Academic achievement and its relationships with psychological resilience and socio-demographic characteristics

This study focused on academic achievement among a sample of 810 students studying in vocational and nonvocational high schools in Turkey. It specifically investigated (a) the current levels of academic achievement and psychological resilience, (b) the relationships between levels of academic achievement and psychological resilience, (c) whether levels of academic achievement and psychological resilience will change based on sociodemographic variables, and (d) whether psychological resilience had a mediating effect on the relationship between sociodemographic variables and academic achievement. Quantitative data were collected through student records and questionnaires and analyzed via descriptive, correlational, and regression analysis and tests of difference (ANOVA). Findings indicated that academic achievement and psychological resilience were significantly related and they changed based on sociodemographic factors, namely income level and school type. In addition, psychological resilience had a significant mediating effect between academic achievement and sociodemographic factors. Findings indicate that the prevailing emphasis on enhancing academic achievement requires consideration of students’ psychological and sociodemographic conditions, while further research needs to investigate ways of carrying out this task. © 2018, © 2018 International School Psychology Association

Teachers’ perceptions of their school managers’ skills and their own self-efficacy levels

This paper investigated the relationships between teachers’ perceptions of their school managers’ skills and their own self-efficacy levels. A total of 651 teachers working in Turkey participated in the current study. All the teachers filled in two questionnaires and subsequent quantitative data were analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings indicated significant positive correlations between perceived teacher self-efficacy and teachers’ perceptions of their school managers’ skills. Also, perceived managerial skills significantly predicted perceived self-efficacy. Finally, perceived self-efficacy and perceived managerial skills changed significantly based on teacher characteristics such as experience and subject area. Findings highlight the need to develop holistic approaches to improve the quality, efficiency, and management of human resources in education. © 2019, © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group