The role of perceived classroom goal structures,self-efficacy,and engagement in student science achievement

Background: Numerous studies have been conducted to investigate the factors related to science achievement. In these studies, the classroom goal structure perceptions, engagement, and self-efficacy of the students have emerged as important factors to be examined in relation to students’ science achievement.

Purpose: This study examines the relationships between classroom goal structure perception variables (motivating tasks, autonomy support, and mastery evaluation), engagement (behavioral, emotional, cognitive, and agentic engagement), self-efficacy, and science achievement.

Sample: The study participants included 744 seventh-grade students from 9 public schools in two districts of Gaziantep in Turkey.

Design and methods: Data were collected through the administration of four instruments: Survey of Classroom Goals Structures, Engagement Questionnaire, Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire, and Science Achievement Test. The obtained data were subjected to path analysis to test the proposed model.

Results: Students’ perceptions of classroom goal structures (i.e. motivating tasks, autonomy support, and mastery evaluation) were found to be significant predictors of their self-efficacy. Autonomy support was observed to be positively linked to all aspects of engagement, while motivating tasks were found to be related only to cognitive engagement. In addition, mastery evaluation was shown to be positively linked to engagement variables, except for cognitive engagement, and self-efficacy and engagement (i.e. behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement) were observed to be significant predictors of science achievement. Finally, results revealed reciprocal relations among engagement variables, except for agentic engagement.

Conclusions: Students who perceive mastery goal structures tend to show higher levels of engagement and self-efficacy in science classes. The study found that students who have high self-efficacy and who are behaviorally, emotionally, and cognitively engaged are more successful in science classes. Accordingly, it is recommended that science teachers utilize inquiry-based and hands-on science activities in science classes and focus on the personal improvement of the students. Furthermore, it is also recommended that they provide students with opportunities to make their own choices and decisions and to control their own actions in science classes.     

Selected characteristics,roles, goals,and satisfactions of department chairmen in state and land-grant institutions

Chairmen at 38 state and land-grant institutions were found to be involved in three major roles: academic, administrative, and leadership. The academic role consists of duties of student involvement and research activities. Chairmen enjoy this role and report high emphasis on concurrent goals but feel frustrated in terms of time to pursue commensurate activities. The administrative role requires the majority of time and also contains some of the less desirable duties. In addition, administrative goals are seen as over-emphasized. The leadership role involves tasks related to academic personnel and program development. It is a major satisfaction realized by accepting the position of chairman. Developing abilities of faculty members and maintaining academic freedom are the two most important goals in this role. The respondents also made suggestions on changes and development programs which would improve their effectiveness.     

The role of IQ, expertise, and motivation in the recall of familiar information

High- and low-IQ children in the first, third, and fifth grades performed two free-recall tasks: a sort-recall task with sets of categorically related pictures, and a class-recall task, with children recalling the current members of their school class. All children were deemed to be experts concerning the composition of their school class, but, unlike experts in other domains, had no special motivation associated with their expertise. Recall and clustering on both tasks were high. The high-IQ children performed better than low-IQ children only on the sort-recall task. IQ was significantly correlated with measures of performance on the sort-recall task but not on the class-recall task. The results reflect the fact that the memory benefits associated with being an expert (here, elimination of IQ effects) are related to the greater knowledge the expert possesses and not to factors of motivation.     

The acquisition of a running response as a function of odor buildup,squad rotation,and introduction of naive subjects

A three-phase experiment was conducted in which rats received a double-alternation schedule of reward and nonreward. During Phase 1, the baseline period, double-alternation behavior was displayed earlier and more strongly by subjects run last in the daily sequence. This finding suggests that both reward and nonreward odor cues are cumulative over subjects. During Phase 2, a subject-rotation procedure was initiated; that is, each day the last subject in the previous day’s running sequence was moved to the first position in the sequence, etc. Rotation to the first position in the group led to an immediate disruption of responding. During Phase 3, two naive rats were inserted at the beginning of the running sequence and two at the end. The results, which showed that the naive animals placed at the end of the sequence acquired the patterning response much faster than those placed in the beginning positions, are interpreted as reflecting preparedness to respond to such intensified odors.     

Survey research in higher education

Although textbooks on educational research give only scant attention to survey research methodology, its extensive use in education provides a strong rationale for improving the preparation of educational researchers in effectively applying survey methods. This study reviews methods for dealing with nonresponse bias, the primary problem presented by survey methods. It also provides an updated review of the literature of studies investigating the effectiveness of incentives to increase survey response rates. We hypothesized that a reanalysis of reviewed studies, using a linear trend test, would resolve the inconsistencies found regarding the effectiveness of incentives to increase response rates. The results of the reanalysis and guidelines for educational researchers in systematically selecting and applying incentives to increase response rates are discussed.     

Teacher engagement in core components of an effective,early childhood professional development course: Links to changes in teacher–child interactions

This study built on prior research regarding the effectiveness of the National Center for Research in Early Childhood Education (NCRECE) course by exploring the individual course components. Core aspects of course engagement and performance were described and examined in relation to improvements in the observed quality of teacher–child interactions. Teacher characteristics were also examined as predictors of course engagement and performance. A sample of 150 preschool teachers participated in a semester-long, credit-bearing, college course designed to improve the quality of their emotional, organizational, and instructional interactions with children. Teachers’ participation and performance in the course were high on average. Teachers’ skill level in accurately and specifically explaining other teachers’ instances of effective teacher–child interactions was related to improvements in their own observed teacher–child interactions. Finally, teachers with an early childhood major and those endorsing child-centered beliefs displayed better skills in detecting other teachers’ high-quality interactions with children. Results are discussed in relation to designing more effective early childhood professional development programs.     

A professor realizes the potential poison of Ivy

This clinical treatise discusses this author's concept of “professorial melancholia,” a progressive emotional process characterized by the negating of a university professor's professional motivation, positive attitudinal focus, and adequate personal self-esteem.