Hope and its associations with academic-related outcomes and general wellbeing among college students: the importance of measurement specificity

BACKGROUND

Hope has been extensively studied as a predictor of college students' academic success. Most previous studies used domain-general, global hope measures to gauge the association between hope and academic performance among college students. However, a few studies have suggested that hope is domain-specific and domain-specific academic hope measures should be included in related research to better assess the influence of hope on academic outcomes. In this study, we aimed to further examine this issue to ascertain if there is value in including academic hope measures when studying the link between hope and academic outcomes in college students.

METHODS

Two samples of Hong Kong college students (total N = 1321) were recruited. Each participant completed a set of self-reported online questionnaires.

RESULTS

In both samples, global hope and academic hope emerged as related but separate factors in confirmatory factor analyses. Academic hope had consistently stronger unique explanatory power on academic performance and goal setting than global hope did. On the other hand, global hope explained more variance in general wellbeing than academic hope did, but its explanatory role in academic performance was not significant.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings support domain-specificity and show that hope measures explain more variance in outcomes in the matched domains. Therefore, academic hope measures should more routinely be included in related research to better evaluate the role of hope in academic pursuit among college students. Possible implications for hope interventions are also discussed.

The Relationships of Hope, Optimism, and Academic Motivation With GPA Among University Students in Hong Kong

Research demonstrates the relationship between dispositional hope and GPA, but mixed results regarding the relationship between dispositional optimism and GPA. Hope and optimism also have been shown to predict academic motivation. However, no study has yet investigated all of these factors together, and most research concerns only Western samples. In a cross-sectional sample of 129 Hong Kong university students, we administered measures of internal hope (hope regarding one's own capabilities), external-family hope (hope derived from family), optimism, and intrinsic and extrinsic academic motivation. We found significant zero-order correlations between internal hope and GPA, but not between external-family hope nor optimism and GPA. Mediation analyses showed that internal hope directly related to GPA, and did not appear mediated by academic motivation. Given our findings, future studies testing hope-based interventions in similar samples may be warranted. We discuss implications for culturally adapting hope interventions.

Hope therapy: Can it treat hopelessness and internal locus of control on diabetes mellitus patients?

Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) are always required to be able to control a healthy lifestyle throughout their life to avoid various diseases that can accompany the previous illness. However, psychological factors in the form of despair due to lack of hope make people with diabetes more depressed and less able to control behavior and maintain blood sugar stability, so an excellent internal locus of control is needed to be stronger. This study aimed to determine the effect of hope therapy in reducing hopelessness and increasing internal locus of control in people with DM. The research design used a experimental study with ten randomly selected respondents divided into two groups, namely the control group and the experimental group. Data retrieval using the locus of control scale and the beck hopelessness scale. Data analysis used non-parametric analysis, namely the Mann Whitney test, Wilcoxon test, and Spearman's Rank Correlation test. The results of the Mann-Whitney U test on the internal locus of control variable show a value of 0.000 and a p score of 0.008 (p <0.05), it can be concluded that there are differences in the internal locus of control in the experimental group compared to the internal locus of control in the control group. The hopelessness variable shows a value of 0.000 and a p score of 0.008 (p <0.05), this indicates that there is a difference in hopelessness in the experimental group and the control group. There is a decrease in hopelessness and an increase in internal locus of control in people with DM given hope therapy.

Gender-moderated effects of academic self-concept on achievement, motivation, performance, and self-efficacy: A systematic review

Although academic self-concept plays a crucial role in promoting students' education, there is a paucity of studies simultaneously exploring the gender-moderated effects of academic self-concept. This study aimed to explore gender-moderated effects of academic self-concept on achievement, motivation, performance, and self-efficacy. With Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocol (PRISMA-P) and STARLITE criteria, this study screened and assessed the retrieved literature, finally including 53 studies. It was concluded that academic self-concept exerted a positive influence on improving achievement, enhancing motivation, ameliorating performance, and boosting self-efficacy. It should also be noted that interrelations between academic self-concept and other educational constructs may be much more complicated than expected since gender disparities may moderate the effects of academic self-concept. Gender discrepancies in academic self-concept could account for the gap between male students and female students in subject-specific achievement, motivation, performance, and self-efficacy, especially in STEM courses. Teaching interventions and educational policies should be taken to enhance female students' STEM courses self-concept. Future studies should promote educational equality, highlight academic self-concept of special groups, and enhance academic self-concept in online learning.

Systematic review registration

https://osf.io/uxjnv/?view_only=b10db44d34154d96a361c159ca15a5b5.

Promoting hope in minoritized and economically disadvantaged students

Minoritized and economically disadvantaged (MED) students encounter a host of detrimental factors within the academic setting (e.g., racism, classism, low expectations). In order for them to be successful, ways must be found to help them achieve academically despite their disadvantageous academic environments. Recent research indicates that hope theory might provide a pathway for MED students to have a higher chance at success. In this review, how hope has the potential to take on a special significance for MED students as well as how it can be leveraged to increase their odd of academic and life success is discussed. In addition, recent research centered around promoting hope in MED students, both formally and informally, is reviewed. Altogether, this review has implications for cultivating hope in schools.

Online Learning Stress and Chinese College Students' Academic Coping during COVID-19: The Role of Academic Hope and Academic Self-Efficacy

Colleges around the world have adopted emergency online learning to continue with teaching and learning activities during COVID-19. Existing research has indicated that this teaching mode is perceived negatively by many college students. The difficulty students encounter in emergency online learning can adversely affect their mental health and academic performance. To shed further light on how emergency online learning may have impeded college students' academic functioning and adjustment, this study examined the association between online learning stress and academic coping and the mediating roles of academic self-efficacy and academic hope. It was conducted in early 2021, a year after the outbreak of the pandemic. Ninety-nine Chinese college students in Hong Kong were recruited and they completed an online questionnaire for this study. Results showed that online learning stress was negatively associated with approach academic coping and social support seeking, and the associations were mediated by academic hope. On the other hand, online learning stress was positively associated with avoidance academic coping, which was not mediated by academic hope. The mediation effects of academic self-efficacy were all non-significant. In sum, college students used more passive and maladaptive coping to handle academic problems when they experienced more online learning stress, and this was partly explained by lower levels of academic hope.

The 5I's of Virtual Technologies in Laboratory Teaching for Faculties of Higher Education in Kerala

In this paper, the effectiveness of training faculty in laboratory teaching (the teaching of science in a laboratory setting using experiments and similar exercises) through the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT)-virtual technologies for faculties in institutions of higher education in the Indian state of Kerala-was evaluated and measured. The efficacy of employing ICT to train teachers in higher education is important, and we have identified 5I factors (innovative, interactive, involvement, informative, and influential) to help ascertain the effectiveness of such technology training during pandemic teaching. The laboratory learning using VL can describe the student's engagement in the online learning process. This work more specifically identifies how ICT helps in laboratory teaching and identifies the critical pedagogical aspects of the ICT. If the technology has these 5I factors, then it will be an effective teaching method for laboratory learning. Here, we used the ICT-virtual labs in science as the technology to evaluate these five factors. The research first began by conducting an ethnicity profile of science teachers in the middle and high/secondary stages of school consisting of classes VII, IX, and X (i.e., students of ages 11 to 15). To evaluate the use of VL in the 5I framework, the faculties in science were divided into experimental and control groups (n = 101). The experimental group practiced in a virtual lab in the first stage, but the control group did not. Test I was then performed on both groups. In the second stage, both groups practiced with real lab equipment, and test II was conducted on both groups. The tests and other data from the two groups were statistically analyzed using independent t tests. There were notable differences between the experimental and control groups: in terms of time for understanding the concepts behind the experiment, time for doing the experiment, and accuracy in results, with the experimental group performing significantly better. On the other hand, there was no significant difference between the two groups in task completion accuracy. Overall, there was a beneficial transfer of training from the virtual lab exercise to the real lab, with the experimental group's average score being higher.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10956-022-09995-8.

A Weight and Meta-Analysis on the Academic Achievement of High School Students

Understanding the determinants of academic achievement (AA) is crucial for virtually every stakeholder interested in personal development and individual and societal wellbeing. Extensive research in several areas, such as education, economics, or psychology, has addressed this topic, identifying a vast number of determinants that impact high school students’ AA. In this work, we perform a meta-analysis, including a weight analysis of 49 quantitative studies that investigate this topic, exploring the best predictors of high school students’ academic success. We also explore moderation effects. Our results show that academic self-efficacy and socioeconomic status are the best predictors of AA, and they are statistically significant. Other statistically significant predictors, albeit less common in the analyses, are mastery avoidance, motivation, sleep habits, and work avoidance. Implications for theory and practice and directions for future research are discussed.

Development of the Psychological Capital Scale for Male Nursing Students in Taiwan and Testing Its Measurement Invariance between Genders

The aims of this study were to develop a psychological capital (PsyCap) scale for male nursing students and to compare the scores with those of female nursing students. Few past studies have focused on male nursing students to understand their PsyCap relative to female nursing students. We recruited 384 male nursing students in Taiwan to construct the PsyCap Scale with 16 items and four factors based on the relevant literature: hope, optimism, resiliency, and self-efficacy. The scale showed good model fit in confirmatory factor analysis with factor loadings from 0.62 to 0.78. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranged from 0.75 to 0.83 for the four subscales and 0.91 for the total scale. We also conducted measurement invariance tests with data from 402 female nursing student volunteers in Taiwan. The invariance of factor loadings and intercepts of the established scale (i.e., with the same unit and origin between genders) indicated that the male nursing students had higher PsyCap in optimism and resiliency than the females. We developed a 16-item-scale to make administration rapid and convenient and applied advanced statistical methods for reliable and valid comparisons between sexes. The results may help the government to create education programmes or policies supporting male nursing students.

Self-efficacy and academic programme satisfaction: mediating effect of meaningfulness of study

Purpose

The paper examined the mediating effect of meaningfulness of study on the relation between self-efficacy and academic programme satisfaction within higher education setup.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 376 randomly selected students took part in the study by completing a self-reported survey. Data were analysed using PLS-SEM.

Findings

Results suggest self-efficacy and meaningfulness of studies positively predict student's satisfaction with academic programme. Besides, meaningfulness of study mediates the relation between self-efficacy and student's satisfaction of academic programme.

Originality/value

This study is one of the first to provide empirical evidence of the influence of meaningfulness of studies on self-efficacy and student academic programme satisfaction in the higher education context.

Psychological Capital Profiles and Their Relationship With Internal Learning in Teams of Undergraduate Students

This study aims to analyze the relationship between psychological capital profiles and internal learning in teams. The participants in this study were 480 undergraduate students. We performed a cluster analysis using the SPSS and yielded four distinct psychological capital profiles. The student profile with the highest scores in self-efficacy, optimism, hope, and resilience (Profile 2-Fully PsyCap) exhibited also the highest scores of internal learning in teams. On the other hand, the student profile with the lowest scores in self-efficacy, optimism, hope, and resilience (Profile 1- Empty PsyCap) presented the lowest scores of internal learning in teams. It is also noteworthy that there was no significant relationship between the profile with a positive combination between self-efficacy and hope (profile 4) and the profile that presents the optimism as the only positive psychological capability (profile 3), in the way they relate to internal learning in teams, which led us to reject the second hypothesis of the study. This study reinforces the role of psychological capital in academic settings and suggests that psychological capital profiles can affect internal learning in teams differentially.

Autonomy-Supportive Faculty, Students' Self-System Processes, Positive Academic Emotions, and Agentic Engagement: Adding Emotions to Self-System Model of Motivational Development

The aim of this study was to investigate mediating roles of students' self-system processes and positive academic emotions in a relationship between supporting autonomy and agentic engagement. In This research structural equation modeling was used to analyze a conceptual model. The sample consisted of 452 undergraduate students of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. The research instruments included the autonomy-supportive environment inventory, the self-system processes questionnaire, three questionnaires of academic emotions, and the agentic engagement scale. The findings showed that supporting autonomy had an indirect effect on students' achievement emotions, via self-system processes. Self-system processes had direct and indirect effects on agentic engagement, via positive academic emotions. Supporting autonomy had an indirect effect on agentic engagement by mediating role of self-system processes and positive academic emotions. Accordingly, emotions are proximal determinants of agentic engagement. Supporting autonomy and self-system processes affect agentic engagement from the pathway of academic emotions. Therefore, in addition to environmental factors and self-appraisals, it is necessary to consider students' emotional experiences to promote agentic engagement in learning settings.

The Mediating Role of Goal Orientation (Task) in the Relationship between Engagement and Academic Self-Concept in Students

Some students many not possess the necessary strategies and skills to meet the demands of academic life and develop negative attitudes, physical and mental exhaustion, and other attitudes that will undermine their personal and academic development. This study analyses the relationship and possible role of goal orientation as a mediator between engagement and academic self-concept. Methods: The study concerned a population of 1756 subjects from 12 secondary schools (ESO). The instruments used included the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale—Student (UWES-S), the Perception of Success Questionnaire (POSQ), and the Academic Self-Concept Scale (ASCS). Results: The results revealed significant correlations between academic engagement, task-oriented goal orientation, and academic self-concept. In addition, task orientation was found to play a positive mediating role between academic engagement and academic self-concept, leading to adaptive models in secondary school students. Conclusion: These results highlight the need to promote goal orientation in order to stimulate self-determined behaviours in the school environment and improved levels of academic self-concept, which in turn will facilitate the psychological and personal development of the student and increase the chances of academic success.

Measuring hope during the COVID-19 outbreak in the Philippines: development and validation of the state locus-of-Hope scale short form in Filipino

Various adaptations of the Dispositional Hope Scale have been validated and used for specific research and applied purposes. The Locus-of-Hope Scale was developed as a cultural adaptation that measures internal and external aspects of agency related to goal-pursuit that are typical in collectivist cultures. The scale has been used to account for variations in well-being-related factors in collectivist societies but still assumes that hope-related thoughts are dispositional. A State Locus-of-Hope Scale was developed to assess hope-related thinking concerning ongoing events and experience during the COVID-19 outbreak in the Philippines in March 2020. The 16-item scale in Filipino was adapted from a short version of Locus-of-Hope Scale. Using data from 3128 respondents, confirmatory factor analysis indicated a good fit between the four-factor model (compared to one-factor and two-factor models), supporting the scale's structural validity. There was also good evidence for the subscales' convergent and discriminant validity. Preliminary evidence for construct criterion validity was demonstrated by examining associations with well-being and anxiety. The results indicate the viability of the State Locus-of-Hope scale for assessing temporal hope-related thoughts that can inform efforts to understand how individuals engage in goal-related processes and maintain well-being in specific personal and social situations.