Relationship Between Children's Social Competence,Learning Motivation and School Achievement

The influences of the social environment and affective factors on academic achievement were identified as early as the 1970s. This line of research continued in the following decades, but the relationship between social competence and academic achievement remained a neglected issue. The aim of the empirical research presented in this paper was to define those components of social competence that influence learning motivation and academic achievement. The following components of social competence were selected for analysis: dynamism, dominance, cooperativeness, politeness, scrupulousness, perseverance, emotional control, impulse control, openness, external-internal control attitude and attachments. Four questionnaires were administered to a sample of 6th and 10th grade students (altogether 438 subjects). The results show that the assessed social factors are not affected considerably by age. The correlation analyses reveal the importance of intrinsic motivation within learning motivation, manifested in its strong relationship to the variables representing the social factors of personality except for emotional stability. The results of the regression analysis indicate that friendliness and openness have the largest impact on each other among social factors extraversion. The results show that conscientiousness, openness and academic self-concept explains most of the variance in intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation seems to exert considerable effect on these three variables.     

Gendered barriers to educational opportunities: resettlement of Sudanese refugees in Australia

This paper argues that whilst equitable educational pathways are integrated into educational policy discourses in Australia, there are significant gendered barriers to educational participation among members of the Sudanese refugee groups. The specific conditions of forced migration reinforce disadvantage and further limit opportunities. Cultural factors play a key role in this, as the data from this study demonstrate. Participants in this study are Sudanese refugees who arrived in Australia as part of the humanitarian programme. The paper draws upon interviews and focus group data that were collected for a larger study on the broader issue of resettlement of Sudanese refugees in Australia. This paper argues that women from refugee backgrounds are particularly at risk and face cultural and linguistic barriers in accessing educational opportunities.     

The solution of compare problems among first-grade students

This study attempts to specify the relational calculi that young students elaborate for solving compare problems, which have been identified as being among the most difficult of the addition problems. Based on an integration of hypotheses and models from research attempting to account for problem-solving activity on these problems, an a priori analysis makes explicit the relational calculi capable of leading to the solution of six compare problems. This analysis provides a foundation for an analysis of protocols, which were collected from 25 first-grade students solving and reformulating compare problems. The results highlight the dynamic character of the structuring and arithmetizing processes in setting up the relationships within a problem. Thus, the numerical calculi employed are interpreted as a function of the structure of the problem and, in turn, the situation described by the problem derives its meaning from a knowledge of the arithmetic operations activated by the numerical calculi.     

Le diagnostic du potentiel d’apprentissage par LPAD: Une etude de la fidélité

The present study was intended to test some of the psychometric properties of Feuerstein’s Learning Potential Assessment Device (LPAD), in particular the reliability of the Set Variations II, considered to assess modificability or learning capacity. Thirty 10-year-old children were studied: an experimental group (N=20) submitted to two training sessions with Set Variations II and a control group (N=10). Both groups were administered three times the Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM). The experimenter’s interventions during training were semi-standardized, based on an examination guide, and the helps given were classified in four types. Analyses dealt with the number and type of helps provided as well as with errors during training. Correlations between these indices for the two sessions of training were rather low, indicating weak stability, in particular with respect to the helps provided. Correlations were also computed between the gains in SPM for the three administrations, indicating low stability in amount of progression. Further, it was also noted that the experimental group did not progress more than the control group. Conclusions are drawn with respect to reliability and validity of the Set Variations Test, as well as, on a more theoretical level, with respect to the concept of cognitive modifiability.     

Social problem-solving among disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged adolescents

The study examined the differences of social problem-solving (SPS) among 12-, 14- and 16-year-old Hungarian disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged adolescents (N = 382) and investigated the relationship between SPS and family background (FB). SPS was measured through students’ own and their teachers’ evaluations by an adapted questionnaire (Social Problem-Solving Inventory–Revised, factors: negative/positive problem orientation, rationality, impulsivity and avoidance). Based on the total values of SPS, the difference between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged adolescents was significant in all age groups in the case of negative orientation. The difference was significant in the case of impulsivity at the age of 12; in the case of avoidance at the age of 14; in the case of rationality and avoidance at the age of 16. FB had the strongest link with negative orientation, impulsivity and avoidance. In case of impulsivity and avoidance, variance explained by FB was higher among 16-year olds than among 12- and 14-year olds.     

Coach Selections and the Relative Age Effect in Male Youth Ice Hockey

Relative age effects (RAEs; when relatively older children possess participation and performance advantages over relatively younger children) are frequent in male team sports. One possible explanation is that coaches select players based on physical attributes, which are more likely witnessed in relatively older athletes. Purpose: To determine if coach selections are responsible for RAEs by comparing RAEs in male players who played competitive versus noncompetitive ice hockey. Method: Using chi-square, we analyzed the birth dates of 147,991 male ice hockey players who were 5 to 17 years old. Players' birth dates were divided into four quartiles, beginning with January to March, which coincides with Hockey Canada's selection year. Results: There were strong RAEs (p < .001) when players were selected to competitive teams by coaches through a tryout system. On noncompetitive teams that did not have coach selections, there were strong RAEs (p < .001) from 5 to 8 years old, but not 9 to 17 years old. Conclusions: Although coaches might perpetuate RAEs, other influential social agents might include parents, which ought to be investigated in future research.     

The impact of self-as-a-model interventions on children's self-regulation of learning and swimming performance

We compared two self-as-a-model interventions: self-modelling (viewing oneself perform an adaptive behaviour) and self-observation (viewing oneself perform at current skill level). Operating within Zimmerman's (1989, 2000) theory of self-regulated learning, we examined the effect of the modelling interventions on three self-regulatory processes (self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation, and self-satisfaction), as well as physical performance. Thirty-three children were randomly assigned to one of three experimental groups. The two self-as-a model groups received the modelling intervention just before physical practice, whereas the control group received physical practice only. Analyses of the retention scores revealed significant differences for all dependent measures. Post hoc testing showed consistently that the self-modelling group performed better than the self-observation and control groups, and that the two latter groups performing similarly. These results provide support for the implementation of self-modelling interventions with children when teaching motor skills.     

Effects of a rule change that eliminates body-checking on the relative age effect in Ontario minor ice hockey

Relative age effects in sport reflect an over-representation of athletes born early in a selection year that lead to selection and performance advantages. These effects might be enhanced by rules that increase physicality. An opportunity to investigate these influences arose when Hockey Canada altered its body-checking rules. Two studies are described that investigate the possible influence of this rule change. Study 1 used cross-sectional data to contrast relative age effects for 9-year-olds in games with and without body-checking (birth quartile 1 ranged from 27 to 39%; birth quartile 4 from 10 to 20%). Study 2 used quasi-longitudinal data to examine age effects when players transitioned from a season in which body-checking was permitted to one that prohibited such checking (birth quartile 1 ranged from 27 to 39%; birth quartile 4 from 11 to 20%). Chi-square statistics demonstrated relative age effects in both studies irrespective of body-checking. Post-hoc analyses indicated reductions in these effects that were limited to some second and third quartiles when body-checking was prohibited. Body-checking is not a critical mechanism of relative age effects. The physicality of ice hockey, regardless of body-checking, and increased experience in ice hockey are influential.