The case for using exemplars to develop academic self-efficacy

Abstract

Academic self-efficacy is critical to academic success. Hence those working in higher education need to make deliberate and substantial attempts to foster academic competence, confidence, persistence and resilience in the students they teach, given they are essential components of academic self-efficacy. Addressing an identified gap in the exemplars literature, this article pays particular attention to how exemplars can be used in an embedded and sustained manner with the intent of fostering and supporting these components. Taking into account the three dimensions of self-efficacy – strength, magnitude and generality – and the various sources of information students draw upon to make judgements about their capabilities, four inter-dependent and inter-related practices and associated experiences are identified. We argue that collectively these practices and experiences can accentuate the positive effects and ameliorate the potential negative effects of exemplar use on student academic self-efficacy.     

A multivariate examination of parent involvement and the social and academic competencies of urban kindergarten children

The primary objective of this study was to obtain a multidimensional picture of parent involvement in kindergarten. Participants in this study were 307 low‐income, ethnic minority children and their primary caregivers in a large, urban school district in the Northeast. Results revealed that kindergarten parent involvement dimensions (i.e., from the Parent Involvement in Children's Education Scale; Fantuzzo, Tighe, McWayne, Davis, & Childs, 2002) were congruent with those established with preschool (Head Start) parents. Multivariate relationships were found between kindergarten parent involvement dimensions and children's social and academic competencies. Parents who actively promote learning in the home, have direct and regular contact with school, and experience fewer barriers to involvement have children who demonstrate positive engagement with their peers, adults, and learning. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 41: 363–377, 2004.     

Developmental skills related to writing and reading acquisition in the intermediate grades

Multiple measures of the fine motor system, the orthographic system, the phonological system, the working memory system, the verbal intelligence system, the writing system, and the reading system were administered to 300 students in grades 4, 5, and 6. Results showed that the writing system and the reading system share many of the same orthographic, phonological, and working memory sub-processes but thepatterns of concurrent relation between these sub-processes and writing and between these subprocesses and reading differ. These results are consistent with the view that writing and reading draw upon the same as well as unique cognitive systems.     

Direct Experience With Nature and the Development of Biological Knowledge

Research Findings: An emerging consensus is that casual, direct contact with nature influences the development of children’s biological knowledge. Here we review the existing literature on this topic, focusing on the effects of (a) rural versus urban rearing environments and (b) pet ownership and care on children’s biological concepts and reasoning. Although the research is limited, the evidence suggests that these factors positively influence children’s understanding of specific biological phenomena (e.g., internal organ function, biological inheritance) and reasoning patterns (e.g., anthropocentrism, ecological reasoning). Practice or Policy: In the modern context of diminishing outdoor playtime and limited experience with nature, this review highlights the importance of direct exposure to the natural world for children’s conceptual development in the domain of biology.     

The Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance: Does It Work with Low-Income Urban Children?

The present study represents a twofold investigation wherein ( a ) the construct validity of the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children (PSPCSA) and ( b ) the developmental appropriateness of the PSPCSA were empirically examined for urban Head Start children. Data were collected from a sample of 476 African-American children (48–64 months) representing children enrolled in a large metropolitan Head Start program. In the first study, neither replication of the test author's statistical procedures nor a series of exploratory factor analyses produced psychologically meaningful constructs. A second study tested the assumption that the PSPCSA administration format is developmentally appropriate for preschool children. Results from this study did not support the assumption that the PSPCSA is developmentally appropriate for preschool children. Implications for establishing valid assessment methods for urban Head Start children were discussed.