Extracurricular activities: Beneficial extension of the traditional curriculum or subversion of academic goals?

Effects of total extracurricular activity participation (TEAP) during the last 2 yrs of high school were examined using the large, nationally repesentative High School and Beyond data. After controlling background variables and sophomore outcomes, TEAP had small but statistically significant and positive relations with 17 of 22 senior and postsecondary outcomes (e.g., social and academic self-concept, educational aspirations, coursework selection, homework, absenteeism, academic achievement, and subsequent college attendance). Whereas there were small nonlinear components, increases in TEAP across almost the whole range of TEAP scores were associated with increases in benefits for most of the outcomes. Results contradict zero-sum models positing that TEAP detracts from more narrowly defined academic goals and support a commitment-to-school hypothesis in which identification with school and school values is enhanced by TEAP. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's Achievement in Early Elementary School: Longitudinal Effects of Parental Involvement, Expectations, and Quality of Assistance.

In this prospective, longitudinal study, the authors examined the relations among parental behaviors, parental expectations, and children's academic achievement. Participants were 187 low-income children and their mothers, studied from birth of the child through 3rd grade. Mothers' quality of instruction prior to school entry had significant direct effects on IQ and indirect effects on achievement in 1st and 3rd grades. Parental expectations in 3rd grade had significant direct effects on parental involvement in 3rd grade. Children's achievement in 1st grade had significant direct effects on parental involvement and expectations in 3rd grade. Parental involvement in 3rd grade had a significant direct effect on achievement in 3rd grade. Results suggest that early parenting factors are important for children's academic achievement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-concepts, motivation, and academic achievement of Black adolescents.

Investigated the unique and common contributions made by global self-concept, academic self-concept, and need for academic competence to the variance in academic achievement of inner city Black adolescents. Data on these variables were collected from 328 8th-grade students attending a New York City public junior high school. Results of commonality procedures indicate that academic self-concept and need for academic competence each accounted for significant proportions of criterion variance, whereas global self-concept did not. Explanations of variance in academic achievement were better for males than for females after the possible confounding effects of verbal ability had been partialled out. Directions for intervention strategies aimed at enhancing academic achievement are suggested for the 2 sexes. (53 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predictors of global self-worth and academic performance among regular education, learning disabled, and continuation high school students

While academic performance and achievement motivation among elementary school students have received considerable attention, far less is known with respect to adolescents. The primary purpose of this project was to examine the ability of measures of perceived competence, control, and autonomy support to predict self-worth and academic performance with a group of regular education, learning disabled, and continuation high school students. Stepwise regression analyses indicated that indices of perceived competence, control, and autonomy support were significant predictors of self-worth and grade point average. Additionally, school status (i.e., regular education and continuation) and a depression variable were significant predictors in the regression model for academic performance. The results highlight the need for continued empirical investigation into issues surrounding the academic performance and achievement motivation of adolescents.     

Gender, ethnicity, and social cognitive factors predicting the academic achievement of students in engineering.

Examines the relationships of measures of occupational and academic self-efficacy; vocational interests; outcome expectations; academic ability; and perceived stress, support, and coping to the academic achievement of women and men enrolled in university-level engineering/science programs. 197 students from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds responded to scales measuring the variables of interest; high school and college academic data were obtained from university records. Self-efficacy for academic milestones, in combination with other academic and support variables, was found to be the strongest predictor of college academic achievement. Outcome expectations, vocational interests, and low levels of stress were in turn the strongest predictors of academic self-efficacy. Prediction equations for Euro-American and Mexican-American students revealed no significant contribution of ethnicity to the prediction of college academic achievement; however, ethnicity did enter into the equations predicting the 2 self-efficacy variables. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Causal effects of academic self-concept on academic achievement: Structural equation models of longitudinal data.

Academic self-concept, school marks, and teacher ratings of achievement were collected in 3 high-school subjects in each of 3 years (N?=?603). In the structural equation models (SEMs) considered, both school-based performance and academic self-concept were measured with multiple indicators for each school subject. SEMs were used to evaluate the effects of prior academic self-concept on subsequent achievement after controlling for the effects of prior achievement, and the effects of prior achievement on subsequent academic self-concept after controlling for the effects of prior academic self-concept. Although the effects of achievement tended to be larger and more systematic, there was clear support for both academic self-concept and achievement effects. Although there was support for this reciprocal effects model for all 3 school subjects, self-concept effects tended to be larger and more systematic for mathematics than for science and, particularly, English. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Genetic and environmental influences on academic achievement trajectories during adolescence.

Most studies have considered the effects of particular characteristics on academic achievement individually, which means that little is known about how they function together. Using the population-based Minnesota Twin Family Study, the authors investigated the effects of child academic engagement (interest, involvement, effort), IQ, depression, externalizing behavior, and family environmental risk on academic achievement (reported school grades) from ages 11 through 17. Hierarchical linear growth curve modeling showed main effects on initial reported Grades for all variables, and IQ mitigated the deleterious effects of family risk and externalizing. Only engagement affected change in Grades through adolescence. Influences on initial Grades were strongly genetically influenced, associated primarily with IQ, engagement, and externalizing behavior. Shared environmental influences on initial Grades linked engagement, IQ, and family risk. Genetic influences on change in Grades were substantial, but they were not associated with the academic, family risk, and mental health covarying factors. These results indicate that age 11 achievement and change in achievement through adolescence show systematic patterns and document the existence of individual differences in the commonly shared developmental experience of adapting to the school environment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ability and attitude correlates of academic achievement: Family-group differences.

In this study, I examined the proposition that for children from different family groups, there are variations in relations among their ability, attitudes toward school, and academic achievement. Data were collected from 928 11-year-old Australian children and their parents. In the analysis, the children were classified into four family groups that were defined conjointly by family social status and parents' getting-ahead or getting-by orientation. Within each family group, regression surfaces were constructed from models that included terms to account for possible linear, interaction, and curvilinear associations among the variables. The results indicated that (a) there are moderate family-group differences in children's word performance and more modest variations in their ability, attitudes toward school, and mathematics achievement and (b) ability and school attitudes had differential linear and curvilinear relations to academic achievement for boys and girls from different family groups. In general, the study indicated that the family may act as a critical substratum variable that influences the relations between children's attitudinal and cognitive attributes and their academic performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A performance model for academic achievement in early adolescent boys.

Tests a model for conduct-related school failure in young adolescent boys. In this model, family characteristics and child antisocial behavior serve as predictors of school adjustment and academic performance. Ss were 206 youths and their families, followed from the 4th through 8th grades. Results indicated that low parental academic achievement was associated with ineffective discipline practices and child antisocial behavior in the 6th grade. Ineffective discipline had a direct and negative effect on boys' 7th-grade academic engagement. Boys' academic engagement, in turn, had a direct and positive effect on 8th grade academic achievement. A smaller direct effect of parental achievement on child achievement was also found. Results are discussed in terms of research on parental influence on academic success and life span models of the development of antisocial behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predictors of high academic achievement in mathematics and science by mathematically talented students: A longitudinal study.

Educational experiences of a cohort of 1,247 mathematically talented youths (initially identified in 7th/8th grade by the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth) were analyzed after high school and after college to identify factors correlated with high and low academic achievement in math and science in college by students with extremely high ability. Almost all students had achieved highly by conventional standards (e.g., 85% had received bachelor's degrees). Using a quantitative definition of academic achievement in college, we found that 22% were high academic achievers and 8% were low academic achievers in math and science. Variables predictive of high academic achievement (in order of strength) were precollege curricula or experiences in math and sciences, family characteristics and educational support variables, attitudes toward math and science, and differences in aptitude. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

School attitudes, cognitive ability, and academic achievement.

Investigated relationships between school-related attitudes and measures of English, mathematics, French, and physical and biological sciences at different levels of verbal and nonverbal reasoning abilities and creativity. Data were collected on 195 female and 201 male 12-yr-olds from 4 high schools in an English provincial town. Regression surfaces were constructed from models that examined possible linear, curvilinear, and interaction relations between the variables. The Jackknife technique was used to adjust the significance levels in the analysis. Results indicate that there are sex differences in relations between school attitudes, ability, and achievement. Two propositions are suggested: (a) At each attitude level, increases in cognitive ability are associated with increments in academic achievement. (b) At different ability levels, increases in attitude scores are related to increments in achievement. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Causal ordering of academic self-concept and academic achievement: A multiwave, longitudinal panel analysis.

There is surprisingly little sound research on the causal ordering of academic self-concept and academic achievement in longitudinal panel studies, despite its theoretical and practical significance. Data collected in Grades 10, 11, 12, and 1 yr after graduation from high school that were used in this study come from the large (N?=?1,456 students), nationally representative Youth in Transition study (e.g., J. G. Bachman; 1970). It was found that reported grade averages in Grades 11 and 12 were significantly affected by academic self-concept measured the previous year, whereas prior reported grades had no effect on subsequent measures of academic self-concept. The results provide one of the few defensible demonstrations of prior academic self-concept influencing subsequent academic achievement, and the study appears to be methodologically stronger than previous research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Home environment, self-concept, and academic achievement: A causal modeling approach.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 77(3) of Journal of Educational Psychology (see record 2008-10971-001). The caption to Figure 3 on page 1271 is incorrect. "SOSC = social self-concept" should read "NASC = nonacademic self-concept." In addition, on page 1274 in the Results section, the reference to McDonald & Leong (1974) should have been deleted.] Investigated the relation between home environment, self-concept, and academic achievement in 2,297 14–15 yr old Koreans. Data on Ss was collected in 4 different samples to test 4 structural equation models. Group 1 consisted of 537 males, Group 2 consisted of 537 males, Group 3 consisted of 611 females, and Group 4 consisted of 612 females. Results show that over the 4 samples, self-concept was a mediating variable between home environment and academic achievement. Results did not support the commonly held view that home environment exerts direct effects on academic achievement. Social status indicators had indirect effects on self-concept via family psychological characteristics. Academic self-concept affected academic achievement more strongly than did presentation-of-self or social self-concept. (51 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting change in academic achievement: A model of peer experiences and self-system processes.

The purpose of this study was to test a model of peer experiences and academic achievement among elementary school children. This model postulates that the quality of children's social relations (e.g., social preference) in the peer group can foster or inhibit feelings of connectedness (e.g., loneliness), which in turn affects children's perceptions of academic competence. Finally, perceptions of academic competence are hypothesized to predict change in academic achievement. Participants were 397 school children (206 girls, 191 boys; mean age?=?108 months, range?=?88–157 months). Results from structural equation modeling provided support for the proposed model. Discussion centers on the mediational role of self-system processes between children's social relations and change in academic achievement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in predicting final examination grades: The influence of past performance, attributions, and achievement motivation.

43 male and 41 female undergraduates reported their high school and last semester GPAs, their 1st and 2nd midterm grades, and their final exam predictions. Ss also rated the influence that ability, effort, task difficulty, and luck had on their performances and completed Mehrabian's achievement motivation scale. Regression analyses provided support for the attribution model of achievement expectations. All Ss used ability to explain their successes; however, males attributed failures to lack of effort while females often used luck to explain their performances. Although both sexes earned equal midterm scores and predicted similar final grades, males based their predictions solely on the 2 midterms. Females' predictions were significantly affected by both midterm performance and achievement motivation. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attachment at school age and academic performance.

The association between attachment and school-related cognitive functioning was longitudinally examined for a French Canadian sample of 108 school-age children. The affective quality of mother-child interaction patterns, child cognitive engagement, and quality of child attachment to mother were evaluated during a laboratory visit that included a separation-reunion procedure occurring when the children were approximately 6 years of age. Children's mastery motivation and academic performance were assessed 2 years later (at age 8). Analyses indicated that secure children had higher scores than their insecure peers on communication, cognitive engagement, and mastery motivation. Controlling children were at greatest risk for school underachievement, with the poorest performance on all measures except mastery motivation. Avoidant and ambivalent children were lowest on mastery motivation. Results of mediational analyses support the salience of mother–child interactional processes and child cognitive engagement at school age in explaining relations between attachment and cognitive functioning in school. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of parental motivational practices in children's academic intrinsic motivation and achievement.

Tested the role of parental motivational practices in children's academic intrinsic motivation and achievement in a longitudinal study of children at ages 9 and 10 yrs. Two types of motivational practices were assessed: mothers' encouragement of children's task endogeny and provision of task-extrinsic consequences. Structural equations path models for general-verbal and math academic areas supported the 2 predictions that children's academic intrinsic motivation is positively related to encouragement of task endogeny and negatively related to provision of task-extrinsic consequences. Academic intrinsic motivation at age 9 yrs predicted motivation and achievement at age 10 yrs. Moreover, through motivation at 9 yrs, the motivational practices indirectly affected motivation at 10 yrs and achievement. Findings provide ecological validity for the role of parental motivational practices in children's academic intrinsic motivation and achievement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relation of eighth graders' family structure, gender, and family environment with academic performance and school behavior.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 80(3) of Journal of Educational Psychology (see record 2008-10692-001). Table 2 contained incorrect data. The first column of data contained correlations whose signs should have been reversed. The complete correct table appears in the erratum.] The purpose of this study was to assess how family structure, gender, and family environment were related to both academic performance (end-of-the-year grades and quantitative and verbal achievement factor scores) and school behavior (number of days absent, number of days tardy, and number of in-school detentions). Subjects were 219 middle-class eighth graders (96 boys, 123 girls). Generally, students in two-parent nuclear families had better academic performance and less problematic school behavior than did students in either mother-custody or stepfather families. Boys had more detentions than did girls. Despite significant differences among the three family structures, the family structure variable accounted at most for only 7% of the variability in academic performance and school behavior. A family environment that emphasized achievement and intellectual pursuits accounted for variability in end-of-the-year grades beyond that accounted for by family structure, gender, and family conflict. The joint consideration of family structure, gender, and family environment accounted at most for 17% of the variance in academic performance and school behavior. For students in the mother-custody and stepfather families, contact with father was unrelated to academic performance. Findings are discussed in terms of models of achievement motivation and behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Causal attributions and perceived performance: Consequences for college students' achievement and perceived control in different instructional conditions.

Recent developments in control theory suggest that causal attributions are instrumental to the regulation of control and to achievement behavior. This process is relevant to college classroom settings in which academic failure repeatedly threatens students with loss of control. Three causal attributions were examined in relation to perceived performance and the quality of instruction. Following failure feedback attributed to ability, effort, or test difficulty, university students (N?=?223) observed a half-hour videotaped lecture presented by either a low or a high expressive instructor. The three causal attributions affected postlecture control and achievement, depending on the quality of instruction and on students' interpretation (distortion, nondistortion) of the failure feedback prior to the lecture. When instruction was poor, the effort attribution generated the best achievement in those students who distorted failure as success. In contrast, ability produced the best achievement, and effort, the most control, in nondistortion students. When instruction was good, the causal attributions produced less variability in achievement and control, although ability continued to facilitate achievement in nondistortion students. One of the benefits of good teaching appears to be that it compensates to some extent for the deleterious effects of some causal attributions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The joint influence of personal achievement goals and classroom goal structures on achievement-relevant outcomes.

The authors provide an analytic framework for studying the joint influence of personal achievement goals and classroom goal structures on achievement-relevant outcomes. This framework encompasses 3 models (the direct effect model, indirect effect model, and interaction effect model), each of which addresses a different aspect of the joint influence of the 2 goal levels. These 3 models were examined together with a sample of 1,578 Japanese junior high and high school students from 47 classrooms. Results provided support for each of the 3 models: Classroom goal structures were not only direct, but also indirect predictors of intrinsic motivation and academic self-concept, and some cross-level interactions between personal achievement goals and classroom goal structures were observed (indicating both goal match and goal mismatch effects). A call is made for more research that takes into consideration achievement goals at both personal and structural levels of representation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)