Specific learning disabilities and associated emotional-motivational profiles: a study in Italian university students

In this study, we analyzed the emotional and motivational aspects characterizing the profile of university students with Specific Learning Disorders (SLD). We assessed 61 university students, 32 with SLD (age = 23.6) and 29 in the control group (age = 23.00). The results highlighted that individuals with SLD exhibit higher levels of anxiety and depression and lower resilience compared to the control group. The Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale - Short Form, which explores perfectionism, did not reveal differences between the groups. Conversely, lower scores emerged in SLD students for the intrinsic motivation sub-scales of the Academic Motivation Scale. This indicates less engagement in studying out of personal cognitive curiosity. The Self-Regulated Knowledge Scale - University, which measures various cognitive strategies, showed significantly lower scores in the SLD group for knowledge linking, knowledge training, and knowledge critique. This suggests a lower frequency with which SLD students attempt to connect new knowledge with what they already possess, apply their knowledge, ask questions, and critically analyze what they have learned. Therefore, psychological and motivational consequences are evident in this population and can impact well-being and quality of life.

Primary School Students with Reading Comprehension Difficulties and Students with Learning Disabilities: Exploring Their Goal Orientations, Classroom Goal Structures, and Self-Regulated Learning Strategies

The aim of the present study was to investigate goal orientations and classroom goal structures and their relationship with strategies of self-regulated learning (SRL) in students with and without learning disabilities (LD) and reading comprehension difficulties (RCD). The sample consisted of 537 students attending the two last grades of primary school, fifth and sixth grade (Mage = 11.28 years, SD = ±0.59). Of these, 58 students were diagnosed with LD, and 70 students, after individually administered assessments in reading accuracy and reading comprehension, were assigned to the RCD group. Self-reported questionnaires were administered, assessing students' personal goal orientations, classroom goal structures, and strategies of SRL. The results showed that students with LD and students with RCD scored lower in mastery orientation and higher in performance avoidance compared to their peers without difficulties (ND). LD students reported lower scores of adaptive strategies than their peers. In addition, the results confirmed the adaptive character of mastery-approach goals and mastery goal structures and the negative effects of performance-avoidance goals and performance goal structures on the adaptive strategies of SRL. Performance-approach goals predicted adaptive behaviors for all students, confirming the argument of an adaptive type of motivation. The findings of the current study highlight the importance of goal orientations and classroom goal structures for students' SRL. Implications of the findings for enhancing motivation for students with LD and students with RCD are discussed.

Adolescents' depressive moods and parents' family-work interaction

Introduction

For working parents with dependent children, parenthood is essential to their "life" component, which could profoundly influence their work experiences. Since depressive moods rise sharply in adolescence, this study aims to investigate the relationship between children's depressive moods and parental family-work interaction. Integrating the literature on emotions and family-work interaction, I propose that adolescents' depressive moods (over the past 2 weeks) decrease parents' work engagement via increased parents' family-work conflict. Further, I hypothesize that adolescent performance-avoidance, a key trait related to adolescents' long-term emotional experiences, moderates the indirect relationship.

Methods

Using a multiple-source, time-lagged design, I tested hypotheses using data collected from 468 adolescent-parent dyadic from China.

Results

I found that adolescents' depressive moods relate negatively to their parents' work engagement via increased parents' family-work conflict when adolescents have low levels of performance-avoidance. When an adolescent has a high level of performance-avoidance, parents show a relatively higher degree of family-work conflict and lower work engagement regardless of adolescents' depressive moods.

Discussion

I discuss the theoretical and practical implications for employee family-work interaction and work engagement.

Relationships between Perfectionism, Extra Training and Academic Performance in Chinese Collegiate Athletes: Mediating Role of Achievement Motivation

There are limited studies examining the impacts of perfectionism and achievement motivation on collegiate athletes' extra training and academic achievement in a Chinese context. This study aimed to examine the association of perfectionism (five facets) with extra training and academic performance among Chinese collegiate athletes and identify the mediating role of achievement motivation (two attributes) in the relationship between perfectionism and extra training and academic performance. With a prospective study design, 243 eligible participants completed two-wave surveys from September to December 2021. Measures included demographics, perfectionism (concern over mistake, CM; doubts about action, DA; personal standard, PS; organization; parental expectation, PE), achievement motivation (motive for success, MS; motive for avoiding failure, MF), extra-training (minutes/week), and academic performance (GPA). Results showed that CM, DA, PS, and MS were associated with extra training among Chinese collegiate athletes, while the associations of DA and PS with extra training were mediated by MS. In addition, DA, PS, organization, and MS were associated with participants' GPA, while MS was a salient mediator for the contributions of DA and PS on participants GPA. Research findings give new insights to the psychological mechanisms of perfectionism and achievement motivation on collegiate athletes' extra training and academic performance, contributing to future studies in relevant domains.

Adaptação e sucesso acadêmico em estudantes brasileiros do primeiro ano da educação superior

A compreensão das variáveis que influenciam a adaptação e sucesso dos estudantes da educação superior é fundamental para definição de ações institucionais que favoreçam o sucesso e a permanência acadêmica, em especial dos estudantes de primeiro ano. Neste estudo, analisamos como o coeficiente de rendimento escolar de 715 estudantes do primeiro ano da Educação Superior do Instituto Federal da Paraíba, Brasil, está influenciado por variáveis pessoais, sociais, de adaptação acadêmica, de envolvimento em atividades obrigatórias e em não-obrigatórias dos estudantes. A par das classificações escolares dos estudantes no final do primeiro e do segundo semestre, convertidas no rendimento escolar, e das suas características sociodemográficas, foram aplicadas três escalas ao longo do primeiro ano: escala de satisfação com suporte social, questionário de adaptação ao ensino superior, e escala de envolvimento acadêmico. Os resultados da análise de regressão sugerem que as variáveis quantidade de horas semanais de estudo, sexo, envolvimento do estudante em atividades não-obrigatórias e se trabalha não contribuem de forma estatisticamente significativa para explicar a variância no coeficiente de rendimento dos estudantes. Por outro lado, o fator geral de suporte social, o projeto de carreira, a localização do campus, o envolvimento em atividades obrigatórias e o número de faltas ao longo do ano letivo apresentam um efeito estatisticamente significativo, estando associadas aos níveis de rendimento acadêmico dos estudantes no final do primeiro ano, com variância total explicado do rendimento escolar de 42.6 %.

Dificuldades na adaptação académica e intenção de abandono de estudantes do 1.º ano do Ensino Superior

O ingresso no Ensino Superior é um momento determinante na vida dos estudantes, caracterizado por inúmeras mudanças nas diferentes áreas de vida. Considerando a riqueza do contexto do Ensino Superior em termos de desafios e oportunidades que coloca aos estudantes, as primeiras semanas de frequência universitária são particularmente relevantes. Ainda que a maioria dos estudantes vivencie esta fase com entusiasmo e satisfação, alguns estudantes experienciam mais dificuldades na sua adaptação académica, o que pode contribuir para situações de insucesso académico e ponderação de abandono da formação. O presente artigo apresenta um estudo com 611 estudantes do primeiro ano do Ensino Superior de uma universidade pública do norte de Portugal, provenientes de cursos de diferentes áreas científicas. Através de uma análise de regressão hierárquica analisamos, num primeiro momento, o impacto das variáveis média acesso ao Ensino Superior, idade, sexo, situação de emprego, habilitações académicas da mãe e do pai, e, num segundo momento, o impacto das dificuldades na adaptação ao Ensino Superior, frequência do curso de primeira opção de escolha e universidade de primeira opção de escolha na intenção de abandonar de estudantes do primeiro ano do Ensino Superior. Os resultados sugerem impacto diverso das variáveis independentes, quando se considera a amostra geral de estudantes e estes agrupados por áreas científicas dos seus cursos. Com base nos resultados, sugerem-se formas de apoio institucional que permitam mitigar os riscos de insucesso e abandono dos estudantes do primeiro ano do Ensino Superior.

Relations of multivariate goal profiles to motivation, epistemic beliefs and achievement

We examined whether undergraduates’ achievement goal orientations could be represented as profiles and whether profiles were linked to self-reported motivation, epistemic beliefs and academic achievement. Data collected during an undergraduate course were analyzed using a clustering technique. Using the 2 × 2 goal model (Elliot & McGregor, 2001 ), we identified five achievement goal profiles. Our findings suggest the interaction of goal orientations supports varying interpretations of students’ motivation and learning beliefs. Although no statistically significant differences in achievement were found across clusters, a High-Approach-Low-Avoidance cluster displayed an adaptive profile that was most positive towards learning and self but least anxious about exams. In contrast, a Performance-Avoidance-Dominant cluster demonstrated a maladaptive pattern of lowest self-efficacy and task value, and higher anxiety. Further, High-Approach-Low-Avoidance and Low-Performance-Avoidance clusters recognized that knowledge is not simple and authority could be questioned, compared to the other groups.

Family Support, Multidimensional Health, and Living Satisfaction among the Elderly: A Case from Shaanxi Province, China

The current study investigated the association between three types of family support and living satisfaction of elderly individuals in China, and paid particular attention to the possible mediating role of the elderly population’s multidimensional health. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2019, and 938 elderly people from seven counties (districts) of China’s Shaanxi province were enrolled. Multivariable linear regression and mediation effect analysis were employed to examine the integrated relationships among these variables. The results showed that emotional support and decisional support from families were positively related to the living satisfaction of elderly individuals (β = 0.101, p = 0.000; β = 0.263, p = 0.000), while the relationship between daily living support and living satisfaction was not significant (β = 0.017, p > 0.05). The mediation examination further demonstrated that both mental state and social integration mediated the association between emotional support and living satisfaction, as well as the association between decisional support and living satisfaction, but a mediating effect of physical health was not observed. These results indicate the pathways in the relationships of different types of family support to living satisfaction via mental state and social integration, having significant implications for enhancing the living satisfaction the elderly.

Achieving Employability as We Age: The Role of Age and Achievement Goal Orientations on Learning and Employability

The aging workforce challenges companies to keep their aging employees employable in the workforce. This paper gives an indication as to which employees are more likely to be interested in further learning and employability. Specifically, the aim of this study was to investigate the role of chronological age and achievement goal orientations for informal and formal learning and employability. Data of 167 Austrian knowledge workers were gathered via electronic questionnaires to investigate the relationships between age, achievement goal orientations, learning activities, and employability using structural equation modeling. It was found that informal learning has a significant positive relation with several dimensions of employability. Furthermore, mastery-approach goal orientation also shows a significant positive relation with informal learning and employability. In addition, age had no significant relation with the achievement goal orientations. The paper stresses the need to consider characteristics other than chronological age, such as goal orientations, when considering employees’ learning behavior and employability.

Meta-cognitive behaviour and mathematical modelling competency: mediating effect of performance goals

Guided by a model promoted by Biccard and Wessels (2011) and empirical evidence, this work aims to examine a model that includes meta-cognitive behaviour and mathematical modelling competency with the indirect effects of two performance goal sub-constructs, namely, other-approach and other-avoidance goals. The study investigates the correlation between meta-cognitive behaviour and performance goals that may affect mathematical modelling competency. A total of 538 mathematics education programme students (89.8% female and 10.2% male) in Indonesia are considered. A correlational study is performed to examine the level of the link amongst mathematical modelling competency, performance goals and meta-cognitive behaviour. Results show that meta-cognitive behaviour positively affects mathematical modelling competency, but no significant direct relationship is observed between performance goals and mathematical modelling competency. Furthermore, other-approach and other-avoidance goals are significant mediators between meta-cognitive behaviour and mathematical modelling competency. We conclude that meta-cognitive behaviour positively influences the mathematical modelling competency of students, which is unaffected by other-approach and other-avoidance goals.

A new academic performance indicator for the first term of first-year science degrees students at La Laguna University: a predictive model

Academic performance during the first year of university is correlated with future academic success, and is considered to be a determining factor in the reduction of dropouts. In the present study, we describe a new academic performance indicator for the first term of first-year science degrees students at La Laguna University in Spain. We are interested in identifying the most important previous academic factors for predicting the success of first-year students at university. Specifically, multiple linear regression models were used to identify such predictors of academic success. We report that, for all of the analyzed science degrees, the best predictor of academic success is high school grade point average. In addition, we obtained predictive models for estimating the value of the new academic performance indicator. Using these models, we can predict future academic success, which may help identify students at risk of failure at the beginning of the course. This in turn would ensure early implementation of educational interventions or strategies to increase academic achievement of such students.

Intergenerational support, satisfaction with parent-child relationship and elderly parents' life satisfaction in Hong Kong

OBJECTIVES

This study examines in what exchange patterns that three types of intergenerational support are associated with elderly parents' life satisfaction, and whether elderly parents' evaluation on parent-child relationship plays a mediation role on those associations.

METHOD

Data were drawn from Hong Kong Panel Survey for Poverty Alleviation. Respondents aged 65 and over were included ( N=504). Three types of support, namely, daily-living, financial, and emotional support were examined in four patterns-the over-benefited , under-benefited , reciprocal and no flow of exchange. A multivariable linear regression was applied to investigate the association between pattern of intergenerational exchange and life satisfaction, and mediation analysis was employed to examine the mediating role of satisfaction with parent-child relationship on their associations.

RESULTS

Elderly parents were less satisfied with their lives when they had no flow of exchange in daily-living support, and more satisfied when they were under-benefited in financial support, and over-benefited or reciprocal in emotional support. Elderly parents' satisfaction with parent-child relationship mediated the association between exchange of emotional support and life satisfaction; but not the association between daily-living or financial support and life satisfaction.

CONCLUSION

Different types of intergenerational support are associated with elderly parents' life satisfaction in different patterns.

Sucesso no Ensino Superior: Uma revisão e conceptualização || Success in Higher Education: A review and conceptualization

Ter sucesso no Ensino Superior é hoje muito mais do que concluir um curso ou obter um elevado rendimento académico. As instituições e as políticas educativas estão atualmente preocupadas com o valor que a educação superior acrescenta às vidas dos indivíduos e à sociedade, de forma coletiva, procurando avaliar indicadores diferenciados para o perfil de estudante bem-sucedido. Contudo, a monitorização deste sucesso não tem sido plenamente conseguida, em grande medida devido à fraca sistematização da avaliação do sucesso e problemas na sua definição. O presente artigo de cariz teórico procura sistematizar indicadores de sucesso no ensino superior, incluindo aqui quer descritores objetivos e de resultado, quer indicadores experienciais e processuais. Assim, o sucesso no ES pode ser definido através do rendimento do estudante, da sua satisfação, dos ganhos pessoais experimentados, do seu envolvimento e da sua adaptação, de um ponto de vista multidimensional. Analisam-se ainda, brevemente, fatores que contribuem para a diferenciação destes processos e resultados e apontam-se pistas orientadoras para os serviços de apoio ao estudante e investigação no domínio.  

Pre-entry Characteristics, Perceived Social Support, Adjustment and Academic Achievement in First-Year Spanish University Students: A Path Model

Transition to university is a multifactorial process to which scarce consideration has been given in Spain, despite this being one of the countries with the highest rates of academic failure and attrition within the European Union. The present study proposes an empirical model for predicting Spanish students' academic achievement at university by considering pre-entry characteristics, perceived social support and adaptation to university, in a sample of 300 traditional first-year university students. The findings of the path analysis showed that pre-university achievement and academic and personal-emotional adjustment were direct predictors of academic achievement. Furthermore, gender, parents' education and family support were indirect predictors of academic achievement, mediated by pre-university grades and adjustment to university. The current findings supporting evidence that academic achievement in first-year Spanish students is the cumulative effect of pre-entry characteristics and process variables, key factors that should be taken into account in designing intervention strategies involving families and that establish stronger links between research findings and university policies.

Longitudinal tracking of academic progress during teacher preparation

BACKGROUND

Given that the ultimate academic goal of many education systems in the developed world is for students to graduate from college, grades have a considerable bearing on how effective colleges are in meeting their primary objective. Prior academic performance informs predominantly the selection and retention of teacher candidates. However, there remains a dearth of evidence linking academic performance with outcomes in teacher preparation or the workplace.

AIM

This study examined pre-service teachers' trajectories of academic growth during teacher preparation.

SAMPLE

The sample comprised 398 pre-service teachers - 282 (70.8%) males and 116 (29.1%) females.

METHOD

Academic growth was measured across eight time points over the course of 4 years. Pre-service teachers' academic growth was analysed using linear and nonlinear latent growth models.

RESULTS

Results indicate that academic growth was quadratic and, over time, decelerated, with no evidence of the Matthew effect or the compensatory effect. There was evidence of a connection between prior academic attainment and current grades.

CONCLUSION

Greater attention to academic growth during the college years, and particularly among pre-service teachers, may enable greater achievement support for students.

Dificuldades antecipadas de adaptação ao ensino superior: um estudo com alunos do primeiro ano || Anticipated adaptation difficulties to higher education: a study with first-year students

A qualidade da adaptação e sucesso no Ensino Superior está relacionada com características prévias dos estudantes, sendo que a literatura sugere diferenças de género, de tipos de estudos e de background familiar nos resultados dos estudantes. Além de variáveis socioculturais nesta determinação, variáveis mais sociocognitivas como as expetativas de resultado e a autoeficácia parecem influenciar as experiências adaptativas dos estudantes. Este estudo caracteriza as dificuldades antecipadas de adaptação de um grupo de 931 estudantes de uma universidade pública portuguesa, que acedem ao primeiro ano do Ensino Superior, uma semana antes do início das suas aulas. A análise das dificuldades antecipadas, avaliadas em três domínios – adaptação académica, integração social e autonomia -, é feita em função da área do curso frequentado, do sexo e do agrupamento em estudantes de primeira geração (pais sem frequência do Ensino Superior) ou estudantes de famílias com formação superior. Os resultados sugerem o impacto destas variáveis, sobretudo em termos da antecipação de dificuldades de integração social e autonomia, apontando para maiores dificuldades antecipadas nas mulheres, estudantes de primeira geração e estudantes de cursos de ciências sociais e humanas. Discutem-se implicações para a investigação e intervenção e contexto de Ensino Superior.

Learning strategies and general cognitive ability as predictors of gender- specific academic achievement

Recent research has revealed that learning behavior is associated with academic achievement at the college level, but the impact of specific learning strategies on academic success as well as gender differences therein are still not clear. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate gender differences in the incremental contribution of learning strategies over general cognitive ability in the prediction of academic achievement. The relationship between these variables was examined by correlation analyses. A set of t-tests was used to test for gender differences in learning strategies, whereas structural equation modeling as well as multi-group analyses were applied to investigate the incremental contribution of learning strategies for male and female students' academic performance. The sample consisted of 461 students (mean age = 21.2 years, SD = 3.2). Correlation analyses revealed that general cognitive ability as well as the learning strategies effort, attention, and learning environment were positively correlated with academic achievement. Gender differences were found in the reported application of many learning strategies. Importantly, the prediction of achievement in structural equation modeling revealed that only effort explained incremental variance (10%) over general cognitive ability. Results of multi-group analyses showed no gender differences in this prediction model. This finding provides further knowledge regarding gender differences in learning research and the specific role of learning strategies for academic achievement. The incremental assessment of learning strategy use as well as gender-differences in their predictive value contributes to the understanding and improvement of successful academic development.

Applying an observational lens to identify parental behaviours associated with children's homework motivation

BACKGROUND

Extant research has traditionally associated children's achievement motivation with socio-emotional parental behaviours such as demonstrations of affect, responsiveness, and the degree of parental control.

AIMS

This study explored the extent to which parental socio-emotional and instructional behaviours (including the contingency of instructional scaffolding) both related to children's mastery and performance tendencies towards homework-like activities.

SAMPLE

The study involved nine underachieving primary-aged children and their parents, with four children showing predominantly mastery-oriented behaviours in the homework context and five showing predominantly performance-oriented behaviours.

METHODS

An in-depth observational analysis of video-recorded parent-child interactions during four homework-like sessions was carried out for each case. Socio-emotional and instructional parental behaviours were coded and subjected to nonparametric quantitative analyses. Subsequently, thick descriptions of parent-child interactions were used to identify critical aspects of parental assistance.

RESULTS

Moderate cognitive demand was associated with mastery orientation, while negative affect was related to performance orientation. As revealed quantitatively and qualitatively, socio-emotional and instructional parental behaviours were also associated with each other, forming distinct profiles of parental behaviours related to children's homework motivation.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings support the idea that instructional parental behaviours are as important as socio-emotional ones in the analysis of children's homework motivation. The value of observational methods in investigating the target variables is discussed.

Achievement motives, self-efficacy, achievement goals, and academic achievement at multiple stages of education: a longitudinal analysis

The present study investigated the joint effects of achievement motives, self-efficacy, and achievement goals as predictors of subsequent academic achievement among educational science students. A longitudinal research design allowed for measurement of motivational variables at several stages of education during bachelor courses (subsequent to the introductory courses), firstly by measuring achievement motives, secondly by self-efficacy and achievement goals. Subsequently, students' academic achievement level was measured at four different points in time, until they finished the last course for their bachelor degrees. A multivariate path analysis showed consistent relations between the motivational variables. The motive to avoid failure positively predicted the adoption of avoidance goals (both mastery and performance) and negatively predicted self-efficacy. Academic achievement was mainly predicted by the motive for success and performance-avoidance goals. The path analysis also showed strong relationships between the examination grades at different points in time.