The study explored the impact of a team-based leaderboard on students' performance, confidence, and engagement in an in-class, multiple-choice quiz with two phases (voting/revoting). A total of 103 Psychology students volunteered to participate and were assigned to a control (one non-gamified team) or a gamified condition (two competing teams whose scores were shown on the leaderboard). During voting, the students answered the quiz and denoted their levels of confidence and wrote short justifications for their answers. The same quiz questions were used in revoting, while the tallied answers of their teammates, their level of confidence, and the justifications written for each of the question choices were shown. Results showed that the losing team was outperformed in all aspects of the study by the winning and the control teams, which were comparable to each other.
A team-based leaderboard was used to enhance social relatedness and avoid intrateam friction. The losing team demonstrated lower performance, confidence, and engagement, while the winning team was comparable to the non-gamified, control team. Students more positive to gamification in terms of competitiveness, experience, or preference experienced a larger negative impact from gamification. The implications of the study are that (a) team-based gamification may have a detrimental effect on students' performance, confidence, and engagement, and (b) students' individual characteristics related to gamification may interact with the gamification setting.
Knowledge profiles in conceptual and procedural fraction knowledge can vary among students. Given the cross-sectional design of previous studies, it is unclear whether these profiles can be altered or remain stable. Accordingly, we investigated (1) profiles of conceptual and procedural fraction knowledge, (2) their longitudinal transitions, and (3) the underlying factors. Data from N = 166 grade 7 students who participated in an intervention study with a pre-posttest design were analyzed. A latent transition analysis revealed six distinct profiles characterized by equal strength or weakness and varying conceptual and procedural knowledge levels, replicating individual differences in fraction knowledge. The longitudinal analysis showed that the knowledge profiles tended to be stable. Moreover, the profile transitions indicated gradual differences in the two types of knowledge rather than students catching up in one type of knowledge. Furthermore, the results suggest that basic arithmetic competence, and mathematics anxiety are related to profile membership.
Studying individual differences in conceptual and procedural fraction knowledge is highly important in education. It helps educators gain valuable insights into how students grasp this fundamental mathematical concept, as they can identify diverse knowledge profiles and underlying factors. By understanding these differences, teachers can develop tailored instruction to meet the specific needs of each learner, ultimately enhancing their understanding and mastery of fractions. This research deepens the understanding of fraction learning and offers valuable guidance for creating more effective and personalized teaching approaches.
Self-determination theory posits that teachers who support students' basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness (i.e., need-supportive teaching) are better able to facilitate students' optimal academic outcomes. However, the association between need-supportive teaching and students' socio-emotional skills remains relatively underexplored. This study explored the association between need-supportive teaching and students' socio-emotional skills. Additionally, it examined whether such association is similar or different across cultures (i.e., Western Europe, East Central Europe, East Europe, Latin America, English-speaking, Confucian, South and Southeast Asia, and Africa and the Middle East). Data from 519,487 secondary school students were analyzed. Results indicated that need-supportive teaching was positively associated with students' socio-emotional skills across cultures. However, there were slight variations in the magnitude of the relationship, with the strongest association observed in Confucian cultures. These findings highlight the universal importance of need-supportive teaching in developing students' socio-emotional skills and also surface some cross-cultural variations. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
When students perceived their teachers to be more supportive of their basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness (i.e., need-supportive teaching), they had higher socio-emotional skills. These skills included self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. This finding held across different cultural contexts, albeit with minor variations in terms of effect sizes. This study highlighted the positive relationship between need-supportive teaching and students' socio-emotional skills across different cultures.
The aim of this study is to examine both within-person and between-person associations of academic self-concept and task values in literacy and mathematics to identify the most promising motivational construct to prevent motivational decline during school transitions. The sample included 3636 students (average age at the start: 15.73 years, SD: 0.32 years) followed up three times from lower secondary school (T1) to the third year (T3) of upper secondary education, either in vocational or academic tracks. Multi-group random intercept cross-lagged panel models detected several spillover (cross-lagged) effects between self-concept and task values in mathematics but not in literacy. There were also marginal but significant differences between students from different educational tracks in both subjects. Overall, utility value and academic self-concept in mathematics were found to be the most promising motivational constructs in changing motivational beliefs, thus presenting important starting points in motivational interventions.
This study highlights that spillover effects are more pronounced in maths than in literacy, emphasising the need for tailored interventions in mathematics education. Moreover, the potential disruption in students' motivational beliefs during school transitions suggests the importance of ensuring continuity in support to help mitigate the impact of these transitions. While our results indicate limited carryover effects, it is possible that school transitions are experienced as breaks in motivational development. The role of utility value in exhibiting spillover effects over school transitions in both maths and literacy suggests the significance of emphasising the practical relevance of academic subjects to sustain students' motivation. Additionally, recognising the superior role of academic self-concept in maths in spillover effects on task values underscores the importance of nurturing students' confidence and beliefs in their own mathematical abilities.
The study was designed in two parts. First, we assessed the internal structure validity, measurement invariance across gender, and reliability of scores on the Slovenian version of the Self Description Questionnaire II (SDQ-II) in a sample of 9th grade students from Slovenian primary schools (N = 370). The modified nested Marsh/Shavelson model fit the data best, while measurement invariance across gender was not supported. In the second part, we used latent profile analysis to investigate different profiles of students' academic self-concept. We identified five distinct and interpretable profiles that differed by profile level (high, medium, and low academic self-concept) and profile shape (high academic self-concept in one domain vs. low academic self-concept in another). Subsequent covariate analysis revealed meaningful differences between latent profiles by gender and in overall and three subject-specific school grades (math, Slovenian, geography). The psychometric properties of the SDQ-II and individual differences in academic self-concept are discussed.
This study has important educational implications for researchers, teachers and school counsellors. The Slovenian version of the SDQ-II questionnaire was validated, providing a reliable tool for understanding the adolescents' academic self-concept (ASC). The identification of ASC profiles supports personalized teaching strategies and emphasizes the link between ASC and academic achievement, highlighting the importance of fostering students' self-concept. It also expands the understanding of ASC profiles in students by uncovering qualitative, i.e. different patterns of profiles for domain-specific self-concepts, and quantitative differences, i.e. different profile levels from low to high self-concepts.
Attempts have been made to predict academic performance (AP) from different factors, but in most cases it has been done with one measure or by combining two. We propose a study in which as predictors of AP we use: intelligence, estimated based on six factors (Gf, Gc, Gv, Gs, Gsm and Gy), general factor of personality, motivation (intrinsic, achievement and fear of failure), emotional intelligence, study skills, and psychopathology (anxiety, depression and stress). We evaluated 603 primary and secondary school students aged 12.88 (SD = 1.47), 47.6 % female. Results coming from structural equation modeling indicate that AP in primary school is explained by g (β = 0.40), Gf (β = 0.24), psychopathology (β = −0.17) and personality (β = 0.86) (Goodness of fit: GFI = 0,983, NFI = 0,916, SRMR = 0,089); and in secondary school by g (β = 0.64), Gs (β = 0.29) and personality (β = 0.68) (Goodness of fit: GFI = 0.990, NFI = 0.884, SRMR = 0.098). The results coincide with previous studies, with small discrepancies that may be due to the use of multiple predictors of AP. In conclusion, cognitive factors appear to be the best predictor of AP in primary and secondary school.