Student Development: Academic Self PDF

C1 + C2 + MR - THE ACADEMIC SELF: DEVELOPMENT Influence of Schooling on Self-Concept - schools play a crucial role in shaping students' understanding of themselves and their future aspirations, both positively and negatively Interplay Between Achievement and Self-Formation - academic success often...

C1 + C2 + MR - THE ACADEMIC SELF: DEVELOPMENT Influence of Schooling on Self-Concept - schools play a crucial role in shaping students' understanding of themselves and their future aspirations, both positively and negatively Interplay Between Achievement and Self-Formation - academic success often contributes to self-identity, and a strong self-concept, in turn, influences academic performance Mechanisms of Influence: - Behavioral - how behaviors in school, such as participation in academic and social activities, impact self-development - Cognitive - the role of cognitive processes in learning, collaboration, and competition, both within and beyond school contexts - Emotional and Physiological - triggers and outcomes related to stress, motivation, and emotional regulation in educational settings The Academic Self: Developmental Perspectives - Importance of Self in Psychological and Philosophical Thought - self-concept remains a central construct in psychological discourse and philosophical discussions about identity and existence. Relevance of Self-Concept in Psychology - understanding self-concept is essential for exploring motivation, personality, and overall well-being. - Models of Self-Concept - unidimensional vs. multidimensional - discuss the debate on whether self-concept is a single, unified construct or composed of multiple dimensions (e.g., academic, social, emotional, and physical self-concepts) Self-Concept as a Fundamental Psychological Need: Self-concept affects daily life, cognition, and behavior across different ages and cultures. It’s foundational for theories on achievement motivation and personality development → Not only does self-concept influence behavior, but behavior in turn influences one’s self- perceptions, and how one views oneself is a function of one’s interactions with others. Multiple frames of reference can be used to assess one’s accomplishments that form the basis of self- concept self- perceptions - such frames of reference can include, for example, an external criterion (the five- minute mile), a personal goal (running 100 meters in less than 12 seconds), social comparisons (class- or school- average levels of achievement), temporal comparisons (improvement over time), dimensional comparisons (accomplishments in one domain relative to those in others), or a personal internal standard (a personal best). Although self- concept and a person’s actual ability in the same domain are reciprocally related and mutually reinforcing, it is important to keep in mind that self-concept and ability are two distinct constructs. The extent to which self- concept reflects (or predicts) the actual ability of a person is affected by a set of processes commonly referred to as frames of reference: (a) reciprocal effects model (REM) of relations between academic achievement and ASC over time (temporal frame of reference); (b) big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE): the negative effect of school-average achievement on ASC (external frame of reference); (c) internal/external (I/E) frame of reference model (internal frame of reference), which relates mathematics and verbal achievement to corresponding measures of ASC Self-concept and academic achievement - Reciprocal effects model - examines how academic self-concept and achievement mutually influence each other over time Self-concept and academic achievement - Big-fish-little pond effect - describes the negative impact of high-achieving environments on individual self-concept when compared to school averages; high achievement in a competitive school context can lead to a lower self- concept compared to being a high achiever in a less competitive environment. Self-concept and academic achievement - Internal / external frame of reference - compares personal achievements to both internal standards and external references, affecting self-concept in various domains I/E model → relates mathematics and verbal achievement to corresponding measures of ASC. Most people think of themselves as a mathematics person or a verbal person. However, students who excel at one tend to excel at the other too. According to this model, students use external and internal comparisons to form their self- concepts: - The external or social comparisons are those with peers in which students use the accomplishments of other students to evaluate their ability - The internal or dimensional comparisons are those between performances in different school subjects by the same student The I/E model predicts that, although the paths leading from mathematics achievement to mathematics self- concept and verbal achievement to verbal self- concept will be substantial and positive, the paths from mathematics achievement to verbal self- concept and from verbal achievement to mathematics self- concept will be small and negative. !!! REM - one’s current accomplishments relative to past accomplishments; BFLPE - social comparisons (one’s accomplishments relative to those of one’s peer group) DCT - dimensional comparisons (one’s accomplishments in one domain relative to accomplishments in other domains) !!! Identity, or how one defines oneself in specific contexts, is deeply intertwined with self- concept, especially in academic settings. Schools serve as environments where students explore and solidify their identities through academic and social interactions. Longitudinal Perspectives on Identity: - Variable-Centered Approaches - focus on how specific variables (e.g., academic success) influence identity over time - Person-Centered Approaches - consider individual differences in identity formation and how self-concept evolves across developmental stages Educational Systems and Cultural Norms: - Variations in educational approaches (e.g., competitive vs. collaborative environments) shape self-concept differently across cultures. These differences can shape self-concept by reinforcing certain values. In a competitive setting, students might develop a self-concept that emphasizes individual accomplishment and personal success. Conversely, in collaborative settings, students may see their self- worth as more connected to their contributions to group achievements. - Cultural expectations and values regarding achievement, competition, and collaboration influence self-concept and identity formation. For example, in some cultures, high achievement might be linked closely to family pride, placing pressure on students to excel academically as a form of social obligation. In more collaborative cultures, students may feel a stronger sense of identity through teamwork and community support. - Cross-cultural differences in how students interpret academic performance impact self-concept and identity. or instance, in cultures with a “growth mindset” orientation, students might see failure as an opportunity for learning, leading to a resilient self- concept. In contrast, students in cultures that stigmatize failure might internalize poor academic performance more negatively, viewing it as a reflection of their abilities or worth. Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Perspectives: - Disciplinary Approaches: Different academic disciplines (psychology, education, sociology) offer unique insights into self-concept and identity formation. - Interdisciplinary Perspectives: Combining insights from multiple fields enhances understanding of how educational contexts shape self-development, highlighting complex interactions between identity, achievement, and self-concept. Interventions to enhance self- concept typically aim to target self- concept, either directly through praise and performance feedback or directly by targeting a related construct that is posited to affect self- concept. https://freakonomics.com/podcast/bigger-fish-or-bigger-pond/ - you grow as big as the space you are in (we are products of our genes, but also environments) → grow as big as you want C3 + MR - DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES AND EDUCATION: IMPLICATIONS FOR MOTIVATION The COVID-19 pandemic – accelerated uptake of digital technology for teaching and learning ➔ Rethinking education in the digital age What makes digital technologies attractive for education? Teachers’ Personal Characteristics: Factors like anxiety, self-efficacy, and resistance to change affect teachers’ engagement with technology. Training and support can help overcome these barriers. School Leadership and Management: Effective leadership and strategic planning are crucial for successful technology integration in schools. Infrastructure and Support: Adequate infrastructure, technical support, and government interventions are essential for integrating digital technologies in education. Challenges of a digital transformation (OECD Digital education outlook 2023) - Digital divides - Performance of digital tools - New or amplified biases - Inefficiencies of a digital ecosystem - Privacy and data protection - Ethics of AI - Social acceptance Importance of digital literacy: implications for motivation: - Enhanced Learning - digital literacy equips students with the skills to effectively use digital tools, which can improve their engagement and motivation in both online and offline learning environments. - Employment Opportunities - proficiency in digital tools is often a prerequisite for many jobs, making digital literacy essential for career readiness. - Global Communication - digital literacy enables students to interact with diverse cultures and access a wealth of information, fostering a more inclusive and informed worldview. - Critical Thinking - it helps students discern the credibility of online content, promoting better decision-making and critical thinking skills. C4 + C5 + MR - ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION: GOAL TYPOLOGIES GOALS GOAL ORIENTATIONS Refer to objects, events, states, or experiences that Individual differences in preferences for certain the individual strives to obtain goals or outcomes, which the person strives to - the action itself (e.g., enjoyment of sports) approach or avoid - the outcome of the action (e.g., the - Can operate outside individuals’ euphoric feeling afterward) awareness - subsequent consequences (e.g., better - Become activated as a function of health) the situation/ our perception of it ACHIEVEMENT GOAL THEORY: - Explains students’ achievement-related responses and actions - Identifies the kinds of goals students endorse in achievement settings: →Increasing competence (i.e., learning, improving abilities, etc.) →Demonstrating competence (i.e., doing better compared to others) - Identifies the criteria students use to define success in achievement situations - Bidirectional influences between individuals’ goal orientation and environment GOAL ORIENTATIONS Variable-oriented approach - measure different types of variables and then link those variables to each other through correlations and regressions → models and hypotheses are formulated in terms of variables and variable relations, use statistical methods that focus on variable relations, and treat variables as the main units of analysis Approach focused on individuals - instead of examining relations among variables within a sample, we would be more interested in examining the heterogeneity of the sample across variables → hypothesize that there are groups of individuals that are similar to each other, but different from the others in terms of the level of the facets of perfectionism - some may set high goals and be satisfied with their attainments, some may set high goals and be unsatisfied with their attainments, and yet some may set low goals and still be satisfied with their attainments. These three different groups might then also differ in their task performance The person-oriented approach is often linked to the holistic- interactionist paradigm FINDINGS FROM PERSON-CENTERED APPROACHES - Achievement goal orientation profiles = specific combinations of the 4 goal orientations COMMON PROFILES - RELATIVELY STABLE OVER TIME - Predominantly mastery goal profile - Predominantly performance goal profile - Combined mastery and performance goal profile - Avoidance-oriented profile - Indifferent profile “Depending on the emphasis given to different goals and outcomes, then, students would seem to be inclined to engage under very different psychological mind-sets: while emphasis on mastery seems to facilitate concentration and commitment to learning, emphasis on performance is more likely accompanied with greater emotional vulnerability due to concerns with students proving their inadequacy.” (Niemivirta et al., 2019; p. 586) Mastery-oriented students display the highest academic achievement. Students emphasizing both mastery and performance- approach goals attain the best grades. Avoidance-oriented students are characterized by relatively low levels of school value and engagement, and a high level of cynicism toward school. Students with predominantly mastery or combined mastery– performance profiles found the courses more interesting; were more satisfied with the courses in general; reported investing more effort into their studying and active participation; and gave the most positive evaluations of the quality of pedagogical materials, teaching methods, and assessment methods when compared to low goal or avoidance- oriented groups. In the mastery mode, the “state of being involved” is important and rewarding in its own right, while the performance mode is instrumental in the aim of excelling or demonstrating superiority over others. Mastery- oriented students might appreciate facilitation and cultivation of personal interests, performance- oriented students might value challenging tasks with minimal emphasis on social comparison, and avoidance- oriented students might become more engaged through meaningful and personalized tasks. !!!Pedagogical practices focusing on mastery are advantageous for all students, with given individual differences additionally addressed through personification!!! FINDINGS FROM VARIABLE-CENTERED APPROACHES - Meta-analysis: achievement goals and internalizing problems (Diaconu-Gherasim et al., 2024) C6 + C7 + MR - Self-determination theory: need and goal typologies Self-determination theory - a macro-theory of human motivation. It encompasses 6 mini- theories: - Cognitive evaluation theory - Organismic integration theory  - Causality orientations theory - Basic psychological needs theory - Goal contents theory - Relationship motivation theory 3 basic psychological needs Autonomy Competence Relatedness A sense of initiative and Feelings of mastery, a sense A sense of social ownership over one’s that one can succeed and belongingness and actions; One’s behaviors are grow; Feeling able to connectedness self-endorsed, or congruent operate effectively within with one’s authentic important life contexts interests and values Self-Determination Theory (SDT) categorizes motivation into different types based on the degree of self-determination -Amotivation: lack of intention to act, resulting from not valuing the activity, not feeling competent, or not expecting it to yield a desired outcome. → A student who doesn't see the point in studying for a subject they dislike and feels that no amount of effort will improve their grades. -Extrinsic Motivation: driven by external rewards or pressures, further divided into: - External Regulation: behavior controlled by external rewards or punishments. → Studying hard to get good grades because your parents promised you a new video game.  - Introjected Regulation: internal pressures, such as guilt/ obligation, drive behavior. → Exercising regularly because you would feel guilty and ashamed if you didn't. - Identified Regulation: the behavior is valued and seen as personally important. → Taking extra math classes because you understand the importance of math for your future career. - Integrated Regulation: the behavior is fully assimilated with one's values and needs, making it the most autonomous form of extrinsic motivation. → Volunteering at a local charity because helping others is a core part of your identity and values. -Intrinsic Motivation: engaging in an activity for the inherent enjoyment and satisfaction it brings. → Playing the guitar because you love making music and it makes you happy. Self-determination theory in education - Core assumptions: 1) More autonomous forms of motivation will lead to an enhancement of students’ engagement, learning, and wellness. 2) Basic psychological need support from both teachers and parents facilitates such motivation, whereas need thwarting undermines it. Why is intrinsic motivation important? - Higher academic performance - Higher academic engagement - In-depth processing of learning material - Learning materials are retained over longer periods Little problem - Students’ intrinsic motivation seems to decline over the school years (It is possible that the school environment does not provide students with conditions that meet their basic needs, hindering the development of intrinsic motivation) Teaching strategies that support or thaw students’ basic needs Autonomy-supporting teaching Controlling teaching Understand, acknowledge, and are responsive Are not receptive to students’ needs and to students’ perspectives opinions Provide opportunities for students to take Pressure students to think, feel, or behave in ownership and initiative of their schoolwork particular ways Provide students with meaningful choices Do not provide rationale for course and tasks requirements Take into account students’ interests Monopolize learning materials Provide a meaningful rationale for course Feedback is centered on performance and requirements often negative Provide students with structure: set clear Promote competition among students expectations and goals, consistently apply rules and guidelines Provide informational supports Provide rich efficacy feedback The school system and policies Grading High-stakes testing Teacher support Grades are often used in a HST encourages teachers to Constraints in terms of time, comparative manner focus narrowly on the resources, and curricula material expected to appear on the tests When using grades as Leads to neglecting activities Teachers have to deal with feedback their functional and topics that are interesting both pressures from above significance matters (what and engaging but will not be (e.g., controlling does it mean for the subject to HST administrators., recipient) accountability policies) and below (e.g., difficult parents, Grades by themselves Focus on outcomes, but not disengaged students) provide little competence how they are achieved relevant feedback Relations with achievement goals: - Performance goals (approach & avoidance) are experienced as controlling pressures. - Mastery goals tend to be experienced and implemented as having informational significance (i.e., provide inputs that help the person improve or highlight areas of competence) - The types of achievement goals endorsed by students seem to further shape their motivation (autonomous-controlled continuum) Educational technologies and self-determination theory - gamification = applying game- like elements to educational and learning activities to increase students’ engagement and motivation (examples – leaderboards, points, badges, progress bar) C8 + C9 - Growth Versus Fixed Mindsets: Typologies and Mechanisms Beliefs about the nature of intelligence (Elliott & Dweck, 1988) - Entity theory = intelligence is something fixed and unchanging - Incremental theory = intelligence is a changeable attribute that can be grown and strengthened over time Theories of intelligence affect: - goals in school — whether students are interested in looking smart or learning - beliefs in the usefulness of effort — viewing effort as something negative or something positive - the way failures are explained (attribution) — as conveying a lack of ability or simply a lack of effort or a poor strategy - the strategies used after a setback — giving up or persevering - academic achievement Theories about intelligence can be specific to particular domains and affect students’ motivation in that area. However, these beliefs also influence how people approach non- academic activities and situations (e.g., athletics, interpersonal relationships, business). They are relatively stable over time, however they can be induced or directly taught. Theories about intelligence influence whether individuals seek/ avoid learning opportunities Entity theory Incremental theory Fail to take advantage of learning Motivates students to take advantage of opportunities because they want to avoid opportunities to learn, practice, and grow looking badly, are anxious about performing poorly and, as such, procrastinate Attention might be biased towards Recognize potential deficits in their abilities information that confirms students’ and try to improve them intellectual ability They seek learning-relevant feedback The type of praise and criticism that teachers and parents give often sends a signal regarding the nature of ability. - Praise based on ability can reinforce an entity theory. - Praise based on effort can reinforce an incremental theory. - Criticism expressing judgment about the person can reinforce an entity theory. - Criticism expressing judgment about the process can reinforce an incremental theory.  Teachers’ beliefs about intelligence can influence their teaching practices and how they treat students, subsequently shaping their beliefs about intelligence. The National Study of Learning Mindsets (Yeager et al., 2019) - objectives: - To test the effectiveness of a scalable short, online growth mindset intervention in increasing low-achieving ninth-grade students’ grades and enrolment in advanced mathematics courses - To understand for whom and under what conditions the intervention improves grades (i.e., identifying moderators of effect size from the school context) Participants - N = 6,320 low-achieving ninth-grade students - Stratified sampling of public schools from the U.S. was used to generate a nationally representative sample. - Participants were then randomly distributed to the control and treatment groups. Data collection: the data were collected by professional research companies that were not involved in developing the materials or study hypotheses. Growth mindset intervention: - 2 self-administered online sessions of approx. 25 min. each - Sessions were completed during school hours, roughly 20 days apart - Session 1: presented the idea of a growth mindset - Session 2: ➔ encouraged students to apply this idea in their lives, presenting effort and strategy revision as general behaviors through which students could develop their abilities and achieve their goals ➔ featured stories from older students and admired adults about a growth mindset, and sections in which students reflected on their own learning in school and how a growth mindset could help a struggling ninth-grade student next year METAPHOR: BRAIN AS A MUSCLE that grows stronger and smarter when it undergoes rigorous learning experiences 2 Dimensions of school contexts that might sustain or impede belief change and enhanced motivation - Schools’ formal resources (e.g., high-quality curricula and instruction) - Schools’ informal resources: peer norms that support students when they take on challenges and persist in the face of intellectual difficulty Importance of understanding the heterogeneity of effects: most interventions that are effective in initial efficacy trials go on to show weaker or no effects when they are scaled up in effectiveness trials that deliver treatments under everyday conditions to more heterogeneous samples Findings: - Improved grades among low-achieving students, but the effect were smaller for the highest-achieving schools (high formal resources) - Increased enrolment in advanced mathematics courses in tenth-grade, but the effect was stronger for the highest-achieving schools - Intervention effects on GPA were higher when the behavioral norm (peer norms) that surrounded students was supportive of the growth mindset belief system Sum up: Entity theory → fixed Incremental theory → growth - Learn, learn - Work hard – effort is key - Mistakes Praise based on: - Effort (based on tasks) → Incremental - Ability → Entity C10 - Expectancy-value perspectives on motivation Expectancy value theory (Eccles et al., 1983) - two key factors influence students’ motivation, behavior (e.g., choice of activities), and academic outcomes: -Expectancies for success (i.e., the degree to which individuals believe they will be successful in an activity) -Task value (i.e., how much an individual wants to pursue a task) - Intrinsic value (i.e., the activity itself is considered interesting or enjoyable) - Attainment value (i.e., the extent to which a student finds a task to be personally meaningful or important) - Utility value (i.e., the extent to which a student believes a task will be useful for current or future goals) - Cost (i.e., perceptions regarding the negative consequences of engaging with a task) – has multiple dimensions: → Effort cost (i.e., students’ perceptions of the amount of effort required to complete a task) → Emotional cost (i.e., students’ perceptions of the negative emotional or psychological consequences of pursuing a task) → Loss of valued alternatives cost (i.e., students’ perceptions of valued activities they must give up to pursue a task) Expectancies for success and task values are defined in terms of students’ subjective appraisals of tasks. These have multiple antecedents, both distal and proximal: - Proximal factors: expectancies for success (goals, self-concept, perceived task difficulty) + task values (affective memories) - Distal factors: cultural norms, beliefs and values of socializing agents Importance: these constructs are malleable and can change as a function of interactions with others and experiences in educational environments. DEVELOPMENT OF STUDENTS’ EXPECTANCIES, VALUES AND COSTS: In children as young as six years old, expectancies and values are empirically distinct (Eccles & Wigfield, 1995; Eccles et al., 1993). They also varied by subject area (e.g., math vs. reading). - Variable-centered approaches: expectancies and task values decline starting in elementary school through the end of high school - Person-centered approaches: there are many different trajectories of motivational development that students follow, some of which include increased motivation rather than declines. Many factors differentially affect how expectancies, values, and cost change over time (e.g., academic domain, gender and/or ethnicity, the type of motivational construct being assessed etc.) - RELATIONS WITH LEARNING OUTCOMES: (Direct and indirect) Predictors of: - Grades, test scores - Course-taking intentions and patterns - Choices of extracurricular activities - College majors - Academic engagement Expectancies and values do not influence all outcomes similarly. - Expectancies predict more strongly achievement and academic performance. - Task values predict more strongly students’ course-taking intentions and choices. Cost negatively predicts students’ achievement and course-taking intentions or choices (might be especially important for those at risk for underachievement). RELATIONS WITH GOAL ORIENTATIONS: Expectancies for success predict: - positively mastery and performance approach goals, and vice versa. - negatively performance avoidance goals. Task values positively predict mastery approach goals. There is less work on cost, but one study showed that cost positively predicted students’ adoption of performance avoidance goals (Jiang et al., 2018). UTILITY-VALUE INTERVENTIONS (HULLEMAN & HARACKIEWICZ, 2019) - Interactive, classroom-based assignments designed to help students make connections between the content they are learning and their lives. - Improved learning outcomes (course-specific performance and interest, course taking and persistence in a major). - Particularly effective for students at risk for poor performance and from traditionally marginalized groups. - Students are asked to reflect on personal connections between course content and their lives. To work, the intervention needs to have three characteristics: connections need to be personal, specific and context-related