Personal and social factors influencing students' attitudes towards peers with special needs

Within inclusive education, it is crucial to consider how students with special needs are valued as members of school community and may fully and actively take part in school-life. The present study aims: 1) to assess students' attitudes towards peers with special needs; 2) to understand how personal factors (age, gender, school achievement and social competence) and social factors (contacting with persons or family member with SN) predict students' attitudes variation. Participants were 200 Portuguese students from 6th to 12th grade. Instruments were administered during class: (i) CATCH (Rosenbaum, Armstrong & King, 1986), comprising a cognitive and an affective-behavior subscale (ii) Social goals Scale (Wentzel, 1993), comprising a social responsibility and a prosocial subscale. We conducted exploratory factor analysis on CATCH and stepwise regression analysis using attitudes as dependent variable. Affective-behavior attitudes were higher in girls and in students with contact with special needs peers and showed moderate correlations with social competence; Cognitive attitudes were higher in older students and were not related with social competence. Prosocial goals were the best predictor of attitudes towards peers with special needs. Results showed that attitudes towards peers with special needs may be influenced by personal and contextual factors. Confirming other findings girls showed more positive attitudes. Also students who have contact with peers with special needs have more positive attitudes, evidencing the potential impact of inclusive settings. The relation found between attitudes and social motivation (mainly prosocial goals) has implications for educational intervention.8C1E-AFB9-6BE1 | Maria Teresa Martins Gon?alvesN/

Identification of students' multiple achievement and social goal profiles and analysis of their stability and adaptability

The present study moves to a more comprehensive understanding of the dynamics of student's goal orientation by jointly analyzing a variety of students' achievement goals together with students' social goals, and their combined effects. Using a person-centered approach (latent cluster analysis) the study identified students' (N = 386) goal profiles, analysed in what ways achievement and social goals are combined, and tested whether profile groups differed on their motivational and academic adaptability. Moreover, this study analysed stability and change in students' multiple goal profiles across the transition into secondary school (from 9th to 10th grade). Six distinct profiles of achievement and social goals emerged showing construct stability over time. Across profiles findings showed that prosocial and social responsibility goals are connected with mastery goals, but seem more difficult to reconcile with performance-competitive goals. In general, findings highlighted the positive role of both mastery and social goals in students' academic outcomes (differences between profiles ranging from ? 2 0.03 to 0.18), but also showed that distinct goal combinations may be compatible with students' motivation and academic success.8C1E-AFB9-6BE1 | Maria Teresa Martins Gon?alvesN/

The influence of students self-determination and personal achievement goals in learning and engagement: a mediation model for traditional and nontraditional students

This study aimed to explore school factors that influence students? achievements in Trendsin International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) in schools in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, inthe United Arab Emirates. The study sample for TIMSS 2015 consisted of 4838 students in eighthgrade; 2172 girls, 2666 boys, and 156 schools from Abu Dhabi attended and participated in TIMSS2015. Principal component analysis (PCA) was run on 77 items of school questionnaires administeredto school principals to provide information about the school contexts for teaching and learning. Thefive factors from the school questionnaire were general school resources, school discipline and safety,parental support, principal experience and education, and library and instruction resources. Multipleregression models were implemented to examine the impact of school factors on student achievementin TIMSS 2015. The models are statistically significant, indicating that they fit the data well. This alsodemonstrates a significant linear relationship between students? achievement in TIMSS 2015 and thevariables related to school factors.8C1E-AFB9-6BE1 | Maria Teresa Martins Gon?alvesN/

Motives and beliefs of learners enrolled in adult education

The present study intended to identify adult learners? motives for enrollment, and to assess their self-determination, self- efficacy beliefs and academic self-concept in a sample of 310 adult learners attending three different types of courses (short courses; long, vocational courses; long, nonvocational courses), as well as relating these constructs to each other and assess differences according to background variables. Autonomous regulation showed a strong, positive relationship with the epistemic motive and moderate, positive relationships with self-efficacy and academic self-concept. Although learners scored high in both intrinsic and extrinsic motives, group mean comparisons revealed that some characteristics like lower qualifications, unemployment and being a male showed a stronger connection to an extrinsic orientation. These results are in line with SDT predictions about the quality of motivation and suggest that learners with the former characteristics could be more at risk of failure and drop-out. Overall this study highlights the relevance of examining motivational variables in adult learners. Considering the relatively scarce research in the field, future research should further investigate adult learners? motivational profiles and how they relate to achievement.8C1E-AFB9-6BE1 | Maria Teresa Martins Gon?alvesN/

Motivational profiles of adult learners

This study investigated profiles of autonomous and controlled motivation and their effects in a sample of 188 adult learners from two Portuguese urban areas. Using a person-centered approach, results of cluster analysis and multivariate analysis of covariance revealed four motivational groups with different effects in self-efficacy, engagement, and learning. The study showed that groups of learners who have high autonomous motivation in the beginning of a course score higher in self-efficacy and later on in behavioral engagement and use of deep-learning strategies, whereas those who have controlled motivation alone or low levels of both types of motivation have worse results. Additionally, the study showed motivational differences according to adult learners? gender, educational level, and occupational status. The influence of the Portuguese adult education system on the results and the implications of the study for the practice of adult education are also discussed.8C1E-AFB9-6BE1 | Maria Teresa Martins Gon?alvesN/

Adaptation and validation of a measure of students? adaptive and maladaptive ways of coping with academic problems

Little research has, to date, explored students? coping in the academic domain. Yet, children and adolescents frequently refer daily academic difficulties as a common source of stress. The ways children respond to academic demands have the potential to make a difference in their learning and achievement. Therefore, the availability of a measure of academic coping is of critical importance to expand educational research and practice in this area. The current study adapted and validated the Portuguese language version of the Multidimensional Measure of Coping (MMC). Cognitive interviewing, confirmatory factor analysis, and measurement invariance testing using calibration and validation samples provided sound support for the validity of the MMC to measure academic coping among Portuguese elementary and middle school students. Furthermore, the external and discriminant validity of the scale was established based on the relations found between adaptive and maladaptive coping and their differential functionality for academic performance.8C1E-AFB9-6BE1 | Maria Teresa Martins Gon?alvesN/

The nature and dimensions of achievement goals: mastery, evaluation, competition, and self-presentation goals

The present study aimed to clarify the nature and dimensions of achievement goals and to examine structural differences in students' goals across school levels. Participants were 134 students from 5th and 6th grades, and 423 students from 7th to 9th grades. A variety of achievement goals were assessed, including mastery goals and several performance-related goals representing three main dimensions: competition, self-presentation, and valence. Two alternative models were tested, using confirmatory factor analysis. For middle-school students a three factor model with presentation, competition, and simple evaluation/mastery goals, was found ??(132, N = 134) = 160.9, p < .001; CFI = .94; RMSEA = .04, 95%CI [.02 - .06]. In the junior-high sample, one avoidance factor, one competition factor, and a simple evaluation/mastery factor, best fitted the data ??(114, N = 423) = 269.8638 p < .001; CFI = .93; RMSEA = .06, 95%CI [.05 - .07] thus suggesting that distinct dimensions organize younger and older students' motivation. However, common to both grade levels was the existence of (a) separate but low incidence competition goals, and (b) simple evaluation goals, which encompass neither self-presentation nor competition, and are closely linked to mastery goals. Moreover, significant differences were found in the relative importance attached by students to the different types of goals (p < .001 for all comparisons), both at middle-school F(2, 266) = 220.98; p < .001; ?2 = .624) and at junior-high school F(2, 820) = 464.4; p < .001; ?2 = .531.8C1E-AFB9-6BE1 | Maria Teresa Martins Gon?alvesN/

Canagliflozin and renal outcomes in type 2 diabetes and nephropathy

BACKGROUND Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the leading cause of kidney failure worldwide, but few effective long-term treatments are available. In cardiovascular trials of inhibitors of sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2), exploratory results have suggested that such drugs may improve renal outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS In this double-blind, randomized trial, we assigned patients with type 2 diabetes and albuminuric chronic kidney disease to receive canagliflozin, an oral SGLT2 inhibitor, at a dose of 100 mg daily or placebo. All the patients had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of 30 to &lt;90 ml per minute per 1.73 m2 of body-surface area and albuminuria (ratio of albumin [mg] to creatinine [g], &gt;300 to 5000) and were treated with renin–angiotensin system blockade. The primary outcome was a composite of end-stage kidney disease (dialysis, transplantation, or a sustained estimated GFR of &lt;15 ml per minute per 1.73 m2), a doubling of the serum creatinine level, or death from renal or cardiovascular causes. Prespecified secondary outcomes were tested hierarchically. RESULTS The trial was stopped early after a planned interim analysis on the recommendation of the data and safety monitoring committee. At that time, 4401 patients had undergone randomization, with a median follow-up of 2.62 years. The relative risk of the primary outcome was 30% lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group, with event rates of 43.2 and 61.2 per 1000 patient-years, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.59 to 0.82; P=0.00001). The relative risk of the renal-specific composite of end-stage kidney disease, a doubling of the creatinine level, or death from renal causes was lower by 34% (hazard ratio, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.81; P&lt;0.001), and the relative risk of end-stage kidney disease was lower by 32% (hazard ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.86; P=0.002). The canagliflozin group also had a lower risk of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke (hazard ratio, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.67 to 0.95; P=0.01) and hospitalization for heart failure (hazard ratio, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.47 to 0.80; P&lt;0.001). There were no significant differences in rates of amputation or fracture. CONCLUSIONS In patients with type 2 diabetes and kidney disease, the risk of kidney failure and cardiovascular events was lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group at a median follow-up of 2.62 years

Examining differential trajectories of engagement over the transition to secondary school: the role of perceived control

The present study was particularly interested in identifying resilient trajectories of engagement, and analyzing their association withstudent?s motivation, specifically, their perceived control. In alongitudinal study following 391 students across three measurementpoints, encompassing the transition from 9th to 10th grade (from basic to secondary school), students? beliefs (control, effortcapacity, and ability capacity beliefs), engagement, and academic achievement were assessed. Consistentwith previous research, anoverall decline in levels of engagement was found over this time, associated with perceived control. To uncover alternative pathways,latent class growth analysis was used, and three groups of students were identified based on their distinct engagement trajectories:(1) students whose engagement started high but decreased (high-decreasing engagement), (2) students who started at average levels anddeclined (average-decreasing engagement), and (3) students whose engagement started low but then increased (low-increasingengagement). Comparison of the three groups demonstrated that control beliefs play a critical role in reducing the normative rate ofdecline in engagement. The recovery trajectory (low-increasing engagement), which is of particular interest, showed smaller declines incontrol beliefs. Findings also suggest that effort capacity beliefs seem to protect engagement in the face of the challenges this group oflower performing students are likely to encounter. The emergence of the three distinct engagement groups is of special interest as itshows positive, counter-normative changes in engagement trajectories. The observed changes in engagement, motivation, andachievement of the potentially at-risk students (low-increasing engagement group) suggest that these students may be especiallysensitive to a supportive and engaging academic environment.8C1E-AFB9-6BE1 | Maria Teresa Martins Gon?alvesN/