Do Teachers' Beliefs About Math Aptitude and Brilliance Explain Gender Differences in Children's Math Ability Self-Concept?

The self-concept of ability in math in elementary school is an early predictor for future math-related choices and careers. Unfortunately, already at this early age girls report lower ability self-concepts in math than boys—despite their comparable performances in objective math competence tests. In the present study we focus on teachers' beliefs as factors explaining these gender differences. Women's underrepresentation in math and science in academia has recently been explained by the belief held by the environment that success in these domains requires an innate ability that cannot be taught (“brilliance”). In addition, teachers' beliefs regarding their students' mathematical aptitude have also been found to influence students' self-concepts of ability. Here, we study if teachers' beliefs regarding their students' mathematical aptitude and brilliance beliefs may account for gender differences in elementary school students' self-concept of ability in math and thus potentially contribute to entering the gendered path into math and science professions. In a sample of 830 fourth graders (M = 9.14 years old, 49% female) and 56 elementary school teachers from Germany, we assessed teachers' beliefs regarding their students' mathematical aptitude and their belief that children need brilliance to succeed in math as well as children's mathematical ability self-concept and competencies. In line with prior research, boys reported a statistically significantly more positive math ability self-concept (d = 0.50), although boys and girls reached similar scores in a standardized math competence test (d = 0.07). However, multilevel regression analyses revealed that teachers' math brilliance beliefs were not related to the gender gap in students' ability self-concept in expense of girls whereas the gender gap was mediated by teachers' beliefs about their students' mathematical aptitude. These findings suggest that math brilliance beliefs held by important socializers such as teachers might not play a role in explaining gender differences in math-related motivation in elementary school whereas teachers' beliefs about students' math aptitude do. Results are discussed against the background of teacher expectancy effects, developmental changes in elementary school, and cultural differences

Das Führungskompetenzmodell des "Adaptive Leadership Competency Profile (ALCP)": Eine Gültigkeitsprüfung mithilfe der Probabilistischen Testtheorie

Ziel des Artikels ist die Analyse der psychometrischen Güte der deutschen Version des "Adaptive Leadership Competency Profile" (ALCP) (Sherron, 2000), eines Fragebogens zur Erfassung elf globaler Führungskompetenzen. Vorgestellt wird ein probabilistisch-testtheoretisches Vorgehen zur Überprüfung von mit (Führungs-)Kompetenzmodellen verbundenen Messmodellen auf der Grundlage des Rasch-Modells. Mit Hilfe des ordinalen Rasch-Modells wurden Items und Skalen analysiert und Rasch-Homogenität überprüft (N = 311). Mit Hilfe des Mixed-Rasch-Modells wurde die Annahme der gemeinsamen Skalierbarkeit von unterschiedlichen Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeitern analysiert. Ein 11-dimensionales Rasch-Modell explorierte die latenten Korrelationen der Personenparameter. Sämtliche Skalen trennten Führungskräfte und Nicht-Führungskräfte nach Kompetenzgraden. Stärken des Ansatzes und praktische Implikationen werden diskutiert.We analyze the psychometric properties of the German version of the 'Adaptive Leadership Competency Profile' (ALCP) (Sherron, 2000), which contains eleven scales assessing broad leadership competencies. We illustrate an approach to the probabilistic test-theoretical analysis of competency models according to the Rasch model. Based on the ordinal Rasch model, item and scale analyses demonstrated Rasch homogeneity (N = 311). A mixed Rasch model was used to inspect whether the different types of staff can be scaled jointly. An 11-dimensional Rasch model was used to explore the latent correlations among the person parameters. All scale means discriminated between executive managers and staff members. We discuss strengths of the approach and practical implications

Anforderungsanalyse für offene Positionen in der Wissenschaft

Anforderungsanalysen im Wissenschaftsbereich bleiben bislang hinter den in Wirtschaftsunternehmen etablierten, systematischen Vorgehensweisen der Personalauswahl zurück. Der dadurch entstehende mangelnde Person-Job-Fit macht Leistungsverluste im Wissenschaftsbetrieb und unnötigen Ressourcenverbrauch sehr wahrscheinlich. Dieses Kapitel unterstreicht den Nutzen von Anforderungsanalysen zu aufgaben-, verhaltens- und eigenschaftsbezogenen Aspekten von zukünftigen Stelleninhaber_innen als Grundlage für die Personalauswahl (und -entwicklung) in wissenschaftlichen Einrichtungen. Mit Fokus auf die Auswahl wissenschaftlichen Personals führt dieser Überblick in die systematische Erstellung spezifischer Anforderungsanalysen ein. Anstelle der bisher üblichen ad hoc oder routinierten Auswahl von Bewerber_innen empfehlen wir, systematisch verschiedene Informationsquellen zur Erstellung spezifischer, ggf. projektspezifischer Anforderungsprofile zu nutzen. Neben Führungskräften wie Lehrstuhlinhaber_innen können bspw. auch Mitarbeiter_innen mit ähnlicher Position informierte Expertenperspektiven zu derartigen Anforderungen beitragen, die ansonsten unberücksichtigt bleiben. Wir skizzieren, wie sich etablierte Ansätze wie die arbeitsplatzanalytisch-empirische, die personenbezogen-empirische und die erfahrungsgeleitet-intuitive Methode auf den wissenschaftlichen Kontext anwenden lassen. Außerdem beleuchten wir die Rolle von Kompetenzmodellen als alternativen Ansatz des strategischen Personalmanagements

Das Führungskompetenzmodell des "Adaptive Leadership Competency Profile (ALCP)": Eine Gültigkeitsprüfung mithilfe der Probabilistischen Testtheorie

Ziel des Artikels ist die Analyse der psychometrischen Güte der deutschen Version des "Adaptive Leadership Competency Profile" (ALCP) (Sherron, 2000), eines Fragebogens zur Erfassung elf globaler Führungskompetenzen. Vorgestellt wird ein probabilistisch-testtheoretisches Vorgehen zur Überprüfung von mit (Führungs-)Kompetenzmodellen verbundenen Messmodellen auf der Grundlage des Rasch-Modells. Mit Hilfe des ordinalen Rasch-Modells wurden Items und Skalen analysiert und Rasch-Homogenität überprüft (N = 311). Mit Hilfe des Mixed-Rasch-Modells wurde die Annahme der gemeinsamen Skalierbarkeit von unterschiedlichen Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeitern analysiert. Ein 11-dimensionales Rasch-Modell explorierte die latenten Korrelationen der Personenparameter. Sämtliche Skalen trennten Führungskräfte und Nicht-Führungskräfte nach Kompetenzgraden. Stärken des Ansatzes und praktische Implikationen werden diskutiert.We analyze the psychometric properties of the German version of the 'Adaptive Leadership Competency Profile' (ALCP) (Sherron, 2000), which contains eleven scales assessing broad leadership competencies. We illustrate an approach to the probabilistic test-theoretical analysis of competency models according to the Rasch model. Based on the ordinal Rasch model, item and scale analyses demonstrated Rasch homogeneity (N = 311). A mixed Rasch model was used to inspect whether the different types of staff can be scaled jointly. An 11-dimensional Rasch model was used to explore the latent correlations among the person parameters. All scale means discriminated between executive managers and staff members. We discuss strengths of the approach and practical implications

School-Related and Individual Predictors of Subjective Well-Being and Academic Achievement

Recent research in the educational context has focused not only on academic achievement but also on subjective well-being (SWB) as both play a major role in students’ lives. Whereas the determinants of academic achievement have been extensively investigated, little research has been conducted on school-related determinants of SWB in comparison with other students’ characteristics. In the present cross-sectional study, we set out to investigate whether perceived school climate predicts school grades and SWB above and beyond other variables that are important for SWB and academic achievement. A sample of 767 8th and 9th grade students (n = 361 female adolescents; age: M = 14.07 years, SD = 0.92) completed measures of SWB, perceived school climate, test anxiety, self-efficacy, and interest. Grade point average (GPA) indicated students’ academic achievement. Data were analyzed with latent structural equation models in which GPA and SWB were regressed on the school climate variables and students’ characteristics. Results indicated that a positive school climate as well as self-efficacy and the worry component of test anxiety predicted SWB and/or GPA after all other variables were controlled for. Directions for future research and the importance of school climate variables on adolescents’ SWB and academic achievement are discussed

Leave Me Alone With Your Symptoms! Social Exclusion at the Workplace Mediates the Relationship of Employee's Mental Illness and Sick Leave

Although a substantial part of employees suffers from a mental illness, the work situation of this population still is understudied. Previous research suggests that people with a mental illness experience discrimination in the workplace, which is known to have detrimental effects on health. Building on the stereotype content model and allostatic load theory, the present study investigated whether employees with a mental illness become socially excluded at the workplace and therefore show more days of sick leave. Overall, 86 employees diagnosed with a mental disorder were interviewed and completed online-surveys. Path analyses supported the hypotheses, yielding a serial mediation: The interview-rated severity of the mental disorder had an indirect effect on the days of sick leave, mediated by the symptomatic burden and the social exclusion at the workplace. In the light of the costs associated with absenteeism the present paper highlights the harmfulness of discrimination. Organizations and especially supervisors need to be attentive for signs of exclusion within their teams and try to counteract as early as possible

Children of Mentally III Parents at Risk Evaluation (COMPARE): Design and Methods of a Randomized Controlled Multicenter Study—Part I

Objectives: Mental disorders are frequent, associated with disability-adjusted life years, societal, and economic costs. Children of parents with a mental illness (COPMI) are at an increased risk to develop disorders themselves. The transgenerational transmission of mental disorders has been conceptualized in a model that takes parental and family factors, the social environment (i.e., school, work, and social support), parent-child-interaction and possible child outcomes into account. The goal of the “Children of Mentally Ill Parents At Risk Evaluation” (COMPARE) study will thus be twofold: (1) to establish the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of a high-quality randomized controlled trial (RCT) with the aim of interrupting the intergenerational transmission of mental disorders in COPMI, (2) to test the components of the trans-generational transmission model of mental disorders. Methods: To implement a randomized controlled trial (RCT: comparison of parental cognitive behavioral therapy/CBT with CBT + Positive Parenting Program) that is flanked by four add-on projects that apply behavioral, psychophysiological, and neuro-imaging methods to examine potential moderators and mediators of risk transmission (projects COMPARE-emotion/-interaction/-work/-school). COMPARE-emotion targets emotion processing and regulation and its impact on the transgenerational disorder transmission; COMPARE-interaction focuses especially on the impact of maternal comorbid diagnoses of depression and anxiety disorders and will concentrate on different pathways of the impact of maternal disorders on socio-emotional and cognitive infant development, such as parent-infant interaction and the infant's stress regulation skills. COMPARE-work analyzes the transmission of strains a person experiences in one area of life to another (i.e., from family to work; spill-over), and how stress and strain are transmitted between individuals (i.e., from parent to child; cross-over). COMPARE-school focuses on the psychosocial adjustment, school performance, and subjective well-being in COPMI compared to an adequate control group of healthy children. Results: This study protocol reports on the interdisciplinary approach of COMPARE testing the model of the transgenerational transmission of mental disorders. Conclusion: The combination of applied basic with clinical research will facilitate the examination of specific risk transmission mechanisms, promotion, dissemination and implementation of results into a highly important but largely neglected field. Clinical Trial Registration: DRKS-ID: DRKS00013516 (German Clinical Trials Register, https://www.drks.de/drks_web/navigate.do?navigationId=trial.HTML&TRIAL_ID=DRKS00013516)

Distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic for children with ADHD and/or ASD: a European multi-center study examining the role of executive function deficits and age

BackgroundOne of the COVID-19 pandemic consequences that has affected families the most is school lockdowns. Some studies have shown that distance learning has been especially challenging for families with a child with neurodevelopmental disorders such as ADHD or ASD. However, previous studies have not taken the heterogeneity of these disorders into account. The aim of the present study was therefore to investigate differences between families with a child with ADHD, ASD, or both conditions, and to examine the role of underlying deficits in executive functioning (EF) in both children and parents in relation to negative and positive effects of distance learning.MethodsSurvey data assessing both negative and positive experiences of distance learning were collected from parents with a child aged 5–19 years in seven Western European countries: the UK, Germany, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands, Italy, and Belgium. Altogether, the study included 1010 families with a child with ADHD and/or ASD and an equally large comparison group of families with a child without mental health problems. We included measures of three different types of negative effects (i.e., effects on the child, effects on the parent, and lack of support from school) and positive effects on the family.ResultsResults confirmed that families with a child with ADHD, ASD or a combination of ADHD and ASD showed higher levels of both negative and positive effects of distance learning than the comparison group. However, few differences were found between the clinical groups. Group differences were more pronounced for older compared to younger children. Regarding the role of both ADHD/ASD diagnosis and EF deficits, primarily children’s EF deficits contributed to high levels of negative effects. Parent EF deficits did not contribute significantly beyond the influence of child EF deficits. Families of children with ADHD/ASD without EF deficits experienced the highest levels of positive effects.ConclusionsSchool closings during COVID-19 have a major impact on children with EF problems, including children with neurodevelopmental disorders. The present study emphasizes that schools should not focus primarily on whether a student has a neurodevelopmental disorder, but rather provide support based on the student’s individual profile of underlying neuropsychological deficits

Leave Me Alone With Your Symptoms! Social Exclusion at the Workplace Mediates the Relationship of Employee's Mental Illness and Sick Leave

Although a substantial part of employees suffers from a mental illness, the work situation of this population still is understudied. Previous research suggests that people with a mental illness experience discrimination in the workplace, which is known to have detrimental effects on health. Building on the stereotype content model and allostatic load theory, the present study investigated whether employees with a mental illness become socially excluded at the workplace and therefore show more days of sick leave. Overall, 86 employees diagnosed with a mental disorder were interviewed and completed online-surveys. Path analyses supported the hypotheses, yielding a serial mediation: The interview-rated severity of the mental disorder had an indirect effect on the days of sick leave, mediated by the symptomatic burden and the social exclusion at the workplace. In the light of the costs associated with absenteeism the present paper highlights the harmfulness of discrimination. Organizations and especially supervisors need to be attentive for signs of exclusion within their teams and try to counteract as early as possible

Parental experiences of homeschooling during the COVID-19 pandemic: differences between seven European countries and between children with and without mental health conditions

The aim of the present study was to examine parental experiences of homeschooling during the COVID-19 pandemic in families with or without a child with a mental health condition across Europe. The study included 6720 parents recruited through schools, patient organizations and social media platforms (2002 parents with a child with a mental health condition and 4718 without) from seven European countries: The United Kingdom (n=508), Sweden (n=1436), Spain (n=1491), Belgium (n=508), the Netherlands (n=324), Germany (n=1662) and Italy (n=794). Many parents reported negative effects of homeschooling for themselves and their child, and many found homeschooling to be of poor quality, with insufficient support from schools. In most countries, contact with teachers was limited, leaving parents with primary responsibility for managing homeschooling. Parents also reported increased levels of stress, worry, social isolation, and domestic conflict. A small number of parents reported increased parental alcohol/drug use. Some differences were found between countries and some negative experiences were more common in families with a child with a mental health condition. However, differences between countries and between families with and without a mental health condition were generally small, indicating that many parents across countries reported negative experiences. Some parents also reported positive experiences of homeschooling. The adverse effects of homeschooling will likely have a long-term impact and contribute to increased inequalities. Given that school closures may be less effective than other interventions, policymakers need to carefully consider the negative consequences of homeschooling during additional waves of the COVID-19 pandemic and future pandemics