Showing papers in "Journal of Educational Psychology in 2015"

Women's Representation in Science Predicts National Gender-Science Stereotypes: Evidence from 66 Nations.

Abstract: In the past 40 years, the proportion of women in science courses and careers has dramatically increased in some nations but not in others. Our research investigated how national differences in women’s science participation related to gender-science stereotypes that associate science with men more than women. Data from ∼350,000 participants in 66 nations indicated that higher female enrollment in tertiary science education (community college or above) related to weaker explicit and implicit national gender-science stereotypes. Higher female employment in the researcher workforce related to weaker explicit, but not implicit, gender-science stereotypes. These relationships remained after controlling for many theoretically relevant covariates. Even nations with high overall gender equity (e.g., the Netherlands) had strong gender-science stereotypes if men dominated science fields specifically. In addition, the relationship between women’s educational enrollment in science and implicit gender-science stereotypes was stronger for college-educated participants than participants without college education. Implications for instructional practices and educational policies are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Including Fathers in the Picture: A Meta-Analysis of Parental Involvement and Students' Academic Achievement.

Abstract: Extant research on parental involvement in education has been conducted largely without respect to which parent is involved. The implicit assumption is that family–school relationship frameworks function similarly for fathers and mothers. Although there is a growing body of research examining fathers’ involvement in education, this assumption has not been tested. In this meta-analysis, we examined the relative strength of the association between educational involvement of fathers versus mothers and achievement of school-age children (kindergarten to 12th grade). The association of involvement with achievement over time (i.e., longitudinal studies) was stronger than for cross-sectional studies. Parental involvement in education was positively associated with student achievement and the relation between involvement and achievement was equally strong for fathers and mothers, although mothers’ mean levels of involvement were higher than fathers’. Moderator analyses across the different types of involvement suggested that school-based involvement and intellectual enrichment at home was more strongly related to achievement for mothers than for fathers, although there were no differences in mean levels of involvement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

To what extent do teacher–student interaction quality and student gender contribute to fifth graders’ engagement in mathematics learning?

Abstract: This study examines concurrent teacher–student interaction quality and 5th graders’ (n = 387) engagement in mathematics classrooms (n = 63) and considers how teacher–student interaction quality relates to engagement differently for boys and girls Three approaches were used to measure student engagement in mathematics: Research assistants observed engaged behavior, teachers reported on students’ engagement, and students completed questionnaires Engagement data were conducted 3 times per year concurrent with measures of teacher–student interaction quality Results showed small but statistically significant associations among the 3 methods Results of multilevel models showed only 1 significant finding linking quality of teacher–student interactions to observed or teacher-reported behavioral engagement; higher classroom organization related to higher levels of observed behavioral engagement However, the multilevel models produced a rich set of findings for student-reported engagement Students in classrooms with higher emotional support reported higher cognitive, emotional, and social engagement Students in classrooms higher in classroom organization reported more cognitive, emotional, and social engagement Interaction effects (Gender × Teacher–student interaction quality) were present for student-reported engagement outcomes but not in observed or teacher-reported engagement Boys (but not girls) in classrooms with higher observed classroom organization reported more cognitive and emotional engagement In classrooms with higher instructional support, boys reported higher but girls reported lower social engagement The discussion explores implications of varied approaches to measuring engagement, interprets teacher–student interaction quality and gender findings, and considers the usefulness of student report in understanding students’ math experiences

Examining General and Specific Factors in the Dimensionality of Oral Language and Reading in 4th-10th Grades.

Abstract: The objective of this study was to explore dimensions of oral language and reading and their influence on reading comprehension in a relatively understudied population-adolescent readers in 4th through 10th grades. The current study employed latent variable modeling of decoding fluency, vocabulary, syntax, and reading comprehension so as to represent these constructs with minimal error and to examine whether residual variance unaccounted for by oral language can be captured by specific factors of syntax and vocabulary. A 1-, 3-, 4-, and bifactor model were tested with 1,792 students in 18 schools in 2 large urban districts in the Southeast. Students were individually administered measures of expressive and receptive vocabulary, syntax, and decoding fluency in mid-year. At the end of the year students took the state reading test as well as a group-administered, norm-referenced test of reading comprehension. The bifactor model fit the data best in all 7 grades and explained 72% to 99% of the variance in reading comprehension. The specific factors of syntax and vocabulary explained significant unique variance in reading comprehension in 1 grade each. The decoding fluency factor was significantly correlated with the reading comprehension and oral language factors in all grades, but, in the presence of the oral language factor, was not significantly associated with the reading comprehension factor. Results support a bifactor model of lexical knowledge rather than the 3-factor model of the Simple View of Reading, with the vast amount of variance in reading comprehension explained by a general oral language factor.

Matching Learning Style to Instructional Method: Effects on Comprehension.

Abstract: While it is hypothesized that providing instruction based on individuals’ preferred learning styles improves learning (i.e., reading for visual learners and listening for auditory learners, also referred to as the meshing hypothesis), after a critical review of the literature Pashler, McDaniel, Rohrer, and Bjork (2008) concluded that this hypothesis lacks empirical evidence and subsequently described the experimental design needed to evaluate the meshing hypothesis. Following the design of Pashler et al., we empirically investigated the effect of learning style preference with college-educated adults, specifically as applied to (a) verbal comprehension aptitude (listening or reading) and (b) learning based on mode of instruction (digital audiobook or e-text). First, participants’ auditory and visual learning style preferences were established based on a standardized adult learning style inventory. Participants were then given a verbal comprehension aptitude test in both oral and written forms. Results failed to show a statistically significant relationship between learning style preference (auditory, visual word) and learning aptitude (listening comprehension, reading comprehension). Second, participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups that received the same instructional material from a nonfiction book, but each in a different instructional mode (digital audiobook, e-text), and then completed a written comprehension test immediately and after 2 weeks. Results demonstrated no statistically significant relationship between learning style preference (auditory, visual word) and instructional method (audiobook, e-text) for either immediate or delayed comprehension tests. Taken together, the results of our investigation failed to statistically support the meshing hypothesis either for verbal comprehension aptitude or learning based on mode of instruction (digital audiobook, e-text).

The Instructor's Face in Video Instruction: Evidence From Two Large-Scale Field Studies

Abstract: [Correction Notice: An Erratum for this article was reported in Vol 107(3) of Journal of Educational Psychology (see record 2015-17245-001). In the article, “value” was inadvertently included after “p” in the first column of both Tables 2 and 3.] Multimedia learning research has established several principles for the effective design of audiovisual instruction. The image principle suggests that showing the instructor’s face in multimedia instruction does not promote learning, because the potential benefits from inducing social responses are outweighed by the cost of additional cognitive processing. In an 8-week observational field study (N = 2,951), online learners chose to watch video lectures either with or without the instructor’s face. Although learners who saw the face reported having a better lecture experience than those who chose not to see the face, 35% watched videos without the face for self-reported reasons including avoiding distraction. Building on these insights, the authors developed a video presentation style that strategically shows the face to reduce distraction while preserving occasional social cues. A 10-week field experiment (N = 12,468) compared the constant with the strategic presentation of the face and provided evidence consistent with the image principle. Cognitive load and perceived social presence were higher in the strategic than in the constant condition, but learning outcomes and attrition did not differ. Learners who expressed a verbal learning preference experienced substantially lower attrition and cognitive load with the constant than the strategic presentation. The findings highlight the value of social cues for motivation and caution against one-size-fits-all approaches to instructional design that fail to account for individual differences in multimedia instruction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

From Bench to Bedside: A Communal Utility Value Intervention to Enhance Students' Biomedical Science Motivation.

Abstract: Motivating students to pursue science careers is a top priority among many science educators. We add to the growing literature by examining the impact of a utility value intervention to enhance student's perceptions that biomedical science affords important utility work values. Using an expectancy-value perspective we identify and test two types of utility value: communal (other-oriented) and agentic (self-oriented). The culture of science is replete with examples emphasizing high levels of agentic value, but communal values are often (stereotyped as) absent from science. However, people in general want an occupation that has communal utility. We predicted and found that an intervention emphasizing the communal utility value of biomedical research increased students' motivation for biomedical science (Studies 1-3). We refined whether different types of communal utility value (working with, helping, and forming relationships with others) might be more or less important, demonstrating that helping others was an especially important predictor of student motivation (Study 2). Adding agentic utility value to biomedical research did not further increase student motivation (Study 3). Furthermore, the communal value intervention indirectly impacted students' motivation because students believed that biomedical research was communal and thus subsequently more important (Studies 1-3). This is key, because enhancing student communal value beliefs about biomedical research (Studies 1-3) and science (Study 4) was associated both with momentary increases in motivation in experimental settings (Studies 1-3) and increased motivation over time among students highly identified with biomedicine (Study 4). We discuss recommendations for science educators, practitioners, and faculty mentors who want to broaden participation in science.

Peer Victimization and Authoritative School Climate: A Multilevel Approach.

Abstract: School climate is widely recognized as an important influence on peer victimization in schools. The purpose of this study is to examine how authoritative school climate theory provides a framework for conceptualizing 2 key features of school climate—disciplinary structure and student support—that are associated with 3 measures of peer victimization. Multilevel multivariate modeling in a statewide sample of 39,364 7th- and 8th-grade students attending 423 schools revealed meaningful associations at both the student and school levels of analysis. Higher disciplinary structure was associated with lower levels of prevalence of teasing and bullying, bullying victimization, and general victimization. Higher student support was associated with lower prevalence of teasing and bullying and general victimization. Overall, these findings add new evidence to the theory that an authoritative school climate is conducive to lower peer victimization. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

"Michael Can't Read!" Teachers' Gender Stereotypes and Boys' Reading Self-Concept.

Abstract: According to expectancy-value theory, the gender stereotypes of significant others such as parents, peers, or teachers affect students’ competence beliefs, values, and achievement-related behavior. Stereotypically, gender beliefs about reading favor girls. The aim of this study was to investigate whether teachers’ gender stereotypes in relation to reading—their belief that girls outperform boys—have a negative effect on the reading self-concept of boys, but not girls. We drew on a longitudinal study comprising two occasions of data collection: toward the beginning of Grade 5 (T1) and in the second half of Grade 6 (T2). Our sample consisted of 54 teachers and 1,358 students. Using multilevel modeling, controlling for T1 reading self-concept, reading achievement, and school track, we found a negative association between teachers’ gender stereotype at T1 and boys’ reading self-concept at T2, as expected. For girls, this association did not yield a significant result. Thus, our results provide empirical support for the idea that gender differences in self-concept may be due to the stereotypical beliefs of teachers as significant others. In concluding, we discuss what teachers can do to counteract the effects of their own gender stereotypes.

Direct Instruction of Metacognition Benefits Adolescent Science Learning, Transfer, and Motivation: An In Vivo Study.

Abstract: Prior studies have not tested whether an instructional intervention aimed at improving metacognitive skills results in changes to student metacognition, motivation, learning, and future learning in the classroom. We examined whether a 6-hr intervention designed to teach the declarative and procedural components of planning, monitoring, and evaluation could increase students’ metacognition, motivation, learning, and preparation for future learning for middle school science. Forty-six eighth-grade students were randomly assigned to either a control group, which received extensive problem-solving practice, or an experimental group, which received more limited problem-solving practice along with metacognitive instruction and training. Results revealed that those who received the metacognitive instruction and training were less biased when making metacognitive judgments, p = .03, d = 0.65, endorsed higher levels of motivation after instruction (e.g., there was a large effect on task value, p = .006, d = 0.87), performed better on a conceptual physics test, p = .03, d = 0.64, and performed better on a novel self-guided learning activity, p = .007, d = 0.87. This study demonstrates that metacognitive instruction can lead to better self-regulated learning outcomes during adolescence, a period in which students’ academic achievement and motivation often decline. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Conceptual knowledge of fraction arithmetic.

Abstract: Understanding an arithmetic operation implies, at minimum, knowing the direction of effects that the operation produces. However, many children and adults, even those who execute arithmetic procedures correctly, may lack this knowledge on some operations and types of numbers. To test this hypothesis, we presented preservice teachers (Study 1), middle school students (Study 2), and math and science majors at a selective university (Study 3) with a novel direction of effects task with fractions. On this task, participants were asked to predict without calculating whether the answer to an inequality would be larger or smaller than the larger fraction in the problem (e.g., “True or false: 31/56 17/42 31/56”). Both preservice teachers and middle school students correctly answered less often than chance on problems involving multiplication and division of fractions below 1, though they were consistently correct on all other types of problems. In contrast, the math and science students from the selective university were consistently correct on all items. Interestingly, the weak understanding of multiplication and division of fractions below 1 was present even among middle school students and preservice teachers who correctly executed the fraction arithmetic procedures and had highly accurate knowledge of the magnitudes of individual fractions, which ruled out several otherwise plausible interpretations of the findings. Theoretical and educational implications of the findings are discussed.

Gender Differences in the Effects of a Utility-Value Intervention to Help Parents Motivate Adolescents in Mathematics and Science.

Abstract: A foundation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education is critical for students’ college and career advancement, but many U.S. students fail to take advanced mathematics and science classes in high school. Research has neglected the potential role of parents in enhancing students’ motivation for pursuing STEM courses. Previous research has shown that parents’ values and expectancies may be associated with student motivation, but little research has assessed the influence of parents on adolescents through randomized experiments. Harackiewicz, Rozek, Hulleman, and Hyde (2012) documented an increase in adolescents’ STEM course-taking for students whose parents were assigned to a utility-value intervention in comparison to a control group. In this study, we examined whether that intervention was equally effective for boys and girls and examined factors that moderate and mediate the effect of the intervention on adolescent outcomes. The intervention was most effective in increasing STEM course-taking for high-achieving daughters and low-achieving sons, whereas the intervention did not help low-achieving daughters (prior achievement measured in terms of grade point average in 9th-grade STEM courses). Mediation analyses showed that changes in STEM utility value for mothers and adolescents mediated the effect of the intervention on 12th-grade STEM course-taking. These results are consistent with a model in which parents’ utility value plays a causal role in affecting adolescents’ achievement behavior in the STEM domain. The findings also indicate that utility-value interventions with parents can be effective for low-achieving boys and for high-achieving girls but suggest modifications in their use with low-achieving girls.

Toward an understanding of dimensions, predictors, and the gender gap in written composition

Abstract: We had 3 aims in the present study: (a) to examine the dimensionality of various evaluative approaches to scoring writing samples (e.g., quality, productivity, and curriculum-based measurement [CBM] writing scoring), (b) to investigate unique language and cognitive predictors of the identified dimensions, and (c) to examine gender gap in the identified dimensions of writing. These questions were addressed using data from 2nd- and 3rd-grade students (N = 494). Data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and multilevel modeling. Results showed that writing quality, productivity, and CBM scoring were dissociable constructs but that writing quality and CBM scoring were highly related (r = .82). Language and cognitive predictors differed among the writing outcomes. Boys had lower writing scores than girls even after accounting for language, reading, attention, spelling, handwriting automaticity, and rapid automatized naming. Results are discussed in light of writing evaluation and a developmental model of writing.

Teacher–child relationship quality and academic achievement in elementary school: Does gender matter?

Abstract: Using data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (N = 1,364) and 2-level hierarchical linear models with site fixed effects, we examined between- and within-child associations between teacher–child relationship closeness and conflict and standardized measures of children’s math and reading achievement from 1st through 5th grades. In addition, we tested whether longitudinal effects varied by gender. Results revealed a between-child effect of conflict and a within-child effect of closeness on reading achievement for the full sample. In addition, there were moderated between- and within-child effects of conflict on math achievement: Girls with more conflictual relationships showed lower overall levels of math achievement and less growth in math achievement than did boys with similar levels of conflict. Implications are discussed.

Do children's executive functions account for associations between early autonomy-supportive parenting and achievement through high school?

Abstract: This study evaluated whether the positive association between early autonomy-supportive parenting and children's subsequent achievement is mediated by children's executive functions. Using observations of mothers' parenting from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (N = 1,306), analyses revealed that mothers' autonomy support over the first 3 years of life predicted enhanced executive functions (i.e., inhibition, delay of gratification, and sustained attention) during the year prior to kindergarten and academic achievement in elementary and high school even when mothers' warmth and cognitive stimulation, as well as other factors (e.g., children's early general cognitive skills and mothers' educational attainment) were covaried. Mediation analyses demonstrated that over and above other attributes (e.g., temperament), children's executive functions partially accounted for the association between early autonomy-supportive parenting and children's subsequent achievement.

The worked example effect, the generation effect, and element interactivity.

Abstract: The worked example effect indicates that examples providing full guidance on how to solve a problem result in better test performance than a problem-solving condition with no guidance. The generation effect occurs when learners generating responses demonstrate better test performance than learners in a presentation condition that provides an answer. This contradiction may be resolved by the suggestion that the worked example effect occurs for complex, high-element interactivity materials that impose a heavy working memory load whereas the generation effect is applicable for low-element interactivity materials. Two experiments tested this hypothesis in the area of geometry instruction using students with different levels of prior knowledge in geometry. The results of Experiment 1 indicated a worked example effect obtained for materials high in element interactivity and a generation effect for materials low in element interactivity. As levels of expertise increased in Experiment 2, thus reducing effective complexity, this interaction was replaced by a generation effect for all materials. These results suggest that when students need to learn low-element interactivity material, learning will be enhanced if they generate rather than study responses but if students need to learn high-element interactivity material, study may be preferable to generating responses.

Adolescents' Homework Performance in Mathematics and Science: Personal Factors and Teaching Practices

Abstract: Classical educational research provides empirical evidence of the positive effect of doing homework on academic results. Nonetheless, when this effect is analyzed in detail there are inconsistent, and in some cases, contradictory results. The central aim of this study was to systematically investigate the effect of homework on performance of students in mathematics and science using multilevel models. The original sample consisted of 7,725 Spanish adolescents with a mean age of 13.78 (0.82) of which 7,451 were evaluated after purging the sample of the students who did little to no homework. A 2-level hierarchicallinear analysis was performed, student and class, with 4 individual adjustment variables: gender, socioeconomic and cultural level, year repetition, and school grades, which were used to reflect previous student achievement. The individual level examined time spent, effort made, and the way homework was done. The class level considered frequency of assignment and quantity of homework. Prior knowledge, estimated using school grades, is shown to be the most important predictor of achievement in the study. Its effect is greater than the combined effect of all the other variables studied. Once background factors are controlled, the homework variables with most impact on the test are student autonomy and frequency of homework assignment by teachers. Autonomy when doing homework was shown to be the most important individual-level variable in both mathematics and science, and not effort and or time spent doing homework. The optimum duration of homework was found to be 1 hr a day.

Literacy skill development of children with familial risk for dyslexia through grades 2, 3, and 8

Abstract: This study followed the development of reading speed, reading accuracy, and spelling in transparent Finnish orthography in children through Grades 2, 3, and 8. We compared 2 groups of children with familial risk for dyslexia—1 group with dyslexia (Dys_FR, n = 35) and 1 group without (NoDys_FR, n = 66) in Grade 2—with a group of children without familial risk for dyslexia (controls, n = 72). The Dys_FR group showed persistent deficiency, especially in reading speed, and, to a minor extent, in reading and spelling accuracy. The Dys_FR children, contrary to the other 2 groups, relied heavily on letter-by-letter decoding in Grades 2 and 3. In children not fulfilling the criteria for dyslexia in Grade 2, the familial risk did not substantially affect the subsequent development of literacy skills.

Prekindergarten children’s executive functioning skills and achievement gains: The utility of direct assessments and teacher ratings

Abstract: An accumulating body of evidence suggests that young children who exhibit greater executive functioning (EF) skills in early childhood also achieve more academically. The goal of the present study was to examine the unique contributions of direct assessments and teacher ratings of children’s EF skills at the beginning of prekindergarten (pre-k) to gains in academic achievement over the pre-k year. Data for the current study come from a subsample of children recruited for a large-scale pre-k curriculum intervention. This subsample (n = 719) was restricted to all children who were native English speakers and had at least 1 pretest and posttest score on the assessments. Several important findings emerged. Teacher reports of EF and direct assessments were correlated, particularly when EF direct assessments were modeled as a single component score. When entered into the models simultaneously, both teacher ratings and direct assessments significantly predicted academic gains in literacy and mathematics; however, the direct assessments were only marginal in predicting gains in language. EF skills accounted for the largest proportion of variance in mathematics achievement gains. The value of using both types of measures in future research is discussed.

Contrast and assimilation effects of dimensional comparisons in five subjects : An extension of the I/E Model

Abstract: Students evaluate their achievement in a specific domain in relation to their achievement in other domains and form their self-concepts accordingly. These comparison processes have been termed dimensional comparisons and shown to be an important source of academic self-concepts in addition to social and temporal comparisons. Research on the internal/external frame of reference model (I/E model) has frequently found negative effects of students’ achievement on their academic self-concept between different scholastic domains (mathematics and the language of instruction) that are interpreted as contrast effects of dimensional comparisons. There is mixed evidence with regard to whether negative contrast effects or positive assimilation effects occur when students compare their achievement in domains that are more similar. In this study, we extended the original I/E model with 3 science domains (biology, chemistry, and physics). Using structural equation modeling, we analyzed the domain-specific self-concepts, grades, and test scores of a representative sample of 9th-grade students in Germany (N = 20,050) across 5 domains. Mathematics, physics, and chemistry showed contrast effects to German, whereas small assimilation effects were found between mathematics, physics, and chemistry. This effect pattern was present for both grades and test scores. Achievement in mathematics and the language of instruction affected self-concepts in the sciences, whereas achievement in the sciences had no effect on self-concepts in other subjects. The results support the hypotheses derived from dimensional comparison theory that both contrast and assimilation effects can result from dimensional comparisons and that the 3 science subjects are affected differentially by these comparisons. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Cross-Language Transfer of Word Reading Accuracy and Word Reading Fluency in Spanish-English and Chinese-English Bilinguals: Script-Universal and Script-Specific Processes.

Abstract: This study examined cross-language transfer of word reading accuracy and word reading fluency in Spanish–English and Chinese–English bilinguals. Participants included 51 Spanish–English and 64 Chinese–English bilinguals. Both groups of children completed parallel measures of phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming, word reading accuracy, and word reading fluency in their first language (L1) and in English, their second language (L2) in Grade 1. Word reading accuracy and word reading fluency were assessed in L1 and L2 again in Grade 2. Cross-language transfer of word reading accuracy was found only in the Spanish–English bilinguals. In contrast, cross-language transfer of word reading fluency was found in both the Spanish–English bilinguals and the Chinese–English bilinguals. Our results suggest transfer of word reading accuracy is based on the structural similarities between the L1 and L2 scripts. By contrast, word reading fluency operates largely as a script-universal process. Implications for reading theory and for assessment and instruction of bilingual children are discussed.

Explaining the Links between Workload, Distress, and Work-Family Conflict among School Employees: Physical, Cognitive, and Emotional Fatigue.

Abstract: This study examined the intraindividual relationships among workload and affective distress; cognitive, physical, and emotional fatigue; and work–family conflict among school employees. Using a repeated-measure, within-person research design, the authors found that work demands and affective distress, as well as cognitive, emotional, and physical fatigue, were associated with experienced work–family conflict. However, the effects of work demands and affective distress on work–family conflict were mediated mostly by participant reports of emotional fatigue when the three types of fatigue were considered together. Importantly, emotional fatigue was associated with both self-reported and spouse-reported work–family conflict. Overall, the results support a resource depletion framework for how workload and job distress in an educational setting can affect work–family conflict. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

The big-fish-little-pond effect: Generalizability of social comparison processes over two age cohorts from Western, Asian, and Middle Eastern Islamic countries.

Abstract: Extensive support for the seemingly paradoxical negative effects of school- and class-average achievement on academic self-concept (ASC)—the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE)—is based largely on secondary students in Western countries or on cross-cultural Program for International Student Assessment studies. There is little research testing the generalizability of this frame of reference effect based on social comparison theory to primary school students and or to matched samples of primary and secondary students from different countries. Using multigroup–multilevel latent variable models, we found support for developmental and cross-cultural generalizability of the BFLPE based on Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study data; positive effects of individual student achievement and the negative effects of class-average achievement on ASC were significant for each of the 26 groups (nationally representative samples of 4th- and 8th-grade students from 13 diverse countries; 117,321 students from 6,499 classes).

Classmate characteristics and student achievement in 33 countries: Classmates' past achievement, family socioeconomic status, educational resources, and attitudes toward reading

Abstract: Classmates can influence a student’s academic achievement through immediate interactions (e.g., academic help, positive attitudes toward reading) or by sharing tangible or intangible family resources (books, stories of foreign travel). Multilevel analysis of 141,019 fourth-grade students’ reading achievements in 33 countries showed that classmates’ family factors (parent socioeconomic status [SES], home educational resources) were more strongly related to a student’s reading achievement than were classmates’ characteristics (parent ratings of past literacy skills, attitudes toward reading). However, these classmate links to reading achievement differed across students (e.g., high-SES classmates benefited high-SES students more than low-SES students). Also, links between classmates’ past reading achievement and a student’s current reading achievement were stronger in countries that were richer, were more collectivist, or avoided uncertainty less. These findings show how an ecological model of family and classmate microsystems, classmate family mesosystem, and country macrosystem can help provide a comprehensive account of children’s academic achievement.

Successful learning with multiple graphical representations and self-explanation prompts.

Abstract: Research shows that multiple external representations can significantly enhance students’ learning. Most of this research has focused on learning with text and 1 additional graphical representation. However, real instructional materials often employ multiple graphical representations (MGRs) in addition to text. An important open question is whether the use of MGRs leads to better learning than a single graphical representation (SGR) when the MGRs are presented separately, 1-by-1 across consecutive problems, accompanied by text and numbers. A further question is whether providing support for students to relate the different representations to the key concepts that they depict can enhance their benefit from MGRs. We investigated these questions in 2 classroom experiments that involved problem solving practice with an intelligent tutoring system for fractions. Based on 112 sixth-grade students, Experiment 1 investigated whether MGRs lead to better learning outcomes than 1 commonly used SGR, and whether this effect can be enhanced by prompting students to self-explain key concepts depicted by the graphical representations. Based on 152 fourth- and fifth-grade students, Experiment 2 investigated whether the advantage of MGRs depends on the specific representation chosen for the SGR condition because prior research suggests that some SGRs might promote learning more than others. Both experiments demonstrate that MGRs lead to better conceptual learning than an SGR, provided that students are supported in relating graphical representations to key concepts. We extend research on multiple external representations by demonstrating that MGRs (presented in addition to text and 1-by-1 across consecutive problems) can enhance learning.

Developmental Dynamics between Children's Externalizing Problems, Task-Avoidant Behavior, and Academic Performance in Early School Years: A 4-Year Follow-Up.

Abstract: This longitudinal study investigated the associations among children’s externalizing problems, task-avoidant behavior, and academic performance in early school years. The participants were 586 children (43% girls, 57% boys). Data pertaining to externalizing problems (teacher ratings) and task-avoidant behaviors (mother and teacher ratings) were gathered, and the children were tested yearly on their academic performance in Grades 1–4. The results were similar for both genders. The analyses supported a mediation model: high externalizing problems in Grades 1 and 2 were linked with low academic performance in Grades 3 and 4 through increases in task-avoidant behavior in Grades 2 and 3. The results also provided evidence for a reversed mediator model: low academic performance in Grades 1 and 2 was associated with high externalizing problems in Grades 3 and 4 via high task avoidance in Grades 2 and 3. These findings emphasize the need to examine externalizing problems, task-avoidant behavior, and academic performance conjointly to understand their developmental dynamics in early school years.

Value Development Underlies the Benefits of Parents' Involvement in Children's Learning: A Longitudinal Investigation in the United States and China.

Abstract: This research examined whether the benefits of parents' involvement in children's learning are due in part to value development among children. Four times over the seventh and eighth grades, 825 American and Chinese children (mean age = 12.73 years) reported on their parents' involvement in their learning and their perceptions of the value their parents place on school achievement as well as the value they themselves place on it. Children's academic functioning was assessed via children's reports and school records. Value development partially explained the effects of parents' involvement on children's academic functioning in the United States and China. For example, the more children reported their parents as involved, the more they perceived them as placing value on achievement six months later; such perceptions in turn predicted the subsequent value children placed on achievement, which foreshadowed enhanced grades.

Teacher (Mis)Perceptions of Preschoolers' Academic Skills: Predictors and Associations With Longitudinal Outcomes.

Abstract: Preschool teachers have important impacts on children's academic outcomes, and teachers' misperceptions of children's academic skills could have negative consequences, particularly for low-income preschoolers. This study utilized data gathered from 123 preschool teachers and their 760 preschoolers from 70 low-income, racially diverse centers. Hierarchical linear modeling was utilized to account for the nested data structure. Even after controlling for children's actual academic skill, older children, children with stronger social skills, and children with fewer inattentive symptoms were perceived to have stronger academic abilities. Contrary to hypotheses, preschoolers with more behavior problems were perceived by teachers to have significantly better pre-academic abilities than they actually had. Teachers' perceptions were not associated with child gender or child race/ethnicity. Although considerable variability was due to teacher-level characteristics, child characteristics explained 42% of the variability in teachers' perceptions about children's language and pre-literacy ability and 41% of the variability in teachers' perceptions about mathability. Notably, these perceptions appear to have important impacts over time. Controlling for child baseline academic skill and child characteristics, teacher perceptions early in the preschool year were significantly associated with child academic outcomes during the spring for both language and pre-literacy and math. Study implications with regard to the achievement gap are discussed.

Student perceptions of classroom achievement goal structure: Is it appropriate to aggregate?

Abstract: Student reports are a common approach to characterizing how students experience their classrooms. We used a recently developed method—multilevel confirmatory factor analysis—to determine whether commonly employed measures of achievement goal structure constructs (mastery and performance) typically verified at the student level can be verified at the classroom level as well, using a sample of 1,406 7th- and 1,822 8th-grade students in 188 mathematics classrooms. Nine multilevel confirmatory factor analyses were examined: (a) modeling each classroom goal structure dimension separately (mastery, performance–approach, performance–avoidance, combined performance), (b) 4 models allowing 2 latent factors to covary (mastery + performance–approach, mastery + performance–avoidance, performance–approach + performance–avoidance, mastery + combined performance), and (c) a model reflecting the trichotomous goals framework (mastery + performance–approach + performance–avoidance). Consistent with prior research, the theorized models of classroom goal structure adequately represented students within the same classroom at Level 1. Although all models were acceptable at the individual level, only the performance–avoidance model represented the expected goal structure at the classroom level. Future research and replication are necessary to examine whether self-reports of classroom goal structure, and by implication other measures of classroom climate, reflect an individual-level phenomenon rather than a classroom-level construct, which has important theoretical and applied implications. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Professional Development for Early Childhood Educators: Efforts to Improve Math and Science Learning Opportunities in Early Childhood Classrooms.

Abstract: Because recent initiatives highlight the need to better support preschool-aged children's math and science learning, the present study investigated the impact of professional development in these domains for early childhood educators. Sixty-five educators were randomly assigned to experience 10.5 days (64 hours) of training on math and science or on an alternative topic. Educators' provision of math and science learning opportunities were documented, as were the fall-to-spring math and science learning gains of children (n = 385) enrolled in their classrooms. Professional development significantly impacted provision of science, but not math, learning opportunities. Professional development did not directly impact children's math or science learning, although science learning was indirectly affected via the increase in science learning opportunities. Both math and science learning opportunities were positively associated with children's learning. Results suggest that substantive efforts are necessary to ensure that children have opportunities to learn math and science from a young age.