Linking Early Self-Regulation to Positive Functioning in Adolescence

Recent research has documented that high self-regulation in early childhood is associated with greater academic performance and more adaptive social skills, particularly in early or middle childhood. There has been far less work examining longitudinal associations between early childhood self-regulation and adolescent functioning. In addition, few studies have examined the development of self-regulation from a person-centered analytic perspective, such as grouping children into homogenous trajectory groups, and then linking group membership to adolescent outcomes. Finally, the mechanisms that drive the pathways between childhood behaviors and adolescent functioning have been relatively underexplored. The current dissertation, therefore, adds to the extant literature by exploring the association between structured assessments of early childhood self-regulation and self-reports of academic engagement and motivation, romantic relationship quality, and workplace behaviors in adolescence. Teacher-child and parent-child relationship quality in middle childhood were examined as potential mediators of these associations, and the parent-child relationship in early childhood was treated as a potential moderator. Self-regulation trajectory groups (as reported by teachers throughout early and middle childhood) were also examined in relation to these adolescent outcomes. Research questions were examined using two U.S. samples, the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD; N = 1364) and the Pitt Mother and Child Project (PMCP; N = 314). Across both samples, assessments of early childhood self-regulation did not predict adolescent outcomes. Furthermore, the teacher-child and parent-child relationship did not mediate or moderate these associations. However, common self-regulation trajectory groups were identified across datasets, including a High Stable and a Low Curvilinear group (self-regulation decreased to age 9 and then steadily increased to age 12). Three additional groups emerged: for the SECCYD a Medium Increasing and a Medium Decreasing group; and for the PMCP a Medium Stable group. Self-regulation trajectory group membership was predicted by demographic characteristics, with higher or improving groups generally comprised of White, higher income youth, and girls, and lower or declining groups more likely to include African American, lower income youth, and boys. In addition, the Medium Decreasing group reported lower romantic relationship quality relative to High Stable and Medium Increasing. Implications for practice are discussed

The role of sociocultural factors in student achievement motivation : A cross-cultural review

Motivation is an essential determinant of academic learning, educational choices, and career decisions during adolescence and early adulthood. While achievement motivation has been widely studied across Western populations, recent work has emphasized the importance of examining the universality versus cultural specificity of motivation constructs across countries or diverse cultures. This article is a systematic review of the current discourse surrounding developmental and gender differences in student motivation in the disciplines of mathematics and English, offering comparisons of how these patterns are deployed within Western and East Asian countries. Guided by expectancy–value theory, this review focuses on ability self-concept and task values as two prominent motivational constructs. The authors first examine age and gender differences in the development of ability self-concept and task values among those from Western and East Asian countries from primary school to secondary school. Next, the sociocultural and contextual factors driving developmental and gender differences in motivation are discussed. The article concludes by summarizing the limitations of existing literature and suggesting new lines of inquiry to advance knowledge in cross-cultural studies on student achievement motivation

Does Everyone’s Motivational Beliefs about Physical Science Decline in Secondary School?: Heterogeneity of Adolescents’ Achievement Motivation Trajectories in Physics and Chemistry

Students' motivational beliefs about learning physical science are critical for achieving positive educational outcomes. In this study, we incorporated expectancy-value theory to capture the heterogeneity of adolescents' motivational trajectories in physics and chemistry from seventh to twelfth grade and linked these trajectories to science-related outcomes. We used a cross-sequential design based on three different cohorts of adolescents (N = 699; 51.5 % female; 95 % European American; M ages for youngest, middle, and oldest cohorts at the first wave = 13.2, 14.1, and 15.3 years) coming from ten public secondary schools. Although many studies claim that physical science motivation declines on average over time, we identified seven differential motivational trajectories of ability self-concept and task values, and found associations of these trajectories with science achievement, advanced science course taking, and science career aspirations. Adolescents' ability self-concept and task values in physics and chemistry were also positively related and interlinked over time. Examining how students' motivational beliefs about physical science develop in secondary school offers insight into the capacity of different groups of students to successfully adapt to their changing educational environments

Does everyone’s motivational beliefs about physical science decline in secondary school? Heterogeneity of adolescents’ achievement motivation trajectories in physics and chemistry

Students’ motivational beliefs about learning physical science are critical for achieving positive educational outcomes. In this study, we incorporated expectancy-value theory to capture the heterogeneity of adolescents’ motivational trajectories in physics and chemistry from seventh to twelfth grade and linked these trajectories to science-related outcomes. We used a cross-sequential design based on three different cohorts of adolescents (N = 699; 51.5 % female; 95 % European American; M ages for youngest, middle, and oldest cohorts at the first wave = 13.2, 14.1, and 15.3 years) coming from ten public secondary schools. Although many studies claim that physical science motivation declines on average over time, we identified seven differential motivational trajectories of ability self-concept and task values, and found associations of these trajectories with science achievement, advanced science course taking, and science career aspirations. Adolescents’ ability self-concept and task values in physics and chemistry were also positively related and interlinked over time. Examining how students’ motivational beliefs about physical science develop in secondary school offers insight into the capacity of different groups of students to successfully adapt to their changing educational environments

Classroom climate and children's academic and psychological wellbeing : A systematic review and meta-analysis

Although research has documented the link between classroom climate and children’s learning, evidence about whether and how classroom characteristics are linked to academic and psychological outcomes remains equivocal. This study used a meta-analytic approach to synthesize existing research with the goal of determining (a) the extent to which classroom climate as a multidimensional construct was associated with youth’s academic, behavioral, and socioemotional outcomes from kindergarten to high school and (b) whether the relations between classroom climate and youth’s outcomes differed by dimensions of classroom climate, study design, and child characteristics. Analysis included 61 studies (679 effect sizes and 73,824 participants) published between 2000 and 2016. The results showed that overall classroom climate had small-to-medium positive associations with social competence, motivation and engagement, and academic achievement and small negative associations with socioemotional distress and externalizing behaviors. Moderator analyses revealed that the negative association between classroom climate and socioemotional distress varied by classroom climate dimensions, with socioemotional support being the strongest. The strength of the associations between classroom climate and youth’s outcomes also differed by measurement of classroom climate and study design, though the patterns of the associations were mostly consistent