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)     

A latent curve model of parental motivational practices and developmental decline in math and science academic intrinsic motivation.

A longitudinal approach was used to examine the effects of parental task-intrinsic and task-extrinsic motivational practices on academic intrinsic motivation in the subject areas of math and science. Parental task-intrinsic practices comprise encouragement of children’s pleasure and engagement in the learning process, whereas task-extrinsic practices comprise parents’ provision of external rewards and consequences contingent on children’s task performance. A conditional latent curve model was fit to data from the Fullerton Longitudinal Study (A. W. Gottfried, A. E. Gottfried, & D. W. Guerin, 2006), with academic intrinsic motivation in math and science assessed from ages 9 to 17 and parental motivational practices measured when children were age 9. The results indicated that task-intrinsic practices were beneficial with regard to children’s initial levels of motivation at age 9 as well as with regard to motivational decline through age 17. Conversely, parents’ use of task-extrinsic practices was adverse with regard to children’s motivation both at age 9 and across the 8-year interval. Theoretical implications of the findings with regard to academic intrinsic motivation are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The longitudinal relations of teacher expectations to achievement in the early school years.

There is relatively little research on the role of teacher expectations in the early school years or the importance of teacher expectations as a predictor of future academic achievement. The current study investigated these issues in the reading and mathematic domains for young children. Data from nearly 1,000 children and families at 1st, 3rd, and 5th grades were included. Child sex and social skills emerged as consistent predictors of teacher expectations of reading and, to a lesser extent, math ability. In predicting actual future academic achievement, results showed that teacher expectations were differentially related to achievement in reading and math. There was no evidence that teacher expectations accumulate but some evidence that they remain durable over time for math achievement. In addition, teacher expectations were more strongly related to later achievement for groups of children who might be considered to be at risk. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intrinsic intellectuality: Its relations to social class, intelligence, and achievement.

Distinguishes between orientation toward intellectual behavior that is motivated by ulterior purposes (e.g., grades, material success) and intellectuality for its own satisfaction. A scale was devised that excludes instrumental attitudes toward intellectual pursuits and measures intrinsic intellectual motivation (IIM). Data were obtained on 455 high school sophomores testing hypotheses that involve the relations between IIM, SES, need achievement, intelligence, and sex. Ss were administered a battery of tests that included the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule and Metropolitan Achievement Tests: High School Battery. Findings indicate a positive relationship between IIM and scholastic achievement, whereas need achievement showed no relationship. IIM was only moderately related to IQ and was weakly related to SES. No relationship was found between IIM and need achievement. When IQ was controlled, no relationship between IIM and SES appeared. Results show that IIM contributes significantly to academic achievement in addition to and independent of IQ. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Locus of control and academic achievement: Results from a preschool intervention program.

Investigated the relationship between children's beliefs in personal control over their successes and failures and academic achievement. 32 kindergarten and 1st grade children who had been judged to be at risk for academic difficulties and who had participated in a 5-yr efficacy-oriented intervention program were compared to 34 children in high-risk nonintervention low-risk comparison groups. The high-risk intervention and low-risk Ss had stronger beliefs in personal control over academic success, and these beliefs were good predictors of achievement and task-related classroom behaviors. This was not true of the high-risk nonintervention Ss, in whom only IQ was related to achievement. IQ scores were not related to achievement in intervention Ss. The importance of motivational components of achievement is discussed and the influence of socializing environments in establishing relations among beliefs in personal control, subsequent goal-directed classroom behaviors, and achievement outcomes is noted. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third and -Fourth Edition predictors of academic achievement in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

IQ and achievement scores were analyzed for 678 children with attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; 6-16 years of age, IQ≥80) administered the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III; n=586) and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV, n=92). Approximately 76% of children in both samples were identified with a learning disability (LD). LD in written expression was more common than in reading or math. For both the WISC-III and the WISC-IV, full-scale IQ was the strongest single predictor of achievement in all areas. The verbal subtests comprising the Freedom from Distractibility/Working Memory Index (FDI/WMI) and Verbal Comprehension Index were more highly correlated with achievement scores than the nonverbal subtests on both the WISC-III and WISC-IV. The most powerful predictors of LD, however, were the FDI/WMI and Processing Speed Index (PSI) subtests. These findings suggest that verbal intelligence is more influential in determining level of academic achievement, whereas cognitive abilities assessed by FDI/WMI and PSI are more important in determining LD in children with ADHD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Exploring processes linking shyness and academic achievement in childhood.

The goal of the current study was to explore the relations between shyness, academic engagement, and academic achievement in childhood. Participants were (n = 125) children (aged 9–13 years) attending public school boards in Canada. Children completed self reports of shyness and were administered a test of nonverbal IQ. Academic achievement was assessed through both teacher ratings and standardized tests of reading comprehension and mathematics. As well, a new teacher-rated measure of academic engagement was created to assess student participation and on-task behavior in the classroom. Among the results, shyness was negatively related to teacher-rated achievement but not related to standardized test scores. Academic engagement was significantly and negatively related to shyness, and positively related to all measures of achievement. Finally, academic engagement partially mediated the relation between shyness and teacher ratings of achievement. These findings suggest that poorer teacher-rated academic performance in shy children may be partially accounted for by a lack of academic engagement in the classroom. Future studies are needed to explore why shy children are less likely to be engaged in the classroom. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of cognitively stimulating home environment in children's academic intrinsic motivation: a longitudinal study

The short- and long-term, and direct and indirect, relations between cognitively stimulating home environment and academic intrinsic motivation were investigated in a longitudinal study from childhood through early adolescence. Structural equations modeling was used to test the hypothesis that home environment positively predicts academic intrinsic motivation over this period. It was also hypothesized that home environmental processes would positively predict motivation controlling for socioeconomic status (SES). When children were age 8, home environment (comprising both direct observations and parent report) and SES were measured. Academic intrinsic motivation was assessed at ages 9, 10, and 13. Results supported the hypotheses. Home environment had statistically positive and significant, direct and indirect paths to academic intrinsic motivation from childhood through early adolescence, indicating both short- and long-term effects across these ages. Moreover, home environment was significant above and beyond SES. The findings revealed that children whose homes had a greater emphasis on learning opportunities and activities were more academically intrinsically motivated.     

Achievement imagery in women's lives from adolescence to adulthood.

Used a well-known longitudinal archive (surveys conducted in 1932, 1934 and 1936) to examine situational incentives in the anticipated careers of 18–19 yr old women as a contextual determinant of the relation between their achievement imagery and behavior from adolescence to early adulthood. The analysis identified 2 motivational trajectories; (a) the social/marital path of achievement-oriented Ss who claimed a domestic or family-centered future and (b) the worklife/career sequence of highly motivated Ss (high need for achievement) who favored both family and work interests. The 1st career sequence links achievement motivation with investment in activities that are part of the sequence of dating, courtship, and marriage. Boys and dating ranked high in the adolescence of these Ss, and they tended to bear more children in their adult years. In the 2nd career sequence, the achievement imagery of Ss was related to their IQ, grades, and conversation about other than boy–girl issues. As young adults these Ss tended to finish school, marry, and start a family at a later age. The study highlights the value of a life-course perspective on achievement thoughts and motivation across the life span. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the leaky math pipeline: Comparing implicit math-gender stereotypes and math withdrawal in female and male children and adolescents.

Many models assume that habitual human behavior is guided by spontaneous, automatic, or implicit processes rather than by deliberate, rule-based, or explicit processes. Thus, math-ability self-concepts and math performance could be related to implicit math-gender stereotypes in addition to explicit stereotypes. Two studies assessed at what age implicit math-gender stereotyping can be observed and what the relations between these stereotypes and math-related outcomes are in children and adolescents. Implicit math-gender stereotypes could already be detected with Implicit Association Tests (Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998) among 9-year-old girls. Adolescent girls showed stronger implicit gender stereotypes than adolescent boys, who, on average, did not reveal implicit gender-stereotypic associations. Girls also already showed an implicit affinity to language versus math at 9 years of age. In a regression analysis, implicit math-gender stereotypes predicted academic self-concepts, academic achievement, and enrollment preferences above and beyond explicit math-gender stereotypes for girls but (with the exception of achievement) not for boys. These findings suggest implicit gender stereotypes are an important factor in the dropout of female students from math-intensive fields. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Continuity of academic intrinsic motivation from childhood through late adolescence: A longitudinal study.

Two aspects of continuity, stability of individual differences and means, were examined in a longitudinal study from the middle elementary through the high school years. Two hypotheses regarding individual difference stability were supported with structural equation modeling in both the general-verbal and math domains: (a) Academic intrinsic motivation is a stable construct throughout these years, and (b) with advancement in age, academic intrinsic motivation becomes increasingly stable. A third hypothesis, that the mean level of academic intrinsic motivation declines over these ages, also was supported, and significant linear trends were obtained, but it was also found to be modified by particular subject areas, with math showing the greatest decline and social studies showing no significant change. The combination of these 2 aspects of continuity places those with low motivation early in their schooling particularly at risk. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Academic intrinsic motivation in elementary and junior high school students.

Investigated in 3 studies the significance of academic intrinsic motivation (AIM) for children's education. Ss for Studies 1–3 were 77 4th graders and 64 7th graders; 260 Ss in Grades 4–7; and 166 White middle-class Ss in Grades 5–8, respectively. Ss were administered an AIM inventory and an inventory of academic anxiety (AA). As predicted, AIM was found to be significantly and positively correlated with Ss' school achievement and perceptions of academic competence and negatively correlated with AA. Findings support the view that AIM is differentiated into school subject areas and is also a general orientation toward school learning. Relations between motivation and perception of competence and anxiety were differentiated by subject area, whereas achievement was more pervasively related to general motivation. Mathematics motivation, however, emerged as a unique predictor of mathematics achievement. The significance of AIM as differentiated into subjects and as a general orientation is discussed. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Maternal education and children's academic achievement during middle childhood.

Despite much evidence that links mothers' educational attainment to children's academic outcomes, studies have not established whether increases in mothers' education will improve their children's academic achievement. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth on children between the ages of 6 and 12, this study examined whether increases in mothers' educational attainment are associated with changes in children's academic achievement and the quality of their home environments. Results suggest that children of young mothers with low levels of education perform better on tests of academic skills and have higher quality home environments when their mothers complete additional schooling, whereas increased maternal education does not predict improvements in the achievement or home environments of children with older and more highly educated mothers. The estimated effects of additional maternal schooling for children of these younger mothers appear to be more pronounced for children's reading than math skills. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Identification and cloning of three novel human G protein-coupled receptor genes GPR52, PsiGPR53 and GPR55: GPR55 is extensively expressed in human brain

OBJECTIVES: To examine the psychoeducational profile associated with the chromosome 22q11.2 microdeletion (DiGeorge/velocardiofacial syndrome). STUDY DESIGN: Thirty-three patients (aged 6 to 27 years) with a 22q11.2 microdeletion underwent psychoeducational testing as part of a comprehensive evaluation. Nonparametric statistics were used to compare verbal and performance IQ, academic achievement scores, and receptive versus expressive language scores. Post hoc comparisons were made of IQ subtest scores and of language versus verbal IQ. RESULTS: Full-scale IQ ranged from the normal to the moderately retarded range. Mean verbal IQ was significantly higher than mean performance IQ. In a similar manner, mean reading and spelling scores were superior to the mean mathematics score, although achievement scores typically were in the range of verbal IQ. In addition, many children showed clinically significant language impairments, with mean language scores lower than mean verbal IQ. CONCLUSIONS: The IQ and academic profiles are reminiscent of a "nonverbal learning disability," although achievement was not discrepant from IQ. The coincidence of language impairment with a relative strength in reading belies a unique neuropsychologic profile. Educational programming for these children must address both verbal and nonverbal deficits.     

Self-enhancing and self-defeating ego orientation: Relations with task and avoidance orientation, achievement, self-perceptions, and anxiety.

Recent research in motivation has identified 2 main goal orientations: task orientation and ego orientation. Two studies of 6th- and 8th-grade Norwegian students tested the prediction that there are different dimensions of ego orientation (self-defeating and self-enhancing), that they may be separated from other goal orientations, and that they relate differently to academic achievement, self-concept, self-efficacy, self-esteem, anxiety, and intrinsic motivation. Results from both studies supported the predictions. The correlation between self-defeating and self-enhancing ego orientation was small, and these constructs had different relations to other variables in the study. Self-defeating ego orientation was associated with high anxiety and was negatively related to achievement and self-perceptions. Self-enhancing ego orientation was positively related to achievement, self-perceptions, and intrinsic motivation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive functioning and academic achievement in children with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM).

Discusses the effects of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) on cognitive and academic functioning in children. IDDM children may have lower intellectual functioning, but their performance is usually average. Early age of disease onset, severe hypoglycemia, and diabetic ketoacidosis are the disease risk factors for lower IQ scores. Boys with IDDM are at greater risk for learning problems than girls, and both acute and chronic metabolic abnormalities may relate to poorer cognitive functioning. The high-risk children need periodic monitoring of their academic achievement, and may require special intervention. Intensive preschool or early intervention programs may be especially beneficial for those under the age of 5. An abbreviated Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Revised (WISC—R) or WISC-III may be used for evaluating children with IDDM, as prorated performance or full scale IQ scores may not act as traditional measures of nonverbal intelligence in such children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral correlates of achievements: A look at high and low achievers.

Examined the relationship of classroom behavior to academic achievement among high and low achieving elementary school children. Classroom behavior of 312 3rd and 4th graders was observed during math and verbal skills instruction and coded in discrete categories using J. A. Cobb's (see record 1972-21857-001) method. Scores from each category were correlated with math and verbal achievement scores for both high and low achievers. Regression equations predicting achievement in each setting were cross-validated in the other setting. Different behaviors were significantly correlated with achievement in each group, and multiple regressions predicting achievement for one group could not be cross-validated in the other group. Results demonstrate that the patterns of behavior stably related to achievement across academic settings may be dissimilar among groups of children in the same setting with different levels of achievement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

WISC—R verbal and performance IQ discrepancy in an unselected cohort: Clinical significance and longitudinal stability.

This study examined children from a unselected birth cohort who had Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Revised (WISC—R) verbal and performance IQ discrepancies that placed them beyond the 90th percentile. It was hypothesized that, relative to their cohort peers, these children would be characterized by greater frequency of perinatal difficulties, early childhood neurological abnormalities, health problems of neurological significance, and concussion. Additionally, it was hypothesized that such children would exhibit more behavior problems, lower academic achievement, and poorer motor skills. Generally, the null hypotheses were not rejected by the results. Longitudinal investigation of the stability of the verbal and performace IQ discrepancy revealed that about 23% of discrepant cases were discrepant at two or more ages. Depressed verbal IQ relative to performance IQ was found to be more common than the reverse pattern. Children with performance IQ greater than verbal IQ scored significantly lower than children for whom this pattern was reversed on measures of academic achievement. Results show that cautious interpretation is needed of verbal and performance IQ discrepancy in the general (nonneurological) assessment setting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Joint use of adaptive behavior and IQ to predict achievement.

Determined the influence of IQ, adaptive behavior, SES, and race-ethnicity on reading and math achievement, using multiple linear regression analyses. Ss consisted of 345 children stratified on racial-ethnic characteristics (Anglo, Black, Mexican-American), SES (middle and low), gender, and age (CAs 7–14 yrs). Data were obtained from Ss' scores on the WISC-R, Adaptive Behavior Inventory for Children, and California Achievement Tests. The variance accounted for by the full model, consisting of the 4 previously mentioned variables, was highly significant for reading (.45) and math (.35). The amount of variance associated with race-ethnicity and SES was nonsignificant. It is concluded that adaptive behavior does not significantly predict achievement beyond that predicted by IQ. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental lag versus deficit models of reading disability: A longitudinal, individual growth curves analysis.

Individual growth curves were used to test whether the development of children with reading disabilities is best characterized by models of developmental lag or developmental deficit. Developmental changes in reading ability were modeled by using 9 yearly longitudinal assessments of a sample of 403 children classified into three groups representing (a) deficient reading achievement relative to IQ expectations (RD-D), (b) deficient reading achievement consistent with IQ expectations (LA), and (c) no reading deficiency (NRI). Using a model of quadratic growth to a plateau, the age and level at which reading scores plateaued were estimated for each child. Reading-disabled children differed on average from nondisabled children in the level but not in the age at which reading skills plateaued. The RD-D and LA groups did not differ in reading plateau or age at plateau. The subgroup of RD-D children scoring below the 25th percentile in reading differed from LA children only in reading plateau. Results suggest that the developmental course of reading skills in children with reading disability is best characterized by deficit as opposed to lag models. In addition, no support for the validity of classifications of reading disability based on IQ discrepancies was apparent. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)