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

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 576-602 ◽  
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.

Father Presence and Adolescents’ Resilience: The Mediating Role of Failure Learning

2021 ◽  
pp. 003329412110296
Author(s):  
Yue Yu ◽  
Xueyan Wei ◽  
Robert D Hisrich ◽  
Linfang Xue
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Significant Positive Correlation ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
The Other ◽  
Mediating Effects ◽  
School Students ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Father Presence

In this study, we aimed to investigate the association between father presence and the resilience of adolescents, and whether failure learning mediates this association. Specifically, we obtained in-depth details on the relation between father presence and adolescents’ resilience by examining the mediating effects of four subfactors of failure learning: failure cognition, reflection and analysis, experience transformation, and prudent attempt. For this purpose, we used the questionnaire to access Chinese middle school students’ father presence, resilience, and failure learning. In total, six hundred and twenty-six valid questionnaires were collected. The results were as follows: (1) there was a significant positive correlation between father presence, failure learning, and resilience; (2) failure learning played a mediating role between father presence and adolescents’ resilience; (3) the mediating effect of experience transformation and prudent attempt (two subfactors of failure learning) between father presence and adolescents’ resilience was significant, while the mediating effect of failure cognition and reflective analysis (the other two subfactors of failure learning) was insignificant.

Childhood Social Skills as Predictors of Middle School Academic Adjustment

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (6) ◽  
pp. 825-851 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon Emmett Hall ◽  
James Clyde DiPerna
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Social Skills ◽  
Academic Adjustment ◽  
Approaches To Learning ◽  
Academic Skills ◽  
Fifth Grade ◽  
Eighth Grade ◽  
Achievement Data ◽  
Kindergarten Class

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.

Effect of Positive Parenting Styles as Perceived by Middle School Students on Academic Achievement and the Mediation Effect of Self-Esteem and Academic Engagement

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (23) ◽  
pp. 13233
Author(s):  
Jhong Yun (Joy) Kim ◽  
Eunbee Kim
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Parenting Styles ◽  
Academic Engagement ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Positive Parenting ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Mediation Effect ◽  
School Students

This study aimed to identify how positive parenting styles as perceived by middle school students affect their academic achievement and to assess the mediation effect of self-esteem and academic engagement. Data concerning 2590 middle school first graders were obtained from the South Korea Children and Youth Panel Survey 2018, and data analysis was undertaken using the SPSS21.0, AMOS22.0, and PROCESS macro programs. This study identified significantly positive effects of positive parenting styles and academic engagement on self-esteem, and of academic engagement on academic achievement. Furthermore, self-esteem and academic engagement had a mediating effect on the relation between positive parenting styles and academic achievement. Therefore, educators should develop programs that improve positive parenting styles, and specific programs for middle school students to enhance their academic engagement and self-esteem.

The influence of psychological, motivational, and behavioral factors on university students' achievements: the mediating effect of academic adjustment

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Syed Ali Raza ◽  
Wasim Qazi ◽  
Sara Qamar Yousufi
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Psychological Capital ◽  
Academic Adjustment ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Academic Life ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Behavioral Factors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Academic Achievements

PurposeAcademic adjustment is an important indicator which represents the students' academic achievements. The purpose of this investigation is to examine the fundamental role of academic adjustment for the success of student's by considering the influence of several psychological, motivational and behavioral factors that affect the academic adjustment of students in the university which then influences the students' academic achievements.Design/methodology/approachData were gathered through self-administered questionnaires from 409 students enrolled in a Business degree program in an academic institution by using a convenience sampling technique. Structural equation modeling (SEM) technique has been applied for analyzing the data and the proposed hypothesis.FindingsResults obtained from partial least square (PLS)-SEM analysis indicated that academic adjustment is affected by psychological, motivational and behavioral factors and in turn influences the outcomes of success. Moreover, the findings also showed that psychological and motivational factors, directly and indirectly via partial mediation of adjustment, and behavioral factors via full mediation of academic adjustment influences the outcomes of success.Practical implicationsThe study implies that it is important for university policymakers that they should give great priority to fully exploiting its potential to facilitate student's effective adjustment to academic life. Universities should pay attention to enhancing the academic study skills of students which leads to gains in academic achievement. Furthermore, universities should integrate self-regulated skills and provides motivation to students which is the biggest contributor toward adjustment as well as this study broadens the understanding of psychological capital as a resource that enhances academic adjustment.Originality/valueVery little attention has been given to examining the role of academic adjustment in the success of students. Therefore, the present study makes two contributions to this research. First, the study broadens the understanding of psychological capital with the potential to strengthen adjustment with academic life in domains, i.e. academic achievement and institutional adjustment. Second, the study identifies which motivational and behavioral factors affect academic adjustment and achievement.

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