Childhood Social Skills as Predictors of Middle School Academic Adjustment

The present study used multiple regression analyses to examine the relationships between fifth-grade social skills and eighth-grade academic achievement. Data were drawn from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999 (ECLS-K). Results indicated no relationship between positive or negative social behavior in fifth grade and academic achievement or teacher-rated academic skills in eighth grade. However, consistent with previous studies, fifth-grade approaches to learning were found to be positive predictors of both academic achievement and teacher-rated academic skills in eighth grade. In addition, these results suggest that socioeconomic status plays a significant and potentially unexplored avenue for understanding these outcomes. These results further illuminate the way behaviors in elementary school relate to academic adjustment to middle school.

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Examining the relationship between academic achievement and attitudes of the middle school students

Cypriot Journal of Educational Sciences ◽

10.18844/cjes.v11i4.1171 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 203-212 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Murat Tezer ◽

Celalettin Özden ◽

Mucahit Elci

Keyword(s):

Middle School ◽

Academic Achievement ◽

Parent Education ◽

Family Income ◽

Eighth Grade ◽

School Students ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Attitudes Towards Technology ◽

The Relationship ◽

Technology And Design

In this study, the relationship between academic achievement and attitudes towards “technology and design lesson” of the middle school, eighth grade students’ gender, family income level, parent education level attitudes towards technology and design lesson have been investigated, and examined the relationship between attitudes and academic achievement. Eighth-grade total of 98 students selected from 3 middle schools by simple random sampling method has been identified at research in North Cyprus. The data collection tool used in this study was the ‘technology and design course attitude scale’. Descriptive survey model was used in the research. The data were analyzed using independent sample t-test, Anova, correlation, frequency and percentage calculations. At the end of the research; no significant difference found between attitudes towards technology and design lesson according to students’ gender, family income, parent education levels. Also no significant relationship found between students’ academic achievements in “technology and design course” and “attitudes toward the technology and design course”. Keywords: Technology and design, academic achievement, attitude towards lesson, students

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How Do Individual Predispositions and Family Dynamics Contribute to Academic Adjustment Through the Middle School Years? The Mediating Role of Friends’ Characteristics

The Journal of Early Adolescence ◽

10.1177/0272431618776124 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 39 (4) ◽

pp. 576-602 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Marie Claire Vaillancourt ◽

Alexandra Oliveira Paiva ◽

Marie-Hélène Véronneau ◽

Thomas J. Dishion

Keyword(s):

Middle School ◽

Academic Achievement ◽

Problem Behavior ◽

Academic Adjustment ◽

Mediating Effect ◽

Adolescent Problem Behavior ◽

Mediating Role ◽

High Achieving ◽

Sustained Success ◽

Grade 8

This study examined the mediating effect of friends’ characteristics (problem behavior and academic achievement) in the association between students’ background (family and individual factors) and later academic adjustment, as operationalized by problem behavior and academic achievement. We recruited 998 participants in three public middle schools and used three annual waves of data collection (Grades 6, 7, and 8). We found that students’ own academic achievement and problem bahvior are predictors of later adjustment. Friendship choices are identified as a mediation mechanism that contributes to consistent adjustment from the beginning to the end of middle school. Specifically, high-achieving students in Grade 6 tend to associate with high-achieving friends and are unlikely to associate with friends who exhibit problem behavior in Grade 7, which results in continued achievement in Grade 8. Associating with high-achieving friends in Grade 7 also mediated the link between adolescent problem behavior in Grade 6 and academic achievement by Grade 8. Friends’ characteristics in Grade 7 did not mediate the effect of any family factor measured in Grade 6. In general, our results suggest friendship selection is central to sustained success throughout the middle school years.

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The Relations of Middle School Students' Perceived Instructional Context, Academic Enablers, Academic Skills, and Academic Achievement

The Korean Journal of School Psychology ◽

10.16983/kjsp.2009.6.3.291 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 6 (3) ◽

pp. 291-311

Author(s):

ShinHyeonsook

Keyword(s):

Middle School ◽

Academic Achievement ◽

Middle School Students ◽

Academic Skills ◽

School Students ◽

Academic Enablers ◽

Instructional Context

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Patterns of Social-Emotional Needs and Trajectories of Aggression and Substance Use Among Middle School Boys

The Journal of Early Adolescence ◽

10.1177/0272431618812740 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 39 (9) ◽

pp. 1217-1243 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kevin Tan ◽

Deborah Gorman-Smith ◽

Michael Schoeny ◽

Yoonsun Choi

Keyword(s):

Middle School ◽

Substance Use ◽

Social Skills ◽

Problem Behaviors ◽

Latent Class ◽

Eighth Grade ◽

Behavioral Risk ◽

Social Emotional ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Positive Social Skills

Co-occurring social-emotional problems are associated with increased risk of aggression and substance use. However, few studies examine their configurational patterns. This study identifies patterns of co-occurring social skills, anxiety, learning, and conduct problems among 2,632 urban boys at entry into sixth grade, and their related aggression and substance use trajectories through eighth grade. Latent class analysis revealed four patterns at school entry: “low-all,” “poor social skills,” “positive social skills,” and “high all.” Findings point to important variation in risk. Problem behaviors increased the least through middle school for the “low-all” pattern. The “positive social skills” pattern had an average increase, while the “poor social skills” pattern had higher levels of problem behaviors in sixth and seventh grade. The “high all” showed the fastest increase in problem behaviors and the highest levels in eighth grade. Discussion focuses on implications for a multi-tiered school-based system of supports for behavioral risk management.

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It’s More the Exception Rather Than the Rule: African American Families’ Neighborhoods and Youth’s Academic Performance During Middle School

Journal of Black Psychology ◽

10.1177/0095798418806130 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 44 (6) ◽

pp. 562-588 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Dawn P. Witherspoon ◽

Deborah Rivas-Drake ◽

Meeta Banerjee

Keyword(s):

Middle School ◽

Academic Achievement ◽

African American ◽

Academic Performance ◽

Social Relationships ◽

Early Adolescence ◽

Academic Adjustment ◽

African American Families ◽

Relational Dynamics ◽

The Social

Neighborhoods are an important part of the social milieu of adolescence and academic performance. Using experiential neighborhood profiles, this study examined risks and assets to determine how neighborhood structural and relational dynamics were associated with academic achievement during early adolescence. The sample included 723 African American socioeconomically diverse families ( Myouth age = 12.27 years, SD = 0.55). Results showed that neighborhood structural disadvantage was unrelated to academic achievement, whereas neighborhood profiles were associated with academic performance in eighth grade, after adjusting for seventh grade GPA. Neighborhood profiles characterized by positive social relationships were associated with higher achievement. Authors discuss the importance of examining neighborhood risks and supports for African American youth’s academic adjustment.

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The Effect of Instructional Time Frequency on Middle School Students' Mathematics Achievement Scores

International Journal of Research in Education and Science ◽

10.46328/ijres.v6i4.1265 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 6 (4) ◽

pp. 705

Author(s):

Allison L. Temple ◽

Shereeza F. Mohammed

Keyword(s):

Middle School ◽

Middle School Students ◽

Mathematics Instruction ◽

Eighth Grade ◽

Instructional Time ◽

School Students ◽

Time Frequency ◽

Achievement Data ◽

Ex Post ◽

Eighth Grade Students

To achieve the goal of 100% proficiency for all students in mathematics, a middle school in a large urban public school district in Omaha, Nebraska increased the frequency of instructional time in mathematics instruction for a group of seventh and eighth grade students. The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a difference in the performance of seventh and eighth grade students on the Nebraska State Accountability Mathematics Assessment (NeSA-M) using different frequencies of mathematics instruction, provided daily versus every-other-day. The Continuous Improvement Theory and Bloom’s Mastery Learning model were used as frameworks to investigate math achievement. A quantitative causal-comparative study was conducted using ex post facto achievement data. The analysis included the comparison of the mean differences in NeSA-M scores for seventh and eighth grade students using an independent samples t test. This analysis was completed to see if block scheduling frequency daily versus every other day was effective with student achievement for each grade level. There were unexpected results from this study as the two grade levels demonstrated different effects from the influence of increased instructional time on the growth of middle school students’ NeSA scores.

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