Showing papers in "European Journal of Psychology of Education in 2005"

The relationship between students' approaches to learning and the assessment of learning outcomes

Abstract: The purpose of the present study is to gain more insight into the relationship between students' approaches to learning and students' quantitative learning outcomes, as a function of the different components of problem-solving that are measured within the assessment. Data were obtained from two sources: the revised two factor study process questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F) and students' scores in their final multiple-choice exam. Using a model of cognitive components of problem-solving translated into specifications for assessment, the multiple-choice questions were divided into three categories. Three aspects of the knowledge structure that can be targeted by assessment of problem-solvi ng were used as the distinguishing categories. These were: understanding of concepts: understanding of the principles that link concepts: and linking of concepts and principles to application conditions and procedures. The 133 second year law school students in our sample had slightly higher scores for the deep approach than for the surface approach to learning. Plotting students' approaches to learning indicated that many students had low scores for both deep and surface approaches to learning. Correlational analysis showed no relationship between students' approaches to learning and the components of problem-solving being measured within the multiple choice assessment. Several explanations are discussed.

Fitting into the stereotype: How gender-stereotyped perceptions of prototypic peers relate to liking for school subjects

Abstract: The goal of the study was twofold: (1) to examine the relationship between the gender-stereotyped perceptions of prototypic peers excelling in different school subjects and the personal liking for these subjects; (2) to examine whether the popularity of adolescents depends on their gender-role congruent achievement at school. Participants were n=198 8th and 9th graders. Prototypical male and female peers preferring physics were conceived of as possessing more masculine and fewer feminine traits compared to prototypes favouring music. The distance between self-image and description of prototype varied according to sex and the favourite school subject the prototypic peer was associated with. Students preferred physics/music to the extent that they conceived of themselves as similar to the physics/music prototype. Analysis of variance on presumed popularity of male and female peers excelling in physical science or music showed that boys appear to sanction gender role nonconformity (disliking girls with the favourite subject physics and boys with the favourite subject music), while girls are perceived as liking peers who favour physics less than peers who favour music, regardless of their sex. Female participants excelling in physical science did report feeling unpopular with boys, whereas male participants excelling in music did not.

Relations between adolescents' self-evaluations, time perspectives, motivation for school and their achievement in different countries and at different ages

Abstract: The present study focused on the relations between the self-efficacy, social self-concept, time perspectives, school investment and academic achievement of students in four different European countries and in different adolescence periods. A total of 1623 students completed questionnaires. The relations between the concepts proved not to be specific to the Western or to the former Communist bloc countries studied. The expected general decline in investment and academic achievement over the adolescence period showed up in all four countries studied. Contrary to our hypothesis, however, this decline could not be explained by growing influences of either social self-concept or time perspectives regarding personal development on their investment. In fact, the effects of social self-concept were strongest for the youngest adolescence group. Students’ social self-concept was the best predictor for their investment, while self-efficacy proved to predict academic achievement best in all adolescence periods.

What animated illustrations conditions can improve technical document comprehension in young students? Format, signaling and control of the presentation

Abstract: We study the comprehension of a multimedia technical document about gear functioning by young pupils. The research is focused on the effect of three factors on the construction of a mental model: illustration format (animated versus static) signaling cues (presence versus absence) learner-control of information delivery (three rhythms of presentation: speed, slow and self-controlled). The experimental procedure, conducted with 123 children, follows three phases: pre-test, individual passation of the lesson, comprehension test, delayed post-test. The goal of the pre-test is the evaluation of prior knowledge about gears, but also the control of spatial and verbal working memory aptitude and reading performance. The results show an effect of the animated format, of signaling cues and of the rhythm on the immediate comprehension test and delayed test. For the immediate comprehension test, these effects are different according to the kind of comprehension question (recall, transfer, explanation). These effects are maintained at the delayed post-test, for the self-controlled condition and for the pupils with low prior knowledge. The factor information delivery rhythm shows an effect for the delayed post-test. Our observation device of the behaviour of the child during the lesson was specially designed to explore the reading strategies between the medias.

Conflicting values and their impact on learning

Abstract: Based on Inglehart’s (1997) idea that the importance of modern values is challenged by a growing importance of postmodern values in postindustrialised sociaties, we analyse the consequences of students’ attempts to integrate (modern) achievement values and (postmodern) well-being values. Since opportunities for value integration are limited, students should frequently experience conflicts, whether to work for school or to engage in free time activities. In a questionnaire study, students (n=184) showed mostly high scores in both, achievement and well-being values. Value conflict — measured by a specific conflict formula — was related to the frequency of action conflicts as well as to the reported difficulty to decide which action to pursue. Values predicted the students’ school-related decisions. Furthermore, students with high achievement values reported better performance in school-related tasks than students with high well-being values. Finally, values were systematically related to time investment and grades.

Mathematical performance predicts progress in reading comprehension among 7-year olds

Abstract: The aim of this longitudinal study was to investigate cross-lagged relationships between mathematical performance and reading comprehension during the first and second years of primary school. 114 Finnish-speaking children were examined six times on mathematics and reading comprehension during Years 1 and 2. At the beginning of Year 1, they were also tested on initial mathematics and reading skill, general concept ability and visual-motor skills. The results showed, firstly, that mathematics and reading comprehension were highly associated with each other across both years. Secondly, mathematical performance predicted subsequent reading comprehension during the first year rather than vice versa. The results suggest that it is important to pay more attention to the role of mathematical knowledge when children are entering to school.

Motivation and learning - The role of interest in construction of representation of text and long-term retention: Inter- and intraindividual analyses

Abstract: The present work examined the influence of topic interest on the strength of different components of text representation and long-term retention according to the model of text processing by van Dijk and Kintsch (1983). A Series of relevant personality characteristics were assessed to control for alternative explanations of interest effect. A total of 286 8th, 9th, and 10th grade students was assigned to either a high topic interest or a low topic interest group. The participants had to read tow different texts (two weeks). Immediately afterwards, various process variables were assessed: Finally, participants weren given a recognition and verification tests, designed to assess the strength of the verbatim, propositional, and situational text representation. One Week after reading, students completed a recall rneasure: The interindividual finding with respect to the components of the representation of text revealed that the verbatim and the prepositional representation were not very predictable. The intraindividual analyses were more successful. The results were more consistent and interpretable with respect to the recall of text. It was shown quite clearly that the effects of interest are not only short-term. Most importantly, it could be shown that topic interest is related to text recall independently of other significant predictors.

Study Persistence and Academic Achievement as a Function of the Type of Competing Tendencies.

Abstract: In order to understand and predict students’ achievement and persistence at learning activities, many contemporary motivational models consider how much students are motivated for their school work. However, students’ achievement and persistence might not only be affected by their amount of study motivation, but also by the motivation to engage in competing alternative activities, as suggested three decades ago by Atkinson and Birch in their “Dynamics of Action” (1970). Building on this line of theorizing, the present contribution indicates that it is not only instructive to consider the level of students’ motivation for these competing activities, but also the type of activities they engage in, that is leisure vs. working activities. Two studies demonstrated that whereas time spent on working activities is inversely related to study motivation, attitude, persistence and academic achievement, such relationships were not found for leisure time engagement. Spending some time on leisure time activities does not interfere with optimal learning.

Parents’ past experiences as a mediational tool for understanding their child’s current mathematical learning

Abstract: This article explores the ways in which parents use their own past experiences as a mediational tool for understanding their child’s current school learning. Following a sociocultural approach parents’ past experiences were examined drawing on the notions of (1) heterochronicity, which looks at the partially overlapping histories of the individual and society and (2) prolepsis whereby the imagined future mediates and constrains the world of the present. The analysis draws on 22 interviews with parents whose children were from three primary multiethnic schools in a town in the Southeast of England. The findings brought to light the means by which parents can either intentionally or unintentionally use the past to inform their current representations and practices. Thus at times they use their past experiences to mediate internalisation (reproduction of the experience), at other times they use them to promote externalisation (change brought about by the experience). It is within this process that parents projected a future ideal for their child, which was either congruent or discordant with their own past.

The social mediation of learning in multiethnic schools: Introduction

Abstract: The ethnic diversity within schools is a major challenge for education in most European countries. The diversity of cultural backgrounds of students and parents leads to new transitions, enables new forms of participation, and demands the creation of new concepts, values and practices. Processes of mediation have a vital place in the required developments. The contributions to this issue study the relationship between learning and social mediation on three levels: (1) the mediating role of cultural tools, in particular language and the curriculum, (2) the role of peers and teachers in the appropriation of cultural tools by minority students, and (3) the mediating role of social representations in the shaping of students’ identities at school.

Social Representations as Mediators of Mathematics Learning in Multiethnic Classrooms.

Abstract: Drawing on socio-cultural theory, we understand the norms regulating the practices within the mathematics classroom as resulting from the social representations of the socially dominant groups and of the school culture related to what constitutes learning mathematics. Immigrant studients, having their own personal histories as members of particular social groups, and having been in school traditions other than the one predominant in the host society, have their own images of what mathematics in school is about. Individuals interacting in the classroom are all re-interpreting the different episodes from the perspective of the social representations of the larger groups with which they identify themselves. In multiethnic classrooms different re-interpretations of the same norms clash. The lack of negotiation gives rise to obstacles to immigrant students’ participation in the mathematical conversations and, therefore, interferes with the students’ learning process.

Value orientations and action conflicts in students’ everyday life: An interview study

Abstract: The assumption that today’s German students are able to successfully combine synthesis achievement values and well-being values appears to be overly optimistic when regarded from the perspective of motivational psychology. The results of a qualitative-quantitative interview study with 25 students indicate that achievement and well-being values may come into conflict in everyday life. Incentives for achievement and well-being rarely co-occur in the same action domains. Whereas the school context is dominated by achievement incentives, leisure time is dominated by well-being incentives. Since both achievement and well-being are appreciated by most students, they should be prone to experience frequent everyday action conflicts. The motivational characteristics of postdecisional action conflicts are described on the phenomenal level and their possible impairing effects for learning processes are pointed out. Finally, alternative forms of value synthesis, which might be realized more successfully, are discussed.

The construction of word meaning in a multicultural classroom. Mediational tools in peer collaboration during mathematics lessons

Abstract: In this article, we examine the construction of word meaning by students during collaborative activities in a multicultural classroom at a Dutch primary school. The analysis is based on recordings of student talk in small groups of four or five students during mathematics lessons. Difficulties with specific terms and expressions frequently arose during group work. Students could easily ask each other about the meaning of difficult words as a part of the collaborative activities they were accustomed to. In the groups with both Dutch and minority children, the minority students addressed their Dutch classmates as language experts. Conversations about language difficulties also occurred in the groups with only minority students. The conversations about word meaning revealed four patterns: (1) ignoring a question about the meaning of a word, (2) showing the meaning using gestures, (3) explaining, or (4) discussing word meaning. In none of the cases were the language problems solved by referring to the everyday meaning of the word. Instead, the conversations focussed directly on the specialised meaning which the word had in the context of the mathematics lesson. This means that the children used the mathematical discourse as a mediational tool for constructing a mathematical meaning of the words.

Learning about ‘learning identities’ in the school arithmetic practice: The experience of two young minority Gypsy girls in the Greek context of education

Abstract: The present study explores the experience of two young Gypsy girls in solving school arithmetic tasks in interaction with an adult who supports their participation. Along with learning the use of arithmetic tools, a basic element concerning the experience of the two girls as they try to gain entry into the school practice is learning about developing relevant ‘learning identities’. Analysis of the girls’ interaction with an adult identifies that the type of ‘learning identities’ required involve at least two dimensions: (a) learning to value the use of formal arithmetic tools, and (b) learning about relevant ways of behaving in the school mathematics practice.

A social-constructivist approach in physical education: Influence of dyadic interactions on tactical choices in an instructional team sport setting

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to analyze the role of dyadic verbal peer interactions in a team sport such as handball. Participants, 20 boys and 20 girls aged between 11 and 12, were assigned to two learning condition groups. The task was an instructional setting in team handball (2 attackers against 1 defender in each half court). The experimental group with verbal exchanges was expected to obtain higher performances in the post-tests than those who had not interacted verbally between playing sequences. The secondary objective was to investigate whether dyadic gender had an effect on tactical choice and cognitive skills in playing games. The experiment demonstrated the superiority of the dyadic verbal interaction group over the non-interactive group as regards tactical choices and action projects. It also showed gender differences since males performed better females with regard to action efficiency. The results are discussed within the theoretical framework of the social psychology of acquisition and development and within that of teaching for understanding. In conclusion, the socio-constructivist approach would seem to be pertinent in team sport decision-making tasks.

Mothering young children: Child care, stress and social life

Abstract: This study focuses on mothers’ and young children’s everyday social experience by analyzing their social relationships, social support in child care, mother-child interaction, and mothers’ evaluations of all these aspects. Three hundred and eighty-four mothers with a child aged between I and 3 years, living in a city in Central Italy, were interviewed. A Principal Components Analysis was performed on items concerning mothers’ and children’s social experience and mothers’ evaluations. Four PCA generated factors were regressed on the mother’s and Four PCA generated factors were regressed on the mother’s and child’s characteristics. Results show that, even in a context characterized by social conditions supportive to mothering, there is a comparatively widespread desire for social interaction with other mothers and children. A stress related to intensive mothering was found in a minority of the mothers and was predicted by the mothers’ continuous commitment in child care during the whole day. Results are discussed in relation to the hypothesis that social contacts with other mothers may have a mitigating effect on mothers’ stress. One implication is that early educational services that provide the opportunity for social intercourse among parents can be an important resource for them.

The curriculum as a tool for inclusive participation: Students’ voices in a case study in a Portuguese multicultural school

Abstract: Portuguese schools in urban areas became multicultural during the 90s. Some students are quite distanced from the school culture. Many repeat grades. The curriculum emerges as a means of (re)organizing school practice, so that it is designed to foster inclusion. It is a tool for social mediation between the culture and knowledge of teenagers, and academic ones. It shapes the interactions between participants, cultural tools and knowledge. The principles of inclusive schooling promote the respect for diversity, underlining the need to listen to all voices of a learning community. According to the sociocultural approach appropriating knowledge and developing competencies is a complex process. Interactive practices shape students’ academic performances. Collaborative project work has been used to promote students’ engagement. This action-research project developed an alternative curriculum in a class (grades 5 and 6) from a poor and multicultural school in Lisbon. A follow-up investigated the impact of the educational changes on the learners’ participation in school and in social practices, and on their future life. We aim at analyzing this alternative curriculum process by focussing on students’ narratives. Results highlight improvements in students’ academic and social competencies. Changing practices during compulsory education facilitated achievement and resulted in a better socialization.

Discourse and learning in a Norwegian multiethnic classroom: Developing shared understanding through classroom discourse

Abstract: This article explores the mediational role of classroom discourse in the development of shared understanding in the multiethnic classroom Successful participation in classroom discourse not only requires linguistic and cognitive competence, but also demands cultural knowledge, which often is taken for granted. Research carried out in a multiethnic third grade class in Norway reveals that a discrepancy between teachers’ implicit assumptions of what is “common knowledge” and minority pupils’ lack of background knowledge might impede joint meaning construction. Discourse episodes, illustrating various misunderstandings, are analyzed and compared. The analysis of the discourse focuses on how the topical content, the multiple reference frames applied, and the particular forms of discourse used, jointly create the framework within which development of shared understanding occurs or fails to occur. It becomes apparent that various discourse patterns, creating different premises for pupil participation, afford different ways of dealing with the misunderstandings encountered. It is argued that disparities in understanding should not be looked upon as “transmission errors”, that are something to be avoided in classroom dialogue, but might be viewed as generators of new understandings. The article is based on qualitative analysis of discourse excerpts, using transcribed audio recordings, field notes and interviews.

The instruments for a blind teacher of english: The challenge of the board

Abstract: This article reports on the training of a blind foreign language teacher of sighted students and the designing of a substitute of the board. A composition of computer devices available today was provided to the blind teacher in order to get pieces of writing projected on a screen. This basic instrument was transformed through instrumental geneses (Rabardel, 1995) i.e., transformations of the blind teacher’s activity and/or of the properties of the artefacts in order to get writings readable for sighted students as well as adapted to didactic purposes. The article deals with knowledge construction, which implies four categories of actions on pieces of writing: adding, erasing, organising and pointing to. The questions involved are: how can a blind teacher manage these various actions? What are the limits of such instrumental geneses?

A Comparative Study of Mothers' Beliefs and Childrearing Behaviour: The Effect of the Child's Disability and the Mother's Educational Level.

Abstract: The article presents the results of a data analysis intended to examine the relationship between children’s personality, maternal beliefs and childrearing behaviour and various disabilities on the one hand (mildly, moderate or severe mental handicap, sensorial handicap, developmental disabilities) and mothers’ educational level on the other.

Value Orientations in Relation to Mathematical Self-Esteem: An Exploratory Study of Their Role in Mathematical Achievement among German, Israeli, and Canadian 14-Year-Olds.

Abstract: The present paper offers an exploration of the role achievement values play in the generation of mathematical achievement as measured in school grades and test scores. Based on a comparative study of 1665 German, Israeli, and Canadian 14-year-olds two hypotheses are tested. First, it is assumed that achievement value preferences have a dual role in the generation of high academic performance. On the one hand, they are assumed to facilitate a high achievement-related self-esteem, which itself is a strong covariate of good academic performance. On the other hand, they are expected to sensitize for achievement pressure from parents, which in turn increases anxiety, and henceforth lowers the achievement-related self-esteem. Secondly, it is assumed that one will find cross-cultural variation in the strength of the two postulated effects. The “positive” role of achievement values is assumed to be stronger in cultures with a more positive view on achievement (Canada, Israel), whereas the “negative” role is assumed to be stronger in cultures with a less positive view on achievement (Germany). Hypotheses were tested in a structural equation modeling frame, and are essentially confirmed. Effect sizes are, however, low, and confirmation pertains almost exclusively to grades, not to test scores as measures of mathematical abilities.

The use of mathematical symbolism in problem solving: An empirical study carried out in grade one in the French community of Belgium

Abstract: This article relates to an empirical study based on the use of mathematical symbolism in problem solving. Twenty-five pupils were interviewed individually at the end of grade one; each of them was asked to solve and symbolize 14 different problems. In their classical curriculum, these pupils have received a traditional education based on a “top-down” approach (an approach that is still applied within the French Community of Belgium): conventional symbols are presented to the pupils immediately with an explanation of what they represent and how they should be used. Teaching then focuses on calculation techniques (considered as a pre-requisite for solving problems). The results presented here show the abilities (and difficulties) demonstrated by the children in making connections between the conventional symbolism taught in class and the informal approaches they develop when faced with the problems that are put to them. The limits of the “top-down” approach are then discussed as opposed to the more innovative “bottom-up” type approaches, such as those developed by supporters of Realistic Mathematics Educations in particular.

Reanalyzing the 16pf-5 second order structure: Exploratory versus confirmatory factorial analysis

Abstract: In the present study, the second order structures of the 16PF-5 for 3, 4, 5 and 6 factors are analysed in a sample of 636 undergraduate students and their friends and relatives, with a mean age of 25.09 years (sd: 9.20). A two-stage analysis with Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (EFA and CFA) was performed assigning subjects either to a calibration sample (314 subjects), or to a validation sample (322 subjects). First, EFAs were conducted for each of the 4-factor structures with the calibration sample, and second, CFAs were specified and assessed also for the 4-factor different structures. Four different situations were tested, simple structure, secondary loadings >.30, modification indices between covariance error terms >20, and modification indices between covariance error terms >15. Results show that the 16PF-5 simple structure yields poor fit indices throughout all models, although when incorporating secondary loadings and correlating the variances of the error terms with modification indices >15, the 5-factor model appears to be the best representation of observed data. The usefulness of CFA in the study of personality structural questionnaires is discussed in the light of these results.

Determinants of students’ school-identification in secondary vocational education

Abstract: This article reports on a study regarding the school-identification of 1819 first-year students in secondary vocational education. We measured the school-identification of these adolescents and used the perspective of self-regulation to define three blocks of potential determinants, including the students’ personal goals (1) their appraisals of the school and classroom (2), and their peer- and home-identities (3). One other block included students’ personal characteristics, such as general ability (i.e., course-level) and gender (4). In a two-wave regression procedure we investigated the contributions of the four blocks of potential determinants in explaining students’ school-identification. The first wave showed three key-determinants, including students’ appraisals of teacher-expectation and course-utility and the extent to which they felt alienated from their school. Of secondary importance were students’ relational identities, with peer-identity being more important than home-identity. Personal goals were the least important determinants. The second wave showed how the key-determinants were explained by the students’ appraisals of mutual-support, and involvement, fairness, humour, learning-support, reward and personal respect of their teachers. Elaborate interpretations of the results are provided in the discussion.

Variations in fathers' discourse on fatherhood and in family alliances during infancy

Abstract: The aim of this pilot study is to analyse the discourse of fathers of toddlers concerning fatherhood and the link between some particularities in the discourse and family alliance. The sample consists of 13 Swiss first time fathers (5 fathers of girls and 8 of boys). In order to evaluate the paternal discourse, the fathers were given a semistructured interview, which was later analysed using the research package Alceste. The family alliance, i.e., the degree of coordination among the partners when executing a task together, was assessed through the Lausanne Trilogue Play (Fivaz-Depeursinge & Corboz-Warnery, 1999). The main results indicated an interesting link between classes of paternal discourse grouped around the following themes “affective relationship”, “daily routine” and “educational goals”, and the family alliance (defined in two major categories; functional and problematic alliances). Finally, clinical perspectives on links between paternal representations and family functioning at an interactive level are discussed.

Peer's Mental States in a Collaborative Setting: Developmental Perspective on Children's Inferential Abilities.

Abstract: The present study investigates the development of children’s ability to make inferences about a peer’s mental state. In this study 48 eight-year-old children, 49 ten-year-old children and 44 adults observed and analyzed short video sequences, extracts from a socio-cognitive interaction between two children working on a mathematical task. The participants inferred mental states of one of the videotaped children while answering questions. Half of the participants watched the different sequences with sound and the other half watched them without sound. The results show that ten-year-old children are nearly as skilled as adults in making inferences but that eight-years-old children make less relevant inferences. The access to verbal information influenced the inferences only for the eight-year-old group.