bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Field dependence‐independence and academic achievement: a re‐examination of their relationship
Authors: Tinajero Carolina , Páramo M. Fernanda
Published: May 2011

Background. It has long been recognised that field dependence‐independence is likely to have important educational implications.

Aims. In the work presented here, the relationship between academic achievement and field dependence‐independence cognitive style was examined. We tried to avoid some of the deficiencies of research carried out to date.

Sample. We analysed various subjects of the school curriculum in a single sample of 408 students (215 boys and 193 girls) aged between 13 and 16.

Method. We considered the bidimensional character of field dependence‐independence by using a test of perception of the upright (the Rod and Frame Test) and a restructuring ability test (the Embedded Figures Test). In addition, we examined possible mediation by the variable ‘sex’ in the above‐mentioned relationship. Multivariate analysis of covariance, with the score in Cattell's Culture‐Fair Intelligence Test as covariate, was used to investigate differences in academic achievement between field‐dependent and field‐independent students, once effect of intelligence had been removed.

Results. Results indicate that field‐independent boys and girls performed better than field‐dependent ones in all of the subjects considered, although this superiority was only manifested in the cognitive dimension of field dependence‐independence, evaluated by the embedded figures test.

Conclusions. Field dependence‐independence is related to overall academic achievement.
Predictors of academic achievement and academic self‐concept: a longitudinal perspective
Authors: Muijs R. Daniel
Published: May 2011

Background. A large body of research supports the existence of an academic achievement—self‐concept relationship. Path analyses mostly show academic achievement to be causally predominant in this relationship.

Aims. This study aims to replicate these findings among Belgian primary school‐age children, controlling for a number of other relevant variables such as school commitment, parental socio‐economic status (SES), gender and teacher expectations. The longitudinal design of this study makes it particularly suited for this purpose.

Method. Data were analysed using correlation, regressions of time 1 independent variables on time 2 dependent variables, multiple classification analysis and path analysis using LISREL.

Results. Academic self‐concept and academic achievement were found to be strong predictors of one another, even controlling for other variables and stability of both over time. The only other variable to enter significantly into regressions on time 2 academic achievement and academic self‐concept was parental socio‐economic status (SES). Both the regression analyses and path analysis undertaken specifically to test causal predominance found achievement to be causally predominant in this sample.

Conclusion. The fact that academic achievement was causally predominant over academic self‐concept, that global self‐esteem was not a significant predictor of achievement, and the significant contribution of parental SES to achievement all suggest that self‐esteem enhancement in itself cannot be a solution to the problem of academic failure.
Achievement goals and perceived ability predict investment in learning a sport task
Authors: Cury Francois , Biddle Stuart , Sarrazin Philippe , Famose Jean Pierre
Published: May 2011

Background. Contemporary views on motivation suggest that expectancy‐value and social‐cognitive perspectives can shed light on the important issue of student motivation.

Aims. To test the predictive value of achievement goals on the investment in learning a sport task. Two studies investigated whether investment in learning is affected by achievement goals and perceived ability.

Samples. Study 1:57 school pupils selected from an initial sample of 212. Study 2:99 pupils selected from 400. Selection was based on motivation and perceived ability scores from questionnaires. Pupils were aged 13–15 years and attended schools in northern France.

Methods. In Study 1 pupils prepared themselves for a sport task with a five‐minute period of training. Study 2 pupils prepared themselves with a five‐minute period of training after prior failure.

Results. Study 1 showed that those who were ego‐involved with a low perceived ability had a weaker investment in the training situation than those ego‐involved with a high perceived ability, or those task‐involved regardless of their perceived ability. Ego‐involved pupils used an attributional bias to minimise the effect of effort on performance. Study 2 confirmed these results by underlining the motivational deficits of ego involvement for those with a low perceived ability.

Conclusions. School pupils with high ego involvement in a sport task and low perceived ability show motivational deficits which manifest themselves in less time spent on practising a task. A social‐cognitive and expectancy‐value perspective appears to be valid for the study of motivational processes in school physical education.
Academic goals and emotions: results of a structural equation model and a cluster analysis
Authors: Seifert Timothy L.
Published: May 2011

Background. Motivational researchers have suggested that the environment plays a key role in students' goal formation. However, some recent work (Seifert, 1996) suggests that students' emotions may play a role in goal formation.

Aim. This study examined the relationship between environment, emotions, and goals. Do emotions and perceptions of teachers both contribute to goal orientation, or do emotions mediate the influence of perceptions of teachers on goal orientation?

Sample. 559 Grade 10 students in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Method. Two structural equations were postulated: one in which students' affect mediated the influence of perceptions of teachers on goal orientation and one in which students' affect contributed to goal formation in addition to perceptions of teachers. A cluster analysis of affect scores was performed followed by between‐group and within‐group contrasts of goal orientation scores.

Results. The structural equation model in which emotions mediate the influence of perceptions of teachers on goal orientation fit the data better than the model in which perceptions of teachers directly predicted goal orientation. The cluster analysis showed that groups with different profiles of affect pursued different goals.

Conclusions. Emotions seem to be directly linked to goal orientation. Teachers who are perceived as nurturing will foster feelings of self‐assuredness and control in students which will lead to a learning orientation.
Assessing reading difficulties: the validity and utility of current measures of reading skill
Authors: Nation Kate , Snowling Margaret
Published: May 2011

Background. Accurate assessment of reading difficulties is clearly important if appropriate support and remediation is to be provided. Many different reading tests are routinely used yet it is not clear to what extent different tests tap the same underlying skills.

Aims. The nature of the relationships between different tests of reading accuracy, reading comprehension and linguistic comprehension is investigated in this paper.

Samples, Methods and Results. In study 1,184 7–10 year old children completed a listening comprehension test, three tests of reading accuracy (reading of nonwords, single words and text) and two tests of reading comprehension (text comprehension and sentence completion). While sentence completion was well accounted for by individual differences in word recognition, text comprehension was more heavily dependent on listening comprehension. Study 2 compared the performance of children with poor comprehension skills with controls matched for age, nonverbal ability and decoding skill. The poor comprehenders had greatest difficulty with those tests most heavily dependent on linguistic comprehension and least difficulty on purer measures of decoding.

Conclusions. These findings show that different reading tests measure different aspects of the reading process and that caution should be exercised when selecting tests for the assessment of reading difficulties.
Dyadic and tetradic nursery nurse — preschooler interaction in a numerical reproduction task
Authors: Sfigaki Maria , Houndoumadi Anastasia
Published: May 2011

Background. Adult‐child teaching interactions have been found to help children move to higher and more advanced levels of cognitive thinking and reasoning.

Aims. The investigation of whether nursery nurses offer more verbal and non‐verbal instructions when interacting with 3‐year‐old than 4‐year‐old children, a dyad than a tetrad, girls than boys and as the difficulty of the task increases.

Samples. Four hundred and eighty 3‐ and 4‐year‐old preschoolers (240 boys and 240 girls) of middle class background from 25 nurseries in the area of Athens, Greece, were observed interacting with 40 nursery nurses while reproducing a numerical task.

Methods. Each nursery nurse interacted with a dyad and a tetrad of children of each age group while solving a task of numerical correspondence consisting of three, six, or nine elements. Each child was expected to reproduce in succession a model array of cubes that the nursery nurse presented to them. All sessions were videotaped.

Results. Nursery nurses made significantly more verbal and non‐verbal instructional shifts when addressing 3‐year‐olds, dyads, and as the level of the task became progressively more difficult. Sex was not found to significantly affect nursery nurses' behaviour. Furthermore 4‐year‐olds were more successful in completing the task at all levels of difficulty.

Conclusions. Nursery nurses adjust both the quality and quantity of their instructions according to the demands of the children with whom they interact. Their teaching methods in small groups are influenced by variables such as age, group size and task difficulty level.
The impact of gender on primary teachers' evaluations of children's difficulties in school
Authors: Cline Tony , Ertubey Candan
Published: May 2011

Background. More boys than girls receive provision to meet special educational needs. It has been suggested that teachers' evaluations of children's difficulties in school may be subject to gender bias. But the evidence is inconsistent, and the methodology of some work that reported bias has been criticised because the type of rating task that was used may have encouraged stereotypic thinking (Langfeldt, 1993).

Aims. This study investigated whether gender of child would still have an influence on teacher's judgments if a fuller context was provided for the stimulus and there was a more realistic rating task.

Samples. The sample comprised 523 teachers in 79 primary schools in London, the home counties and the North‐West of England.

Methods. Participants completed questionnaires on what action might be required in their school for children with difficulties who were described in short vignettes. The children's gender was varied systematically. The construct of ‘seriousness’, which had generally been left vague in earlier research, was given a concrete definition.

Results. It was found that, when the experimental task was contextualised in this way, the gender‐of‐child effect disappeared. Teacher characteristics such as gender did not influence the results.

Conclusions. These findings should be treated with some caution as they relate to the small and restricted range of types of difficulty that were included in the study and to a sample of primary schools in one society. However, they give support to an emphasis on ‘realism’ in the method of investigation that is used for exploring teachers' judgments.
A concurrent validity study of teachers' ratings for nominated ‘problem’ children
Authors: Childs Garry
Published: May 2011

Background. Behaviour rating scales completed by parents and teachers are widely used in clinical practice, educational guidance and research. Yet evidence for their validity is mostly indirect, and may not address what ratings really signify.

Aims. This study examined whether teachers' ratings of particular problem children displayed concurrent validity with independent coded observations of those children based on a time sampling technique. It was specifically hypothesised that ratings of the Distractible subscale from the Learning Behaviours Scale (Stott et al., 1988) would be strongly linked to frequency measures of task related behaviour.

Sample. Teachers rated two nominated problem children per class, aged between 5 and 10 years, drawn from 63 different schools which had student teacher placements.

Method. Each child was coded in two kinds of lessons (formal and informal), based upon time sampling observations by a student teacher, whilst the regular teacher completed the LBS instrument on the two nominated children.

Results. Concurrent validity coefficients for the three LBS subscales relative to these counts were found to be very weak, including for the Distractible subscale. However the frequency of disruptive episodes was a significant predictor of Uncooperative ratings. Ratings were found to reflect rather a wider spectrum of implicit expectations by teachers regarding grade‐appropriate behaviour and lesson context. Concurrent validity as defined was thus very poor.

Conclusions. These findings suggested that teachers' ratings need to be treated both as indicators of contemporaneous behaviour and as markers of the ongoing interaction between child and teacher. In particular teachers of younger children used some scales more leniently than teachers of primary age children. Ratings were also more closely related to observed behaviour in formal than informal lessons. These factors helped undermine concurrent validity with other contemporary markers of child behaviour. Clinical interpretation of ratings accordingly needs to be far more circumspect.
The effects of human relations training on reported teacher stress, pupil control ideology and locus of control
Authors: Hall Eric , Hall Carol , Abaci Ramazan
Published: May 2011

Background. This study presents the reported outcomes of a two‐year, part‐time Masters' programme in human relations using an experiential learning methodology based mainly on humanistic psychological theory.

Aims. The following hypotheses were examined. That as a result of the two‐year programme: the experience of reported stress would be reduced; reported attitudes to student classroom control would shift from custodial to humanistic; there would be an increase in reports from participants of a sense of control over their lives; changes of behaviour in work, social settings and at home related to these three variables would be reported.

Sample. Involved in the study were 42 experienced teachers. These included 32 women and 10 men, with an average age of 35, who worked in a wide range of educational institutions. Their learning style preferences were also considered as independent variables. A control group of 42 was established with similar demographic characteristics.

Methods. Prior to the course, the experimental group and the control group were given the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Pupil Control Ideology Form. In the early stages of the course, the experimental group completed the Kolb Learning Style Inventory and an informal measure of locus of control which was repeated at the end of the first year of the course. A sample of 32 from the experimental group were given semi‐structured interviews relating to changes in their professional and personal lives.

Results. The results indicated that, following the training, there was a reduction in reported stress, indications of a more humanistic orientation towards pupil control and an increase in a sense of an internal locus of control. The quantitative data were confirmed by qualitative data generated from semi‐structured interviews, which involved substantial reports of applications of the training in their professional and personal lives.

Conclusion. These results provide support for including experiential human relations training as part of both the in‐service and initial teacher training programmes.
Student perceptions of a good teacher: the gender perspective
Authors: Jules Vena , Kutnick Peter
Published: May 2011

Background. A large‐scale survey of pupils' perceptions of a good teacher in the Caribbean republic of Trinidad and Tobago is reported. An essay‐based, interpretative mode of research was used to elicit and identify constructs used by boys and girls.

Aims. The study explores similarities and differences between boys and girls in their perceptions of a good teacher, in a society where girls achieve superior academic performance (than boys).

Sample. A total of 1756 pupils and students aged between 8 and 16 provided the sample, which was proportional, stratified, clustered. Within these constraints classrooms were randomly selected to be representative of primary and secondary schools across the two islands.

Method: Altogether 1539 essays and 217 interviews were content analysed, coded for age development and compared between boys and girls. Content items identified by the pupils were logically grouped into: physical and personal characteristics of the teacher, quality of the relationship between the teacher and pupil, control of behaviour by the teacher, descriptions of the teaching process, and educational and other outcomes obtained by pupils due to teacher efforts.

Results. Female pupils identified more good teacher concepts at all age levels than males. There was some commonality between the sexes in concepts regarding interpersonal relationships and inclusiveness in the good teachers' teaching practices and boys showed significantly greater concerns regarding teacher control and use of punishment. Males as young as 8 years stated that good teachers should be sensitive to their needs. Only among the 16‐year‐old males were males noted as good teachers.

Conclusion. Consideration is given to the roles of male and female teachers, how their classroom actions may set the basis for future success (or failure) of their pupils, and the needs of pupils with regard to teacher support within developing and developed countries.
The prevalence and correlates of specific learning difficulties in a representative sample of children with hemiplegia
Authors: Frampton I. , Yude C. , Goodman R.
Published: May 2011

Background. Children with hemiplegia have cerebral palsy affecting one side of the body due to damage to the opposite side of the brain. An investigation of the association between hemiplegia and specific learning difficulties (SpLD) provides a unique window on body‐mind links and left brain/right brain differences.

Aims. The present study investigated the prevalence and correlates of SpLDs in children with hemiplegia.

Sample. A representative sample of 149 London children with hemiplegia aged between 6 and 10 included 59 children whose cognitive abilities and predicted academic ability were within the average range.

Methods. SpLDs were defined by ability‐achievement discrepancy analysis. Differences between children with and without SpLDs were explored with a between‐groups design.

Results. Children with hemiplegia had significantly more SpLDs than expected, with 36 per cent of these children having at least one SpLD. Children with and without SpLDs were similar in intelligence and demographic background, but the children with SpLDs had significantly more severe neurological impairments and a significantly higher rate of emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBDs) than comparison children.

Conclusions. Three typical case studies are described and recommendations made for the early identification and remediation of SpLDs in children with hemiplegia.
Utility of relaxation training with children in school settings: a plea for realistic goal setting and evaluation
Authors: King Neville J. , Ollendick Thomas H. , Murphy Gregory C. , Molloy Geoffrey N.
Published: May 2011

Background. School‐based relaxation training programmes are a popular means of helping children with anxiety problems such as headaches and test anxiety.

Aims. Our major objective is to evaluate the empirical status of school‐based relaxation training programmes.

Contents. Focusing on progressive muscle relaxation training, we show how this adult training procedure has been modified for use with children. Several training issues are discussed including the questions of live versus recorded instruction and individual versus group instruction. We also discuss the evaluation of relaxation training programmes in school settings, highlighting issues of reliability and validity.

Conclusions. Our review of studies examining the efficacy of school‐based relaxation training shows that improvements are usually modest and of dubious clinical or educational significance. Consequently we suggest that when relaxation training is used with school children treatment goals should be more modest or, that if improvements in specific performance areas are sought, then more comprehensive treatment packages be developed which can influence the successful performance of children in target areas and reduce anxiety to normal levels.
Secondary school teachers' perception of pupils' undesirable behaviours
Authors: Borg Mark G.
Published: May 2011

Background. Previous studies provide inconclusive evidence with regard to the influence that teacher, pupil and school characteristics have on teachers' attitudes towards problem behaviours.

Aims. To investigate the seriousness of several behaviours as perceived by secondary school teachers, and the extent to which these perceptions are influenced by a number of characteristics.

Sample. A sample of 605 randomly selected teachers from 16 state secondary schools participated in the study.

Methods. A questionnaire survey method was employed.

Results. Drug abuse, cruelty/bullying and destroying were perceived as the most serious behaviours whereas inquisitiveness and whispering were rated as the least serious. Significant grade level differences were observed in all but two of the 49 behaviours, these being masturbation and obscene notes. While smoking and heterosexual activity were perceived significantly more serious in Form 1–2 than in Form 4–5 pupils, the converse was true for all the remaining forms of behaviour.

Irrespective of grade level, a number of significant pupil sex and teacher sex differences were observed. Whereas cheating, lying, masturbation and heterosexual activity were perceived to be significantly more serious in girls than in boys, the converse is true for dreaminess, disorderliness, silliness, quarrelsomeness, and restlessness. While female teachers perceived masturbation and obscene notes significantly more serious than male teachers the opposite is true for disorderliness.

School selectivity and teaching experience were important moderators of the perceived seriousness of problem behaviours.

Conclusions. The study provides additional evidence of the importance of certain teacher, pupil and school characteristics as moderators of teachers' perception of the seriousness of behaviour.
The influence of response scale alternatives on judgments of future academic expectations
Authors: Haddock Geoffrey
Published: May 2011

Background. The study examined how students make judgments about their academic expectations, and whether these judgments are context dependent.

Aims. The aim was to explore how the manipulation of response scale alternatives affects academic judgments. It was predicted that the response alternatives presented with a question would be used as information that would allow respondents to compare themselves to others, and that this comparison process would influence subsequent self‐perceptions.

Sample. The sample consisted of 55 first year university students (39 females, 16 males) with a mean age of 21.4 years.

Methods. All participants first indicated the amount of TV they watched in an average day. In the low category range condition, the response alternatives (which ranged from ‘between 0 hours and 1/4 hour per day’ to ‘more than l½ hours per day’) were designed such that participants would conclude that they watched more TV than other students. In the high category range condition, the response alternatives (which ranged from ‘up to 1½ hours per day’ to ‘more than 3 hours per day’) were designed such that participants would conclude that they watched less TV than other students. Subsequently, all participants indicated how well they expected to perform in their academic studies for the coming year.

Results. The results supported the hypothesis. Participants who answered the TV viewing question on the low category range scale expected to perform significantly worse than respondents in the high category range condition.

Conclusions. The findings suggest that academic expectation judgments are at least partially context dependent.
Gender differences in motivational style: a comparison of measures and curriculum area
Authors: Rogers C.G. , Galloway D. , Armstrong D. , Leo E.
Published: May 2011

Background. Gender has long been implicated in school‐based performance with gender differences varying across curriculum domains. Motivational differences have often been cited as a possible cause. However, evidence for the pattern of motivational difference between the genders is unclear.

Aims. This study compares the motivational responses of girls and boys in the curriculum areas of mathematics and English. Two different measures of motivation are employed.

Samples. The sample consists of all pupils from years 7, 9 and 11 in two secondary schools in Northern England. A total of 435 yr 7, 389 yr 9 and 357 yr 11 students was available.

Methods. Students completed two assessments of motivation, one based on self‐report measures of goal strength and the other on performance over four tasks. Some school performance data were also available.

Results. The two motivation measures produce different patterns of results. The task‐based measure shows no gender based differences while the other indicates a pattern of differences broadly suggestive of an advantage for girls.

Conclusions. Future exploration of gender effects in motivation needs to give careful consideration to the type of motivation under consideration. Univariate models are unlikely to be adequate.
The implications for academic attainment of perceived gender‐appropriateness upon spatial task performance
Authors: Brosnan Mark J.
Published: May 2011

Background. Male superiority in spatial ability has traditionally been used as an explanation for the male domination of ‘spatial’ disciplines such as mathematics, science and computing. Data are presented which show the degree of male domination of these disciplines at a range of academic levels.

Aims. To evaluate the effect of describing a spatial ability test either as a measure of spatial ability (traditional format) or as a measure of empathy, upon male and female performance. Psychological gender is also assessed to evaluate the role of masculinity and femininity upon performance.

Method. Eighty‐four sixth form students were presented with the Group Embedded Figures Test in the assessment's traditional format and as a measure of ‘empathy’. Levels of masculinity and femininity were also assessed using the Bern Sex Role Inventory.

Results. Whilst the description of the nature of the assessment did not affect male performance, female performance varied significantly as a function of test description. Females only underperformed when the test was described as a measure of spatial ability. Additionally, those high in masculinity were found to outperform those high in femininity.

Conclusions. The results suggest that ‘apparent’ sex differences in spatial ability are more accurately described as psychological gender differences which determine the motivation to attempt the assessments.

Comment. The implications for genderised activities (such as computing) within education are discussed.
Peer relationships and writing development: a microgenetic analysis
Authors: Jones Ithel
Published: May 2011

Background. Recent research has begun to examine the facilitative role of close relationships, such as friendships, in the process of early literacy learning. It is believed that the quality of specific relationships can provide extensive support for literacy development and that the role of peer relationships in the context of writing may be significant. In this study, the actual processes by which children learn to use literate language and learn to write were documented, microgenetically.

Aims. The purpose of the study was to determine whether an aspect of the social context in which writing typically occurs, namely the relationship of interactants, has consequences for children's use of literate language and early writing.

Sample. The sample was class of 12 male and 8 female students attending a rural public school in the south‐eastern United States, with a mean age of 88 months.

Methods. In the study, 7–8 year‐old pupils' written narratives, composed using a word processor, were examined to identify lexico‐grammatical effects. Simultaneously, children's talk while writing was analysed to determine the extent of their use of ‘meta’ terms or literate language. Participant relationships were manipulated to determine the influence of friendship on children's literate language and early writing. At the same time a microgenetic approach was adopted to examine temporal changes in children's oral and written language.

Results. The results supported the prediction that narratives composed by pupils working in close proximity to a friend would be more well formed than narratives composed by non‐friends. Furthermore, interacting with a close friend during narrative writing tasks elicited children's use of metacognitive and metalinguistic language.

Conclusions. The results are discussed in terms of the facilitative effects of close relationships on children's oral and written language.
A developmental study of the relation between combined learning and performance goals and students' self‐regulated learning
Authors: Bouffard Théerêse , Vezeau Carole , Bordeleau Luce
Published: May 2011

Background. Current goal theory models assume that learning goals are adaptive in academic contexts and that performance goals lead to less positive patterns of motivation and self‐regulation. These models also implicitly assume that the adaptive nature of these goals is the same at all academic levels.

Aims. The objectives of this study were to examine how combined learning and performance goals are related to self‐regulation and academic performance, and whether there is a developmental trend in these relations.

Sample. A total of 1072 junior (N = 408, mean age = 11.9), middle (N = 323, mean age = 13.7), and senior (N = 341, mean age = 15.7) high school students were examined.

Method. They were administered a questionnaire assessing their learning and performance goals and reported their self‐regulatory strategies while studying.

Results. Analyses showed that whatever their performance goals, having high learning goals promoted younger students' self‐regulation. They also showed that, contrary to the findings for younger students, performance goals were related to self‐regulation and academic performance at higher school levels. Furthermore, high performance goals were found to alleviate the negative effects of low learning goals for older students.

Conclusions. These findings suggest that the adaptive nature of goals could change across development. This could be due to contextual factors such as the increasing importance of obtaining good grades to access higher academic levels. Future research should address this issue.
The relation between accuracy of self‐perception and cognitive development
Authors: Bouffard Thérêse , Markovits Henry , Vezeau Carole , Boisvert Martine , Dumas Claude
Published: May 2011

Background. It is now widely recognised that student's self‐perceptions of competence have an effect on their behaviours and learning. Previous studies have shown that children only gradually develop the ability to evaluate accurately their own competence. One possible explanation for this is that younger children have not reached a level of cognitive development required to perform such evaluations.

Aims. The objective of these two studies was to examine the hypothesis that children at higher levels of cognitive development should be more accurate in their self‐appraisal of competence than children of the same age at lower levels of cognitive development.

Study 1

Sample. The sample included 173 elementary school children, with almost equal gender representation. Children were first examined in fourth grade (mean age = 10.0, SD = .77) and for the next two years.

Method. Each child responded to questionnaires of self‐perceptions about reading and to a standardised test of reading. Year‐end grades in reading were used as a measure of performance.

Results. The results show that there was no significant difference between high and low children in grade 6, but that the correlation between self‐perceptions and performance was significantly higher among high ability children than among low ability children both in grades 4 and 5.

Study 2

Sample. The sample included 153 elementary school children in grade 3 (mean age = 9.1, SD = .73) and 185 in grade 5 (mean age = 11.2, SD = .75), with almost equal gender representation.

Method. Each child responded to questionnaires of self‐perceptions about mathematics and to a standardised IQ test. Year‐end grades in mathematics were used as a measure of performance.

Results. The correlation between self‐perception and performance was significantly higher among high IQ children than among low IQ children in grade 3. However, in grade 5, high and low IQ children were similarly accurate in their self‐perceptions.

Conclusions. These results suggest that the development of accurate self‐perceptions is not strictly a matter of age or school level but is also related to cognitive development.
The understanding of counting in children with severe learning difficulties and nursery children
Authors: Porter Jill
Published: May 2011

Background. Little is known about the development of counting in children with severe learning difficulties (SLD) although early research has stressed the rote nature of children's understanding.

Aims. We investigated the attainments of children with SLD both with regard to their skills and understanding of counting and compared performance with typically developing preschoolers.

Samples. Twenty‐five children with SLD (aged 7–14 years) matched to one group of preschoolers on the basis of their receptive language scores and to a second group using a broader measure, performance on a non‐verbal intelligence test.

Methods. Children were presented with a simple counting task and an error detection task.

Results. There were no differences between the SLD and preschool groups in the mean scores on either task. In each group more children were able to count than detect errors. However, analysis of their counting performance suggested a difference in the acquisition of counting skills. Furthermore, the SLD group included three transitional children‐able to count competently but not able to detect errors. This pattern was not evident in the preschool groups: if the children were competent counters they were able to detect errors.

Conclusion. The acquisition of procedures for counting is an important first step in developing an understanding of counting. There is some evidence to suggest that children with SLD may have difficulty learning the number words and producing them whilst pointing to count items. We cannot assume that children with SLD will move smoothly towards an understanding of counting. These aspects warrant further investigation and raise the important question of what experiences best promote the acquisition of procedures and understanding in children with SLD.
Coping with peer arguments in school‐age children with bully/victim problems
Authors: Bijttebier Patricia , Vertommen Hans
Published: May 2011

Background and aims. This paper reports data on the relationship between bully/victim problems and the coping strategies used when confronted with a peer argument. Specifically, we examine the extent to which bully/victim problems are related to five types of coping strategies (Social Support Seeking, Problem‐Solving, Distancing, Internalising and Externalising).

Sample. The sample consists of 329 children (168 boys, 161 girls), drawn from the fourth‐ through sixth‐grade classrooms of three Flemish elementary schools.

Results and conclusion. In the correlational analyses, both victimisation and social neglect are shown to be related to internalising coping, whereas bullying is associated with externalising coping and with a lack of problem‐solving. Moreover, a positive relationship between victimisation and social support seeking was found. Separate analyses for boys and girls and a consecutive categorical approach provide a more precise picture of the link between social coping strategies and bully/victim problems.
The dimensionality of approaches to learning: an investigation with confirmatory factor analysis on the structure of the SPQ and LPQ
Authors: Kember David , Leung Doris Y.P.
Published: May 2011

Background. A recent review of research into students' approaches to learning suggested there was good evidence of meaning and reproducing orientations to study. In the former the student seeks the underlying meaning in study material, while in the latter attention is directed towards reproducing the text itself. The most widely used inventories of learning approaches also include a factor for an achieving approach and one contains another factor too.

Aims. The study aimed to examine the discrepancy between the dimensionality inherent in the design of instruments measuring approaches to learning and that indicated by subsequent factor analyses.

Methods. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the dimensionality of approaches to learning. Seven models were fitted to parallel data sets from the Study and Learning Process Questionnaires.

Samples. The sample used for SPQ analysis was 4843 university students from Hong Kong universities. The LPQ data was drawn from a representative selection of 20 secondary schools in Hong Kong. The total number of usable questionnaires for the LPQ was 3254.

Results. For both sets of questionnaire data, the best fit was achieved by a model with two factors: meaning and reproducing orientation. The achieving motive and strategy subscales were significant indicators of both factors.

Conclusions. The results suggest that approaches to learning are described better by a two‐factor model than the three‐ or four‐factor ones on which the inventories are based.
Students' evaluations of teaching effectiveness: a structural modelling approach
Authors: Stringer Maurice , Irwing Paul
Published: May 2011

Background. While studies of students' evaluations of teaching effectiveness (SETEs) have a long history in the United States, few studies have been carried out with United Kingdom students.

Aims. This paper examines the utility of using a questionnaire approach to assess teaching effectiveness with United Kingdom students. Structural modelling was used to examine perceived relationships between teacher, course and student characteristics.

Sample. A total of 1708 full‐time undergraduate students undertaking degrees in health and social science courses at the University of Ulster participated in the study.

Method. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and structural modelling techniques (LISREL 8) were employed to investigate participants' responses to the Teaching Effectiveness Survey, a measure of students' evaluations of teaching effectiveness.

Results. Perceived Teaching Quality was found to be related to course characteristics. Teacher, course and student characteristics together explained 88 per cent of the variance in students' Overall Evaluations with Teaching Quality, course and student characteristics explaining 42 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent respectively.

Conclusion. The results suggest that questionnaire items derived from American studies can be used effectively with United Kingdom students. Students' perceptions of overall course effectiveness were found to be dependent on student and course characteristics as well as teacher inputs.
Self‐reports of mathematics self‐concept and educational outcomes: the roles of ego‐dimensions and self‐consciousness
Authors: Martin Andrew J. , Debus Raymond L.
Published: May 2011

Background. There is a need for research to (a) explore more fully the academic outcomes that follow from under‐/over‐rating of self‐concept and (b) identify factors that predict the nature of self‐reports of self‐concept as well as under‐ and over‐rating of this self‐concept.

Aims. The study examines the link between students' self‐appraisals of both mathematics self‐concept and under‐/over‐rating of this self‐concept and educational outcomes in mathematics such as achievement and motivation (future plans for mathematics). Ego‐dimensions (ego‐orientation and competence‐valuation) and public self‐consciousness were examined as two factors that might contribute to predicting these self‐appraisals.

Sample. Findings are drawn from a sample of 382 male and female high school students ranging in age from 14 to 16 years.

Methods. Students responded to a questionnaire (at Time 1) that assessed self‐concept, motivation orientation, competence‐valuation, self‐consciousness, and mathematics motivation. Teachers rated each student using a brief mathematics self‐concept scale.

Results. Higher mathematics self‐concept and over‐rating of this self‐concept were predictive of higher levels of mathematics motivation and later mathematics achievement (Time 2). Findings also indicate that ego‐orientation and competence‐valuation are positively associated with mathematics self‐concept and over‐rating, whilst public self‐consciousness negatively predicts mathematics self‐concept and is also associated with a tendency to under‐rate oneself in this domain.
Attributional style and its relation to other personality dispositions
Authors: Haugen Richard , Lund Thorleif
Published: May 2011

Background. People vary greatly with respect to the way they explain negative events (personal failures), and this variation in attributional style seems to be related to various personality traits and also academic performance. For example, the theory of learned helplessness regards a pessimistic attributional style as an important determinant in the development of depression.

Aim. The primary purpose of the present study was to compare attributions for positive and negative events with respect to correlations with seven personality dispositions. The comparisons concern the three attributional dimensions internality, stability and globality, as well as their combination. The hypothesis was that attributions for positive events are differently correlated with the seven personality dispositions than are attributions for negative events.

Sample. 166 advanced teacher students (132 females and 34 males).

Method. On the basis of an inventory the students were given scores on the attributional variables (related to imagined positive and negative academic events), global and academic self‐esteem, motive to seek success, motive to avoid failure, self‐efficacy, defensiveness, and depression.

Results. The hypothesis was confirmed. Attributions for positive events correlated differently with the seven personality dispositions than attributions for negative events. Also, factor analysis of the attributional dimensions indicated that attributions for positive events measured quite different components than attributions for positive events.

Conclusion. The general conclusion is that both event kinds should be considered when using attributional style for predicting or explaining personality and behavioural variables.
The influence of age and education on epistemological beliefs
Authors: Schommer Marlene
Published: May 2011

Background. Individuals' beliefs about the nature of knowledge and learning, or epistemological beliefs, have been linked to their comprehension, meta‐comprehension, persistence, and interpretation of information (e.g., Kitchener & King, 1981; Ryan, 1984; Songer & Linn, 1991). Little is known about the development of epistemological beliefs.

Aims. This research examines the contributions of age and education to adults' epistemological beliefs.

Sample. A total of 418 adults from all walks of life (e.g., homemakers, waitresses, teachers, farmers, carpenters, executives, and lawyers) participated in this study. Stratified random sampling was used to ensure that one‐third of the sample had only a high school education, another third had some college undergraduate experience, and the other third had some graduate school experience.

Method. Adults completed an epistemological questionnaire that assesses beliefs about the structure and stability of knowledge, and the speed and control of learning.

Results. To ensure that the epistemological questionnaire was suitable for this sample, a factor analysis was carried out. Factor scores that were generated replicated a factor structure that had been found in earlier studies (Dunkle, Schraw & Bendixen, 1993; Schommer, 1990). Results from multiple regression analyses indicated that education predicted beliefs about the structure and stability of knowledge. Age predicted beliefs about the ability to learn.

Conclusions. This evidence suggests that both age and education affect individuals' epistemological beliefs in unique ways. This may have implications for older adults who return to school eager to learn but with misunderstandings about the nature of knowledge, and younger adults who attend school with doubts about the malleability of the ability to learn.