Search

Students face frequent formal and informal tests, both in the academic context and social life. On each of these occasions, they risk falling short of their own or others’ expectations. Facing failure is a psychological challenge, and people can react with defensive strategies, which may have negative consequences. Here we investigated the role of self-esteem as a possible buffer against these defensive strategies. Previous research has demonstrated that, in the face of failure, individuals with discrepant (fragile: high explicit and low implicit, or damaged: high implicit and low explicit) self-esteem are more likely to engage in defensive mechanisms than individuals with consistent implicit and explicit self-esteem. Two studies investigate the relationship between implicit and explicit self-esteem and two defensive strategies against the threat of failure: subjective overachievement and retroactive excuses. In Study 1 (N = 176 high school students), we find an association between fragile self-esteem and subjective overachievement. In Study 2 (N = 101 university students), damaged self-esteem is related to the increased use of retroactive excuses as a form of self-serving bias. These results add to the growing body of evidence documenting the maladaptive nature of fragile and damaged self-esteem.

Modelling for long-term goals involving multiple factors and criteria often require incorporating decision-makers preferences to realize optimum satisfaction. Goal programming (GP) is an operational research technique that is relevant to analysing decision-making problems with multiple competing and conflicting objectives. Multi-objective goal programming approach takes advantage of striking the trade-off between the overachievement and underachievement of the decision-makers future aspirations. The concept of GP with a satisfaction function integrates the preference of the decision-makers explicitly. In this paper, we proposed a multi-objective optimization model integrating economic growth, electricity consumption, greenhouse gas emission and the number of employees across the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors of Indian economy using the concept of GP with a satisfaction function. The model validated with data from the three economic sectors, and the results provided a quantitative justification for achieving economic growth, electricity consumption, with optimal employment strength across the sectors, for the sustainable development goals of India vision 2030. Also, a strong suggestion for improvement and encouragement in the use of renewable energies such as wind and solar and reduction in fossil fuels utilization to arrest the high emission tendencies shortly was evidence by the solution.

This paper analyzes the labor market impact of the Great Recession on overeducated and undereducated workers. In March 2008, the U.S. economy was near full employment with an unemployment rate of 4...

Little is known about the characteristics of academic overachievers, children whose achievement significantly exceeds IQ. Correlates of overachievement (achievement test scores ≥ 1 SD above IQ), no...

©. Psicotherma. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ This document is the Published version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in Psicotherma . To access the final edited and published work see doi: 10.7334/psicothema2016.283

The prevalence of academic underachievement or learning disabilities in children with autism or ADHD (two groups at increased risk for such problems) has been extensively researched, but little is known about overachievement in these groups. The frequency of overachievement across academic domains compared to nondiscrepant achievement and underachievement in children with autism versus ADHD was determined. WISC-III/-IV and WIAT/-II scores were analyzed in 164 children with autism and 499 children with ADHD (6–16 years of age, IQ > 80). Academic overachievement (achievement test standard scores ≥1 SD above IQ) in word reading, reading comprehension, math, and written expression was rare in autism (14.6%, 9.1%, 5.5%, and 1.8%) and in ADHD (4.2%, 3.6%, 2.4%, and 0.8%, respectively). Academic underachievement (achievement test scores ≥1 SD below IQ) was more common, with percentages of 12.8%, 17.7%, 15.2%, and 52.4% for autism and 27.9%, 21.4%, 24.0%, and 57.1% for ADHD. Overachievement was more common in autism than in ADHD. In contrast, underachievement was greater in ADHD than in autism, except that underachievement in written expression was similar and found in the majority of both groups.

Teaching music is an act of vulnerability. Our connections with music and with our students give our jobs—and perhaps our lives—value and purpose. However, these connections are also why it hurts so much when we feel undervalued or attacked. In this article, I describe research-supported strategies for nurturing courage, peace, and resilience and also suggest habits of thinking and action that could sustain or even (re)ignite our joy in teaching music.

Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth of 1979, this article examines the relationship between adolescents‘ educational and occupational expectations, and how they correspond to ...

With the expansion of distance education, the problem of over-education in the system of distance education has emerged, but it seems that none of the existing empirical studies have addressed this issue. This study conducts an empirical and comparative analysis of the problem of over-education between distance education and face-to-face education by analyzing nationwide adult data in China. The empirical results show that distance-education learners are more likely to experience over-education compared to face-to-face education learners; however, over-education does not have a significantly negative relationship with distance-education learners’ income.

This paper draws attention to discrimination of excellence in order to propose an inequality alleviation strategy in connecting overachievers with discriminated-against minorities. Discrimination of excellence is the unjust treatment of outperformers and overachievers. Defining discrimination of excellence and describing the implicit mechanisms of aversion against excellence depicts overambition as handicap. Overambition may thereby become a disability. This article first introduces the concept of discrimination of excellence, to then draw inferences about overachievement being comparable to a disability. Lastly, discrimination of excellence alleviation strategies are proposed. KEYWORDS: Aversion against excellence, Disability, Discrimination of excellence, Inequality, Justice, Outperformance, Overambition

This article focuses on the influence of social background on overeducation in Spain, understanding family socialisation as a source of knowledge and skills gain. The dramatic education expansion experienced in Spain in combination with a high percentage of low-skilled jobs has promoted overeducation occurrence to a larger extent than in other Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. Using the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) data results suggest that overeducation affects at least over a quarter of the working population. Younger and middle aged workers are more likely to be overeducated compared to the senior ones, while women are more prone to be overeducated than men. Workers whose mothers have higher education are less likely to be overeducated compared to those whose mothers have basic education, while\ud fathers’ education is practically irrelevant to predict workers’ overeducation. Thus, a mother’s education is the most relevant social background indicator to predict overeducation, even when controlling for firm characteristics and skills level.

This paper provides an economic rationale for overachieving behavior in non-professional activities in the labour market. The intrinsically motivated worker uses his achievement in the non-professional activity to signal his work ethic. When the worker‘s career concern is weak, he exerts no extra e¤ort on his non-professional activity. When the worker’s career concern is strong, however, his effort level for the non-professional activity can go beyond the bliss point. With a very strong career concern, an "obsessive behavior" can arise in equilibrium, as the intrinsically motivated worker may choose to sacrifice the professional activity for the non-professional one in an earlier stage of his career.

Drawing upon a broad concept of inclusion, the first section of this article is dedicated to a critical discussion of the principle of ‘equal opportunities’, which currently dominates the social justice discourse in Germany. Specifically, this section examines how far this principle, which focuses on the role of the individual in socially unequal educational outcomes, could itself contain elements which reinforce inequality. It examines two versions, ‘talent-based’ and ‘attainment-based’. In the second section, this article discusses, from an intersectional perspective, how cumulative disadvantages in segregated social environments can increase inequalities in the educational participation and attainment of school pupils. The third section points to areas for action that have a real potential to address inequalities in the German school system. It draws on observations and findings which are grounded in the theory of justice and that emerge from cases of ‘overperforming schools in segregated environments’.

This paper articulates the challenges of the South Korean education system through a co-constructed narrative, employing duoethnographic methodology. The authors offer critical and contextualized p...

Background: The gap between fertility outcomes and fertility ideals is notably higher in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) than elsewhere, relating to both under- and overachievement of fertility ideals. We consider the extent to which the relationship between fertility ideals and fertility outcomes is related to educational achievement. Further, we consider if these educational differentials are the same or different in SSA, and thereby consider the extent to which increasing levels of education in SSA may decrease fertility. Data and Methods: We use 227 Demographic and Health Surveys (DHSs) from 58 countries worldwide to look at population- level measures of the mismatch between fertility ideals and fertility outcomes. Population level measures are used to assess whether the correspondence between fertility intentions and achievements differ by level of education. We then look at the individual-level determinants of both under- and overachieving fertility intentions. Data from the most recent DHS in 54 of the original countries is used for the individual level analysis, with five countries excluded due to the most recent available survey being out of date. Results:An average of 40% of women in SSA underachieve their stated fertility intentions compared to 26% in non-SSA countries. Furthermore, compared to other LMICs, higher levels of education are not related to better correspondence between fertility intentions and outcomes in SSA. In Middle/Western Africa countries, on average, 48% of women with secondary or higher education have fewer children than their ideal, compared to just 24% who have more children than their ideal. Conclusion: We argue that the phenomenon of underachieving fertility ideals (or unrealized fertility) may be of particular importance for the ongoing fertility transition throughout SSA, especially as more highly educated groups do not appear to be following the patterns observed elsewhere.

The National Survey on American Life – Adolescent Supplemental data was designed to lay the foundation for future research in early identification of mental disorders for adults. The inclusion of social conditions adds to this detailed measure of mental health and provides a wealth of information that can be observed about mental well-being in adolescents. In particular, we used this data set to explore the interplay between self-perception and family relationships based on the absence of a biological father among African-American and Caribbean adolescents. This study provides a quantitative analysis of the difference between the perceived self and familial factors for those with a stepfather and those without a stepfather. As evident in the findings, those with a stepfather reported to have higher self-esteem, a more positive perception of self, and a more uplifting family model compared to those without a stepfather. These findings were detected by noting the significance values for a one-way ANOVA and observing the mean differences among the selected variables. Some discrepancy did exist, however; self-esteem with regards to education was reported to be lower for adolescents with a stepfather than without. This could be attributed to an overachievement mentality by those from single parent homes, alluding to the idea that adolescents without stepfathers possess intrinsic motivation and have the drive to attain a higher education. The data showed the presence of a father figure enhances self-perception and familial support, but not academic motivation.

Background Given the well-known relation between intelligence and school achievement we expect children with normal intelligence to perform well at school and those with intelligence deficits to meet learning problems. But, contrary to these expectations, some children do not perform according to these predictions: children with normal intelligence but sub-average school achievement and children with lower intelligence but average success at school. Yet, it is an open question how the unexpected failure or success can be explained. Aims This study examined the role of working memory sensu Baddeley (1986) for school achievement, especially for unexpected failure or success. Method and procedures An extensive working memory battery with a total of 14 tasks for the phonological loop, the visual-spatial sketchpad and central executive skills was presented in individual sessions to four groups of children differing in IQ (normal vs. low) and school success (good vs. poor). Outcomes and results Results reveal that children with sub-average school achievement showed deficits in working memory functioning, irrespective of intelligence. By contrast, children with regular school achievement did not show deficits in working memory, again irrespective of intelligence. Conclusions and implications Therefore working memory should be considered an important predictor of academic success that can lead both to unexpected overachievement and failure at school. Individual working memory competencies should be taken into account with regard to diagnosis and intervention for children with learning problems.

Global health spending share of low/middle income countries continues its long-term growth. BRICS nations remain to be major drivers of such change since 1990s. Governmental, private and out-of-pocket health expenditures were analyzed based on WHO sources. Medium-term projections of national health spending to 2025 were provided based on macroeconomic budgetary excess growth model. In terms of per capita spending Russia was highest in 2013. India's health expenditure did not match overall economic growth and fell to slightly less than 4% of GDP. Up to 2025 China will achieve highest excess growth rate of 2% and increase its GDP% spent on health care from 5.4% in 2012 to 6.6% in 2025. Russia's spending will remain highest among BRICS in absolute per capita terms reaching net gain from $1523 PPP in 2012 to $2214 PPP in 2025. In spite of BRICS' diversity, all countries were able to significantly increase their investments in health care. The major setback was bold rise in out-of-pocket spending. Most of BRICS' growing share of global medical spending was heavily attributable to the overachievement of People's Republic of China. Such trend is highly likely to continue beyond 2025. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This article accounts for a renovation by enriching the existent literature regarding two major nowadays phenomena and their labor implications, which might require a rethinking regarding new career-development approaches: the overeducation phenomenon (academic graduates whose educational level exceeds the educational level required in their jobs) and the horizontal-mismatch phenomenon (the individuals’ fit between their educational and occupational fields). The article clarifies the difference between those two phenomena’s career repercussions—on three major individuals’ career outcomes: wage gaps, job mobility, and demand for further higher education. Two hundred and twenty-one participants took part to reveal that the more the individuals experience horizontal mismatch throughout their career, the less their earning level is, and the horizontally mismatched individuals have lower probability for pursuing further higher education compared to the horizontally matched individuals. These findings’ implications suggest individuals to try and modify their career planning, based on the ongoing technological and structural changes in Western-developed countries labor market.

In the difficult current socio-economic context, overqualified graduates are increasingly facing challenges in terms of entering the job market and finding jobs which fit their levels of qualifications and satisfaction. Grounded in an auto-ethnography approach, this paper reflects on the challenges that the author (a young female European PhD graduate) experienced when she entered the job market. The ultimate aim is to contribute to the understanding of some aspects of the current situation of numerous overqualified young people, especially in social sciences and the humanities, who have difficulties in terms of simply finding jobs or jobs which fit their levels of qualifications and salary expectations. In this regard, it highlights the responsibility of higher education policies and academic institutions for contributing to the degradation of PhDs’ unemployment and overskilling. Ultimately, it points out possible some solutions such as the potential of interdisciplinary academic research (including high...

This study tests the hypothesis that a disjuncture between an individual's attained level of education and that held by average workers in the individual's occupation leads to higher mortality among those with a prolonged mismatched status. Swedish register data are used in a 19-year longitudinal mortality follow-up study of all causes and specific causes of mortality. Participants were all men and women born between 1926 and 1985 who were alive on 1 September 1990, who had concurrent information on their attained level of education and the specific occupation or industry they were employed in during this period for at least a consecutive year. An objective measure of educational and occupational mismatch was constructed from these data. Those with a stable, over-educated matched, or under-educated employment status are included in the final analysis (N = 2,482,696). Independent of social, family, employers' characteristics and prior health problems, the findings from a multivariate, stratified Cox regression analysis suggest there is excessive mortality among the over-educated, and a protective effect of under-education among native-born Swedish men and women.

This paper argues that assortative matching may explain over-education. Education determines individuals’ income and, due to the presence of assortative matching, the quality of partners in personal, social and working life. Thus, an individual acquires education to improve the expected partners’ quality. However, since every individual of the same level of ability acquires the same level of education, the relative levels of education among individuals do not change, the expected partners’ quality does not increase and over-education emerges.

There are few studies in Spain which analyze the influence of individual, motivational and contextual variables, which might be different between underachieving, normally achieving and overachieving students. Method: A total of 1,398 Spanish high school students participated. Mixed-effects models were used to analyze data. Results: The results showed some evidence of: (a) Partial mediational effect of self-concept on the association between cognitive ability and academic achievement. (b) Higher levels of learning goals in the overachieving group than in the underachieving group, but no differences in achievement and reinforcement goals between groups. (c) Positive effect of learning strategies on attainment, both in the underachieving and the non-underachieving students. (d) Little effect of context variables on academic achievement, both in the underachieving and non-underachieving students. Conclusions: Underachieving students seem to employ all the learning strategies considered to a lesser extent than normally and overachieving students. They also have a lower level of learning goals. On the contrary, overachieving students score more highly than under and normally achieving students in almost all of the above factors. Antecedentes: apenas existen estudios en España que analicen la influencia de variables cognitivas, motivacionales y contextuales capaces de establecer diferencias entre los estudiantes con rendimiento menor, igual y mayor al esperado. Método: participaron 1.398 estudiantes españoles de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria. Se emplearon modelos de efectos mixtos para el análisis de datos. Resultados: los resultados mostraron evidencia de: (a) efecto mediacional parcial del auto-concepto en la asociación de la habilidad cognitiva y el rendimiento académico; (b) mayores niveles de metas de aprendizaje en el grupo de estudiantes con rendimiento mayor al esperado; (c) efecto positivo de las estrategias de aprendizaje sobre el rendimiento en todos los grupos; (d) efecto pequeño de las variables contextuales sobre el rendimiento en todos los grupos. Conclusiones: los estudiantes con rendimiento menor al esperado emplean en menor medida las estrategias de aprendizaje y las metas orientadas al aprendizaje. Por el contrario, los estudiantes con rendimiento mayor al esperado muestran niveles superiores que el resto de grupos en la mayor parte de variables. The present work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Award number: EDU2012-32156) and the Vice Chancellor for Research of the University of Alicante (Award number: GRE11-15). This work has also been developed thanks to an academic stay of the corresponding author at the University of Bristol (Reference of the grant: EEBB-I-15_09943).

The Effects of Drama Education on Student Self-Concept in Senior Secondary EducationW.B.A.Vitharana Department of Languages, Cultural Studies and Performing ArtsUniversity of Sri JayewardenepuraNugegoda, Sri LankaWijayasri@sjp.ac.lkAbstractThere is a significant amount of attention given to student self-concept in education today. It is known that low confidence can lead to a variety of issues such as intellectual underachievement, academic overachievement, drug addiction and aggressive behavior. Also, comprehensive educational reform movements such as multiculturalism and cooperative learning can to a certain extent improve student self-concept. The theoretical foundations of this study are linked to the theoretical work in cognitive development, psychomotor development and movement, self-concept, and perceived wellness. The key theorists include Jean Piaget, Moshe Feldenkrais, Rudolf Laban, and Albert Bandura. Drama is a performance which comes from a balanced body of facts and can successfully lead to lifelong value. The achievement comes from presentation, participation and the creation of drama. Thus drama education is a major contribution to a person?s well-being when it comes to the mind-body interaction; benefiting the individual emotionally, cognitively, and physically. This study explores the effectiveness of formalized drama education and training on student performance, particularly regarding the overall perceived wellness and self-concept of drama students in grade eleven. Drama, as an art form and formal guidance method, is an important resource that can give out a link to cognitive development, emotional growth and psychological health in adolescents, which is also associated with the academic performance of students. This study focuses on documenting the relationship between drama and its influences on the variables by comparing students who are both involved and not involved in drama programs. A significant difference is found between drama and non-drama for perceived wellness, self-concept, and cumulative marks. The evidence supports constructive contact on academic performance, but there is a need for involvement that addresses recovered views of wellness and self-concept among the drama population. Key Words -self-concept, drama education, cognitive, psychomotor, emotional, psychological, adolescence

This article explores the influence of social origin on overeducation across various fields of study. With the expansion of higher education most advantaged classes seek qualitative and quantitative advantages to differentiate themselves from other graduates. Although credentials are direct signals of productivity they can also be viewed by employers as indirect signals of non-cognitive skills, which can be acquired through family socialization. These credentials may explain differences in overeducation among graduates of different fields of study and social origin. Parental educational background and occupation are relevant characteristics from which individuals gain useful skills and information to avoid overeducation in the labour market. Using data from the Italian Graduates Employment Survey (ISTAT in Indagine Statistica sull’Inserimento Professionale dei Laureati. Istituto nazionale di statistica, Rome, 2007) this article provides evidence that graduates from fields of study that do not lead to a specific occupation (e.g. Humanities, Political and Social Sciences) decrease their risk of overeducation when their fathers belong to the professional class, but it has no influence on graduates from occupationally focused fields of study (e.g. Engineering and Medicine). These results are consistent even after controlling for the possible use of social networks when looking for a job.

Recently the supply of young graduates entering the UK labour market has undergone a sharp increase. A possible consequence of this is an increase in the number of individuals who are overeducated for the jobs that they do subsequent to participating in higher education. Using British panel data and dynamic panel analysis, I demonstrate that overeducation amongst the young has increased, and that the overeducated are less satisfied with life than their peers who are not overeducated. This result appears to fade over time, with more recently overeducated individuals being both more common and less dissatisfied with life, consistent with the notion that relative effects and comparisons are important for life satisfaction.

School girls in Sweden are reported to develop psychological (ill)health in relation to their school behaviour and over-achievements. The methods offered as prevention and treatments are aimed at t ...

Using quantile regression analyses, this study examines gender gaps in mathematics, science, and reading in Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Jordan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Qatar, Tunisia, and Turkey among 15-year-old students. The analyses show that girls in Azerbaijan achieve as well as boys in mathematics and science and overachieve in reading. In Jordan, girls achieve as well as boys in all subjects. In Qatar and Turkey, girls underachieve in mathematics, achieve as well as boys in science and overachieve in reading. In Indonesia, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Tunisia, girls underachieve in mathematics and science but overachieve in reading. On the basis of the analyses, two generalizations can be made. First, key country-level economic and social characteristics appear unrelated to achievement gender gaps. Second, the overachievement of girls in reading and underachievement in mathematics and science are similar to findings from non-Muslim industrialized countries.

While perceived overqualification (POQ) has received increased research attention in recent years, the identification of variables that moderate POQ-outcome relationships is critical to our understanding of how the construct affects career outcomes. This study, involving 170 full-time primary and secondary school educators in a suburban mid-Atlantic school system, found that POQ is negatively related to job satisfaction and affective commitment while positively related to turnover intentions and desire to turnover. While POQ was not significantly related to performance or continuance organizational commitment, the relationships between POQ and both performance and continuance organizational commitment were significantly moderated by the experience of career calling orientation. Generally, the relationship between POQ and performance was stronger, and the relationship between POQ and continuance organizational commitment was weaker, for those with high calling. Additionally, the effects of career calling were considerably stronger than those of POQ for all criteria. The implications surrounding these results, and opportunities for future investigation, are discussed.

This study investigates the incidence of over-education amongst recent Australian bachelor degree graduates and its effect on their earnings. We find that between 24% and 37% of graduates were over-educated shortly after course completion, with over-education most common amongst young females and least common amongst older females. Over-education rates vary markedly across major fields of study and appear to be associated with the relative demand for graduate labour. Overeducation was less common three years after course completion; however a nontrivial proportion of graduates remain over-educated. With regard to the effect of over-education on earnings, we find a notable age-related effect not reported in earlier studies. Young over-educated graduates were not penalised after unobserved heterogeneity had been addressed, whereas older over-educated graduates were at an earnings disadvantage relative to their well-matched peers.

Tras los estudios llevados a cabo en Estados Unidos y en China sobre el tema del “underachievement” o rendimiento menor al esperado, se considera este constructo como uno de los que han suscitado mayor interés a la hora de entender posibles factores que intervienen en el rendimiento académico. La identificación de los sujetos que presentan un rendimiento menor al esperado, e incluso, de aquellos que pueden presentar un mayor rendimiento a lo esperado “overachieving students” ha sido objeto de controversia en varios trabajos. El objetivo del presente trabajo fue comparar los resultados de dos métodos de identificación de estos tipos de estudiantes, el método de diferencias estandarizadas y el de residuales de regresión, en una muestra amplia de estudiantes de ESO. En este trabajo se empleó como medida de la inteligencia general el test de factor g de Cattell. Los datos sobre el rendimiento académico se obtuvieron calculando las calificaciones medias en todas las asignaturas cursadas. Los participantes en este estudio fueron 1400 sujetos de los dos primeros cursos de E.S.O. Los resultados mostraron que en hubo una coincidencia en ambos métodos en el porcentaje de sujetos identificados en cada una de las tres categorías, estudiantes con rendimiento menor al esperado “underachieving students”, estudiantes con rendimiento acorde con lo esperado “normal-achieving students” y estudiantes con rendimiento mayor al esperado según su capacidad “overachieving students”, pero, por otro lado, no se produjo una coincidencia entre uno y otro método en la identificación de los mismos sujetos en las tres categorías. Estos resultados se comparan con los obtenidos en otros trabajos similares realizados en nuestro país, en los que se aplica el test de aptitudes diferenciales de BADYG-M como medida de la capacidad intelectual. After the studies done in the US and in China about the concept of “underachievement” (achievement lower expected), this construct has raised interest in understanding possible factors involved in academic performance. Identification of subjects with lower and higher expected achievement has been controversial in several works. The aim of this paper was to present the relationship between two identification methods (standardized differences and analysis of regression residuals based on the results of intellectual ability and academic achievement) of underachieving students and overachieving students. The data on academic performance were obtained by calculating the mean scores in all subjects taken by the student. Participants of this study were 1400 subjects in the school of the first two years of Secondary Education. The results show that there is agreement on the percentage of subjects identified in both methods in each of the three categories, “underachieving students”, “normal-achieving students” and students performing higher than expected according to their ability “overachieving students”; but, on the other hand, there is no match in identifying the same subject as one category or another. These results are discussed with those obtained in similar studies carried out in our country, when the differential aptitude test BADyG-M was utilized as one measure of intellectual ability.

This article approaches work talk, a neglected but vital object of sociological inquiry, as a possible key to unlocking the mystery of the contemporary work ethic as it appears among male professionals living and working in the United States and Western Europe. This analytical task is carried out through a close examination of the contrasting rhetorics, scripts, and vocabularies anchoring French, Norwegian, and American forms of hard work talk. This comparative exercise capitalizes on material from over one hundred in-depth interviews with comparable French, Norwegian, and American male business professionals working in finance, law, consulting, engineering and other professional fields. Scrutinizing the scripts that members of these three groups use to address their motives for working hard in demanding jobs, this article maps a legitimation divide between the American respondents and their French and Norwegian counterparts. The hard work commentaries of the French and Norwegian respondents feature script repertoires that focus exclusively on the stimulating and enriching character of their work activities. By contrast, the commentaries of the American respondents incorporate overachievement scripts addressing both the extrinsic rewards of work and the personality traits that make hard work a natural expression of personality. These hard work commentaries invoke career success and moneymaking as inducements to hard work. But they also invoke personality traits such as drive and the innate aversion to leisure. This transatlantic divide reflects the greater cultural resonance of self-realization in the two European contexts and the fact that the French and Norwegians have embraced a more Maslowian approach to working life. As I argue in the article’s conclusion, these transatlantic differences in script repertoires can be viewed as the product of the societally specific cultural configurations at work in the three countries. Such cultural configurations define what it means—in terms of status and authenticity—to work hard in a remunerative and rewarding job.

In this paper, we use the 2000–2008 waves of the German Socioeconomic Panel to examine overeducation transitions. The results are based on a first-order Markov model that allows us to account for both the initial conditions problem and potential endogeneity in attrition. We found that overeducation dynamics, especially the probability of entering overeducation, is significantly influenced by personality. Notwithstanding these differences associated with individual heterogeneity, there still appears to be considerable overeducation persistence. Almost 18% of the overeducation risk is due to individual state dependence, that is, the fact of having been overeducated in the previous year.

The main purpose of this study was to examine the classroom, teacher and student factors distinguishing grade three classes performing at higher levels than expected, in relation to socioeconomic status (SES) and language factors, from classes performing below their potential with regard to the same factors. Data from a standardized reading comprehension test and student and teacher questionnaires covering teacher, classroom and student characteristics were collected. The participants were 1,092 grade three classes and their class teachers, from Stockholm, Sweden. By use of regression and a twin-matching procedure, one group of 94 underachieving classes and another group of 94 overachieving classes were formed for comparison. Data about extended voluntary reading, classroom climate, teacher experience and the use of authentic literature were seen to be the main four indicators discriminating between over- and underachieving classes beyond the impact of SES and language background.

Using data from the 2004 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses, the role of occupational heterogeneity in the standard overeducation–required–undereducation (ORU) earnings function introduced by Duncan and Hoffman [1981. The incidence and wage effects of overeducation. Economics of Education Review 1, no. 1: 75–86] is examined. The occupational category of nursing is subdivided into numerous (as many as 267) minor occupational categories in estimating the level of required education. If occupation heterogeneity impacts the ORU earnings function, the effects are likely small as estimates of the ORU earnings functions of nurses are similar to estimates found in other standard multi-occupation studies. Subdividing nursing into minor occupational categories has a tremendous impact on the measured incidences of overeducation, particularly as the number of occupational categories increases from 17 to 39. The results are analogous to findings in the literature which show that varying the measurement of req...

A theoretical approach is formulated that connects various theories of why education has an effect on labour market outcomes with institutional settings in which such theories provide the most likely mechanism. Three groups of mechanisms are distinguished: education as an indicator of productive skills, as a positional good and as a means for social closure. Conditions were formulated under which labour market behaviour is likely to correspond to the behavioural models underlying the three mechanism groups. To test the theoretical relationship between settings and mechanisms, I formulated hypotheses on setting variation in the (horizontal and vertical) process of matching educational level and field of study to jobs and its consequences for wages. Analyses in which Dutch survey data were combined with industry statistics confirmed the hypotheses.

Introduction: The evaluation of effective interventions is still needed to prevent family caregivers of persons with dementia from becoming physically or mentally ill. However, in most existing intervention studies, primary outcomes are not well matched to the treatment goals. Method: A randomized controlled trial (N = 229) was conducted to compare a treatment group (CBT), a treated control group, and an untreated control group. In theses analyses we focused on the primary outcome measurement (GAS) as a perceived treatment success as well as treatment compliance and participants’ evaluation. Results: Results showed that 30.1% achieved complete goal attainment, 39.8% partial goal attainment, and 24.1% declared no change (overachievement 2.4%; deterioration 3.6%). Discussion: The intervention can be considered to have been successful.

The incidence of overeducation in eight European countries is here assessed by means of multiple indicators. With the exception of Spain, the results reveal that overeducation is a minor risk amongst European tertiary graduates. Yet, the contrast between different indicators reveals the existence of an overeducation of a moderate kind in countries with high rates of tertiary attainment (Norway, Finland and Netherlands). Our results also reveal the importance of higher education differentiation for understanding the risk of overeducation. Graduates from humanistic fields, bachelor courses and vocational colleges are more exposed to overeducation, though their disadvantage varies cross-nationally.

The main objective of this study was to explore how teachers and classroom factors contribute to students' successful literacy learning. Eight Grade three classes, achieving at higher levels than e ...

The aim of the study was to investigate how successfully pupils had learned content in content and language integrated learning (CLIL) and to assess pupils' affective learning factors, such as motivation and self-esteem, in CLIL. Learning was presented in terms of achievement level, which was described as the relationship between measured levels of intelligence and school success. The study indicated that there were no major differences in learning, whether the language used in instruction is the pupils' mother tongue or a foreign language; pupils of different intelligence levels had similar chances to succeed in both cases. However, it was discovered that there may not be as many overachievers among the pupils in CLIL as among the pupils in the Finnish language instruction group. Achievements in the Finnish language, i.e. the mother tongue, were not negatively affected by CLIL. In terms of the affective factors, the study indicated that CLIL pupils had a low self-concept in foreign languages, although pu...

‘Underachievement’ has been one of the dominant discourses in education in recent times, but it is unclear what is meant by the term ‘underachievement’, and there is no widely accepted way of defining or measuring it. This paper describes the final stage of a large study which used contextualised models to identify students who may be underachieving and also overachieving in national tests at the end of Key Stage 3. Results suggested that the students who were identified in this study as underachieving were a very heterogeneous group, comprising students from across the ability range, from both sexes and with a range of background characteristics. Twenty students, both underachievers and overachievers, were randomly selected for interview. I examine whether there are any differences in how the two groups of students report their experiences of school. The findings suggest that any differences between the attitudes and aspirations of these students had little to do with whether they were ‘underachieving’ o...

This article assesses the extent to which the impact of overeducation and overskilling on labour market outcomes such as earnings and job satisfaction relate to mismatches in particular competency areas. The analysis uses REFLEX data, which collects information about 19 key competence areas related to job performance. We find that the penalties to both forms of mismatch are insensitive to the inclusion of controls for overskilling in a wide range of job-specific competencies. The research suggests that the problem of mismatch relates to an inability to fully utilise general or innate ability as opposed to specific areas of acquired learning. We conclude that the problem of mismatch can only be effectively addressed by raising general levels of job quality within developed labour markets.

This paper argues that examinations have a complex role in creating and defining gender differences in performance in public examinations. To illustrate this argument three aspects of examining are reviewed: styles of examinations and how they define achievement; coursework and the role it plays in contributing to gender differences in performance; and tiered entry systems in examinations and how they provide unequal opportunities for boys and girls to be successful. It presents the context in which research into gender, achievement and examining is now located by initially reviewing the recent media hype around gender and achievement. It then takes an historical look at gender and achievement and goes on to describe new gender stereotypes that influence current understandings of boys' and girls' achievement. There is much information that is ‘hidden’ behind examination results as they are commonly reported. This hidden information has more to do with how differences in performance are obtained, how subje...

Research on American students has indicated that a subjective overachiever strives to attain outstanding performance but is also chronically plagued by self-doubt. The present investigation compared Chinese college students in Hong Kong and Singapore to their Caucasian American counterparts in an attempt to examine the similarities and differences in subjective overachievement across cultures. Results supported the relevance of the subjective achievement experience in different cultures but also revealed important differences. Compared to American participants, Chinese participants showed more ambivalence about the benefits of failure, and they manifested higher levels of self-doubt as well as the tendency to discount ability under conditions of effort exertion. These cross-cultural differences persisted after controlling for individual differences in self-construals.

How to assist young people to achieve to their potential is a universal concern of educators. The relationship between achievement above that expected on the basis of IQ alone (often referred to as overachievement) in school assessment and preferred coping style, as assessed by the Adolescent Coping Scale (ACS, Frydenberg & Lewis, 1993a), was investigated in a group of 374 boys in Grades 9, 10 and 11 at an independent boys' school in metropolitan Melbourne. Separate partial correlation analyses for each of the three year levels showed that three of the coping strategies, Work and Achieve, Solve the Problem, and Social Support positively correlated with overachievement at all three levels. Other subscales also correlated significantly at one or other of the grade levels. It was concluded that overachievement may be better regarded as approaching one's full potential by the use of optimal coping strategies and avoidance of alternative responses to stress which appear to be non-productive.

To refine their understanding of student needs, the authors categorized academically at-risk students into three groups: (a) underachievers, those with higher than average achievement test scores but lower than average high school grade point averages (GPAs); (b) overachievers, those with lower than average test scores but higher than average high school GPAs; and (c) low achievers, those with low test scores and GPAs. A freshman seminar was developed to enhance the academic success of all three groups, and academic performance was analyzed over a 3-year period. The three populations performed differently and responded to seminar content in distinct ways. Comparison with a control group showed that of all seminar students, the only gain was in the retention of low achievers. Underachievers who took the seminar did less well than those in the control group both in retention and in subsequent GPA.