causality was identified. Based on this relationship, principles of Piagetian cognitive theory were used to design assessment and intervention plans for adults with learning disabilities.     

“Is going two days now the pot turn down”: Stories for all

For education in the United Kingdom, 1985 was the year of the Swann: the year that the Committee of Inquiry into the Education of Children from Ethnic Minority Groups, chaired by Lord Swann, published its 850-page report, significantly titled Education for All. And the month was March, renowned for Mad Hares and Hatters and for the Children's Literature Confefence at Brighton. In this paper, I sought to take a bite out of the Conference theme of Fantasy Worlds and chew it over in terms of the Swann Report. In reviewing the oral tradition, folktales, and contemporary fiction, I followed the two distinct strands identified by Swann: provision for ethnic minority children and provision for all children in a culturally plural society.Gillian Klein set up the Library in the Inner London Education Authority's Centre for Urban Educational Studies in 1974, establishing the first collection in the U.K. of resources for schools in a multicultural society. She has written widely for teachers, librarians, and children and is founder-editor of the journalMulticultural Teaching. Her most recent publication isReading Into Racism (Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1985).