Students’ emotions during homework in mathematics: Testing a theoretical model of antecedents and achievement outcomes

Schoolwork effort and emotions predict self-control in a weekly diary study

OBJECTIVE

Self-control supports many positive life outcomes. However, the processes underlying the development of self-control are not well understood. Drawing on the TESSERA model of personality development, we examined whether weekly schoolwork effort predicts self-control (in the subsequent week). We also examined the role of schoolwork emotions and whether these emotions moderated the impact of schoolwork effort on self-control based on predictions from the TESSERA model.

METHODS

Data are from a weekly diary study (N = 98) that measured children's schoolwork effort, schoolwork emotions, and self-control during five consecutive weeks. Data were analyzed at the between- and within-person levels using multilevel models.

RESULTS

Between-person results show that schoolwork effort is related to variations in children's self-control. Furthermore, some emotions moderated the influence of schoolwork effort on self-control at the between- and within-person levels.

CONCLUSION

In line with the TESSERA model of personality development, positive state expressions of effort during schoolwork (e.g., putting in effort) predicted higher self-control in the subsequent week. However, this finding was dependent on the reactions and reinforcement children felt about their effort (e.g., emotional responses to their remote schoolwork). The discussion examines how these findings extend to previous literature.

Achievement Emotions of Medical Students: Do They Predict Self-regulated Learning and Burnout in an Online Learning Environment?

BACKGROUND

Achievement emotions have been proven as important indicators of students' academic performance in traditional classrooms and beyond. In the online learning contexts, previous studies have indicated that achievement emotions would affect students' adoption of self-regulated learning strategies and further predict their learning outcomes. However, the pathway regarding how different positive and negative achievement emotions might affect students' burnout through self-regulated learning among medical students in online learning environments remains unclear. In this study, the aim is to investigate how achievement emotions and self-regulated learning predict burnout among medical students in online education.

METHODS

This study involved 282 medical students who had attended online courses due to the sudden shift of learning mode caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed to examine the hypothesized factor structure, and structural equation modelling was conducted to test the hypothesized relationships among factors.

RESULTS

The results of structural equation modelling revealed that medical students' self-efficacy positively predicted their enjoyment (β = .57) and online self-regulated learning (β = .54). Learning-related boredom inhibited students' adoption of online self-regulated learning strategies (β = -.24), and it was positively associated with their burnout (β = .54). Learning-related anxiety was a positive predictor of online self-regulated learning (β = .38).

DISCUSSIONS

The results of this study suggest that achievement emotions experienced by medical students had a significant impact on their online self-regulated learning and burnout. Specifically, the experience of learning-related boredom was detrimental to the adoption of self-regulated learning strategies and increased the likelihood of burnout. However, learning-related anxiety, despite being a negative achievement emotion, was positively associated with students' online self-regulated learning. These findings have important implications for online teaching and learning, particularly in the post-pandemic era.

Parent–child conflict during homeschooling in times of the COVID-19 pandemic: A key role for mothers’ self-efficacy in teaching

To contain the COVID-19 pandemic schools have been closed in many countries. Children stayed at home and were assisted by their parents with their schoolwork. Evidently, homeschooling puts extra demands on parents. We presumed that parents’ sense of efficacy in teaching would play a key role in how they cope with this extra task of homeschooling. In particular, we hypothesized that parental characteristics (level of parental education and stress) and social contextual factors (household chaos and school support) would contribute to parents’ teaching self-efficacy and that, in turn, a lower efficacy would result in more parent–child conflict during home schooling. Participants were 173 mothers of children in kindergarten or early elementary schools, who provided information for one of their children about interpersonal conflicts around schoolwork before and during school closure. Additionally, they reported on their self-efficacy in teaching, perceived stress during lockdown, home chaos, and school support. Path analyses indicated that mothers’ perceived stress and household chaos were associated with a lower sense of efficacy in teaching, whereas school support, but not level of parental education, was related to a higher level of teaching self-efficacy. Higher levels of self-efficacy beliefs, in turn, were associated with a lower degree of mother–child conflict during schoolwork, even after controlling for prior levels of conflict. We discuss how the results of this study might be used to foster parents’ self-efficacy in teaching and thereby decrease the amount of parent–child conflict during parents’ support with schoolwork.

The Walking Classroom: Measuring the Impact of Physical Activity on Student Cognitive Performance and Mood

BACKGROUND

The Walking Classroom is an education program that provides students with an opportunity to accumulate physical activity without losing instructional time.

METHOD

This research tests Kuczala's application of kinesthetic learning theory through measuring knowledge retention, postactivity information processing, and mood in students who engage in a short bout of physical activity while listening to Walking Classroom podcasts about language arts, science, and history, and those who remain seated during a podcast, compared with baseline levels. Students from 9 high-poverty fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms (n = 319) in a North Carolina county comprised the sample.

RESULTS

Utilizing multivariate analysis of covariance, the results demonstrate significantly higher levels of learning while walking compared with learning while sitting. Measures of mood utilizing the 10-item version of the Positive and Negative Affect Scale also demonstrated a significant effect in predicted directions.

CONCLUSION

The results support that coupling physical activity with instruction leads to increased performance and mood for elementary school students.

Does Gamifying Homework Influence Performance and Perceived Gameful Experience?

There is a growing body of literature that recognizes the importance of applying gamification in educational settings. This research developed an application to gamify students’ homework to address the concern of the students’ inability to complete their homework. This research aims to investigate students’ performance in doing their homework, and reflections and perceptions of the gameful experience in gamified homework exercises. Based on the data gathered from experimental and control groups (N = 84) via learning analytics, survey, and interview, the results show a high level of satisfaction according to students’ feedback. The most noticeable finding to extract from the analysis is that students can take on a persona, earn points, and experience a deeper sense of achievement through doing the gamified homework. Moreover, the students, on the whole, are likely to be intrinsically motivated whenever the homework is attributed to factors under their own control, when they consider that they have the expertise to be successful learners to achieve their desired objectives, and when they are interested in dealing with the homework for learning, not just achieving high grades.

Emotional profiles regarding maths among primary school children – A two-year longitudinal study

Learning maths is challenging for many primary school students, and teachers must understand students’ learning and emotional processes specific to learning maths. The current research, grounded in control-value theory, focused on achievement emotions regarding maths. Primary school students (N = 71) were studied with the primary objective of examining the longitudinal trajectories of achievement emotions of third graders over two years. The Portuguese Achievement Emotions Questionnaire for Elementary Students was administered biannually to assess enjoyment, anxiety, and boredom regarding maths. The results indicate that enjoyment decreased and boredom increased over time, revealing three emotional profiles: positive, negative and moderate. The positive profile showed the highest scores in maths achievement. Profile membership was moderately stable and became increasingly stable and structured. In examining the complexity of students’ emotional profiles and processes, the importance of understanding them to enhance educational support, development, and learning was highlighted.

Emotion Regulation Processes Can Benefit Self-Regulated Learning in Classical Musicians

Self-regulated learning (SRL) is the degree to which students are metacognitively, motivationally, and behaviourally active participants in their own learning process. It involves the self-regulation of cognitive, behavioural, and affective processes. SRL holds significant potential for enhancing practise and achievement. Although affect is acknowledged as one of the three fundamental processes in SRL, there is limited research investigating it. However, emotions have been found to influence SRL efficiency while emotion regulation (ER) can impact learning outcomes. Thus, this study sought to investigate how ER processes relate to SRL among professional musicians who perform Western classical music. Four forms of regulation (reappraisal, suppression, rumination, repression) were examined in relation to the SRL three-phase model. Professional musicians (N = 334) of 39 nationalities (age: 18–66; [M = 28]; female = 215; male = 119) completed a survey comprising the Self-Regulated Learning in Music Questionnaire, the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, and demographic items. A significant positive correlation emerged between SRL and reappraisal, and significant negative correlations emerged between SRL and the other three processes. Further multiple linear regression analysis revealed that reappraisal, practise hours, and expertise accounted for 26% of the variance in SRL. Finally, a factorial (2 × 2 × 2) ANOVA yielded significant group differences on ER as a function of gender, expertise, and occupation. Results suggest that reappraisal can enhance the use of SRL in musicians, thus highlighting the potential utility in considering ER as part of SRL. These results suggest that by including training on emotion regulation strategies within musicians’ educational institutions and workplaces, efficiency and engagement in SRL can be enhanced. This could produce more effective learning strategies and outcomes, together with higher musical achievements.

Teacher-Student Interaction and Chinese Students' Mathematics Learning Outcomes: The Mediation of Mathematics Achievement Emotions

This study aimed to investigate secondary students’ mathematics achievement emotions and their mediating effects on the relationships between classroom environmental characteristics, namely, teacher–student interactional styles (i.e., teacher leadership and student freedom styles), and students’ mathematics learning outcomes in mainland China. A sample of 1423 Grade 7 to 9 junior secondary students responded to a questionnaire that comprised three sets of scales for assessing students’ perceived teacher–student interactional styles, mathematics achievement emotions, and cognitive and affective learning outcomes. The results indicated that students’ mathematics learning outcomes were positively associated with both teacher leadership and student freedom styles. Moreover, students’ mathematics achievement emotions mediated the relationships between these two interactional styles and their mathematics learning outcomes. These results highlight the importance of mathematics achievement emotions in student learning, and provide implications for the improvement of mathematics classroom environments.

Math Homework Purpose Scale

Abstract. The present study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Math Homework Purpose Scale (MHPS). After randomly splitting the sample ( N = 854) into two subsamples ( n = 427 and n = 427), we carried out exploratory factor analysis (EFA) on subsample 1 and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on subsample 2. The Kaiser-Meyer Olkin value of .88 indicated that EFA was appropriate for subsample 1. EFA results showed that a three-factor solution explained 72.2% of the variance. All ten of the MHPS items loaded quite substantially on three factors labeled Academic, Self-Regulatory, and Approval-Seeking. CFA results further showed that the MHPS was composed of three factors: Academic, Self-Regulatory, and Approval-Seeking. From this adequate level of measurement invariance, we further examined the latent mean difference across gender for the entire sample. Our findings showed no statistically significant mean differences in Academic, Self-Regulatory, and Approval-Seeking across gender. In addition, the HMPS was found to have adequate alpha reliability coefficients and omega coefficients. Concerning the validity evidence of the MHPS, Academic, Self-Regulatory, and Approval-Seeking purposes were positively correlated with homework effort, homework completion, and math achievement. The present study provides solid evidence that the MHPS is a reliable and valid measurement of math homework purposes.

Relationship Between Students' Prior Academic Achievement and Homework Behavioral Engagement: The Mediating/Moderating Role of Learning Motivation

The interest of assigning homework is frequently discussed due to its alleged low impact on student achievement. One of the current lines of research is to emphasize the quality of student homework engagement rather than the amount of time spent on homework. The aim of this study was to determine (a) the extent to which students’ prior achievement affects their homework engagement (i.e., time spent, time management, and amount of teacher-assigned homework done), and (b) how students’ intrinsic motivation toward homework may mediate or moderate the relationship between prior achievement and the homework engagement variables. A large sample of students from the first 4 years of Secondary Education (N = 1899) completed questionnaires. The results showed that intrinsic motivation partially mediates, but does not moderate, the effect of prior achievement on the three variables related to homework engagement (time spent, time management, and amount of teacher-assigned homework done). These results highlight the importance of considering both students’ current level of achievement and their motivation toward homework engagement when assigning homework.

Individual Precursors of Student Homework Behavioral Engagement: The Role of Intrinsic Motivation, Perceived Homework Utility and Homework Attitude

Currently, the concept of engagement is crucial in the field of learning and school achievement. It is a multidimensional concept (e.g., behavioral, emotional, and cognitive dimensions) that has been widely used as a theoretical framework to explain the processes of school engagement and dropout. However, this conceptual framework has been scarcely used in the field of homework. The aim of the present study was to analyze the role of intrinsic motivation, perceived homework utility, and personal homework attitude as precursors of student homework engagement (behavioral engagement) and, at the same time, how such engagement is the precursor of academic achievement. Seven hundred and thirty students of Compulsory Secondary Education (CSE) (7th to 10th grade) from fourteen schools northern Spain participated. A structural equation model was elaborated on which intrinsic motivation, perceived utility and attitude were observed variables, and student engagement (time spent on homework, time management, and amount of teacher-assigned homework done) and academic achievement (Mathematics, Spanish Language, English Language, and Social Science) were latent variables. The results reveal that (i) intrinsic motivation is a powerful precursor of student behavioral engagement (also perceived utility and attitude, although to a lesser extent), and (ii) academic achievement is closely linked to the level of student engagement, qualifying the results of many of the previous studies conducted from a task-centered perspective (as opposed to a person-centered perspective).

Effects of Parental Autonomy Support and Teacher Support on Middle School Students' Homework Effort: Homework Autonomous Motivation as Mediator

The present study tested whether students’ autonomous motivation mediated the association between adult support (parental autonomy support, teacher support) and students’ homework effort. A sample of 666 Chinese middle school students was recruited to complete the parental autonomy support questionnaire, teacher support questionnaire, homework autonomous motivation questionnaire and homework effort questionnaire. Structural equation modeling showed that both parental autonomy support and teacher support positively predicted mathematics homework effort, and mathematics homework autonomous motivation was a mediator in these associations. The present study reveals the importance of adult support and autonomous motivation, and has theoretical and practical implications.

Which emotional profiles exhibit the best learning outcomes? A person-centered analysis of students’ academic emotions

Previous studies on academic emotions have mostly used variable-centered approaches. Although these studies have elucidated the relationships between academic emotions and key academic outcomes, they cannot identify naturally-occurring groups of students defined by distinct academic emotion profiles. In this study, we adopted a person-centered approach to explore whether students can be grouped in terms of distinct academic emotion profiles and whether these groups differed in terms of key academic outcomes. Cluster analyses showed four distinct profiles across both domain-general (Study 1) and domain-specific (Study 2) academic emotions. Students with high levels of positive academic emotions and low levels of negative academic emotions exhibited the most adaptive educational outcomes followed by students characterized by high levels of positive emotions and moderately high levels of shame. The most maladaptive profile was exhibited by students who are low in positive academic emotions and high in negative academic emotions. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Homework Emotion Regulation Scale: Confirming the Factor Structure With High School Students

The current investigation studied psychometric properties of the Homework Emotion Regulation Scale (HERS) for math homework, with 915 tenth graders from China. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) supported the presence of two separate yet related subscales for the HERS: Emotion Management and Cognitive Reappraisal. The latent factor means for both subscales were shown to be invariant across gender. Furthermore, both subscales were positively related to homework purposes and behaviors (effort and completion) in the theoretically expected directions. Meanwhile, math performance was positively related to emotion management, but not cognitive reappraisal.

Class Anxiety in Secondary Education: Exploring Structural Relations with Perceived Control, Engagement, Disaffection, and Performance

The aim of this study was to assess the relationships between class-related anxiety with perceived control, teacher-reported behavioral engagement, behavioral disaffection, and academic performance. Participants were 355 compulsory secondary students (9th and 10th grades; Mean age = 15.2 years; SD = 1.8 years). Structural equation models revealed performance was predicted by perceived control, anxiety, disaffection, and engagement. Perceived control predicted anxiety, disaffection, and engagement. Anxiety predicted disaffection and engagement, and partially mediated the effects from control on disaffection (β = –.277, p < .005; CI = –.378, –.197) and engagement (β = .170, p < .002; CI = .103 .258). The negative association between anxiety and performance was mediated by engagement and disaffection (β = –.295, p < .002; CI = –.439, –.182). Anxiety, engagement, and disaffection mediated the effects of control on performance (β = .352, p < .003; CI = .279, .440). The implications of these results are discussed in the light of current theory and educational interventions.

Homework Emotion Regulation Scale

The goal of the present investigation is to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Homework Emotion Regulation Scale (HERS) using 796 middle school students in China. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) supported the existence of two distinct yet related subscales for the HERS: Emotion Management and Cognitive Reappraisal. Concerning the concurrent and predictive validity evidence of the HERS, the results indicated that, consistent with theoretical expectations, Emotion Management and Cognitive Reappraisal were positively associated with mastery and performance orientation, desirable homework behaviors (e.g., completion), learning strategies (e.g., organization), and math homework grade reported by teachers at the end of school semester.

Teaching This Class Drives Me Nuts!--Examining the Person and Context Specificity of Teacher Emotions

Teachers’ emotions are critically important for the quality of classroom instruction, and they are key components of teachers’ psychological well-being. Past research has focused on individual differences between teachers, whereas within-teacher variation across contexts has rarely been considered. As such, the present research addresses the long-standing yet unresolved person-situation debate pertaining to the emotional experiences of teachers. In two diary studies (N = 135, 70% female, and N = 85, 28% female), we examined the role of person, academic subject, and group of students for teacher emotions; focusing on three of the most salient emotions found in teachers: enjoyment, anger, and anxiety. Findings from multi-level analysis confirmed the person specificity of enjoyment, anger, and, in particular, anxiety. In addition, underscoring the existence of within-teacher variability, findings supported that teachers’ emotions considerably varied depending on the subject and group of students taught, particularly so for enjoyment and anger. Implications of the person and context specificity of teacher emotions are discussed in relation to assessments and intervention programs aiming to improve teachers’ emotional lives in the classroom.