The role of familiarity with the experimenter on cognitive performance, metacognition, pro-social behaviors, and the well-being of adults with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities

BACKGROUND

Few studies have evaluated the explanatory factors of poor performance and the effects of context in adults with intellectual disabilities. The aim of this study is to assess the role of a familiar experimenter on their cognitive performance, well-being, metacognitive experiences, and social behaviors.

METHOD

Participants with moderate to severe intellectual disability were recruited into two groups, one with a familiar and one with an unfamiliar experimenter. They carried out a categorization task. Before and after they reported their metacognitive experiences and level of well-being. The experimenter observed their pro-social behavior.

RESULTS

Performance and some social behaviors were better when the participant knew the experimenter. However, he did not affect the level of well-being. The participants' metacognitive experiences were poor, whether or not they knew the experimenter.

CONCLUSIONS

The familiarity of the experimenter plays a determining role, both on the participants' performance, and on their compliance with certain pro-social behavior.

Determinants of academic achievement: How parents and teachers influence high school students' performance

This study explores the contribution of various drivers of attainment in secondary education in Portugal. We propose a model explaining the influence of students, teachers, and parents' traits on high school achievement, measured by the self-reported Math and Portuguese final grades of 220 students. Using PLS-SEM, we show that previous achievement predicts current achievement in both subjects; however, noteworthy differences were found. Portuguese grades are significantly better for students whose parents have post-secondary education and communicate higher expectations about their offspring's school careers. At the same time, Math achievement is influenced by students' perception of teachers' involvement but not by parents' expectations or education. Previous retention and receiving educational allowance impair Math achievement, but not Portuguese. Results and implications are discussed.

The teacher-class relationship

Abstract. Teacher-student relationships have been shown to be highly relevant for student outcomes, but they are also important for teachers. Teachers have a basic need for relatedness with their students and recent empirical evidence underlines the relevance of teachers' relationships with the students of a class. However, a validated instrument which specifically addresses the relational phenomenon between a teacher and the entire group of students within a class – which we define as teacher-class relationship – is yet missing. Thus, the goal of the present research was to develop and validate an instrument which captures the teachers' self-reported quality of the teacher-class relationship (the TCR scale). To do so, we adopted a mixed methods approach: In Study 1 (qualitative, N = 56), we analyzed interviews to explore the cognitive validity of the TCR items, and in Study 2 (quantitative, N = 209), we tested the psychometric quality of the TCR scale and its external validity in terms of correlative links with related constructs. Study 1 results showed that seven out of the original 13 developed items were highly cognitively valid in that the teachers associated main aspects of relationship quality with these items and answered them by referring predominantly to the whole class instead of individual students. Study 2 results confirmed that these seven items formed a unidimensional scale with high internal consistency (Cronbach's α = .89). Furthermore, the TCR scale was significantly linked with teachers' class-specific teaching emotions and self-efficacy as well as with teachers' job-related burnout symptoms and emotional labor. We conclude that the TCR scale represents a reliable, valid and parsimonious instrument to measure the quality of teacher-class relationships. We hope that the existence of this scale fuels future research to further investigate teacher-class relationships and their connections with teachers' emotional and professional wellbeing.

Improving school outcomes for children affected by parental HIV/AIDS: Evaluation of the ChildCARE Intervention at 6-, 12-, and 18-months

Children affected by parental HIV/AIDS are at-risk for poor school outcomes including reduced attendance, lower grades, and lower school satisfaction compared to unaffected peers. Resilience-based interventions offer promise to improve functioning across a number of domains. A four-arm randomized controlled trial was conducted with 790 children affected by parental HIV/AIDS in rural, central China to examine the effects of a multi-level, resilience-based intervention (i.e., ChildCARE) on school outcomes. Child and caregiver dyads were randomized to a control group, child-only intervention, child + caregiver intervention, or child + caregiver + community intervention. School outcomes at 6-, 12-, and 18-months suggest that participation in the ChildCARE program yielded improvements in academic performance, school satisfaction, and school interest. Opportunities for school psychologists to engage in psychosocial and educational intervention for children impacted by HIV/AIDS are discussed.

Callous-Unemotional Traits, Harm-Effect Moral Reasoning, and Bullying Among Swedish Children

Background

Although callous-unemotional (CU) traits have been associated with bullying among children and adolescents, relatively little is known about whether each of the three sub-constructs of CU traits—callous, uncaring, and unemotional—are associated with bullying when they are considered concurrently in the analysis.

Objective

This study was the first to examine in a single model whether callous, uncaring, and unemotional traits are directly related to the perpetration of bullying and to harm-effect moral reasoning in bullying among children as well as whether these three CU traits are indirectly related to bullying mediated by harm-effect moral reasoning.

Methods

Self-reported data on CU traits, harm-effect moral reasoning in bullying situations, and bullying perpetration were collected from 381 children from 13 schools in Sweden. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses.

Results

When all three sub-constructs of CU traits were included in a single model, greater callousness and uncaring were directly associated with greater bullying. In contrast, greater harm-effect moral reasoning was associated with less bullying. Moreover, greater callousness and unemotional were indirectly associated with greater bullying through the reduced use of harm-effect moral reasoning.

Conclusions

Our findings demonstrate that all three CU traits are important to address, although their associations with bullying took some different paths, and that callousness appears to be the most important CU trait in relation to bullying.

Loss of Institutional Trust Among Racial and Ethnic Minority Adolescents: A Consequence of Procedural Injustice and a Cause of Life-Span Outcomes

This research tested a social-developmental process model of trust discernment. From sixth to eighth grade, White and African American students were surveyed twice yearly (ages 11-14; Study 1, N = 277). African American students were more aware of racial bias in school disciplinary decisions, and as this awareness grew it predicted a loss of trust in school, leading to a large trust gap in seventh grade. Loss of trust by spring of seventh grade predicted African Americans' subsequent discipline infractions and 4-year college enrollment. Causality was confirmed with a trust-restoring "wise feedback" treatment delivered in spring of seventh grade that improved African Americans' eighth-grade discipline and college outcomes. Correlational findings were replicated with Latino and White students (ages 11-14; Study 2, N = 206).

Who Chooses STEM Careers? Using A Relative Cognitive Strength and Interest Model to Predict Careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

Career aspirations in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are formulated in adolescence, making the high school years a critical time period for identifying the cognitive and motivational factors that increase the likelihood of future STEM employment. While past research has mainly focused on absolute cognitive ability levels in math and verbal domains, the current study tested whether relative cognitive strengths and interests in math, science, and verbal domains in high school were more accurate predictors of STEM career decisions. Data were drawn from a national longitudinal study in the United States (N = 1762; 48 % female; the first wave during ninth grade and the last wave at age 33). Results revealed that in the high-verbal/high-math/high-science ability group, individuals with higher science task values and lower orientation toward altruism were more likely to select STEM occupations. In the low-verbal/moderate-math/moderate-science ability group, individuals with higher math ability and higher math task values were more likely to select STEM occupations. The findings suggest that youth with asymmetrical cognitive ability profiles are more likely to select careers that utilize their cognitive strengths rather than their weaknesses, while symmetrical cognitive ability profiles may grant youth more flexibility in their options, allowing their interests and values to guide their career decisions.

Relationships Between Teachers and Urban African American Children

The purpose of this study was to examine students' and teachers' perceptions of their relationship. Eighty-nine African American children in Grades 3 through 6 and their teachers independently rated the quality of the teacher—child relationship and completed a range of questionnaires regarding the children's school-related adjustment. Teacher and child reports on the quality of the relationship were correlated significantly ( r = 0.33, p < 0.01). Positive teacher—child relationships, as reported by children, predicted several school outcome variables above and beyond teacher ratings of the relationship. Specifically, they predicted better classroom rule compliance, more interest in school, more feelings of connectedness towards school and more involvement in school-related activities. Generally teachers' perceptions of the relationships were best at predicting teacher rated outcomes and children's perceptions of the relationships were best at predicting children's rated outcomes, highlighting the importance of considering both children's and teachers' points of view as well as the likely contributions of shared method and informant variances. Findings suggest that teacher efforts to improve their sensitivity to child needs and supportiveness of students can have a broader influence on children's overall school functioning. This study also calls for the development of intervention studies to enhance the quality of teacher—child relationships and better examine the direction of the effects suggested by this study.

Authoritative School Climate and High School Student Risk Behavior: A Cross-sectional Multi-level Analysis of Student Self-Reports

Many adolescents engage in risk behaviors such as substance use and aggression that jeopardize their healthy development. This study tested the hypothesis that an authoritative school climate characterized by strict but fair discipline and supportive teacher-student relationships is conducive to lower risk behavior for high school students. Multilevel logistic regression models were used to analyze cross-sectional, student-report survey data from a statewide sample of 47,888 students (50.6 % female) in 319 high schools. The students included ninth (26.6 %), tenth (25.5 %), eleventh (24.1 %) and twelfth (23.8 %) grade with a racial/ethnic breakdown of 52.2 % White, 18.0 % Black, 13.1 % Hispanic, 5.9 % Asian, and 10.8 % reporting another or two or more race/ethnicities. Schools with an authoritative school climate had lower levels of student-reported alcohol and marijuana use; bullying, fighting, and weapon carrying at school; interest in gang membership; and suicidal thoughts and behavior. These results controlled for demographic variables of student gender, race, grade, and parent education level as well as school size, percentage of minority students, and percentage of low income students. Overall, these findings add new evidence that an authoritative school climate is associated with positive student outcomes.

Parent-child attachment, academic performance and the process of high-school dropout: a narrative review

Poor academic performance is a strong predictor of school dropout. Researchers have tried to disentangle variables influencing academic performance. However, studies on preschool and early care variables are seldom examined when explaining the school dropout process. We reviewed the literature on the relationship between caregiver-child attachment and academic performance, including attachment studies from preschool years, seeking out potential contributions to academic performance and the dropout process. The review was organized according to a model of four main mediating hypotheses: the attachment-teaching hypothesis, the social network hypothesis, the attachment-cooperation hypothesis, and the attachment self-regulation hypothesis. The results of the review are summed up in a model. There is some support for all four hypotheses. The review indicates that attachment and early care contribute substantially to dropout and graduation processes. Mediation effects should be given far more attention in future research.

EFFECTS OF A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM ON BEHAVIORAL ENGAGEMENT OF STUDENTS IN MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL

Student behavioral engagement is a key condition supporting academic achievement, yet student disengagement in middle and high schools is all too common. The current study used a randomized controlled design to test the efficacy of the My Teaching Partner-Secondary program to increase behavioral engagement. The program offers teachers personalized coaching and systematic feedback on teachers' interactions with students, based on systematic observation of videorecordings of teacher-student interactions in the classroom. The study found that intervention teachers had significantly higher increases, albeit to a modest degree, in student behavioral engagement in their classrooms after 1 year of involvement with the program compared to the teachers in the control group (explaining 4% of variance). In exploratory analyses, two dimensions of teachers' interactions with students-their focus on analysis and problem solving during instruction and their use of diverse instructional learning formats-acted as mediators of increased student engagement. The findings offer implications for new directions in teacher professional development and for understanding the classroom as a setting for adolescent development.

Two ecological models of academic achievement among diverse students with and without disabilities in transition

School experiences can have positive effects on student academic achievement, yet less is known about intermediary processes that contribute to these positive effects. We examined pathways between school experiences and academic achievement among 117 low-income urban students of color, many with disabilities, who transitioned to other schools following a school closure. Using structural equation modeling, we tested two ecological models that examined the relationships among self-reported school experiences, school support, academic self-efficacy, and school-reported academic achievement. The model in which the relationship between school experiences and academic achievement is mediated by both school support and academic self-efficacy, and that takes previous academic achievement into account, was an excellent fit with the data. The roles of contextual and individual factors as they relate to academic achievement, and the implications of these findings, are discussed.

Motivational Pathways to STEM Career Choices: Using Expectancy-Value Perspective to Understand Individual and Gender Differences in STEM Fields

The United States has made a significant effort and investment in STEM education, yet the size and the composition of the STEM workforce continues to fail to meet demand. It is thus important to understand the barriers and factors that influence individual educational and career choices. In this article, we conduct a literature review of the current knowledge surrounding individual and gender differences in STEM educational and career choices, using expectancy-value theory as a guiding framework. The overarching goal of this paper is to provide both a well-defined theoretical framework and complementary empirical evidence for linking specific sociocultural, contextual, biological, and psychological factors to individual and gender differences in STEM interests and choices. Knowledge gained through this review will eventually guide future research and interventions designed to enhance individual motivation and capacity to pursue STEM careers, particularly for females who are interested in STEM but may be constrained by misinformation or stereotypes.

Social equity theory and racial-ethnic achievement gaps

In the United States, racial-ethnic differences on tests of school readiness and academic achievement continue. A complete understanding of the origins of racial-ethnic achievement gaps is still lacking. This article describes social equity theory (SET), which proposes that racial-ethnic achievement gaps originate from two kinds of social process, direct and signal influences, that these two kinds of processes operate across developmental contexts, and that the kind of influence and the setting in which they are enacted change with age. Evidence supporting each of SET's key propositions is discussed in the context of a critical review of research on the Black-White achievement gap. Specific developmental hypotheses derived from SET are described, along with proposed standards of evidence for testing those hypotheses.

Reflections of caretakers on the process of implementation of life space crisis intervention at a therapeutic centre for youngsters with emotional and behavioural disorders

Life space crisis intervention (LSCI) is a therapeutic and verbal strategy used to intervene when children are in crisis. It has its roots in the work of Aichorn, Redl, Wineman and Bettelheim, and is part of the milieu-therapeutic tradition. In 2000, LSCI was introduced at the Orthopedagogical Observation and Treatment Centre, a school and day unit for 60 children with emotional and behavioural disorders affiliated with the Department of Orthopedagogy at Ghent University (Belgium). The particular position of orientation towards 'therapeutic environments' in the department's history has encouraged the integration of LSCI in the daily activities of the departments' school (Broekaert et al., Int J Ther Communities 30(2):122-145, 2009). In 2003, LSCI was implemented and studied in several Flemish Institutes. Positive effects were found on school results, attendance in the classroom and number of conflicts. In this article, the reflections of the caretakers are taken into account. Analyses of these reflections resulted in 4 major themes: content of job and tasks, the youth in the centre, working with the youth in the centre, and cooperation with colleagues and other teams. The results of this analysis will be discussed.

The need to belong and symptoms of acute physical health in early adolescence

This study examined the role of social belonging and self-esteem in acute physical health and mood in 159 young adolescents (aged 11 to 14 years). Standardized self-report measures of belongingness (school, home and community), self-esteem, acute physical symptoms, and affect, were completed for the previous month. Higher levels of inclusive belonging were associated with fewer physical symptoms and better affect. Domain specific belonging was independently linked to acute physical symptoms and level of affect, with pathways between belonging and outcome mediated by self-esteem. Findings emphasize the need for greater recognition of the role of belonging in physical health outcomes.

Upper secondary school students’ perceptions of teacher socialization practices and reports of school adjustment

Lack of adjustment or school failure is of concern to educators, child welfare workers, educational, and school psychologists as well as parents, but there are few studies on this aspect of education, especially among late adolescents. Furthermore, there is a lack of research on teachers as socialization agents as an independent variable in adolescents’ school adjustment. The present study was conducted to explore how upper secondary school students’ perceptions of teacher socialization practices were related to motivation for continued education, school alienation, intention to quit school, truancy, and class absence. The sample consisted of Norwegian adolescents aged 15- to 18-years-old ( n = 564) in vocational and general educational courses from one upper secondary school. Perceptions of teacher socialization practices accounted for unique variances in school adjustment. Of the teacher socialization variables, academic support best explained variances in school adjustment. The findings suggest that the associations between teachers as socializing agents and motivation for continued education were relatively strong, but the other associations were relatively modest. The limitations and implications of this study are discussed.

Becoming Job-Ready

This article examined the future plans constructed by Latina adolescent girls and their mothers within a lower income urban community. Seventeen high school juniors and their mothers were interviewed about the girls’ pursuit of a trade during high school and anticipated postsecondary pathways in the nursing field. Thematic content analyses illustrated how families selected and invested in this career pathway together. Trades were viewed as providing access to jobs and financial stability. Mothers and daughters alike anticipated that the workplace would facilitate access to college, and they also described a closer connection to nursing trade preparation than to math or science academic classes. Case illustrations highlighted the importance of family involvement, ethnic background, and socioeconomic status in the construction of college plans. Interventions and future research focused on families and positive educational outcomes for Latina adolescent girls are discussed.

Delaware School Climate Survey-Student: its factor structure, concurrent validity, and reliability

The Delaware School Climate Survey-Student (DSCS-S) was developed to provide schools with a brief and psychometrically sound student survey for assessing school climate, particularly the dimensions of social support and structure. Confirmatory factor analyses, conducted on a sample of 11,780 students in 85 schools, showed that a bifactor model consisting of five specific factors and one general factor (School Climate) best represented the data. Those five factors are represented in five subscales of the DSCS-S: Teacher-Student Relations, Student-Student Relations, Fairness of Rules, Liking of School, and School Safety. The factor structure was shown to be stable across grade levels (i.e., elementary, middle, and high school), racial-ethnic groups (i.e., Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic), and gender. As evidence of the survey's concurrent validity, scores for each of the five subscales and the total scale correlated moderately, across groups and at the school level, with academic achievement and suspensions and expulsions.

Maternal and Teacher Interaction and Student Engagement in Math and Reading Among Mexican American Girls From a Rural Community

In this study, 69 Mexican American elementary school girls in Grades 3 through 6 (age 8-13 years) from an agricultural community were interviewed regarding their perceptions of the frequency of communication with their mothers about education and their interaction with their teachers. The authors examined how these variables were associated with the girls’ grades in math and reading and the extent to which they liked these academic subjects. Increased communication with mothers about their grades was associated with girls reporting higher grades in math and liking math and reading. The more the students perceived their teachers to care about their education the better their grades in math. Also, girls with higher grades in reading perceived their teacher as more friendly. The results of the study suggest that elementary school Latina girls receive messages from mothers and teachers about education that positively influence their academic performance and engagement in core subjects.

A longitudinal study of student-teacher relationship quality, difficult temperament, and risky behavior from childhood to early adolescence

This study examines the mediating role of student-teacher relationship quality (conflict and closeness) in grades 4, 5, and 6 on the relation between background characteristics, difficult temperament at age 4 1/2 and risky behavior in 6th grade. The longitudinal sample of participants (N=1156) was from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Structural equation modeling was used to estimate paths from (a) background characteristics to student-teacher relationship quality and risky behavior, (b) temperament to student-teacher relationship quality and risky behavior, and (c) student-teacher relationship quality to risky behavior. Findings indicate that students' family income, gender, receipt of special services, and more difficult temperament were associated with risky behavior. In addition, student-teacher conflict was a mediator. Students with more difficult temperaments were more likely to report risky behavior and to have conflict in their relationships with teachers. More conflict predicted more risky behavior. Closer student-teacher relationships were associated with less risky behavior. Results suggest negative relationships, specifically student-teacher relationships, may increase the risk that certain adolescents will engage in risky behavior.

The role of perceived parental socialization practices in school adjustment among Norwegian upper secondary school students

BACKGROUND

Lack of adjustment or school failure is a concern to educators, educational and school psychologists as well as parents, but few studies have focused on school adjustment during late adolescence. Moreover, studies have yet to explore associations between parenting and school adjustment among upper secondary school students.

AIM

The primary objective of this study is to explore the relative and unique influence of parental support, behavioural control and psychological control (overprotection and autonomy granting) in school adjustment among upper secondary school students.

SAMPLE

The sample consisted of 564 students (15-18 years of age) in vocational and general educational courses from one upper secondary school in western Norway.

METHOD

The study was conducted as a survey. All data were based on adolescent reports, except for absence data, which were provided by the school.

RESULTS

The results showed that perceived parental practices accounted for moderate, but statistically significant amounts of variance in different aspects of school adjustment.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings indicate that perceived parental socialization practices are only moderately associated with school adjustment among upper secondary school students. This probably reflects the fact that the influence of specific parenting practices declines as children and young adolescents mature into late adolescent students.

Developmental commentary: individual and contextual influences on student-teacher relationships and children's early problem behaviors

Understanding factors associated with children's early behavioral difficulties is of vital importance to children's school success, and to the prevention of future behavior problems. Although biological factors can influence the expression of certain behaviors, the probability of children exhibiting classroom behavior problems is intensified when they are exposed to multiple risk factors, particularly negative student-teacher interactions. Children who exhibit behavior problems during early childhood and the transition to kindergarten, without intervention, can be placed on a developmental trajectory for serious behavior problems in later grades. Using a developmental systems model, this commentary provides a conceptual framework for understanding the contributions of individual and contextual factors to the development of early student-teacher relationships. Parent, teacher, and student characteristics are discussed as they are related to shaping student-teacher interactions and children's adjustment to school.

School climate and implementation of a preventive intervention

Although there has been wide dissemination of research-based psychosocial prevention programs, a similarly strong research base to guide program implementation has been lacking. Program implementation has been particularly difficult for schools, due partly to insufficient understanding of how school ecologies interact with these programs. This study examined the effects of multiple dimensions of school climate on level and rate of change in implementation of a violence prevention intervention across three school years. Using multi-level modeling, the study found that teacher-reported support between staff and among teachers and students predicted higher average levels of implementation. Teacher-reported administrative leadership predicted greater growth in implementation across 3 years. Findings offer implications for an ecological model of program implementation that considers school-level contextual effects on adoption and sustainability of new programs in schools.

Can Instructional and Emotional Support in the First-Grade Classroom Make a Difference for Children at Risk of School Failure?

This study examined ways in which children's risk of school failure may be moderated by support from teachers. Participants were 910 children in a national prospective study. Children were identified as at risk at ages 5-6 years on the basis of demographic characteristics and the display of multiple functional (behavioral, attention, academic, social) problems reported by their kindergarten teachers. By the end of first grade, at-risk students placed in first-grade classrooms offering strong instructional and emotional support had achievement scores and student-teacher relationships commensurate with their low-risk peers; at-risk students placed in less supportive classrooms had lower achievement and more conflict with teachers. These findings have implications for understanding the role that classroom experience may play in pathways to positive adaptation.

Relation of Academic Support From Parents, Teachers, and Peers to Hong Kong Adolescents' Academic Achievement: The Mediating Role of Academic Engagement

The author tested a model hypothesizing that students' self-perceived academic support (from parents, teachers, and peers) is related to their achievement directly and indirectly through their own perceived academic engagement. The participants were 270 adolescents (M age = 15.41 years, range = 14-20 years) from 3 grade levels (Forms 3-5, equivalent to Grades 9-11 in the United States) in a Hong Kong secondary school. The school principal and teachers helped to collect data based on these adolescents' responses to a self-report questionnaire, consisting of a demographic profile and 4 scales assessing their self-perceptions of the extent of parental, teacher, and peer support, and their own academic engagement. Academic achievement was measured by self-reported grades in math, English, and Chinese. Structural equation modeling analyses revealed that adolescents' perceived parental, teacher, and peer support were all indirectly related to their academic achievement mediated by their own perceived academic engagement. The strength of the relationships, however, varied by support system, with perceived teacher support to achievement being the strongest, followed closely by perceived parental support, and then perceived peer support. In addition, both perceived parental support and perceived teacher support were directly related to academic achievement. However, perceived teacher support made the most total (direct and indirect) contribution to student achievement. Perceived peer support had the smallest, nonetheless significant, indirect relationship to academic achievement. However, the negative, direct influence of perceived peer support canceled out its positive, indirect influence on academic achievement.

Intractable self-fulfilling prophecies fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education

The civil rights struggle for equal educational opportunity has yet to be achieved at the start of the 21st century. Inequality persists but problem and remedy are refrained from integrating schools, to ensuring equal access in resegregated settings, to closing the performance gap. As seen through ecological theory (R. S. Weinstein, 2002b), complex, multilayered, and interactive negative self-fulfilling prophecies create or perpetuate educational inequities and unequal outcomes. Society has failed to grapple with its entrenched roots in the achievement culture of schools. If this insidious dynamic is to be changed, an educational system that sorts for differentiated pathways must be replaced with one that develops the talents of all. Psychology has a critical role to play in promoting a new understanding of malleable human capabilities and optimal conditions for their nurturance in schooling.