scholarly journals Examination of Latent Test Anxiety Profiles in a Sample of U.S. Adolescents

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 12
Author(s):  
Patricia A. Lowe

The present study examined latent test anxiety profiles in a sample of 592 U.S. adolescents in grades 6-12 using latent profile analysis (LPA). The adolescents were administered a multidimensional measure of test anxiety in their schools. The results of LPA indicated that a three-profile test anxiety model provided the best fitting model. The three latent test anxiety subgroups were named low, medium, and high test anxiety. In addition, grade-level and gender were added as covariates to the model and LPA was performed again. Grade-level and gender were found to differentially predict membership in the latent test anxiety subgroups, with females more likely to be in the high latent test anxiety subgroup than in the medium and low latent test anxiety subgroups and middle school students were more likely to be in the high latent test anxiety subgroup than in the low latent test anxiety subgroup. Middle school students were also more likely to be in the medium latent test anxiety subgroup than in the low latent test anxiety subgroup. Implications for the development of measures, treatment, and prevention of test anxiety in the U.S. adolescent population are discussed.

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayşegül Ergün

The aim of this research was to determine the engineering and technology perceptions of middle school students. Descriptive survey model was used during the research. The study group consisted of 100 middle school students (52 male, 48 female) receiving education in a district state middle school in Aegean Region of Turkey.  Two questionnaires titled “What is engineering” and “What is technology” were used as data collection tools. Descriptive statistical methods and content analysis were used during data analysis. Research results showed that, the majority of middle school students perceived engineers as construction workers that perform heavy works at outdoor environments or as mechanics that repair vehicles. While defining engineers, students mostly referred that engineers use of materials such as electrical devices, heavy equipment, cables and plans. As a result, it was found out that students are lack of the concept of engineering and they have a misunderstanding in engineering.In the research students were found to have an inadequate perception of technology as well. Most of the students perceived technology as electrically driven devices, and few related hand-made products to the concept of technology. It has been determined that the students' perception of engineering and technology in terms of grade level and gender did not display any differences. The obtained results are expected to contribute to the related literature, educators and researchers particularly for Turkish educational system in which STEM education has gained importance.Extended English summary is in the end of Full Text PDF (TURKISH) file.ÖzetBu araştırmanın amacı ortaokul öğrencilerinin mühendislik ve teknoloji algılarının belirlenmesidir. Araştırmada betimsel tarama modeli kullanılmıştır. Araştırmanın çalışma grubunu, Türkiye’nin Ege bölgesinde yer alan bir ilçedeki devlet okulunda öğrenim görmekte olan 100 ortaokul öğrencisi (52 erkek, 48 kız) oluşturmuştur. Araştırmada veri toplama aracı olarak “Mühendislik Nedir?” ve “Teknoloji Nedir?” isimli iki anket kullanılmıştır. Verilerin analizinde betimsel istatistik yöntemleri ve içerik analizinden yararlanılmıştır. Araştırma sonucunda ortaokul öğrencilerinin çoğunluğunun mühendisleri açık alanlarda çalışan ve ağır işler yapan inşaat işçileri ya da araçları tamir eden tamirci olarak algıladıkları sonucu elde edilmiştir. Öğrenciler mühendisleri tanımlarken elektrik malzemeleri, iş makineleri, kablo ve plan kullandıklarını ifade etmiştir. Sonuç olarak öğrencilerin mühendislik algılarının yetersiz olduğu ve mühendislikle ilgili yanlış kavramalarının olduğuna ulaşılmıştır. Araştırmada öğrencilerin teknoloji algıları da oldukça yetersiz bulunmuştur. Öğrencilerin büyük bir kısmı, elektrikle çalışan aletleri teknoloji olarak algılamakta, çok azı insan eliyle yapılan aletlerin teknoloji olduğunu düşünmektedir. Öğrencilerin mühendislik ve teknoloji algılarının sınıf düzeyi ve cinsiyete göre anlamlı bir farklılık göstermediği belirlenmiştir. FeTeMM eğitiminin önem kazandığı Türkiye’de araştırmadan elde edilen sonuçların ilgili alan yazına, eğitimcilere ve araştırmacılara katkı sağlayacağı düşünülmektedir. 


2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayşegül Ergün

In Turkey, it is predicted that the need for STEM employment in the 2016-2023 period will be close to one million and that about 31% of this need will not be met. Therefore, the identification of students’ interest in STEM careers in middle-school is regarded as important. The aim of this research was to identify the interest of middle-school students in STEM careers. The sample of the research was made up of 892 students who received education in four middle-schools in the Aegean region of Turkey. In this research which was of the descriptive survey model, the STEM Career Interest Questionnaire was used to collect data. As a result of research, it was determined that the interest of male students in STEM careers is more positive compared to the female students. It was found that the interest in careers in terms of grade level did not display any differences in the area of technology, whereas it displayed differences in the areas of science, engineering and mathematics. In addition, it was identified that the interest in STEM careers displayed differences in terms of grade level and that as the grade level increases, the interest in STEM careers decreases.


2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 164-184
Author(s):  
Shelagh A. Gallagher

Students’ personal epistemologies, or their beliefs about knowledge and knowing, have a substantial impact on learning, affecting their responses to curriculum, strategy selection, and psychosocial variables. Changes in epistemological reasoning occur similarly to other stage-based developmental schemes, with qualitative shifts in worldviews at each stage. Some research suggests that gifted students tend to develop higher levels of epistemological reasoning earlier than same-aged typically developing peers. The current study extends research in developmental differences to middle school students. A total of 189 sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade gifted or typical students completed the Learning Context Questionnaire. An analysis of variance was conducted to determine differences by Gifted Status and Grade Level. Results of the analysis revealed significant differences between gifted and typical students, with modest effect size, at each grade level. The discussion includes implications for understanding giftedness and related need for rich inquiry-based learning environments.


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