Positive social relationships with peers and teachers as moderators of the Big-Fish-Little-Pond Effect

Grade Retention Impact on Academic Self-concept: A Longitudinal Perspective

The long-term effects on academic self-concept of grade retention are unclear. The objective is to examine the progression of academic self-concept in relation to school performance for retained students and non-retained students. The academic self-concept of 5712 students (1381 retained students) was evaluated at the fourth and eighth grade of compulsory school. Academic performance was also examined at a third point: sixth grade. Latent Class Analysis and Latent Transition Analysis were used to examine the transitions between the latent groups of academic self-concept. A BCH-LTA estimation for a distal outcomes was used to examine the influence of academic self-concept on school performance. Three latent groups of academic self-concept were identified. The transitions indicated a reduction in academic self-concept over time which was greater in retained students. School performance fell over time and was related to academic self-concept. These findings have significant implications in relation to grade retention and its negative impact on students’ academic self-concept.

Understanding the role of peer pressure on engineering students' learning behavior: A TPB perspective

Introduction

With the advent of the digital age, the gradually increasing demands of the engineering job market make it inevitable that engineering students face the pressures that arise from academic life with their peers. To address this issue, this study aims to explore the influence of engineering students' peer pressure on learning behavior based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB).

Methods

In addition to attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral controls inherent in TPB, two new dimensions-gender difference and peer academic ability-were incorporated to construct a framework of the dimensions of peer pressure as affecting engineering students as well as an expanded model of TPB. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 160 college engineering students and a structural equation model (SEM) was used to test the hypotheses.

Results

The result showed that positive peer pressure can increase engineering students' learning intention and thus promote learning behavior. It was also determined that the TPB model can effectively explain the effect of peer pressure on learning behavior, in addition to expanding and reshaping the relationship between the attitudinal dimension in the TPB model.

Discussion

From the results, it is clear that positive attitudes toward learning can trigger positive peer pressure. Good group norms can induce peer pressure through rewards and punishments as a way to motivate students' learning intention and learning behaviors. When peer pressure is perceived, students mobilize positive emotions toward learning. Meanwhile, both male and female engineering students are also significantly motivated by high peer achievement, and high-performing female students motivate their male peers, which leads to higher graduation rates.

Social comparison effects on students’ cognitive anxiety, self-confidence, and performance in Chinese composition writing

Social comparison is a mind-altering determinant that affects students’ learning behavior. To understand the effect, three instructional approaches to teaching Chinese writing skills were designed and implemented in this study: (1) The No Comparison Group (NCG): students were asked to complete compositions on their own; (2) The Upward Comparison Group (UCG): superior composition examples were provided and the students were asked to write compositions on the same topics; and (3) The Downward Comparison Group (DCG): inferior examples were provided for students to critique. Taiwanese junior high school ninth graders participated in three groups, and wrote compositions on six themes. The results revealed that the Chinese composition writing (CCW) skills of the students in the UCG and DCG improved significantly more than those of the students in the NCG. Composition-prompted cognitive anxiety in the DCG declined substantially. The results imply that adopting upward and downward comparisons for students to practice Chinese composition is worth adopting in writing lessons.

High-ability students in pull-out programs and regular classes: A longitudinal study on perceived social relationships in two settings

Although there is wide support for the academic benefits of pull-out programs aimed at high-ability students, it remains unclear how attending these programs is associated with social outcomes. This one-year, three-wave longitudinal study examined the perceived social relationships with teachers and peers of 245 high-ability students in both their pull-out programs and regular classes and included 429 regular students as a reference group. Results of latent growth curve analyses revealed that high-ability students perceived their relationships with regular peers and teachers as equally positive as regular students. Furthermore, high-ability students initially perceived their relationships in their regular class and pull-out program as equally positive, but as the school year progressed, perceived relationships with peers developed slightly more negatively in their regular class. Overall, the findings raise the question whether or not high-ability students actually have a commonly shared need for interaction with like-minded peers and specialized teachers in a special program to experience positive social relationships. Furthermore, the findings suggest that it is important to consider not only the academic benefits, but also the potential social effects in both the regular class and the pull-out program, when selecting students for pull-out programs.