The Influence of Family Support According to Gender in the Portuguese Language Course Achievement

Several factors like pupils’ characteristics, school conditions and family context have been pointed out in the literature as being linked to academic achievement. Regarding the latter, family socio-economic status and parental support have been identified as determining variables on success at school. The current study analyses the influence of family support on the achievement of school children in their native language [Portuguese language course (PLC)]. Participants were 885 students attending PLC on basic and secondary schools (6th and 9th school grades) (ISCED 1); 418 boys and 467 girls, ranged between 10 and 18 years of age (M = 12.99). School achievement was assessed using year-end classifications in PLC. Family support was assessed using the Family Support-Context Variables Questionnaire. A regression analysis showed that students’ perception about instrumental and affective family support in school life was positively related to their Portuguese grades. However, different predictive values were revealed according to gender. Girls’ Portuguese languge couse classification seemed to depend on affective variables like their perception of affective parental support and affective attitudes toward the PLC, while boys’ results seemed to be influenced by instrumental variables, such as the perception of instrumental support from parents and boys’ attitudes toward the utility of learning Portuguese language. These results supported those of other studies, showing the need to take gender differences into account in educational interventions, especially during early adolescence. In conclusion, the study shows an influence of parental support on PLC achievement. Such influence differs according to gender, with girls being more sensitive to the affective dimension of parental support and boys to the instrumental one

School achievement and failure in Portuguese and Spanish speaking countries

School failure is an important social problem in the present world (Organization for Economic Co-operation Development, 2010). This seems to be especially true for Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries in Europe (Eurydice, 2011) and Latin America (Román, 2013). Consequently, school achievement and failure is an increasingly important topic of discussion and research. Psychology can make an important contribution to understanding these issues, emphasizing the individual perspective, i.e., defining academic and pre-academic skills for a good achievement and developing sound evaluation and intervention techniques for children with school failure problems. The following papers revise the latest developments in the field. The research covered tried to answer the most urgent questions on the topic: (1) Which variables are responsible for school achievement and failure? (2) Which intervention techniques can be used to help children with school failure problems? All papers focused on children attending primary or secondary school, except one that dealt with prevention strategies for children at risk before schooling. Most sought correlations between determining variables and some measures of school achievement. Two studies applied intervention strategies designed to improve the academic performance of children with problems at school and systematically evaluated their results

Psychology in Education and Health. Proceedings of the III Leipzig-Evora Scientific Meeting in Psychology

The phenomena of achievement motivation is one of the most important among studied by psychology as far as its study approaches of scientists to the answer to the question about motivation forces of human behavior and activity. Motivation for achievement consists of two main components - adaptive and transcendent vectors. Based on the empirical studies carried out, the authors obtained results that became the basis for the assumption that the motivation of achievement among people who are conditionally called healthy is fundamentally different from the motivation of achievement among people with mental pathology. There is a non-linear link between mental health, mental disorders and adaptation, transcendence. Mental health requires a balance of these two components of the motivational sphere

Multiple Approaches to the Study and Intervention in Stress.

Researchers of the Department of Psychology of the University of Leipzig look back on 30 years of research on stress and on about 25 years of trauma-research. The development of diagnostic and therapeutic techniques for stress management and trauma therapy will be reported in brief in this article. The article is focusing on the development of psychological assessment tools for stress and trauma