Showing papers on "Academic achievement published in 1999"
Book•
01 Oct 1999
TL;DR: In this article, the authors propose a method to solve the problem of gender discrimination in the workplace, and propose an approach based on self-defense and self-representation, respectively.
Abstract: DOCUMENT RESUME
1,649 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined achievement goals as predictors of self-reported cognitive/metacognitive and motivational study strategies and tested these study strategies as mediators of the relationship between achievement goals and exam performance in the normatively graded college classroom.
Abstract: Two studies examined achievement goals as predictors of self-reported cognitive/ metacognitive and motivational study strategies and tested these study strategies as mediators of the relationship between achievement goals and exam performance in the normatively graded college classroom. The results support hypotheses generated from the trichotomous achievement goal framework. Mastery goals are positive predictors of deep processing, persistence, and effort; performance-approach goals are positive predictors of surface processing, persistence, effort, and exam performance; and performance-avoidance goals are positive predictors of surface processing and disorganization and negative predictors of deep processing and exam performance. Persistence and effort mediate the relationship between performance-approach goals and exam performance, whereas disorganization mediates the relationship between performance-avoidance goals and exam performance.
1,208 citations
TL;DR: The need to revise prevailing theories of school adjustment, and the research agendas that evolve from these perspectives, so as to incorporate interpersonal risk factors that operate within the school environment is illustrated.
Abstract: Evidence from two studies conducted with kindergarten samples (N = 200, M age = 5.58 years; N = 199, M age = 5.47 years) supported a series of interrelated hypotheses derived from a child × environment model of early school adjustment. The findings obtained were consistent with the following inferences: (1) Entry factors, such as children's cognitive maturity and family backgrounds, directly as well as indirectly influence children's behavior, participation, and achievement in kindergarten; (2) as children enter school, their initial behavioral orientations influence the types of relationships they form with peers and teachers; (3) stressful aspects of children's peer and teacher relationships in the school environment adversely impact classroom participation and achievement; and (4) classroom participation is an important prerequisite for achievement during kindergarten. Collectively, these findings illustrate the need to revise prevailing theories of school adjustment, and the research agendas that evolve from these perspectives, so as to incorporate interpersonal risk factors that operate within the school environment.
1,149 citations
1,124 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors make cooperative learning work by making cooperative learning theory into practice, which is called Building Community Through Cooperative Learning (BCL). But they do not discuss how to apply this theory in practice.
Abstract: (1999). Making cooperative learning work. Theory Into Practice: Vol. 38, Building Community Through Cooperative Learning, pp. 67-73.
996 citations
01 Nov 1999
762 citations
TL;DR: Perceived social and academic inefficacy contributed to concurrent and subsequent depression both directly and through their impact on academic achievement, prosocialness, and problem behaviors.
Abstract: This prospective research analyzed how different facets of perceived self-efficacy operate in concert within a network of sociocognitiv e influences in childhood depression. Perceived social and academic inefficacy contributed to concurrent and subsequent depression both directly and through their impact on academic achievement, prosocialness, and problem behaviors. In the shorter run, children were depressed over beliefs in their academic inefficacy rather than over their actual academic performances. In the longer run, the impact of a low sense of academic efficacy on depression was mediated through academic achievement, problem behavior, and prior depression. Perceived social inefficacy had a heavier impact on depression in girls than in boys in the longer term. Depression was also more strongly linked over time for girls than for boys. Childhood depression is a matter of major concern because of its prevalence and impairment of functioning. Moreover, it often is not a transient phenomenon that children outgrow. Depressive episodes are recurrent if the contributing factors remain unabated. Early depressive vulnerability is, therefore, predictive of frequency and severity of depression in adulthood (Petersen et al., 1993). Rates of depression vary by ethnicity and culture, but women are generally more prone to depression than men. However, gender differences do not begin to emerge until late adolescence (Culbertson, 1997; Nolen-Hoeksema & Girgus, 1994). Gender differences in susceptibilit y to depression have been attributed to a variety of factors, including sex role socialization, more stressors in women's lives, negatively biased self-systems, use of ruminative rather than active coping strategies, neurobiologic dysfunctions, and sociostructural constraints and impediments (Hammen, 1990; Nolen
742 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe complementary, developmental, and hierarchical relations among social and task-related goals and their implications for understanding student achievement, and examine ways in which students' social encounters and experiences with parents, teachers, and peers might influence their adoption and internalization of socially valued goals.
Abstract: Social-motivational processes and socialization experiences can play a critical role in students' academic success. However, the search for specific mechanisms and processes that explain these social influences on motivation is still in its inception. The purpose of this article was to begin to articulate some of these processes in the hope that more precise explanations of influence will emerge. The 1st section of the article focuses on ways in which social-motivational processes are relevant for understanding motivation to achieve academically, using goal pursuit as a case in point. Models describing complementary, developmental, and hierarchical relations among social and task-related goals and their implications for understanding student achievement are presented. Then, ways in which students' social encounters and experiences with parents, teachers, and peers might influence their adoption and internalization of socially valued goals are examined. New directions for theoretical and empirical inquiry are presented.
682 citations
TL;DR: This article examined the relationship between 12 types of parent involvement and 8th grade mathematics and reading scores and found that statistically significant differences existed in the relationship among parent involvement with student achievement according to the students' race-ethnicity (i.e., Asian, Black, Hispanic, and White), as well as according to how achievement was measured, type of involvement, and whether it was reported by the student or parent.
Abstract: Parent involvement in children's learning at school and at home is considered a key component of school reform, but more information is needed about how the effects of this involvement vary for students from disparate racial-ethnic and economic backgrounds. Data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (Ingels, Abraham, Karr et al., 1990; Ingels, Abraham, Resinski et al., 1990) were used to examine the relationship between 12 types of parent involvement and 8th-grade mathematics and reading scores. Ordinary least-squares regression indicated that statistically significant differences existed in the relationship between parent involvement and student achievement according to the students' race-ethnicity (i.e., Asian, Black, Hispanic, and White) and family income (i.e., low and middle), as well as according to how achievement was measured, type of involvement, and whether it was reported by the student or parent.
680 citations
TL;DR: The role of perceived discriminatory behavior on the maladaptive behavior of minority students to college has been scrutinized through two conceptualizations as discussed by the authors, namely, student-institution fit and transactional models of stress and coping behaviors.
Abstract: Benefits associated with a college degree are multiple. From a societal standpoint, a college graduate is far less likely to commit a crime and approximately 30% less likely to be unemployed compared to a student who has simply earned a high-school diploma (Hossler, Braxton, & Coopersmith, 1989; Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991). From an individual perspective, each additional year of schooling past high school seems to prolong life by 0.4%, or nearly 2 percentage points, upon graduation from college (Hossler, Braxton, & Coopersmith, 1989). Moreover, earning a college degree is known to produce greater gains in occupational prestige (e.g., Lin & Vogt, 1996) and economic returns (e.g., Leslie & Brinkman, 1986) as compared to simply attaining a high-school diploma. A precondition for the attainment of these benefits is persistence to graduation. Although persistence rates have remained remarkably stable at roughly 45% as far back as 1885 (Tinto, 1982; Porter, 1990), there are notable variations when the ethnicity of the student is introduced. Compared to White students, African Americans are 20% less likely to complete college within a six-year period (Porter, 1990). For every two White students who drop out in that time frame, three African Americans have departed from a postsecondary institution (Porter, 1990). Several hypotheses have been advanced that may account for enrollment and persistence trends of minority students. Hauser and Anderson (1991) explored the extent to which declines in college participation rates could be attributed to changes in college aspirations and changes in high-school completion rates among African Americans. Tinto (1987) argued that overall differences in persistence rates between African Americans and non-minorities were primarily due to differences in their academic preparedness rather than differences in their socioeconomic backgrounds. Tinto contended that differences in ability arise from prior educational experiences at elementary and secondary school levels that tend to favor the educational achievement and persistence of nonminorities relative to minorities. Other researchers speculate these trends could be attributed to changes in the composition of federal financial aid packets and patterns of financing higher education exhibited by minority students (Mortenson & Wu, 1990; Olivas, 1985 Porter, 1990; St. John, 1994). Exposure to a climate of prejudice and discrimination in the classroom and on campus has gained attention as the main factor accounting for differences in withdrawal behavior between minorities and non-minorities (e.g., Fleming, 1984; Hurtado, 1992, 1994; Hurtado, Carter, & Spuler, 1996; Smedley, Myers, & Harrel, 1993). The role of perceived discriminatory behavior on the maladaptive behavior of minority students to college has been scrutinized through two conceptualizations. The first approach relies on Student-Institution Fit models (Bean, 1990; Spady, 1970; Tinto, 1993) and views prejudice and discrimination as a factor interfering with a student's integration into his or her social and academic environments. A second, more recent approach uses transactional models of stress and coping behaviors as their theoretical premises (Munoz, 1987; Smedley, Myers, & Harrell, 1993). The transactional model (Munoz, 1987; Smedley, Myers, & Harrell, 1993) regards experiences of racism and discrimination on campus as psychological and sociocultural stressors. Like other stressors, experiences of prejudice and discrimination are associated with psychological distress that can lead to the maladjustment of students at their respective institutions. Unlike other stressors, however, experiences of discrimination are considered unique in that they (a) are present only among minority students and (b) heighten the feeling of not belonging at the institution with spillover effect on a student's academic performance. Proponents of the Student-Institution Fit perspective argue that intolerance toward the minority student plays a key role for explaining his or her maladjustment with the institution. …
TL;DR: This paper found that significant racial variations in cultural capital and household educational items are largely a function of disparities in family socioeconomic status, but that these resources have only a small mediating effect on the gap in black-white achievement.
Abstract: Theories of cultural capital and family educational resources explain how and why background matters for achievement, yet it is unclear whether the processes described are equally applicable to nonwhites. The study presented here examined (1) the extent to which black and white students differ in cultural capital and educational resources, (2) the mediating role these attributes may play between family background and racial disparities in achievement, and (3) whether educational returns vary by racial group. The findings suggest that significant racial variations in cultural capital and household educational items are largely a function of disparities in family socioeconomic status, but that these resources have only a small mediating effect on the gap in black-white achievement. Black and low-SES students tend to receive less educational return, probably because of micropolitical evaluative processes at the school and classroom levels
Book•
01 Jan 1999
TL;DR: Investigating the ways in which parental involvement in children's education changes over time and how it relates to children's social and academic functioning in school suggests that enhancing parents' involvement relates to improvements in school functioning.
Abstract: This study examines the ways in which parental involvement in children's education changes over time and how it relates to children's social and academic functioning in school. Teachers provided information on parent involvement and school performance for 1,205 urban, kindergarten through third-grade children for 3 consecutive years. They rated the following four dimensions of parent involvement: frequency of parent-teacher contact, quality of the parent-teacher interactions, participation in educational activities at home, and participation in school activites. As predicted, the frequency of parent-teacher contacts, quality of parent-teacher interactions, and parent participation at school declined from Years 1 to 3. Every parent involvement variable correlated moderately with school performance and parent involvement in Years 1 and 2, and accounted for a small, but significant amount of variance in Year 3 performance after controlling for initial performance level. Participation in educational activities at home predicted the widest range of performance variables. Results suggest that enhancing parental involvement in children's schooling relates to improvements in school functioning.
TL;DR: Despite devoting twice as many minutes per week to physical education as Controls, the health-related physical education program did not interfere with academic achievement and may have favorable effects on students' academic achievement.
Abstract: The effects of a 2-year health-related school physical education program on standardized academic achievement scores was assessed in 759 children who completed Metropolitan Achievement Tests before and after the program. Schools were randomly assigned to condition: (a) Specialists taught the Sports, Play, and Active Recreation for Kids curriculum; (b) classroom teachers were trained to implement the curriculum; and (c) controls continued their usual programs. The Trained Teacher condition was superior to Control on Language, Reading, and Basic Battery. The Specialist condition was superior to Control on Reading, but inferior on Language. Despite devoting twice as many minutes per week to physical education as Controls, the health-related physical education program did not interfere with academic achievement. Health-related physical education may have favorable effects on students' academic achievement.
TL;DR: This paper found that students' sense of belonging in middle school and their endorsement of social responsibility, relationship, and status goals in that setting should explain, in part, changes in their achievement goal orientations between 5th and 6th grades.
TL;DR: The Project STAR project as discussed by the authors has shown that small classes result in improved academic achievement in the elementary grades in the state of Tennessee, and the results have been used to support class size reduction efforts in many districts.
Abstract: After years of debate, speculation, and research, Tennessee's Project STAR produced clear answers to the question, “Do small classes result in improved academic achievement in the elementary grades?” This article describes the features that made STAR unique and summarizes the findings with regard to pupil performance and behavior. New analyses show the magnitudes of the “small-class advantage” during and after the 4-year experimental period. The positive findings of STAR have been greeted with enthusiasm by the education community and are providing impetus for class size reduction (CSR) efforts in many districts. At the same time, some detractors continue to oppose the idea. Although they usually do not take issue with the strength of the STAR design, they disagree that the findings warrant CSR initiatives in most cases. This article examines those arguments critically. Finally recommendations are offered for policymakers, education practitioners, and researchers for using the information learned to date ...
TL;DR: Generally, task goals and perception of the school as emphasizing task goals were related to positive psychological well-being, and ego goals and perceiving theSchool as emphasizing ego goals wererelated to negative psychological well -being.
TL;DR: In this paper, results from empirical research will be presented besides theoretical considerations concerning the interest-construct, and future lines of research will also be discussed in light of the demands of educational theory and practice.
Abstract: Within the last few years, researchers have shown a renewed interest in “interest”. Especially in the field of educational psychology many studies have been conducted to analyze how learning and achievement are influenced by motivational and cognitive factors, which are connected with individual and/or situational interests. In this paper, results from empirical research will be presented besides theoretical considerations concerning the interest-construct. Interest has typically been studied as an independent variable. Dependent variables have been either some aspects of learning outcome (knowledge structure, academic achievement) or hypothetical mediators, which probably can be used to explain the interest effects (e.g., learning strategies, attention, emotional experiences). There is also a growing number of studies which try to explore the conditions of interest development within educational settings. Future lines of research will be discussed in light of the demands of educational theory and practice.
TL;DR: In this paper, a review of prior knowledge research and its role in student performance is presented, and the authors examine the effects of the prior knowledge in relation to the method of assessment.
Abstract: The purpose of this review was to (a) overview prior knowledge research and its role in student performance, and (b) examine the effects of prior knowledge in relation to the method of assessment. We selected 183 articles, books, papers, and research reports related to prior knowledge. While prior knowledge generally had positive effects on students' performance, the effects varied by assessment method. More specifically, prior knowledge was more likely to have negative or no effects on performance when flawed assessment measures were used. However, in some studies, flawed methods yielded informative results. Thus, in educational research the implications of assessment measures must be considered when examining the effects of prior knowledge.
TL;DR: Performance on the experimental tasks provides insights into the cognitive deficits underlying different forms of LD, as well as into the sources of individual differences in academic achievement.
TL;DR: The authors found that shifting goals from process to outcome goals improved writing skills, self-reaction beliefs, and self-recording enhanced writing skill significantly, while attributions to ability or effort negatively correlated with these measures.
Abstract: Eighty-four high school girls practiced combining a series of kernel sentences into a single nonredundant sentence. The outcome goal focused on minimizing the number of words in the combined sentence, whereas process goal emphasized a 3-step method for combining kernel sentences. It was found that girls who shifted goals sequentially from process to outcome goals surpassed classmates who adhered to only process goals who, in turn, exceeded classmates using only outcome goals in posttest writing revision skill, self-reactions, self-efficacy perceptions, and intrinsic interest in this skill. Attributions of deficient performance to strategy choice was positively correlated with self-reactions, self-efficacy beliefs, and intrinsic interest whereas attributions to ability or effort were negatively correlated with these measures. Self-recording enhanced writing skill, self-efficacy, and self-reaction beliefs significantly.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: Using longitudinal data, it is found that differences in achievement between movers and nonmovers are partially a result of declines in social relationships experienced by students who move, and most of the negative effect of moving is due to preexisting differences between the two groups.
Abstract: Most research on residential mobility has documented a clear pattern: Residential and school moves are associated with poor academic performance. Explanations for this relationship, however, remain speculative. Some researchers argue that moving affects social relationships that are important to academic achievement. But the association between moving and school performance may be spurious; the negative correlation may be a function of other characteristics of people who move often. We offer several conceptual and analytical refinements to these ideas, allowing us to produce more precise tests than past researchers. Using longitudinal data, we find that differences in achievement between movers and nonmovers are partially a result of declines in social relationships experienced by students who move. Most of the negative effect of moving, however, is due to preexisting differences between the two groups.
01 Jan 1999
TL;DR: In this article, international indicators can describe the levels of achievement in various countries, to which others might aspire, and can provide direction for schools' instructional efforts and for students' learning as well as insights into curriculum strengths and weaknesses.
Abstract: students, the public and those who run education systems need to know whether children are acquiring the necessary skills and knowledge to become tomorrow's citizens and to continue learning throughout life. International indicators can describe the levels of achievement in various countries, to which others might aspire. They can provide direction for schools' instructional efforts and for students' learning as well as insights into curriculum strengths and weaknesses.
TL;DR: The authors examined the structural relationships among four constructs: motivational factors, student background factors, academic performance, and persistence, and found that motivation failed to impact academic performance and persistence for minority students.
Abstract: A strong desire for achievement may be seen asan important component of student motivation to completecollege This study examined the structuralrelationships among four constructs: (1) motivational factors, (2) student background factors, (3)academic performance, and (4) persistence Motivationand background factors were examined to determine theirdirect and indirect effects on academic performance and persistence for minorities andnonminorities The study supported utilization offactors external to the students' college experienceidentified in the retention literature based on Bean's(1980) Student Attrition Model While it was found thatmotivation failed to impact academic performance foreither racial subgroup, a significant motivationaleffect on persistence was found for minorities but notfor nonminorities in this study Minority studentswith high levels of motivation tended to persist totheir second year Policy implications arediscussed
TL;DR: The authors reviewed the literature with respect to inclusion programs and students with and without disabilities and their teachers and found that the impact of inclusion programs on the academic performance and social development of students with disabilities has been mixed.
Abstract: This article reviews the literature with respect to inclusion programs and students with and without disabilities and their teachers. The findings of the studies reviewed cited indicate that: (a) the impact of inclusion programs on the academic performance and social development of students with disabilities has been mixed; (b) the placement of students without disabilities in inclusion programs does not appear to interfere with their academic performance and has several social benefits for these students; and (c) teachers' responses to inclusion programs are complex, are shaped by multiple variables, and change over time. The implications of the findings for students and educators involved in inclusion programs as well as the limitations of the studies cited are discussed.
TL;DR: In this paper, after-school activities contributed significantly to the prediction of achievement even after the student's gender, grade level, ethnicity, free-lunch eligibility, and level of adult supervision after school were statistically controlled.
Abstract: Four hundred twenty-four students in Grades 6 through 12 and 1 parent of each completed a questionnaire concerning student participation in 5 types of after-school activities: homework, television viewing, extracurricular activities, other types of structured after-school groups, and jobs. Student standardized achievement test scores and class grades were also obtained. After-school activities contributed significantly to the prediction of achievement even after the student's gender, grade level, ethnicity, free-lunch eligibility, and level of adult supervision after school were statistically controlled. Generally, more time in extracurricular activities and other structured groups and less time in jobs and television viewing were associated with higher test scores and class grades. More time on homework was associated with better grades. The joint effects of all 5 after-school activities nearly doubled the predictive ability of any single activity.
TL;DR: This paper found that the interaction patterns among parents and children, the amount of literacy events that occur inside the family as well as the values and attitudes towards literacy are mainly responsible for children's later academic achievement.
Abstract: Research on the nature of home literacy experiences point out that such experiences are more embedded in family social events than reading and writing itself. Studies on the social and cultural differences among families indicate that the interaction patterns among parents and children, the amount of literacy events that occur inside the family as well as the values and attitudes towards literacy are mainly responsible for children's later academic achievement. Suggestions are being made on how early childhood setting can build bridges between home and school for achieving the utmost of young children's literacy development.
TL;DR: The authors found that seven variables (i.e., age, academic achievement, prior history of visiting foreign countries, prior high school experience with foreign languages, expected overall average for current language course, perceived scholastic competence, and perceived self-worth) contributed significantly to the prediction of foreign language anxiety.
Abstract: Foreign language anxiety is a complex phenomenon that has been found to be a predictor of foreign language achievement. This study of 210 university students examined factors that predict 1 foreign language anxiety. A setwise multiple regression analysis revealed that seven variables (i.e., age, academic achievement, prior history of visiting foreign countries, prior high school experience with foreign languages, expected overall average for current language course, perceived scholastic competence, and perceived self-worth) contributed significantly to the prediction of foreign language anxiety. An analysis of variance, which included trend analysis, revealed that freshmen and sophomores reported the lowest levels of foreign language anxiety, and that anxiety levels increased linearly as a function of year of study. The educational implications of these findings for understanding foreign language anxiety and for increasing foreign language learning are discussed, as are suggestions for future research.