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

Instability, changes, and internal structure of children's attitudes toward mathematics in primary school: A four-wave investigation

The longitudinal person-oriented study aimed to explore profiles, stability, gender differences, and compositional relations of math attitudes by tracking Chinese third graders (Ntotal = 1013, Mage(T1) = 8.92 ± 0.46, Ngirls = 404) in four waves with 1-year intervals. Five profiles and unstable transitional probabilities were identified among the four waves. The relations between enjoyment to confidence and value shifted from reciprocity to enjoyment dominance, but value negatively predicted later enjoyment and confidence. Additionally, boys' advantages were significant in late elementary school (fifth, sixth grades) and girls benefited from initial positive attitudes. These findings suggest that Chinese students' math attitudes in middle childhood are unstable, shaped by internal and external environmental dynamics, and need to be further explored in cross-cultural research.

Developmental trajectories of school-beginners' ability self-concept, intrinsic value and performance in mathematics

BACKGROUND

Although research clearly demonstrates the importance of motivation in mathematics learning, relatively little is known about the developmental dynamics between different facets of mathematics motivation and performance, especially in the early years of schooling.

AIMS

In a longitudinal setting, we examined (1) how children's ability self-concept and intrinsic value in mathematics change over time during their first 3 years in school, (2) how those changes relate to each other and (3) how they connect with mathematics performance.

SAMPLE

The participants were 285 Finnish school-beginners (52.7% girls).

METHODS

Latent growth curve modelling was used to examine the developmental trajectories of children's ability self-concept and intrinsic value, and how those trajectories predicted later mathematics achievement (both mathematics test performance and teacher-rated grades), while controlling for previous mathematics performance and gender.

RESULTS

The results showed significant decreases in children's ability self-concept and intrinsic value, but also significant individual differences in the trajectories. The strong dependency between the levels and changes in self-concept and intrinsic value led us to specify a factor-of-curves latent growth curve model, thus merging the trajectories of ability self-concept and intrinsic value into one common model. Subsequent results showed prior mathematics performance to predict change in children's mathematics motivation, and both the level and change in mathematics motivation to predict third-grade performance and teacher-rated grade.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings provide evidence for a developmental link between children's ability self-concept, intrinsic value and achievement. Achievement seems to enhance mathematics motivation, and positive motivation appears to support the further development of mathematics skills.

The interplay between investment traits and cognitive abilities: Investigating reciprocal effects in elementary school age

Based on investment theories and guided by Mussel's (2013) intellect model, the present study investigated reciprocal relations over 1 year (2021-2022) between investment traits (need for cognition, achievement motives, epistemic curiosity) and fluid and crystallized cognitive abilities in 565 German elementary school children (298 girls; Mage = 8.40, SD = 0.59; 59.5% with immigration background). Children's fluid and crystallized abilities increased over time, whereas fear of failure and curiosity decreased. Investment traits barely predicted change in cognitive abilities. However, mathematical ability predicted change in most investment traits (.14 ≤ |β| ≤ .20), even after accounting for control variables. Results largely contradict investment theories but support the role of crystallized abilities for the development of investment traits in elementary school age.

Read at home to do well at school: informal reading predicts achievement and motivation in English as a foreign language

Introduction

Learning English as a foreign language is necessary for many students to actively participate in an increasingly globalized world. This study explores the role of informal English language engagement for students' reading and listening skills, as well as motivation to learn English. In an era of global interconnectedness, informal learning gains importance as a supplement to formal education.

Methods

This study extends the evidence base by analyzing extramural reading and listening activities in a large-scale longitudinal investigation involving secondary school learners (N = 1,994) in Germany.

Results

Our results show that frequent informal reading significantly relates to increases in students' English comprehension skills and their motivation for language learning, reaffirming previous cross-sectional findings.

Discussion

The results highlight the relevance of informal language activities for effective language learning and students' English as a foreign language motivation. Additionally, discrepancies between reading and listening outcomes are discussed.

Achievement, self-concept and anxiety in mathematics and English: A three-wave cross-lagged panel study

BACKGROUND

Many studies (especially cross-sectional ones) have shown signicant links between two of these three constructs-achievement, self-concept and anxiety.

OBJECTIVES

Unlike past longitudinal studies that examined only two of these three constructs, this study examines all three, grounded in self-determination theory, control-value theory and transactional theory of anxiety.

METHODS

Chinese secondary school students (N = 823) completed questionnaires across three time points covering one school year, and we collected data on their mathematics and second language (L2) English test scores.

RESULTS

Cross-lagged panel models showed equal effect sizes in both pairs of time periods (T1-T2 and T2-T3). In both mathematics and L2 English, (a) achievement, self-concept and anxiety all showed moderate autoregression effects and hence, relative stability, (b) achievement and self-concept showed reciprocal positive effects and (c) self-concept negatively predicted subsequent anxiety. In mathematics but not L2 English, anxiety negatively predicted self-concept, and achievement negatively predicted anxiety, showing domain differences. Self-concept mediated achievement's negative effect on anxiety only in L2 English.

CONCLUSIONS

Distinguishing within domain and cross domain effects of achievement, self-concept, and anxiety in mathematics and L2 English deepen our understanding of the relationships among these three constructs.

Parental educational aspirations and children's academic self-concept: Disentangling state and trait components on their dynamic interplay

The dynamic interplay of parental educational aspirations and children's academic self-concept was examined from late childhood through mid-adolescence within a transactional socialization framework. Parental and child data were gained from a representative Swiss sample within 3-year intervals (NT1  = 1118; 51% females; 28% migration background; Mage T1  = 9.26, Mage T2  = 12.14, Mage T3  = 15.32). Results from a random intercept cross-lagged panel model revealed positive associations between the two constructs at the between- and within-person level. Findings showed general and time-specific associations between children and parents and reciprocal spill-over effects, whereby higher than usual aspirations predicted higher than usual academic self-concept over time and vice versa, highlighting transactional processes in the context of educational transitions.

Neural Correlates of Academic Self-concept and the Association with Academic Achievement in Older Children

Academic self-concept, which can be defined as one's beliefs about their academic ability, plays an important role in students' future academic achievement. Here, we examined the neuroanatomical substrates underlying academic self-concept in 92 school-aged children (9.90 ± 0.85 years, 41 girls) using voxel-based morphometry of images obtained by structural magnetic resonance imaging. Our results revealed a significant positive correlation between academic self-concept and achievement 1 year after assessment. Whole-brain regression analyses found that gray matter volume in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC) was negatively associated with academic self-concept. Region of interest analyses further showed that regional gray matter volume in the right DLPFC could significantly predict achievement 1 year after assessment. Notably, mediation analyses suggested that regional gray matter volume in the right DLPFC mediated the effect of academic self-concept on students' future academic achievement.

Der wechselseitige Einfluss von Selbstkonzept und Leistung bei Grundschulkindern im Lichte verschiedener längsschnittlicher Analysemethoden

Zusammenfassung. Der Zusammenhang zwischen dem akademischen Selbstkonzept und der Leistung wird als reziprok angesehen. Während eine große Anzahl von Studienergebnissen im Sinne einer bidirektionalen Beziehung interpretiert wurden, basieren bisherige Analysen zumeist auf Variationen des klassischen Cross-Lagged-Panel-Modells und beziehen oft nur einen Leistungsindikator in die Modelle mit ein. Ergebnisse basierend auf neueren Modellen, wie beispielsweise dem Random-Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model liegen bisher kaum vor. Das Ziel der vorliegenden Studie bestand darin, die längsschnittliche Beziehung zwischen Selbstkonzept und Leistung mit unterschiedlichen Modellen zu analysieren, um herauszufinden, ob die Modelle zu vergleichbaren Ergebnissen hinsichtlich der wechselseitigen Effekte kommen. Basierend auf einer Stichprobe von 1952 Grundschulkindern von Klasse eins bis drei, ergaben sich deutliche Unterschiede. Während Effekte von der Leistung auf das Selbstkonzept in allen Modellen nachgewiesen werden konnten, ist die Evidenz für umgekehrte Effekte eher schwach. Die Ergebnisse werden vor dem Hintergrund theoretischer Annahmen und der Angemessenheit methodischer Verfahren zur Analyse von längschnittlichen Daten diskutiert.

Math Is for Me: A Field Intervention to Strengthen Math Self-Concepts in Spanish-Speaking 3rd Grade Children

Children's math self-concepts-their beliefs about themselves and math-are important for teachers, parents, and students, because they are linked to academic motivation, choices, and outcomes. There have been several attempts at improving math achievement based on the training of math skills. Here we took a complementary approach and conducted an intervention study to boost children's math self-concepts. Our primary objective was to assess the feasibility of whether a novel multicomponent intervention-one that combines explicit and implicit approaches to help children form more positive beliefs linking themselves and math-can be administered in an authentic school setting. The intervention was conducted in Spain, a country in which math achievement is below the average of other OECD countries. We tested third grade students (N = 180; M _age = 8.79 years; 96 girls), using treatment and comparison groups and pre- and posttest assessments. A novelty of this study is that we used both implicit and explicit measures of children's math self-concepts. For a subsample of students, we also obtained an assessment of year-end math achievement. Math self-concepts in the treatment and comparison groups did not significantly differ at pretest. Students in the treatment group demonstrated a significant increase in math self-concepts from pretest to posttest; students in the comparison group did not. In the treatment group, implicit math self-concepts at posttest were associated with higher year-end math achievement, assessed approximately 3 months after the completion of the intervention. Taken together, the results suggest that math self-concepts are malleable and that social-cognitive interventions can boost children's beliefs about themselves and math. Based on the favorable results of this feasibility study, it is appropriate to formally test this novel multicomponent approach for improving math self-concepts using randomized controlled trial (RCT) design.

Effort Self-Talk Benefits the Mathematics Performance of Children With Negative Competence Beliefs

Children with negative competence beliefs often achieve below their potential in school. This randomized field experiment tested whether engaging in positive self-talk may benefit these children's mathematics performance. Participants (N = 212, Grades 4-6, Mage  = 10.6) worked on the first half of a standardized mathematics test, engaged in effort self-talk ("I will do my very best!"), ability self-talk ("I am very good at this!"), or no self-talk, and worked on the second half of the test. Compared to both the conditions, effort self-talk benefited the performance of children holding negative competence beliefs: It severed the association between negative competence beliefs and poor performance. By internally asserting that they will deliver effort, children with negative competence beliefs can optimize their achievement in school.

Chinese adolescents’ belief in a just world and academic resilience: The mediating role of perceived academic competence

The current study examined the relationship between belief in a just world and self-reported academic resilience, and whether perceived academic competence mediated this relationship. Seven-hundred fifty-one students enrolled in a middle school and a high school (45.81% male, 15 to 16 years old) from two regions of China participated in this study. Structural equation modeling indicated that general belief in a just world was: (1) directly associated with academic resilience, and (2) indirectly associated with students’ academic resilience through perceived academic competence, after controlling for the effects of gender and socioeconomic status. This study provides insight into how broader social-ideological understandings of the world (e.g., belief in a just world) may guide individual self-construals (e.g., perceived academic competence) to affect individual persistence in the face of adversity (e.g., resilience). Implications and limitations of the current study are discussed.

Warum schätzen Mädchen ihre mathematischen Kompetenzen geringer ein als Jungen?

Zusammenfassung. Trotz sehr geringer Leistungsunterschiede in objektiven Leistungstests schätzen Mädchen ihre mathematischen Kompetenzen bereits im Grundschulalter geringer ein als Jungen. Basierend auf dem Erwartungs-Wert-Modell ( Eccles & Wigfield, 2002 ) wird überprüft, inwieweit Geschlechtsunterschiede im mathematischen Fähigkeitsselbstkonzept durch Eltern- und Lehrereinschätzungen der mathematischen Kompetenzen der Kinder sowie unterschiedliche Leistungsindikatoren erklärt werden können. Es wurden Selbst-‍, Eltern- und Lehrereinschätzungen der mathematischen Kompetenzen von N = 837 Kindern der vierten Klasse sowie deren Noten und objektive Leistungen in Mathematik erfasst. Jungen gaben ein höheres Fähigkeitsselbstkonzept an als Mädchen. Objektive Mathematikleistungen mediierten den Zusammenhang nicht, Mathematiknoten sowie Eltern- und Lehrereinschätzungen hingegen teilweise. Die Ergebnisse werden vor dem Hintergrund der Rolle wichtiger Sozialisationspersonen und anderer potentieller Faktoren für die Entwicklung des mathematischen Fähigkeitsselbstkonzepts im Grundschulalter diskutiert.

Student Self-Efficacy, Classroom Engagement, and Academic Achievement: Comparing Three Theoretical Frameworks

Student self-efficacy, behavioral engagement, and emotional engagement are key factors for academic achievement. Research has yet to identify the developmental cascades linking these four constructs. Three theoretical frameworks, i.e., Self-Efficacy Theory, the Self-System Model of Motivational Development, and Expectancy-Value Theory, suggest different nexus. Following 671 students (51.8% girls) from their 4^th to 6^th grade, this study aims to assess competing hypotheses from these three frameworks in math. Three cross-lag models were tested to test each theoretical framework. A fourth and final model was tested to include the significant paths from the previous models. Mediation paths were also tested. Results mainly support assumptions from Self-Efficacy Theory, that is student self-efficacy and academic achievement are mutually associated from 4^th to 6^th grades. Some of the propositions of Expectancy-Value Theory were also supported. Self-efficacy was associated with later emotional engagement and academic achievement. However, emotional engagement in 5^th grade was negatively associated with achievement in 6^th grade and was not associated with behavioral engagement. Assumptions from the Self-System Model were not supported by the data. Testing the fourth model revealed an unexpected developmental cascade: 5^th-grade self-efficacy mediated the association between 4^th-grade achievement and 6^th-grade emotional engagement. This last finding may have great implications for young adolescents as emotional engagement is an indicator of student well-being and intrinsic value of learning. Implications for theory validation and intervention targets for adolescents are discussed.