Perceived control (Rothbaum, Weisz, & Snyder, 1982) and achievement goals (Dweck & Leggett, 1988) are two widely studied motivational constructs that influence students’ emotions and achievement. The central focus of this dissertation was to explore the associations between achievement goals and perceived control in three studies. Each study used a separate cohort of first-year college students taken from the Motivation and Academic Achievement (MAACH) Project (1992-2005, N = 10,053). Study 1 (n = 752) was descriptive and tested the associations between goals, control, and attributions. The results demonstrated that primary control was very clearly defined by the controllability dimension of attributions; however, the other variables were less clear. The purpose of Study 2 (n = 360) was to test for reciprocal relationships between goals and control by using a two-wave four-variable cross-lag panel model. The best predictor of each Time 2 variable was its corresponding Time 1 counterpart. Additionally, the results showed that Time 1 mastery goals positively predicted Time 2 primary and secondary control, but no other relationships emerged. Study 3 (n = 251) extended the relationships between goals and control to predict students’ emotions and achievement. The direct and indirect effects implied by the following longitudinal model were tested: goals → control → emotions → achievement (Pekrun, 2006). Mastery goals positively predicted primary and secondary control, whereas performance goals positively predicted primary control only. Primary control was the main mediator between goals and negative emotions. Additionally, primary control had a positive direct effect on achievement, and thus mediated the effects of both mastery and performance goals on this outcome. Secondary control had a negative direct effect on achievement and consequently acted as a negative mediator between mastery goals and achievement. For mastery goals, anger, anxiety, and boredom functioned as positive mediators with achievement. These emotions also positively mediated the effects of primary control on achievement. Results of the three studies are discussed in terms of contributions to the separate literatures on achievement goals and perceived control and in terms of implications for students in new and challenging achievement settings.

The purpose of the study was to examine differential effects, if any, which two types of sma.11-group continuing freshman orientation programs had on participant academic achievement and perceptions of campus environment. The initial research sample consisted of 155 students randomly selected from 328 freshmen entering Taylor University, Upland, Indiana, for the first time in the fall term, 1980. Fifty-two students were randrn1v selected to participated in three levels of continuing orientation. Level 1 involved participation in the Providing Relevant Opportunities and Building Experiences (PROSE) program at Taylor University. PROBE was a small-group continuing orientation program with a prescribed format and content. Level 2 involved participation in a small-group continuing orientation program in which neither format nor content were prescribed. Level 3 involved no participation in a continuing orientation program at Taylor University and served as the control group for the study.Following completion of the seven week orientation program, perceptions of research subjects about campus environment were measured by the college and University Environment Scales (CUES). Grade point averages of all subjects were obtained following completion of the fall term. The final sample was comprised of forty-nine students in each of the three experimental groups.Analysis of variance, with subsequent t-tests, where appropriate, were utilized to test three null hypotheses pertaining, to differences among groups on the post test criterion measure of student perceptions about the campus environment and three null hypotheses pertaining to differences on the post test criterion measure of academic achievement. All decisions with regard to significance were made at the .05 level.Findings of the study support the following conclusions regarding the effects of two types of continuing freshman orientation programs on academic achievement an perceptions of the campus environment at Taylor University:1. Students participating in a small-group continuing orientation program with a prescribed format and content do not perceive the campus environment any differently than non-participants.2. Students participating in a small-group continuing orientation program without a prescribed format and content do not perceive the campus environment any differently than non-participants.3. Students participating in a small-group continuing orientation program with a prescribed format and content do not perceive the campus environment any differently than students participating in a small-group continuing orientation program without a prescribed format and content.4. Participants in a small-group continuing orientation program achieve a higher grade point average than non-participants, regardless of whether the format: and content are prescribed b y the university.Application of the findings were extended for observations beyond the scope of the original research. One such observation involved speculation regarding the role of the small-group format in the improvement off participant academic achievement.Results of the study suggest that participation in a continuing orientation program with a small-group format contributes to academic achievement. The results further suggest that such an improvement in academic achievement occurs irrespective of the format or content of the small-group continuing orientation program. Implications which might be drawn from such results include the following:1. The small-group process as utilized in the continuing orientation program contributes to increased academic achievement.2. Format or content of small-group continuing orientation programs are not a contributing factor to increased academic achievement.Further research to determine the differential effects, if any, of the small-group process compared to alternative processes in continuing orientation is needed to empirically support or refute such statements.

Concurrent and prospective relationships between symptoms of depression, anxiety, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and conduct disorder (CD) and academic achievement were examined in a large sample of Canadian children. Students in Grade 5 (N = 715) completed the depression and anxiety subscales of the Behaviour Assessment System for Children – Second Edition. Parents reported on their child’s symptoms of ADHD and CD using the Brief Child and Family Phone Interview. Academic achievement was measured using teacher-rated learning skills and students’ grade point average (GPA) from their Ontario Student Record (OSR) in fifth grade and again in sixth grade (N = 627). Symptoms of depression, anxiety, ADHD, and CD were significantly negatively correlated with academic achievement at Time 1 and Time 2. After controlling for child’s sex, household income, maternal education, and days absent, children’s mental health problems accounted for an additional 12% and 11% of the variability in their Time 1 mean ratings of learning skills and GPA, respectively. Only symptoms of ADHD predicted Time 2 GPA (1% of the variance) after controlling for Time 1 GPA and other sociodemographic variables. Findings highlight the unique contribution of mental health problems in predicting academic achievement and point to the need to promote children’s mental health in schools.

Self-concept, or feelings about oneself, encompasses various areas including social and academic domains and has been suggested to be a predictor and mediator of other outcomes (Bryne, 1996). In this study, the relationships between achievement, intelligence scores, and self-concept in children with mild intellectual disabilities were examined. Self-concept and WISC verbal intelligence scores evidenced significant relationships. Additionally, relationships were demonstrated between gains in achievement and higher ratings of self-concept. These results suggest that relationships exist between intelligence, achievement, and self-concept in elementary school children with MID. Specifically, a positive relationship was demonstrated between achievement gains and self-concept. Associations between intelligence and self-concept also were demonstrated, where higher intelligence scores were related to both lower nonacademic self-concept and higher cognitive self-concept.

Typescript. / Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii, 1970. / Bibliography: leaves 166-173. / viii, 173 l graphs, tables

This study modifies Cummins' (1997) theoretical framework of minority student achievement and social power relations to account for differences in educational achievement among different identifiable subgroups of the ESL population. This framework provides the conceptual structure for a multidimensional understanding of ESL academic achievement (e.g. Gonzales, 2001) whereby the mediating influence of the broad social power relations between dominant and minority groups, students' individual characteristics, including personal abilities, experiences and socio-demographic backgrounds, interacts with ecologies, including educational structures such as curricula, curricular organization, school populations and the policy environment to influence educational trajectories. This study employs descriptive, bi-variate, and logistic and multiple regression to perform secondary analysis on data describing the academic trajectories of the ESL students (n=7 527) of British Columbia's 1997 grade eight cohort (n=48 265). It compares the results to a native English speaker (NES) baseline. ESL students are disaggregated by ethno-cultural background, English proficiency, gender, age on entry to the BC school system, and socio-economic status. School population effects are also considered. The dependent variables are five and six-year graduation rates, and participation and performance across academic subjects. Results show that identifiable ethno-cultural subgroups of ESL students navigate widely varying academic trajectories. English proficiency and gender differences also affect achievement, more so in already under-achieving ethno-cultural groups. Later ages of entry generally prove advantageous for some groups in mathematics and the sciences but predict diminished outcomes in the humanities for all groups. Socio-economic effects only partially account for differences among ethno-cultural groups. School composition also has minimal effect. Most ethno-cultural groups have higher academic participation rates but lower performance scores than NESs. ESL graduation rates are more stable across socio-economic strata than NES graduation rates. The need to disaggregate data for research and decision-making, and to target support toward under-performing student groups is discussed. While ESL students perform well in aggregate, lower outcomes of identifiable subgroups are masked. The study concludes with a call for more refined data, and for further methodologically advanced research.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Tulsa, 1978. / Bibliography: l. 39-41.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Tulsa, 1969. / Bibliography: l. 47-49.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Tulsa, 1987. / Bibliography: leaves 74-78.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Tulsa, 1987. / Bibliography: leaves 74-78.