Homework purposes, homework behaviors, and academic achievement. Examining the mediating role of students’ perceived homework quality

Self-Efficacy to Regulate Eating Behaviors Scale for Children: A Validation Study

Self-efficacy has a strong influence on children's eating behavior. Feeling capable of regulating one's eating behavior is especially relevant in situations of activation while facing temptations or experiencing negative emotions. Despite the relevance, there is no validated measure to assess children's self-efficacy to regulate eating behaviors in these domains. The present study examines the psychometric properties of the Self-Efficacy to Regulate Eating Behaviors Scale for Children based on a sample of 724 elementary school children in Portugal. The sample was split randomly into two groups, and a principal component analysis with Group 1 and a confirmatory factor analysis with Group 2 were carried out. The scale comprises two distinct but related factors-self-efficacy to regulate eating behaviors in activation and temptation situations and self-efficacy to regulate eating behaviors in negative emotional situations. Moreover, self-efficacy to regulate eating behaviors was positively and statistically related to self-regulation processes toward healthy eating, declarative knowledge about healthy eating, and attitudes and perceptions toward healthy eating. The present study provides preliminary evidence that the Self-Efficacy to Regulate Eating Behaviors Scale for Children is valid and reliable for evaluating children's self-efficacy in regulating their eating behaviors.

Academic dishonesty when doing homework: How digital technologies are put to bad use in secondary schools

The growth in digital technologies in recent decades has offered many opportunities to support students' learning and homework completion. However, it has also contributed to expanding the field of possibilities concerning homework avoidance. Although studies have investigated the factors of academic dishonesty, the focus has often been on college students and formal assessments. The present study aimed to determine what predicts homework avoidance using digital resources and whether engaging in these practices is another predictor of test performance. To address these questions, we analyzed data from the Program for International Student Assessment 2018 survey, which contained additional questionnaires addressing this issue, for the Swiss students. The results showed that about half of the students engaged in one kind or another of digitally-supported practices for homework avoidance at least once or twice a week. Students who were more likely to use digital resources to engage in dishonest practices were males who did not put much effort into their homework and were enrolled in non-higher education-oriented school programs. Further, we found that digitally-supported homework avoidance was a significant negative predictor of test performance when considering information and communication technology predictors. Thus, the present study not only expands the knowledge regarding the predictors of academic dishonesty with digital resources, but also confirms the negative impact of such practices on learning.

"COVID-19 in Trials and Tribulations" Project: A Self-Regulation-Based Support Response for Confined Families through Social Networks

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed today's society in an unprecedented scenario. During Portugal's first home confinement period (March-July 2020), the online-based "COVID-19 in Trials and Tribulations" project was implemented to support families with school-aged children. The project was grounded on the self-regulation framework and delivered through Facebook^® and Instagram^® pages. Being responsive to ongoing developments of the pandemic, activities were conveyed in two phases. Phase 1 occurred during lockdown (school was suspended). Phase 2 occurred while students were enrolled in at-distance (online) school. The present study aimed to examine the reach of the project, while examining the content and format of delivery that generated the most engagement among the users (4500 Facebook^® effective followers; 1200 Instagram^® effective followers) during the confinement period. Results showed that, at the individual page level, Facebook^® had higher reach indicators compared to Instagram^®, except for video. At the Facebook^® post level, followers and users showed more engagement with the page prior to the at-distance schooling phase; however, videos still generated engagement (p = 0.002). Both the post type (p < 0.01) and frequency (p < 0.001) of publication were suggested to be good predictors of engagement. The information gathered will help design and inform future interventions that may be implemented as new lockdowns are set in place.

Individual and class-level factors for students' management of homework environment: The self-regulation perspective

The present study investigated the predictive effects of clusters of variables on homework environment management based on the data from 3018 students in Grade 8. These clusters included: background variables, homework characteristics, adult support and monitoring, homework purposes, goal orientations, and contextual control. At the individual level, management of homework environment was significantly related to at least one variable from each of the six clusters. Specifically, it was associated negatively with time spent watching TV, and positively with prior achievement, homework interest, homework quality, family help, teacher feedback, academic purpose, self-regulatory purpose, mastery-approach, and help seeking. Additionally, males managed homework environment less frequently than females. Finally, management of homework environment was positively related to homework quality at the class level.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-021-02596-5.

Empirically derived profiles of homework purposes in eleventh grade students: a latent profile analysis

Informed by expectation-value theory and related literature, the goal of the current investigation was to identify profiles of students drawn from three purposes of homework (academic, self-regulatory, and approval-seeking). Participants were 750 eleventh-grade students in China. Results from latent profile analysis (LPA) revealed identified four different profiles of students: Very Low Profile (very low in all purposes; 5.73%), Low Profile (low in all purposes; 30.40%), Moderate Profile (moderate in all purposes; 54.40%), and High Profile (high in all purposes; 9.47%). Results further revealed that student gender was associated with profile membership. Finally, profile membership was significantly related to homework effort and completion (with a medium effect size) in that, in general, the higher the homework purposes, the higher the homework effort and homework completion.

Associations between Poor Vision, Vision-Related Behaviors and Mathematics Achievement in Chinese Students from the CNAEQ-PEH 2015

Purpose: Poor vision is prevalent in school-aged students, especially in East Asia. This can not only cause irreversibly physical health impairments like glaucoma and cataracts, but also the loss of individual education and employment opportunities and deterioration of the quality of life. The present study aims to investigate the associations between poor vision, vision-related risk behaviors, and mathematics achievement in youth from China. Methods: The present study included a total of 106,192 Grade 4 students and 70,236 Grade 8 students from the China National Assessment of Educational Quality-Physical Education & Health 2015 (CNAEQ-PEH 2015). We conducted a standard logarithmic visual acuity scale for vision screening, a self-reported questionnaire for vision-related risk behavior and a standardized mathematics assessment for mathematics performance. Poor vision is defined as the visual acuity below 5.0 by using the standard logarithmic visual acuity chart. Linear regression was conducted. Results: The prevalence rate of poor vision in China was 37.1% in Grade 4 and 66.2% in Grade 8 in 2015. Students who had poor vision were more likely to have better mathematics achievement than those with normal vision. Reading in bed, insufficient sleep, and screen time during weekdays and weekends were associated with higher odds of poor vision. Conclusions: Poor vision was positively associated with mathematics academic achievements, while vision-related risk behaviors such as screen time, homework time and reading in bed were associated with a high prevalence of poor vision in compulsory education cycle students.

Student Perception of Teacher and Parent Involvement in Homework and Student Engagement: The Mediating Role of Motivation

Currently, there is much debate about the value of assigning homework. Organizations such as the OECD have concluded that doing more homework is not synonymous with better performance. This study was designed to analyze the mediating role of student motivation in the relationship between the involvement of parents and teachers in homework and the engagement of students in these tasks. Seven hundred and thirty students in Compulsory Secondary Education (7th-10th grade) participated from 14 schools in the north of Spain. Three competing models were developed and tested to study motivational mediation: a non-motivational mediation model (direct effects model); a total motivational mediation model (indirect effects model); and a partial motivational mediation model (mixed effects model). The best model was adjusted according to gender and school year variables. The total mediation motivational model demonstrated the best fit (indirect effects model). The results suggest the total mediation of student motivation in the relationship between the perception of parents' and teachers' involvement in homework and student cognitive engagement in these tasks. Some differences, albeit slight, were observed with respect to gender and school year. The results have clear theoretical and educational implications.

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).

"Homework Should Be…but We Do Not Live in an Ideal World": Mathematics Teachers' Perspectives on Quality Homework and on Homework Assigned in Elementary and Middle Schools

Existing literature has analyzed homework characteristics associated with academic results. Researchers and educators defend the need to provide quality homework, but there is still much to be learned about the characteristics of quality homework (e.g., purposes, type). Acknowledging that teachers play an important role in designing and assigning homework, this study explored teachers' perspectives regarding: (i) the characteristics of quality homework and (ii) the characteristics of the homework tasks assigned. In the current study, mathematics teachers from elementary and middle schools (N = 78) participated in focus group discussions. To enhance the trustworthiness of the findings, homework tasks assigned by 25% of the participants were analyzed for triangulation of data purposes. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis for elementary and middle school separately. Teachers discussed the various characteristics of quality homework (e.g., short assignments, adjusted to the availability of students) and shared the characteristics of the homework tasks typically assigned, highlighting a few differences (e.g., degree of individualization of homework, purposes) between these two topics. Globally, data on the homework tasks assigned were consistent with teachers' reports about the characteristics of the homework tasks they usually assigned. Findings provide valuable insights for research and practice aimed to promote the quality of homework and consequently students' learning and progress.

The Role of Prior Achievement as an Antecedent to Student Homework Engagement

The benefits of homework on student learning and academic achievement, to a large extent, depend on the degree of student engagement. Motivational engagement (my intention or why I do the homework), cognitive engagement (how I get involved in homework), and behavioral engagement (how much homework I do, how much time I devote to it, how I manage that time) are key aspects that condition the quality of the process of doing homework, learning, and academic achievement. Prior academic achievement is one of the variables that seems to be positively related to student engagement (both due its motivational component and to the training to do homework). The main purpose of this work was to study in detail this relationship in students of the last stage of Primary Education (N = 516). The results showed that (i) as achievement levels rise, the use of a shallow focus to doing homework decreases (and the use of a deep approach increases); (ii) there is also a progressive increase in the amount of homework done and in the management of the time dedicated to homework. On another hand, as in previous research, (iii) no relationship was observed between the levels of prior achievement and the amount of time spent doing homework.