Sex differences in school achievement: what are the roles of personality and achievement motivation?

2008 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 185-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricarda Steinmayr ◽  
Birgit Spinath
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Goal Orientation ◽  
Achievement Motivation ◽  
School Achievement ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
Motivational Constructs ◽  
School Attainment ◽  
Work Avoidance ◽  
Math Grades ◽  
Gender Specific

It is consistently reported that despite equal cognitive ability, girls outperform boys in school. In several methodological steps, the present study examined sex differences in school achievement and some of the most important personality and motivational constructs in a sample of 204 females and 138 adolescent males (mean age M = 16.94 years; SD = 0.71). Grades in Math and German as well as grade point average (GPA) served as achievement criteria. Intelligence, the Big Five of personality and motivational variables (achievement motives, goal orientation, task values and ability self‐concepts) served as predictors. After controlling for intelligence, girls' grades were significantly better than boys'. Mean sex differences were found for most variables. There were no gender‐specific associations between predictors and grades. Agreeableness, work avoidance, ability self‐concepts and values ascribed to German mediated the association between sex and grades in German. Controlling for ability self‐concepts and values ascribed to Math enhanced the association between sex and math grades. We concluded that personality and motivation play important roles in explaining sex differences in school attainment. Results are discussed against the background of practical and methodological implications. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Predicting school achievement in boys and girls

2008 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 231-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Harald Freudenthaler ◽  
Birgit Spinath ◽  
Aljoscha C. Neubauer
Keyword(s):  
Intrinsic Motivation ◽  
Achievement Goals ◽  
School Achievement ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
School Anxiety ◽  
School Attainment ◽  
Work Avoidance ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Mean Differences ◽  
Avoidance Goals

This study investigates the extent to which girls' better school attainment is associated with sex differences in intelligence, personality and school‐related motivation. In a sample of 1353 Austrian pupils (mean age 13.74 years), intelligence, the Big Five of personality, self‐esteem, school anxiety, school‐related intrinsic motivation and achievement goals were assessed as predictors and GPA as achievement criterion. Most predictors yielded significant mean differences between sexes and some of the variables predicted school achievement only for boys or only for girls. Intelligence and self‐esteem were the strongest predictors of GPA for both sexes, and school‐related intrinsic motivation, school anxiety and performance‐avoidance goals explained additional variance in GPA only for boys, whereas work avoidance did so only for girls. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A Person-Centered Investigation of Achievement Motivation Goals and Correlates of Community College Student Achievement and Persistence

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 369-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlton J. Fong ◽  
Taylor W. Acee ◽  
Claire Ellen Weinstein
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
Student Retention ◽  
Goal Orientation ◽  
Achievement Motivation ◽  
Community College Student ◽  
Students At Risk ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
Academic Difficulty ◽  
Approach Goals ◽  
Person Centered Approach

Given low rates of student retention in community colleges, there has been growing interest in understanding characteristics that put students at-risk and that serve to buffer against academic difficulty. In particular, research on student success has focused on demographic predictors that are difficult to change, whereas motivational variables—that are malleable—require greater attention. In addition, studies have utilized variable-centered approaches, but in the present study, we use a person-centered approach to identify distinct motivational profiles informed by goal-orientation theory. With a large sample of community college students, we identified five clusters and found that high levels of mastery approach goals and moderate levels of performance-approach goal orientation were the ideal combination of academic motives for grade point average and persistence.

Predicting School Achievement from Motivation and Personality

2007 ◽  
Vol 21 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 207-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricarda Steinmayr ◽  
Birgit Spinath
Keyword(s):  
Big Five ◽  
School Achievement ◽  
Performance Criteria ◽  
Nomological Network ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
Adolescent Students ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Motivational Constructs ◽  
Self Reports ◽  
And Mathematics

Abstract. The present study aims at comparing the predictive power of motivation and broad personality traits for school performance and contributes to an understanding of the nomological network of personality. A sample of German adolescent students (N = 342 11th and 12th graders, age M = 16.94, SD = .71) gave self-reports of need for achievement, domain-specific ability self-concepts and task values in German and Math as well as the Big Five of personality. Grades in German and mathematics as well as grade-point average served as performance criteria. On a bivariate zero-order level, the motivational constructs showed the hypothesized positive associations with school achievement in Math, German, and GPA. With respect to personality, only Conscientiousness was consistently positively associated with grades, whereas Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, and Agreeableness were either not or weakly associated with one or two out of three performance criteria. Hierarchical and stepwise regression analyses were performed with grades in Math and German as well as GPA as dependent variables. When comparing motivation and personality, domain-specific ability self-concepts were the strongest predictors of all performance criteria. Together, the present results confirm the predominance of motivational concepts over the Big Five of personality for the prediction of performance criteria and substantiate the importance to integrate trait conceptions of motivation into the nomological network of personality.

Prediction of College Success from Measures of Anxiety, Achievement Motivation, and Scholastic Aptitude

1964 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry H. Reiter
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Achievement Motivation ◽  
College Freshmen ◽  
College Success ◽  
School Achievement ◽  
School Grade ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
Scholastic Aptitude ◽  
High School Achievement ◽  
College Grades

The nonintellectual predictors of college grades were studied by means of the EPPS, the 16 PF, the IPIT, a multiple-choice variation of the TAT, the Page Fantasy Scale, the Taylor MAS, and the Sarason TAQ. For 76 male and female college freshmen and sophomores measures of high school grade point average and EPPS n-Ach were significant predictors of college grades but measures of scholastic aptitude and anxiety were not. It was implied that high school achievement is a superior criterion for predicting college success. Adequate measures of nonintellectual variables which may contribute to that prediction are lacking.

Temperamental influences on psychosocial adjustment: From infancy to adolescence

1998 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 7-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann Sanson ◽  
Margot Prior ◽  
Frank Oberklaid ◽  
Diana Smart
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Family Functioning ◽  
Psychosocial Adjustment ◽  
High Stability ◽  
Comparison Group ◽  
School Achievement ◽  
Behaviour Problems ◽  
Behaviour Problem ◽  
Clinical Diagnoses ◽  
Family Variables

AbstractResults are presented from a recent study within the Australian Temperament Project (ATP), in which a group of children with significant behaviour problems, and a comparison group, were selected from the sample at 11–12 years and home-visited, with assessments of clinical diagnoses, intelligence, school achievement and social competence, and a variety of family functioning indices. Approximately half the behaviour problem group received at least one diagnosis. Twice as many boys as girls were diagnosed. Rates of comorbidity were high but, generally, within—rather than between—the broadband internalising or externalising spectra. Concurrent family functioning measures discriminated between groups, but not as strongly as intrinsic child measures, and the particular family variables that best discriminated between groups showed sex differences. High stability of behaviour problems from earlier years was evident, and the behaviour problem group differed from the comparison group on measures of temperament, behaviour, and context from early childhood; both findings reinforce the need for early intervention.The implications of these and other findings from the ATP, particularly the need for early intervention, are discussed.

scholarly journals Model Motivasi Trisula: Sintesis Baru Teori Motivasi Berprestasi

2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 218
Author(s):  
Edy Purwanto
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
Goal Orientation ◽  
Achievement Motivation ◽  
Junior High School ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Task Value ◽  
School Students ◽  
Significant Loading

The purpose of this study was to find out a comprehensive model of achievement motivation appropriate for Indonesian students. Specifically, this study examined the contribution of task-value, self-efficacy and goal orientation in influencing students’ achievement motivation. The subjects of this research were 393 high school students, 219 of them are female and 174 are male. 46% of them were senior high school and 54% junior, high school students. 45% were from public schools and 55% from religion-based private schools. The task-value, self-efficacy, goal orientation and achievement motivation as scaling instruments used in this study were developed from Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire Manual. The instruments had been tested and proved valid and reliable. Analysis of model testing data was done using technique of confirmatory factor analysis. The results showed that the trisula model of achievement motivation was reliable. The task-value, self-efficacy and goal orientation are significant loading factors for achievement motivation. The self-efficacy also is a significant loading factor for the task-value and goal orientation. Keywords: achievement motivation, goal orientation, self-efficacy, task-value

Conceptualization of Educational Persistence within Malaysian Higher Institution

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-57
Author(s):  
Monsurat Olusola Mosaku ◽  
Mohamed Najib Abdul Ghafar
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Goal Orientation ◽  
Questionnaire Development ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Developmental Model ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
Psychological Constructs ◽  
Educational Persistence ◽  
Higher Institution ◽  
Relationship Of

Psychological constructs have been empirically linked to academic performance (as measured by Grade Point Average) and its improvement. Focal amid these psychological constructs are Goal Orientation, Self-Regulated Strategies, Disposition to Persevere and Attention. However, researches have been dedicated on the relationship of a few of these variables to academic performance but have not been examined as a single framework incorporating the theoretical models of all these variables. This study thus investigates a composite integrated model of the above mentioned variables to assess the learning quality of students termed as Educational Persistence. Its attainment warrants the utilization of a questionnaire developmental model. This study conceptualizes Educational Persistence for Malaysian higher education based on Cohen and Swerdlik (2002) questionnaire development model.

Achievement as a Momentary Event, as a Continuing State, Locus of Control: A Clarification

1980 ◽  
Vol 51 (3_suppl2) ◽  
pp. 1159-1166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence W. Sherman ◽  
Richard J. Hofmann
Keyword(s):  
Locus Of Control ◽  
Standardized Test ◽  
School Achievement ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
Path Diagram ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Standardized Test Results ◽  
Diagram Approach ◽  
Better Than

The relationship between locus of control and achievement is clarified by disaggregating achievement into a momentary event (standardized test results) and continuing state (grade-point average) utilizing a path diagram approach. Although there are no substantial correlations among socioeconomic status, sex, and locus of control in this study, the three variables predict school achievement as a continuing state ( R = 33) considerably better than they do as a momentary event ( R = .56) of 174 students in Grade 8.

Sex Differences in School Achievement

1968 ◽  
Vol 68 (8) ◽  
pp. 427-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bartell W. Cardon
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
School Achievement
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