Educational Psychology Commons^™

Is Prosocial Behavior A Unique Correlate Of Academic Success In Emerging Adulthood?, Jacqueline Di Biase

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Prior developmental research has frequently linked prosocial behavior to stronger academic functioning during childhood and adolescence (Cruz et al., 2024; Gerbino et al., 2018; Oberle et al., 2022), yet its relevance to academic success in emerging adulthood remains unclear. Guided by a Positive Youth Development (PYD) framework, the present study sought to address gaps in emerging adulthood research by examining the academic relevance of prosocial behavior while accounting for influential developmental assets and testing its independent contribution to academic achievement. Undergraduate students (N = 501) completed a cross-sectional self-report survey assessing prosocial behavior, self-control, dutifulness, sociability, and cumulative grade …

Language Brokering Conditions The Indirect Association Between Mexican‐Origin Adolescents’ Academic Discrimination And Educational Expectations, Su Yeong Kim, Yayu Du, Chantal Alvarado, Wei Xiang Sim, Wen Wen, Tianlu Zhang, Jingyi Shen

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Mexican‐origin adolescents, a significant portion of the US Latino population, often experience a decline in educational expectations from early to late adolescence. Contextual factors such as academic discrimination and language brokering for parents may contribute to this decline. This study investigates the indirect effect of academic discrimination experienced in middle school on educational expectations in young adulthood through high school grades and engagement, and the moderating role of language brokering experiences in these relations. Data were collected from 604 Mexican‐origin adolescents across four waves from 2012 to 2023. Academic discrimination experiences in middle school were negatively associated with school grades …

Is This My Place? Contributing Factors To Community College Students' Longitudinal Sense Of Belonging And The Connection Of Sense Of Belonging To Student Success, Kelly Elizabeth Love

Dissertations and Theses

Community colleges serve a large percentage of historically under-represented populations including students of color, low-income, and first-generation students. Unfortunately, less than half of students who begin at a community college return the following Fall and only about one-fourth of students eventually graduate. Previous research indicates that students' sense of belonging may be a key factor in retention and completion rates. However, large-scale datasets have yet to comprehensively explore students' sense of belonging in the community college setting. To address that issue, the purpose of this quantitative exploratory study was to examine individual and institutional variables associated with a measure of …

Cultivating Academic Achievement: An Updated Social Psychological Explanation, Maika Malualelagi Tuala

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This study looks at how income differences affect children's social psychological development, which in turn shapes their academic achievement. Building on theories of social class, cultural capital, and self-concept formation, this dissertation offers a new social psychological model that connects parental SES, concerted cultivation, children's academic mindset and achievement. This new concept called “academic mindset” includes several key social-psychological factors that influence academic performance namely- self-esteem, locus of control, math and reading self-concepts, and educational expectations and values. The study uses data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-1998 Kindergarten cohort and tests the model using multivariate regression analyses. Findings show …

Returning To School After A Pandemic: K-6 Education Teachers Perspectives On Low- Income Students Returning To School With Regard To Academic Achievement, Behavior, Mindset, And Social Connections, Sarah Orendorff

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to determine K-6 educators’ perceptions of the impact on low-income students returning to school after the trauma of a pandemic for 2 years with regard to behavior, academic achievement, mindset, and social connections.

Methodology: This qualitative study interviewed 12 K6 teachers who taught before, during, and after the pandemic in Orange County, CA. Semi-structured open ended interview questions was the main source of data collection with other sources including observations, and artifacts. Data was coded and the researcher analyzed the data for themes and patterns.

Findings: After analyzing data, codes, and themes …

A Foundation For Transformative Learning Practices In Higher Education, Michelle Meyer

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Higher education institutions in the United States have an ongoing rhetoric of claiming that they offer students educational experiences that build skills and prepare them for a career. However, reports from employers and students indicate that many schools are struggling to do so, and research imperative skills like critical thinking have wide construct definitions that can be difficult for institutions to work with. Transformative learning theory (TLT) is a theoretical practice and pedagogy that could support institutions by providing both a pedagogical foundation of what should occur in a classroom and a series of steps for what transformative learning looks …

Secondary Educator And Administrator Perceptions Of Positive Behavior Interventions And Supports And Student Academic Achievement, Cynthia Everitt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study addresses secondary educator perceptions of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and student academic achievement. PBIS is a proactive approach with a multitiered framework. When used properly, PBIS can be a tool for school faculty to establish behavioral expectations and procedures, prevent disruptive behavior, and improve the school climate and culture. This phenomenological study was conducted using two secondary schools in West Virginia. Participants were identified and chosen through purposive sampling techniques according to their years of experience teaching and utilizing PBIS interventions.

The data for this study included unstructured, open-ended interviews based on three research questions. …

Teacher Perceptions Of The Connections Between Social And Emotional Learning And Student Success, Beth Ann Hoistad Washle

Doctor of Education Dissertations

This qualitative study was about teacher perceptions of how incorporating social and emotional learning addresses the social-emotional needs of students and relates to student success. Teacher perceptions help inform educational leaders and policy makers about the impact social and emotional learning can have on students and their success. The findings of this study led to three emerging themes. Those themes were teachers believe (a) there needs to be direct instruction in social and emotional skills; (b) social and emotional learning helps students academically by becoming self-driven, taking ownership of their learning and actions, building confidence, and persevering through challenging work; …

Judith Shakespeare's Problem : Using Timss To Examine Contextual Indicators In Girls' Mathematics Achievement, Elizabeth Ann S. Kelly

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Using the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study Data (TIMSS) 2015 dataset, this study examines 30 different contextual indicators to determine significant predictors of girls’ mathematics achievement globally. The study design employs three nested levels in the hierarchical linear model (individual, classroom, and nation) to analyze cross-national scores and responses to the contextual questionnaires. Additionally, the focus is on girls as a standalone, independent population, not in comparison to boys. This research seeks to understand at which level of society the most variability is found, as well as analyze the comparative effect sizes of various explanatory contextual predictors within …

The Effect Of Using The Gamification Strategy On Academic Achievement And Motivation Towards Learning Problem-Solving Skills In Computer And Information Technology Course Among Tenth Grade Female Students, Mazyunah Almutairi, Prof. Ahmad Almassaad

International Journal for Research in Education

Abstract

This study aimed to identify the effect of using the gamification strategy on academic achievement and motivation towards learning problem-solving skills in computer and information technology course. A quasi-experimental method was adopted. The study population included tenth-grade female students in Al-Badi’ah schools in Riyadh. The sample consisted of 54 students divided into two equal groups: control group and experimental group. The study tools comprised an achievement test and the motivation scale. The results showed that there were statistically significant differences between the two groups in the academic achievement test in favor of the experimental group, with a large effect …

A Comparison Of Factors That Impact Retention Of Nursing Students With And Without Military Experience: A Mixed Method Study, Janice E. Hawkins, Karen Higgins, Jamela Martin, Lynn Wiles, Ingrid Mahoney, Robert Hawkins, Beth Tremblay

Ellmer School of Nursing Faculty Publications

Military veteran students have unique characteristics and challenges that influence their academic success. The factors impacting retention of nursing students with prior military experience may differ from students with no military experience. This mixed methods study used an anonymous survey guided by Jeffreys' Nursing Undergraduate Retention and Success Model to identify factors that support or restrict prelicensure nursing program retention of military veteran students compared to students with no history of military service. Statistically significant differences between groups were detected for three factors including financial status, membership in nursing organizations or clubs, and financial aid and/or scholarship. There was a …

The Relationships Between Grit, Mindset, And The Academic Success Of Nontraditional Students At Online Colleges, David W. Franklin Jr

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Grit and mindset are two of the hottest topics in education today, but research on their predictive power for academic success is inconclusive and rife with gaps and limitations. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships between grit, mindset, self-regulated learning (SRL), and academic outcomes for adult students attending online colleges. This was investigated using data from the Diagnostic Assessment and Achievement of College Skills (DAACS) project, and includes 9,276 undergraduate, mostly adult students from two online institutions in the United States. The results indicate that while grit, its two components, and mindset were significantly correlated with …

Goal Orientation, Regulation Of Motivation, And Academic Achievement In Pharmacy Students, Krystal L. Ward

Individual, Family, and Community Education ETDs

This study examined goal orientation in Doctor of Pharmacy Students and its relationship with regulation of motivation and academic achievement. Research questions included: 1) Do student cohorts (first-year, second-year, and third-year students) differ in their initial goal orientation? Do students’ goal orientation vary across time (from fall to spring)? 2) How does change in goal orientation impact changes in regulation of motivation? 3) How does change in goal orientation impact changes in academic achievement? 4) Which factor, regulation of motivation or academic achievement, has the strongest relationship with goal orientation?

178 participants completed survey instruments in the fall and spring …

Keeping The Course: Nursing Student Motivation During A Pandemic, Travis William Storey

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

Nurses have always been at the frontline of any disaster or health crisis to hit the country, yet, as the United States battled the coronavirus pandemic, the nation saw its nursing shortage worsen. The emotional and physical toll faced by frontline nurses often became unbearable, leading to a skyrocketing of occupational and facility turnover. Concern grew that the pandemic would have an impact on nursing students as well, particularly on the supply of new graduate nurses. Yet, even in the face of such hazardous working conditions, nursing students persisted in their academic studies. The purpose of this quantitative non-experimental study …

The Effects Of Mental Health In Students’ Academic And Social Success, Matthew Evans

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The percentage of children experience mental health issues such as anxiety, behavior disorders and depression have continued to become more prevalent in the last twenty years. The purpose of this literature review is to examine the prevalence and contributing factors of mental health disorders in school aged children and the effects it has on their social success and academic achievement and what can be done to support children to be successful and improve their mental health. Educators are a key factor in improving a child’s mental health, with much of a child’s time being spent in school, educators are more …

An Evaluation Of A Phonemic Awareness Program For Middle School Students And Its Impact On Academic Achievement, Valdis Sigrun Rice

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

With general instruction, most students’ reading skills develop overtime. For some, additional intervention in certain areas is necessary to acquire expected reading ability. One of five components of reading as identified by the National Reading Panel (NRP; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development [NICHD], 2000) included phonemic awareness (PA). Recognized as necessary to develop more complex skills, interventions for students’ PA abilities is thought by some to increase overall reading performance (Kilpatrick, 2013; 2015). One school district developed and implemented a new class program with the goal of increasing middle school students’ overall academic outcomes through targeted intervention …

Academic Goal Orientation: New Insights And Cultural Adaptation Of Academic Goal Orientation Questionnaire Into The Turkish Language, Fuat Findikoglu, Mehmet Gurol

Georgia Educational Researcher

This study aims to review and provide new perspectives for academic goal orientation. The study introduces first chronological history of goal orientation and depicts how goal orientation evolved into a new construct in learning from the discussion on motivational factors. At first, this study isolates goal orientation from motivation and provides novel insights into goal orientation as a separated factor affecting learning. Then, this study provides analyses of the adaptation work of the academic goal orientation questionnaire into the Turkish language. The translated scale was applied to a sample of 729 undergraduate students, 376 (51.6%) of which were female and …

Trajectories, Time Windows, And Alternative Pathways Of Engagement: Motivational Resources Underlying Academic Development During Middle School, Heather Anne Brule

Dissertations and Theses

The middle school years are, in many ways, a key window for students' motivational development. Despite the numerous developmental gains that characterize early adolescence, levels of academic motivation tend to decline as students age, and show steeper drops during the transitions to middle school and to high school. Maintaining high levels of motivation during this period may be particularly important for students from marginalized groups who are at risk for even steeper motivational drops--and for whom academic motivation may be an especially critical resource for later success. Because academic motivation seems to stabilize after middle school, students' later success may …

An Instrumental Case Study: Growth Mindset Instructional Best Practices For Learning Disabled Students, Brenda L. Cornell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The problem that drove this study was that students who struggle in school, especially those with a non-intelligence-based learning disability, suffer from a fixed mindset after years of feelings of failure in school. This mindset causes them to develop maladaptive approaches to learning that inhibit success. The purpose of this study was to describe the best practices of reading teachers who have a reputation for high student achievement and who adhere to a growth mindset in an effort to build a growth mindset culture with their students. This qualitative instrumental case study was conducted through interviews of eleven reading teachers/specialists …

Moving Beyond Executive Functions: Challenge Preference As A Predictor Of Academic Achievement In Elementary School, Michael J. Sulik, Jenna E. Finch, Jelena Obradović

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Intrinsic motivation and executive functions (EFs) have been independently studied as predictors of academic achievement in elementary school. The goal of this investigation was to understand how students’ challenge preference (CP), an aspect of intrinsic motivation, is related to academic achievement while accounting for EFs as a confounding variable. Using data from a longitudinal study of 569 third-, fourth-, and fifth-graders (50% female), we tested students’ self-reported CP as a predictor of mathematics and English language arts (ELA) achievement in multilevel models that controlled for school fixed effects and student demographic characteristics. CP was positively associated with mathematics and ELA …

Demographic Differences In Post-Secondary Outcomes Following Participation In The Diagnostic Assessment And Achievement Of College Skills Intervention, Jana Vanderslice-Barr

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The majority of high school seniors are unprepared for post-secondary coursework in mathematics and reading (National Assessment of Educational Progress, 2019). Research shows traditional methods for bolstering college readiness skills to be ineffective, unnecessary for the majority of students, and associated with negative outcomes (Jaggars & Stacey, 2014). Another approach to enhancing college readiness is to offer newly enrolled college students the opportunity to assess their level of readiness, and take steps to become better prepared on their own. The Diagnostic Assessment and Achievement of College Skills (DAACS) system was developed with this purpose in mind. The DAACS is intended …

Disentangling Student Engagement In Afterschool Programs, Ashlee M. Lester

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents a line of research exploring the characteristics and role of student engagement in afterschool programs, specifically during early adolescence. The dissertation takes a two-study format, building off of my comprehensive exam Measuring engagement in out-of-school time programs. This first chapter is an introduction in which I will detail the underlying problem that is investigated in the following two manuscripts. Following this introduction, the two separate studies are presented.

School Readiness Profiles And Growth In Academic Achievement, Qianqian Pan, Kim T. Trang, Hailey R. Love, Jonathan Templin

Educational & Clinical Studies Faculty Research

The purpose of this research was to identify the presence of different school readiness profiles and to determine whether profiles could differentially predict academic growth. The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study: 2010-11 (ECLS-K: 2011) public data set was used, and participants were 14,954 first-time kindergarteners. The age of entering kindergarten ranged from 44.81 to 87.98 months with a mean of 76.13 months. In Study 1, a six-dimensional construct of school readiness was used: health, self-regulation, social and emotional development, language development, cognitive development, and approaches to learning. Results revealed 41 profiles with the top six school readiness profiles covering 85% of …

Student Connectedness And Academic Achievement: A Quantitative Study Of Career And Technical Education Students, Kern Mcginley

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

The focus of this correlational study in an Alaskan career and technical (CTE) school environment was to explore the research question that guided this study: In a large urban school district of Alaska, with a diverse student population, what is the relationship between the CTE student connectedness level and academic achievement levels? Participants included 132 high school students, Grades 10 through 12. Additional research questions were developed to examine the strength of the relationship between student connectedness and academic achievement by gender and ethnicity. Data were collected using an online survey with a combination of demographic questions and Goodenow’s (1993b) …

Curiosity Over Kindness: Discovering The Importance Of Student Assets, Dana Wolfson

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This research explores the argument that it is important to know students well through understanding the assets students bring with them to school. I aim to explore the kinds of assets students bring with them to their experiences at school, why it is important for teachers to get to know and make use of students’ assets, and the methods teachers can use to get to know student assets. Undergirding this exploration of the importance of student assets in school is the through line that the racial, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds of both teacher and student deeply impact the ways that …

Boredom Proneness And Character Strengths Related To Academic Achievement In Adolescence, Bonnie Iannaccone

Ed.D. Dissertations

Abstract

Susceptibility to boredom can interfere with students’ ability to achieve their academic potential, with enduring negative consequences. In the present study, the researcher investigated differences in boredom proneness and character strengths in adolescent high school students and the ability of boredom proneness scores and character strengths to predict academic achievement. Results indicated that 9 of 10 students were moderately or highly prone to boredom. Students’ whose top character strength was humility were more highly prone to boredom than students’ whose top-ranked character strengths were bravery, prudence, or curiosity. From boredom proneness and character strengths data the researcher concluded that …

The Role Of Hope Among College Students’ Academic Achievement, Esther Choe Penzar

Education Dissertations

First-generation college students historically face barriers to succeed academically in post-secondary education as observed through lower graduation rates, lower GPA, lower rates of persistence in college, and prolonged time to graduate compared to non-FGCS (Cataldi, Bennett, & Chen, 2018; Chen & Carroll, 2005; Ishitani, 2006). Internal factors such as hope and academic self-efficacy have shown to have a distinct and significant impact on academic achievement (Feldman & Kubota, 2015).

In the present research, the relationships between Snyder and colleagues (1991) Trait Hope Scale (THS), Chemers and colleagues’ (2011) Academic Self-Efficacy Scale (ASES) and academic achievement, as measured by self-reported GPA, …

Pisa Australia In Focus Number 4: Anxiety, Marina Schmid

OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) Australia

The pressure to get good grades is one of the most frequently cited sources of stress for school age children and adolescents (OECD, 2017). Both schoolwork-related anxiety and test anxiety have been shown to have a negative impact on student academic performance and general well-being. As students move into the later years of schooling, the academic demand on them increases and they are expected to manage this along with their emotional responses to it. Alongside the assessments of students’ performance in reading, mathematics and scientific literacy, PISA also collects information about their experiences of schooling – their worries, their interests …

Prediction Of Children's Early Academic Adjustment From Their Temperament: The Moderating Role Of Peer Temperament, Sarah K. Johns, Carlos Valiente, Nancy Eisenberg, Tracy L. Spinrad, Maciel M. Hernández, Jody Southworth, Rebecca H. Berger, Marilyn Thompson, Kassondra M. Silva, Armando A. Pina

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The goal of the study was to examine whether target children’s temperamental negative emotional expressivity (NEE) and effortful control in the fall of kindergarten predicted academic adjustment in the spring and whether a classmate’s NEE and effortful control moderated these relations. Target children’s NEE and effortful control were measured in the fall via multiple methods, academic adjustment was measured via reading and math standardized tests in the spring, and observations of engagement in the classroom were conducted throughout the year. In the fall, teachers nominated a peer with whom each target child spent the most time and rated that peer’s …

Community Music For Human Development: A Brain-Centered Approach To Outreach, Jesse M. Hamlin

University Honors Theses

In an effort to combat the harmful physiological, societal, and psychological effects of the cutting of arts and music program budgets in public schools, and close the achievement gap for those in lower socioeconomic classes and underrepresented populations, this thesis created a functional community music training program, especially for homeless youth in Portland, OR. The author reviewed current literature across disciplines to form a curriculum based on evidence in psychological, educational, and cognitive neuroscience research. The curriculum was collaboratively formed with active music training professionals. The intervention was piloted via the ongoing collaboration between Portland-based arts-integrated science outreach group NW …