Achievement goals, academic self-concept, and school grades in mathematics: Longitudinal reciprocal relations in above average ability secondary school students

A mixed methods exploration of the emergence of goal orientation in medical students' individualized learning plans

PURPOSE

Goal orientation (GO) describes an individual's approach to different achievement situations. Understanding the motivations and approach to achieving goals of medical students is vital with the increasing emphasis on self-directed learning. The purpose of this study was to identify themes in self-improvement reflections that relate to each GO dimension (learning, performance-prove, and performance-avoid).

METHODS

A sequential explanatory mixed methods design was used. GO data was used to categorize students into groups aligning with the GO dimension identified in the previous stage of quantitative analysis. Individualized learning plans (ILPs) for each GO dimension group were coded inductively to identify emergent themes related to goal setting and achievement.

RESULTS

The learning GO group was the largest of the three GOs. Five themes were identified from inductive analysis: importance of practice, identifying elements that helped, identifying structural barriers, opportunities for improvement, and acknowledging experience. While these themes occur across GO, patterns exist within their ILPs based on GO.

CONCLUSIONS

We identified common themes for motivations of medical students, and these motivations might differ depending on their GO. Further exploration into the themes over the course of their training will provide additional insights on what factors may be involved in student motivations towards learning and achievement. Educators can use this information to individualize feedback and students can better understand their motivations towards achieving goals.

Can Mathematics Achievement Be Predicted? The Role of Cognitive–Behavioral–Emotional Variables

The current society is based on science and technology, depending partly on mathematics. It leads to citizens’ success in school mathematics, being measured through achievement, which can be predicted by affective, cognitive, and behavioral variables. The aim of this study was to determine the extent to which self-concept, learning strategies, attitude towards science and mathematics, school environment, and previous scores in science and mathematics predict achievement in mathematics. A convenience sample of 352 pupils taking part in a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) experimentation outreach program belonging to state schools and state-funded schools from rural and urban environments was analysed. The instrument was composed of the Auzmendi scale of attitude towards mathematics modified, the attitude towards school science, the AUDIM questionnaire for self-concept (physical, social, personal, academic, and general), and the CEA questionnaire for learning strategies (emotional control, critical and creative thinking, and metacognition). Sex, type of school, and school environment were covariates. A binary logistic regression model was obtained for mathematics achievement, which correctly classified 82.1% of students, with previous science and mathematics achievement, science achievement, and critical and creative thinking as predictors, and urban schools playing a positive role. Implications of these predictors on mathematics education are discussed.

How do self-efficacy and self-concept impact mathematical achievement? The case of mathematical modelling

Background

According to the self‐enhancement perspective, self‐efficacy and self‐concept are shaped by prior achievement and have a crucial impact on future development. Their role in improving performance on challenging tasks, such as mathematical modelling (i.e., solving realistic problems mathematically), has barely been studied.

Aims

We investigated patterns of self‐efficacy and self‐concept and their predictive effects on mathematical modelling while taking into account school grades as measure of prior achievement and reasoning to reveal cognitive and motivational effects on achievement.

Sample

N = 279 secondary students in Grade 8 or 9 from 16 classes and 6 schools participated in the study.

Method

The multi‐informant design consisted of teachers’ reports of school grades, students’ reports of self‐efficacy and self‐concept (questionnaire‐based), and assessment of students’ reasoning and mathematical modelling.

Results

Using random‐intercept models, we found that the predictive effect of self‐efficacy on mathematical modelling withstood taking the school‐classroom‐related nested structure into account, whereas self‐concept lost its predictive value. Further, self‐efficacy fully mediated the effect of school grades on mathematical modelling.

Conclusions

In line with the self‐enhancement perspective on self‐efficacy, our findings highlight the strength of motivational effects on mathematical modelling. When we take the nested structure into account, our results indicate an impact of school grades via self‐efficacy on mathematical modelling independent of students’ cognitive level or classroom. Given the diverse challenges such complex tasks present, important pedagogical and didactical recommendations, such as targeting the enhancement of students’ self‐efficacy by teachers and educational decision makers, can be drawn.

Motivation-Achievement Cycles in Learning: a Literature Review and Research Agenda

The question of how learners’ motivation influences their academic achievement and vice versa has been the subject of intensive research due to its theoretical relevance and important implications for the field of education. Here, we present our understanding of how influential theories of academic motivation have conceptualized reciprocal interactions between motivation and achievement and the kinds of evidence that support this reciprocity. While the reciprocal nature of the relationship between motivation and academic achievement has been established in the literature, further insights into several features of this relationship are still lacking. We therefore present a research agenda where we identify theoretical and methodological challenges that could inspire further understanding of the reciprocal relationship between motivation and achievement as well as inform future interventions. Specifically, the research agenda includes the recommendation that future research considers (1) multiple motivation constructs, (2) behavioral mediators, (3) a network approach, (4) alignment of intervals of measurement and the short vs. long time scales of motivation constructs, (5) designs that meet the criteria for making causal, reciprocal inferences, (6) appropriate statistical models, (7) alternatives to self-reports, (8) different ways of measuring achievement, and (9) generalizability of the reciprocal relations to various developmental, ethnic, and sociocultural groups.

Bullying and Victimization in Native and Immigrant Very-Low-Income Adolescents in Italy: Disentangling the Roles of Peer Acceptance and Friendship

Background

Very-low-income students are a population at a high risk of perpetrating and suffering bullying at school, and at the same time the peer group at school is often one of the few sources of support for these minors.

Objective

This two-wave study is aimed to disambiguate the two different roles of peer acceptance and friendship on bullying and victimization in very-low-income adolescents, exploring the possible differential role of immigrant background.

Method

An online survey was administered to 249 early to late adolescents living below the poverty threshold (Mage = 12.76; SDage = 2.34; 41.8% girls; 19.3% immigrants). A multivariate regression model with multi-group analyses was applied.

Results

Our results indicated that peer friendship was a protective factor against bullying as well as victimization, whilst peer acceptance was not protective. Only for natives (but not for immigrants), a high level of peer acceptance was a risk factor for bullying, and low school achievement was a risk factor for victimization. The persistence of victimization over time was significantly stronger for immigrants than for natives.

Conclusions

The study provides new insights for the unique protective role of classmates’ friendship in natives and immigrants, while acceptance appeared to be less relevant. Research and applied implications are discussed.

School Dropout Intention and Self-esteem in Immigrant and Native Students Living in Poverty: The Protective Role of Peer Acceptance at School

The psychological well-being at school of immigrant students living in poverty is currently an understudied topic in developmental psychology. This is an important shortcoming because this population, which is rapidly increasing in many western countries, is in a double minority condition and has a greater risk of experiencing psychological distress at school, in comparison with their native peers. In order to improve our understanding on this issue, the present two-wave study investigated the prospective relationships between peer acceptance and two aspects of well-being at school—intention to drop out of school and negative self-esteem—specifically focusing on the differential effect of having (vs. not having) an immigrant background. The participants were 249 preadolescents and adolescents living in poverty (Mage = 12.76; SDage = 2.34; 41.8% girls; 19.3% immigrants) who were attending educational centres for disadvantaged minors. The poverty status of the participants was an inclusion criterion. A multilinear regression model with multigroup analysis was tested. As expected, the results showed that peer acceptance had a significant negative association with school dropout intentions and negative self-esteem only for immigrants, but not for natives. For immigrant students, the protective effect of peer acceptance was comparable to the stability over time of dropout intention and self-esteem, a result that has promising implications for prevention programs. The applied implications of the study for educational and clinical contexts are discussed.

The genetic and environmental effects on school grades in late childhood and adolescence

As academic achievement can have a major impact on the development of social inequalities we set out to explore how performance differences arise. Using data of the German twin study TwinLife, genetic and environmental effects on school grades in mathematics, German and the grade point average in two age cohorts (11 and 17 years old) were identified. Structural equation modelling on the data of 432 monozygotic and 529 dizygotic twin pairs as well as 317 siblings of the twins showed substantial genetic effects (up to 62%) in both cohorts on all three variables. Next to genetic influences, the twin-specific environment as well as non-shared environmental influences were found to explain the interindividual differences in mathematics and German as well as the grade point average. A cohort effect showing itself in higher heritability in the older cohort was found for mathematics and the grade point average but not for German. Moreover, we compared twins who were assigned to the same classroom to those twins who were assigned to different classrooms and found lower effects of the twin-specific shared environment in the latter group. Our study thereby contributes to the understanding of the etiology of interindividual differences in academic achievement in the numeracy and literacy domain in two age cohorts.

Evaluation des Rechtschreibtrainings mit Dino

Zusammenfassung. In der vorliegenden Studie wird das neu entwickelte Rechtschreibtraining mit Dino hinsichtlich seiner Auswirkungen auf die Lese-Rechtschreibkompetenz sowie motivationale Variablen evaluiert. 111 Kinder der dritten und vierten Jahrgangsstufe wurden randomisiert einer Interventions- ( n = 60) bzw. Kontrollgruppe ( n = 51 ) zugeteilt. Mitglieder der Interventionsgruppe wurden in Kleingruppen über einen etwa dreimonatigen Zeitraum von Studierenden gefördert. Varianzanalysen mit Messwiederholung zeigten, dass die Interventionsgruppe sich im Vergleich zur Kontrollgruppe signifikant stärker in ihrer Rechtschreibleistung und den Fähigkeitsselbstkonzepten Schreiben und Lesen verbesserte. Auch die Leseleistung nahm signifikant zu, wurde in der Kontrollgruppe jedoch nicht erfasst. Modelle latenter Veränderungsmessung zeigten positive Effekte der Intervention auf die latente Differenz im Fähigkeitsselbstkonzept Schreiben und die Differenz in der Rechtschreibekompetenz. Zudem lag ein positiver Zusammenhang der beiden Veränderungsvariablen vor. Neben dem Nachweis der Effektivität des Rechtschreibtrainings mit Dino leistet die Studie durch die Fokussierung motivationaler Variablen einen innovativen Beitrag in der Evaluationsforschung von Lese-Rechtschreibtrainings.

Akademische Selbstkonzepte bei chinesischen Studenten und Studentinnen der Germanistik sowie Schülern und Schülerinnen

Zusammenfassung. Mit dem acht Items umfassenden deutschsprachigen Differentiellen Schulischen Selbstkonzept Gitter (DISK-Gitter; Rost, Sparfeldt & Schilling, 2007 ) lassen sich mehrere fachspezifisch-akademische Selbstkonzepte simultan und sehr ökonomisch messen. Die Struktur und psychometrischen Kennwerte einer chinesischen Adaptation des DISK-Gitters wurden anhand zweier Studien überprüft (Studie 1, Universitätsstichprobe mit N1 = 601 Studenten und Studentinnen des Studienfachs „Deutsche Sprache“; Selbstkonzepte: Chinesisch, Englisch, Deutsch und Mathematik; Studie 2, Schulstichprobe mit N2 = 441 Mittelschulschülern und Mittelschulschülerinnen; Selbstkonzepte: Chinesisch, Englisch, Geschichte und Politik). Die Fachspezifität akademischer Selbstkonzepte konnte mit explorativen (Studie 1, Teilstichprobe 1A, n1A = 239) und konfirmatorischen (Studie 1, Teilstichprobe 1B, n1B = 367 sowie Studie 2) Dimensionsanalysen bestätigt werden. Die psychometrischen Kennwerte aller Selbstkonzeptskalen waren gut, ihre konvergenten und divergenten Validitäten hinsichtlich der Beziehungen zu Leistungen in einem Deutschtest (Studie 1) und zu fachspezifisch-akademischen Selbstwirksamkeiten (Studie 2) ließen sich belegen.

Changes in the Relation Between Competence Beliefs and Achievement in Math Across Elementary School Years

Math competence beliefs and achievement are important outcomes of school-based learning. Previous studies yielded inconsistent results on whether skill development, self-enhancement, or reciprocal effects account for the interplay among them. A development-related change in the direction of their relation in the early school years might explain the inconsistency. To test this, 542 German elementary school students (M = 7.95 years, SD = 0.58) were repeatedly investigated over 24 months from Grade 2 to Grade 4. Math competence beliefs declined and had a growing influence on subsequent math grades. This suggests changes in the dominant direction of the relation from a skill development to a reciprocal effects model during elementary school. Findings are discussed with regard to their theoretical and practical implications.

Die individuell präferierte Bezugsnormorientierung und das Selbstkonzept von Grundschulkindern im Fach Mathematik

Zusammenfassung. Zur Beurteilung von Leistungen können drei Bezugsnormen (BNO) angewendet werden: die individuelle (IBNO), soziale (SBNO) und kriteriale BNO (KBNO). Ziel der vorliegenden Studie war es, (1) bei 410 Viertklässlerinnen und Viertklässlern die drei BNO faktorenanalytisch zu konzeptualisieren, (2) die Vorhersagbarkeit des mathematischen Selbstkonzepts (MSK) und der Mathematiknoten (MN) durch die drei BNO zu erfassen und (3) Mediatoreffekte des MSKs sowie Interaktionseffekte für die SBNO auf Schüler- und Klassenebene (SBNO_K) mit der Klassendurchschnittsleistung (KL) zu überprüfen. Faktorenanalysen zeigten, dass sich ein Drei-Faktoren-Modell am besten an die Daten anpasst. Positive Korrelationen lagen zwischen allen Konstrukten und den MN vor. Mehrebenen-Pfadanalysen zeigten positive Pfade von der IBNO und KBNO auf das MSK und vom MSK auf die MN sowie von der SBNO auf die MN, jedoch negative Pfade von der KL und der SBNO_K auf die MN. Das MSK erwies sich als Mediator zwischen der IBNO und den MN sowie zwischen der KBNO und den MN.

Differences in Learning Strategies, Goal Orientations, and Self-Concept between Overachieving, Normal-Achieving, and Underachieving Secondary Students

The aims of this work were to identify and establish differential characteristics in learning strategies, goal orientations, and self-concept between overachieving, normal-achieving and underachieving secondary students. A total of 1400 Spanish first and second year high school students from the South-East geographical area participated in this study. Three groups of students were established: a group with underachieving students, a group with a normal level of achievement, and a third group with overachieving students. The students were assigned to each group depending on the residual punctuations obtained from a multiple regression analysis in which the punctuation of an IQ test was the predictor and a measure composed of the school grades of nine subjects was the criteria. The results of one-way ANOVA and the Games-Howell post-hoc test showed that underachieving students had significantly lower punctuations in all of the measures of learning strategies and learning goals, as well as all of the academic self-concept, personal self-concept, parental relationship, honesty, and personal stability factors. In contrast, overachieving students had higher punctuations than underachieving students in the same variables and higher punctuations than normal-achieving students in most of the variables in which significant differences were detected. These results have clear educational implications.