Search

Gender gaps in spatial skills—a domain relevant to STEM jobs—have been hypothesized to contribute to women's underrepresentation in STEM fields. To study emerging adults' beliefs about skill sets and jobs, we asked college students (N = 300) about the relevance of spatial, mathematical, science and verbal skills for each of 82 jobs. Analyses of responses revealed four job clusters—quantitative, basic & applied science, spatial, and verbal. Students' ratings of individual jobs and job clusters were similar to judgments of professional job analysts (O*NET). Both groups connected STEM jobs to science, math, and spatial skills. To investigate whether students' interests in STEM and other jobs are related to their own self-concepts, beliefs about jobs, and spatial performance, we asked students in another sample (N = 292) to rate their self-concepts in various academic domains, rate personal interest in each of the 82 jobs, judge cultural gender stereotypes of those jobs, and complete a spatial task. Consistent with prior research, jobs judged to draw on math, science, or spatial skills were rated as more strongly culturally stereotyped for men than women; jobs judged to draw on verbal skills were more strongly culturally stereotyped for women than men. Structural equation modeling showed that for both women and men, spatial task scores directly (and indirectly through spatial self-concept) related to greater interest in the job cluster closest to the one O*NET labeled "STEM". Findings suggest that pre-college interventions that improve spatial skills might be effective for increasing spatial self-concepts and the pursuit of STEM careers among students from traditionally under-represented groups, including women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender gaps in spatial skills—a domain relevant to STEM jobs—have been hypothesized to contribute to women’s underrepresentation in STEM fields. To study emerging adults’ beliefs about skill sets and jobs, we asked college students (N = 300) about the relevance of spatial, mathematical, science and verbal skills for each of 82 jobs. Analyses of responses revealed four job clusters—quantitative, basic & applied science, spatial, and verbal. Students’ ratings of individual jobs and job clusters were similar to judgments of professional job analysts (O*NET). Both groups connected STEM jobs to science, math, and spatial skills. To investigate whether students’ interests in STEM and other jobs are related to their own self-concepts, beliefs about jobs, and spatial performance, we asked students in another sample (N = 292) to rate their self-concepts in various academic domains, rate personal interest in each of the 82 jobs, judge cultural gender stereotypes of those jobs, and complete a spatial task. Consistent with prior research, jobs judged to draw on math, science, or spatial skills were rated as more strongly culturally stereotyped for men than women; jobs judged to draw on verbal skills were more strongly culturally stereotyped for women than men. Structural equation modeling showed that for both women and men, spatial task scores directly (and indirectly through spatial self-concept) related to greater interest in the job cluster closest to the one O*NET labeled “STEM”. Findings suggest that pre-college interventions that improve spatial skills might be effective for increasing spatial self-concepts and the pursuit of STEM careers among students from traditionally under-represented groups, including women.

Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is considered a promising approach to enhancing foreign language skills and motivation. However, its impact on students' academic self-concepts remains largely unclear. This study aimed to investigate whether CLIL positively affects students' English self-concepts but harms their math self-concepts in Grade 8 after two years of CLIL participation. Furthermore, the study intended to control for and disentangle selection and preparation effects caused by selective access and increased English instruction before the start of CLIL, as neglecting a priori differences between CLIL and non-CLIL students has led to overestimating CLIL effects in the past. Participants were 5963 academic-track school students. Propensity score matching was applied to control for selection effects. Structural equation modeling was used to estimate CLIL effects on English and math self-concepts. The inclusion of control variables allowed for accounting for preparation effects. CLIL students had significantly higher English self-concepts than non-CLIL students, which could be explained by selection and preparation effects. However, attending CLIL helped to maintain the advantage over non-CLIL students over the first two years of CLIL participation. CLIL had no detrimental effects on students' math self-concepts but left them unaffected. The study contributes to a deeper understanding of the effects of CLIL on students' self-concepts in different subjects. Furthermore, the results highlight the importance of accounting for both selection and preparation effects in future CLIL studies to obtain unbiased CLIL effect estimates. • First-time separation of selection, preparation, and CLIL effects on self-concepts. • Panel data, multiple covariates, and matching to control selection and preparation. • CLIL helps maintain, but not extend, pre-existing English self-concept advantages. • CLIL does not harm math self-concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent findings on the negative impacts of math anxiety (MA) have raised questions for educational and clinical research regarding effective intervention programs. One basic approach for developing intervention programs in the field of cognitive behavioral therapy is to gain an in‐depth understanding of the cognitive beliefs of children with a specific mental problem. By applying latent profile analysis (LPA), the present study aimed at identifying different patterns of MA and providing further insights into its cognitive phenomenology. For this purpose, trait‐MA, state‐MA, attitudes toward math, academic self‐concepts, fixed/growth mindsets, executive functions, and math performance of 475 fourth and fifth graders (48.2% girls) were assessed. LPA indicated seven distinct profiles characterized by different dimensions and patterns of state‐MA, trait‐MA, and core beliefs toward math. Furthermore, the profiles showed clearly different math performances. The weakest performances were found for a profile with highest state‐MA, high trait‐MA, and negative cognitive beliefs toward math and a profile with average state‐MA, high trait‐MA, and negative cognitive beliefs toward math, whereas the highest achieving profile had no state‐MA, high trait‐MA, and very positive cognitive beliefs toward math. The findings underline the complexity of MA and emphasize the necessity to develop interventions with careful consideration of the heterogeneous patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE), equally able students would have lower academic self-concepts in high-ability settings than those who attend low- or mixed-ability settings. This study was an investigation of the BFLPE on math and science academic self-concepts of gifted students. Participants included 50 fifth- and sixth-grade gifted students who participated in an afterschool program for gifted students (EPTS) at a university campus for five terms. Students’ academic self-concepts were measured using the Math and Science Academic Self-Concept Questionnaire both in the EPTS setting and in the school setting in three measurement points. Findings showed that gifted students’ academic self-concepts declined significantly from time 1 measurement to time 3 measurement. However, the level of their academic self-concepts was still high in the EPTS and very high in school. The main effect of setting showed that the overall academic self-concept in school (M = 34,24; SD = 2,26) was significantly higher than the mean of academic self-concepts in the EPTS (M = 31,49; SD = 3,87). They used the EPTS and school as two different frames of reference and thus held adaptable academic self-concepts, relatively low in the EPTS and relatively high in school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two studies examined the link between academic self-concepts and grades (Studies 1 and 2) for first-generation (i.e., parents have not obtained a 4-year degree) and continuing-generation (i.e., at least one parent with a 4-year degree) college students, and how parent–student conversations about college related to this link (Study 2). In Study 1, based on online surveys with 102 students, we found self-concepts were positively related to grades for all students. Yet, first-generation students reported less positive self-concepts than continuing-generation students. Study 2 replicated Study 1 findings with 169 students and also revealed that first-generation students reported having less conversations about college with parents than continuing-generation students. For first-generation students, conversations about college predicted more positive self-concepts, which predicted higher grades. Conversations about college were unrelated to self-concepts and grades for continuing-generation students. The findings from this work have important implications for university practice and retention around providing support for first-generation college students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of inclusion is based on the assumption that integrating students with SEN into regular (mainstream) classes would enhance students' performance due to a more stimulating and demanding environment. However, research investigating the effects of inclusive education on students' academic self-concepts has been scarce. For this reason, the present study aimed to examine the specific relationships and differences for math and verbal self-concepts, self-esteem, and self-perceptions of social integration using two samples of elementary school students from grades 2–4: One group of students attended inclusive classes (n = 178), whilst the other group attended mainstream classes (n = 188). In addition, measurement invariance across classroom setting and possible mediator effects of self-esteem were tested. Results provided support for strong invariance across classroom setting. All constructs were positively correlated with each other. In both math and verbal domains, self-esteem and self-perceptions of social integration proved to be significant predictors of academic self-concepts. Self-esteem was more highly pronounced in younger children, while there were no effects of classroom setting on academic self-concepts. Self-esteem became a significant mediator of the relationships between self-perceptions of social integration and academic self-concepts. No group differences in math and verbal self-concepts, self-esteem, and self-perceptions of social integration were evident. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigates children’s self-ascriptions of feminine and masculine attributes (gender role self-concept) and whether they predict academic self-concepts and performance in gendered subject domains in their early Bildung-career. We suggest that as children incorporate gender stereotypes into their self-concept, perceptions of their competence (cognitive component of academic self-concepts), their affective-motivational reactions (affective component of academic self-concepts), as well as their performance in reading and mathematics are shaped accordingly. In a sample of 113 first graders we (1) measured gender role self-concept, and (2) analyzed its impact on children’s academic self-concepts and performance in mathematics and reading half a year later. As expected, girls ascribed comparatively more feminine and boys comparatively more masculine-stereotyped behaviors to themselves. Furthermore, the more feminine children described themselves the better was their reading performance half a year later, while no indirect effects, mediated via the academic self-concept, appeared. Also, the more masculine children described themselves, the higher were their mathematics related ability self-concepts half a year later, however, mathematics achievements were unrelated to any of the other variables. We discuss that future research needs to more systematically study the variables investigated in this research in children as they move from school start into third grade when the gender role self-concept as well as differences between girls and boys in their academic self-concepts, their liking for different school subjects, and their skills are well established. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The aim of this study was to integrate 2 theories on academic self-concept--that is, the internal/external frame of reference (I/E) model and the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE)--into a combined model. The rationale for the combined model is that the I/E model actually focuses on internal/dimensional comparison (e.g., a comparison between one's own mathematics and science achievements) and the BFLPE focuses on external/social comparison (e.g., a comparison between one's own mathematics achievement and one's schoolmates'). The I/E, BFLPE, and combined models for mathematics and science were examined using multilevel analyses of 139,174 students in 4,231 schools in 27 countries. The results showed that the I/E model and the BFLPE fitted data well, and the combined model fitted data even better. The I/E model remained unchanged when the BFLPE was combined, suggesting distinctly differential roles of internal and external comparisons in constructing academic self-concepts. In addition, the combined model was examined for each country. The findings revealed that the predictions of the combined model were generally supported for data from most countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nested Marsh/Shavelson (NMS) model integrates structural characteristics of academic self-concepts that have proved empirically incompatible in previous studies. Specifically, it conceives of academic self-concepts to be subject specific, strongly separated across domains, and hierarchically organized, with general academic self-concept at the top of the hierarchy. In Part 1 of the present study, data from a representative sample of eighth graders (N = 4,847) from Luxembourg showed that the NMS model captures the structure of self-concepts in six core subjects. In Part 2, the NMS model was integrated into a longitudinal extended internal/external frame-of-reference model. The developmental dynamics between general and subject-specific achievement, as measured in Grade 6, and the corresponding academic self-concepts in Grade 8 were examined, with data from a subsample of students (N = 3,045). Given its theoretical and empirical bases, the NMS model has clear potential to guide future research on academic self-concepts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]