Social Psychology of Education最新文献

Despite some progress towards gender equality in Western societies, traditional gender norms still shape career choices, perpetuating a gender gap where girls are more likely to pursue traditionally feminine fields like healthcare, elementary education, and domestic roles (HEED), while boys are drawn to masculine domains such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This research investigates whether, and under which conditions, the perception that gender norms are progressively changing towards less gender dichotomy can reduce this gender gap in academic fields. We recruited a sample of 642 high-school students (394 women and 248 men), and experimentally manipulated both the salience of changes in gender norm (stability vs change) and participants’ gender prototypicality. The main dependent variable was participants’ interest in stereotypically feminine (HEED) and masculine (STEM) academic fields. The results indicated a slight decrease in the gender gap for stereotypically feminine fields (HEED) among participants who saw themselves as typical members of their gender group, but no significant change was observed for stereotypically masculine fields (STEM). These findings suggest that shifting perceptions of gender norms may have a limited effect on modifying traditional educational and career choices, underscoring the resilience of entrenched gender stereotypes.

Abstract

Receiving appropriate, unbiased advice from their teachers is important for students’ smaller- and larger-scale educational decisions. However, teachers’ concerns about being or appearing to be prejudiced may interfere and lead them to provide encouraging advice to students belonging to negatively stereotyped groups even when it is not warranted (failure-to-warn phenomenon). In this experimental study, we aimed to replicate findings from the US and tested whether teacher students in Germany provided overly encouraging advice regarding the academic plans of a student with a Turkish (vs. German) name. Teacher students (n = 174) saw the overly ambitious timetable of a (supposed) student with a Turkish or German name and gave advice online on rating scales and in an open-response format. In their advice, they indicated, among others, the perceived demands of the timetable, possible affective and social consequences for the student, and the need to reconsider the timetable. Contrary to expectations and findings from the US, our analyses did not indicate differences in the advice that students with Turkish vs. German names received. Instead, teacher students warned students with a Turkish and German name equally of the difficulties associated with their potential timetable. We discuss both methodology- and theory-related potential explanations for these unexpected findings.

Abstract

This paper investigates the student-teacher relationship among minoritized primary school pupils in Flanders, Belgium, who attend both mainstream and supplementary schools, educational initiatives organized by their communities in the weekend. Despite the recognized significance of this relationship, research often overlooks the experiences of students with migration backgrounds, and especially those of primary school pupils. This study aims to comprehensively understand the student-teacher dynamic by exploring both the academic and the affective side of the relationship from the perspective of the children. While prior research mainly focuses on secondary school students and mainly uses quantitative data, this qualitative study delves into the primary school context. Minoritized pupils, who attend supplementary schools in addition to their mainstream schools, provide a unique opportunity to examine student-teacher relationships across varied educational settings. Through 13 open ended in-depth interviews with a total of 29 pupils aged 9 to 12 attending both types of schools, the study uncovers which aspects of their student-teacher relationships the pupils perceive as supportive, in each setting. The findings reveal both shared and distinct experiences within different contexts, shedding light on the intricate interplay of expectations, teacher attitudes, and relationships. By investigating affective and academic dimensions of the student-teacher relationship from the experience of minoritized pupils, this paper adds to our understanding of the student teacher relationship. The insights emphasize the need to support the diverse needs of minoritized pupils in complex educational environments, offering recommendations for policymakers and suggesting future research directions.

Abstract

In school settings, students’ mindset about intelligence (i.e., fixed versus growth mindset) and their sense of belonging to school (SBS) have both been shown to predict academic attainment. However, these constructs have rarely been examined together although both were found to be impacted by students’ socioeconomic status (SES). Across the literature, findings are inconsistent concerning this moderating effect of SES. In the present preregistered study, we used data from the French sample of the Programme for International Student Assessment 2018 (PISA; N = 6308) to examine whether growth mindset positively predicted SBS and whether this association was moderated by students’ SES. Results showed that growth mindset was positively associated with SBS. On the confirmatory linear regression analyses, we found no moderation effect of any of the SES indicators on the association between growth mindset and SBS. However, pre-registered supplementary multigroup analyses showed descriptively that this association was stronger for high than for low SES students and notably when SES indicators concerned family financial resources. Limitations of this research and perspectives for future studies are discussed, with a focus on why the literature should care about the different meanings and consequences of SES indicators.

Students’ homework emotions greatly influence the quality of homework, learning activities, and even academic achievement and burden. Therefore, encouraging students’ positive homework emotions is essential for their development. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between three types of teachers’ homework feedback (checking homework on the board, grading homework, and constructive comments), students’ positive and negative homework emotions in Chinese subjects while taking into account the mediating effect of academic self-esteem and gender differences in these underlying relationships. 928 elementary school students of 4–6th grade participated in this survey and completed scales. Results showed that (1) checking homework on the board and constructive comments positively impacted students' positive emotions, while checking homework on the board negatively influenced students’ negative emotions. In contrast, constructive comments did not impact students’ negative emotions. Furthermore, grading homework had no significant effect on students’ emotions; (2) academic self-esteem mediated the relationship between teachers' homework feedback and students’ homework emotions, and (3) gender moderated some underlying relationships between teachers’ homework feedback, students’ homework emotions, and academic self-esteem. This study has implications for teachers in designing and choosing high-quality homework feedback, encouraging students’ positive homework emotions, and reducing students’ negative homework emotions.

Personal best (PB) goal setting refers to the pursuit of individual improvement through striving to outperform a previous best level of performance or effort. Although promising evidence has been building, numerous empirical questions remain to be answered, including how PB goal setting may operate alongside various contextual predictors of academic functioning. Applying the Academic Demands-Resources (AD-R) framework, the present study examined how academic resources and demands (conceptualized by way of teachers’ interpersonal styles: autonomy-supportive and psychologically-controlling/thwarting teaching) and personal resources (PB goal setting) are associated with parent reports of students’ behavioral engagement (homework behavior). The study comprised 414 Australian secondary school students. Results of structural equation modeling revealed that PB goal setting significantly predicted positive homework behavior and also moderated the association between psychologically-controlling teaching practices and homework behavior, such that PB goal setting was associated with positive homework behavior under conditions of high demands. The present work highlights the potentially unique contribution of PB goal setting in facilitating students’ adaptive engagement and demonstrates the utility of the AD-R framework for better understanding students’ engagement in the academic context.

Dropout is a problematic issue in education due to its high prevalence and impact on students and society. In fact, it can limit students’ future options, and it involves a substantial cost for public budgets in most countries. This is not an easy problem to solve, since student dropout is a complex decisional process involving such factors as personal and contextual characteristics, educational variables, and psychosocial aspects. Very few studies have examined whether sociodemographic and psycho-educational variables affect educational dropout at different academic levels. For this reason, the present study aims to provide a better understanding of the role of several variables (age, academic results, gender, sexual orientation, academic help-seeking, academic self-efficacy, and planning as a strategy to cope with academic stress) in educational dropout thoughts in a sample of 759 students resident in Spain (age: M = 22.91, 74.0% women). Regression analyses showed that dropout thoughts were significantly predicted by academic results, planning, sexual orientation, academic self-efficacy, and academic help-seeking. Agreements and discrepancies with previous research are discussed. The results of the current study can be used by educators, policy makers and institutions to develop programmes to reduce student dropout by enhancing self-regulated learning strategies.

Abstract

This study examined the impacts of internationalization-at-home efforts on intercultural interactions and outcomes for domestic graduate students through a Cultural Partner Program. Ninety-seven participants were recruited from a public research university in the southeastern part of the U.S. Among them, 68 participated in an experimental group in which each of them was paired up with an incoming graduate-level international student to conduct intercultural activities over one semester. All participants took pre- and post-test surveys including psychosocial measures such as wellbeing, intercultural competency, stress, and perceived support. The regression analyses found a significant conditional difference between experimental and control groups in well-being but not other variables. Standardized mean difference analyses revealed improvements present between the experimental group and control group in perceived support and interaction attentiveness and stress. University campuses need to allocate greater lengths of time and resources for graduate students to be a part of intercultural interactions on campus throughout their study.