Examining perceived control level and instability as predictors of first-year college students’ academic achievement

Mastery-approach and performance-approach goals predict distinct outcomes during personal academic goal pursuit

BACKGROUND

Mastery and performance goals are typically measured as trait-like abstract goals. However, in their daily academic pursuits, students pursue more concrete goals. The pursuit of these goals is replete with obstacles that can lead to an action crisis.

AIMS

We examined how mastery and performance goals affect progress, effort and well-being during academic goal pursuit. We also asked whether these goals moderated relations between an action crisis and goal pursuit.

SAMPLE

154 Israeli students (average age = 23.59 years, SD = 2.17; 62% female) preparing for an exam.

METHODS

In this daily diary study, participants first reported the date of their most stressful exam, two related goals, and their trait-like achievement goals (mastery, performance). They then completed daily questionnaires assessing their progress, effort, well-being and action crisis on the 10 days leading up to the exam.

RESULTS

Multilevel modelling showed mastery goals positively predicted daily goal effort and progress and negatively predicted daily action crises, while performance goals positively predicted daily negative affect and action crises. An action crisis was negatively correlated with next-day goal progress and positive affect among students with high-performance goals. In students with low-performance goals, an action crisis positively predicted next-day positive affect. Finally, for students high on mastery goals, an action crisis was unrelated to negative affect on the same day.

CONCLUSIONS

Different trait-like achievement goals can be mapped onto a common personal goal and affect its pursuit differently. Mastery goals predict optimal goal pursuit, and performance goals are associated with non-optimal goal pursuit.

Experiences of agency in historically underrepresented racial and ethnic dental faculty at predominantly white institutions

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES

Historically underrepresented racial and ethnic (HURE) dentists remain underrepresented in dental education and dental practice, and surprisingly, little is known about the factors that enable them to thrive. The lack of information about their experiences is a critical gap in the literature. The purpose of this critical qualitative study is to describe how HURE dental faculty in predominantly white institutions (PWIs) exercise agency to thrive and advance in academic promotion when faced with challenges and adversity in the workplace.

METHODS

Thirteen semi-structured interviews were conducted in 2021 and 2022 with HURE dental faculty from 10 different institutions. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using the construct of agency and tenets of critical race theory to understand how they thrive in their institutions.

RESULTS

HURE dental faculty experienced racism as normal from both faculty and students. Racism centered around white faculty guarding access to white spaces, including things that should be open to everyone like meetings and information about promotion. To counter this, HURE faculty engaged in individual agency by fighting for their perspectives to be heard, proxy agency by seeking and building relationships with mentors and colleagues who could use their whiteness to create change, and improvisational agency by going outside their institutions for support.

CONCLUSION(S)

To thrive in PWIs requires HURE faculty to exercise various forms of agency to directly or indirectly advocate for themselves as professionals. These findings have implications for dental leaders to change their existing structures and improve the work environments for HURE dental faculty.

Coping, COVID knowledge, communication, and HBCU student's emotional well-being: Mediating role of perceived control and social connectedness

The pandemic has disproportionately affected African American college students, who have experienced significant work-related, academic, financial, and socio-emotional challenges due to COVID-19. The purpose of the study is to investigate how African American students cope with the severe impact of COVID-19 on their emotional well-being leveraging the benefits of self-care coping measures, COVID-19 knowledge, and communication with others to enhance perceived control and social connectedness. A structural equation modeling and a path analysis of 254 responses from a Historically Black College and University showed that emotional well-being was positively predicted by self-care coping strategies, feelings of being in control in life, and social connectedness. In addition, respondents who adopted mind-body balance coping strategies, those who are knowledgeable about COVID-19, and those in more constant communication with others attained a strong sense of being in control, and in turn the empowerment increased their emotional well-being.

Perceived Academic Control and Academic Emotions Predict Undergraduate University Student Success: Examining Effects on Dropout Intention and Achievement

The present study addressed concerns over the high risk of university students' academic failure. It examined how perceived academic control and academic emotions predict undergraduate students' academic success, conceptualized as both low dropout intention and high achievement (indicated by GPA). A cross-sectional survey was administered to 883 undergraduate students across all disciplines of a German STEM orientated university. The study additionally compared freshman students (N = 597) vs. second-year students (N = 286). Using structural equation modeling, for the overall sample of undergraduate students we found that perceived academic control positively predicted enjoyment and achievement, as well as negatively predicted boredom and anxiety. The prediction of dropout intention by perceived academic control was fully mediated via anxiety. When taking perceived academic control into account, we found no specific impact of enjoyment or boredom on the intention to dropout and no specific impact of all three academic emotions on achievement. The multi-group analysis showed, however, that perceived academic control, enjoyment, and boredom among second-year students had a direct relationship with dropout intention. A major contribution of the present study was demonstrating the important roles of perceived academic control and anxiety in undergraduate students' academic success. Concerning corresponding institutional support and future research, the results suggested distinguishing incoming from advanced undergraduate students.

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.