A self-regulation intervention conducted by class teachers: impact on elementary students' basic psychological needs and classroom engagement.

Literature has reported a decrease in students' engagement throughout schooling, but more worrying, is that elementary students already show signs of disengagement. This data sets the case to develop interventions at this school level. The narrative-based intervention "Yellow Trials and Tribulations" aimed to promote self-regulation has been proven to positively impact elementary students' school engagement. Acknowledging that classroom engagement is expected to be more closely related to learning and achievement than school engagement, the current study aims to extend the research of the mentioned intervention on elementary students' classroom engagement (i.e., behavioral, emotional, cognitive, and agentic dimensions), as well as on basic psychological needs (i.e., perceived autonomy, competence, and relatedness)-an antecedent of students' engagement. The current intervention was implemented by 4th-grade class teachers trained for that purpose and was assessed following a quasi-experimental design with pretest and posttest data collection. Participants were 90 students in the experimental group, and 91 in the comparison group. A multivariate analysis of variance with repeated measures was run for each construct. At the end of the intervention, children in the experimental group reported higher perceived competence and classroom engagement (all dimensions) than their counterparts in the comparison group (small and medium effect sizes were found). No follow-up was conducted to examine whether the intervention effects were long-lasting. Results are expected to support researchers' and educators' efforts to effectively implement the intervention, and maximize its benefits to students. For example, extra efforts could be made to help implementers better respond to students' psychological needs (in this case, perceived autonomy and relatedness), and consequently increase classroom engagement (especially behavioral and emotional engagement, which revealed lower effect sizes).

A Self-Regulation Intervention Conducted by Teachers in a Disadvantaged School Neighborhood: Implementers' and Observers' Perceptions of Its Impact on Elementary Students.

Self-regulated learning contributes to students' academic success and their future as citizens. However, self-regulation skills are seldom or poorly promoted during instruction. To address this gap, the current article reports data on the implementation of an evidence-based intervention (i.e., a narrative-based intervention called "Yellow Trials and Tribulations") in a disadvantaged school neighborhood. Prior studies showed positive results of this intervention in promoting elementary students' self-regulation skills. Still, the data are mainly quantitative and limited to students' reports or classroom observations made by researchers. Hence, the current study aimed to explore the implementers' and observers' perceptions of the impact of the intervention. Four elementary teachers implemented the intervention in their fourth-grade classes (N = 96 students). For each session, the implementers and observers completed a session sheet collaboratively, as well as individual final reports at the end of the intervention. The records were analyzed through a direct content analysis. The data indicated a perceived increase in knowledge and the use of self-regulation skills in the educational context and in daily life routines. Moreover, the data allowed for the identification of other positive gains of the intervention. The findings extended prior research while helping researchers to further understand the impact of the narrative-based intervention. The implications for research and educational practice are provided.

No Children Should Be Left Behind During COVID-19 Pandemic: Description, Potential Reach, and Participants' Perspectives of a Project Through Radio and Letters to Promote Self-Regulatory Competences in Elementary School.

Around the world, many schools were closed as one of the measures to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. School closure brought about important challenges to the students' learning process. This context requires strong self-regulatory competences and agency for autonomous learning. Moreover, online remote learning was the main alternative response to classroom learning, which increased the inequalities between students with and without access to technological resources or for those with low digital literacy. All considered, to level the playing field for students without digital resources, there is an urgent need to promote self-regulatory competences through offline intervention solutions. The current paper describes a project with this purpose, using radio broadcasting and letters to reach elementary students without digital resources. Moreover, potential reach and participants' perspectives of the project implementation are presented and discussed. The project draws on a prior evidence-based story-tool intervention grounded on a self-regulated learning framework. The original intervention was set previous to the COVID-19 pandemic and was implemented in the classroom context (N = 1,103 students). Once the schools had been closed down, the mode of intervention was adapted with the collaboration of the community. Alternative solutions were developed as follows: (i) story chapters were read on the radio and students received to their homes a printed script, prompting reflection, and suggesting related activities; (ii) students were provided with the story-tool to read autonomously and received letters from the main characters of the story which included, for example, suggestions for activities and reflection. These two alternative modes of intervention delivery potentially reached 394 elementary students, including students with digital resources. Interviews conducted with a group of students were provided information about the positive aspects of these two modes of intervention delivery, perceived learning (e.g., planning), constraints, and suggestions to improve the project. The current work is likely to merit attention from researchers and educational practitioners, given the need to use offline alternatives to provide support for students without digital resources to engage in autonomous learning during the pandemic period. This project may also be used as an alternative or a complementary solution to online modality.

Online Homework Distraction Scale: A Validation Study / Online Homework Distraction Scale: un Estudio de Validación

BACKGROUND: Increasingly, postsecondary students enroll in distance learning courses and complete homework online, which extends their learning opportunities regardless of where they are. Online homework requires self-control from students to cope with conventional and tech-related distractors, however research on this topic is scarce. There is a need to develop an instrument to assess online homework distractions in higher education. METHOD: This study examined the psychometric properties of the Online Homework Distraction Scale (OHDS) based on 612 undergraduates in China. After randomly dividing the sample into two groups, we carried out a principal component analysis (PCA) with one group and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with another group. RESULTS: Both PCA and CFA findings indicated that tech-related distraction and conventional distraction were empirically indistinguishable for college students. Given acceptable measurement invariance, the latent factor mean was examined over gender for all participants and found that men were more distracted while doing online homework. Concerning validity evidence, in line with theoretical predictions, the OHDS was negatively related to online homework expectancy, value, effort, and time management. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides strong evidence that the OHDS is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring online homework distraction

ANTECEDENTES: el aprendizaje online requiere del autocontrol para hacer frente a los distractores convencionales y los relacionados con las nuevas tecnologías. En la Educación Superior, existe la necesidad de desarrollar un instrumento para evaluar los distractores a la hora de realizar las tareas para casa en modo online. MÉTODO: el estudio examinó las propiedades psicométricas de la Online Homework Distraction Scale (OHDS). Participaron 612 estudiantes universitarios de China. La muestra fue dividida aleatoriamente en dos grupos. Se realizó Análisis de Componentes Principales (ACP) con un grupo y Análisis Factorial Confirmatorio (AFC) con el otro grupo. RESULTADOS: los resultados del ACP y del AFC indicaron que la distracción relacionada con la tecnología y la distracción convencional eran empíricamente indistinguibles. Constatada una invariancia de medida aceptable, se examinó la media del factor latente sobre el género para todos los participantes. Los hombres se distraen más que las mujeres mientras realizan las tareas online. Con respecto a la evidencia de validez, el OHDS se relacionó negativamente con la expectativa, el valor, el esfuerzo y la gestión del tiempo. CONCLUSIONES: hay evidencia sólida de que el OHDS es un instrumento válido y fiable para medir el nivel de distracción en tareas online

Online Homework Distraction Scale: A Validation Study.

BACKGROUND: Increasingly, postsecondary students enroll in distance learning courses and complete homework online, which extends their learning opportunities regardless of where they are. Online homework requires self-control from students to cope with conventional and tech-related distractors, however research on this topic is scarce. There is a need to develop an instrument to assess online homework distractions in higher education. METHOD: This study examined the psychometric properties of the Online Homework Distraction Scale (OHDS) based on 612 undergraduates in China. After randomly dividing the sample into two groups, we carried out a principal component analysis (PCA) with one group and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with another group. RESULTS: Both PCA and CFA findings indicated that tech-related distraction and conventional distraction were empirically indistinguishable for college students. Given acceptable measurement invariance, the latent factor mean was examined over gender for all participants and found that men were more distracted while doing online homework. Concerning validity evidence, in line with theoretical predictions, the OHDS was negatively related to online homework expectancy, value, effort, and time management. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides strong evidence that the OHDS is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring online homework distraction.

The impact of three types of writing intervention on students' writing quality.

Students' writing constitutes a topic of major concern due to its importance in school and in daily life. To mitigate students' writing problems, school-based interventions have been implemented in the past, but there is still a need to examine the effectiveness of different types of writing interventions that use robust design methodologies. Hence, the present study followed a longitudinal cluster-randomized controlled design using a multilevel modeling analysis with 370 fourth-grade students (nested in 20 classes). The classes were randomly assigned to four conditions: one comparison group and three writing types of writing interventions (i.e., week-journals, Self-Regulation Strategy Development (SRSD) instruction and SRSD plus Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) program using a story-tool), with five classes participating in each condition. Data supports our hypothesis by showing differences between the treatment groups in students' writing quality over time. Globally, the improvement of students' writing quality throughout time is related to the level of specialization of the writing interventions implemented. This is an important finding with strong implications for educational practice. Week-journals and writing activities can be easily implemented in classrooms and provides an opportunity to promote students' writing quality. Still, students who participated in the instructional programs (i.e., SRSD and SRSD plus story-tool) exhibited higher writing quality than the students who wrote week-journals. Current data did not find statistical significant differences between results from the two instructional writing tools.

"Homework Should Be but We Do Not Live in an Ideal World": Mathematics Teachers' Perspectives on Quality Homework and on Homework Assigned in Elementary and Middle Schools.

Existing literature has analyzed homework characteristics associated with academic results. Researchers and educators defend the need to provide quality homework, but there is still much to be learned about the characteristics of quality homework (e.g., purposes, type). Acknowledging that teachers play an important role in designing and assigning homework, this study explored teachers' perspectives regarding: (i) the characteristics of quality homework and (ii) the characteristics of the homework tasks assigned. In the current study, mathematics teachers from elementary and middle schools (N = 78) participated in focus group discussions. To enhance the trustworthiness of the findings, homework tasks assigned by 25% of the participants were analyzed for triangulation of data purposes. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis for elementary and middle school separately. Teachers discussed the various characteristics of quality homework (e.g., short assignments, adjusted to the availability of students) and shared the characteristics of the homework tasks typically assigned, highlighting a few differences (e.g., degree of individualization of homework, purposes) between these two topics. Globally, data on the homework tasks assigned were consistent with teachers' reports about the characteristics of the homework tasks they usually assigned. Findings provide valuable insights for research and practice aimed to promote the quality of homework and consequently students' learning and progress.

Validity and reliability of the Parental Homework Management Scale.

BACKGROUND: Prior research has shown that parents help their children manage homework (i.e. environment, time, motivation and emotion management), especially in elementary school. However, researchers have not developed and validated a scale focused on those dimensions. METHOD: The purpose of the present study is to validate the Parental Homework Management Scale (PHMS) for parents of elementary school children in the domain of mathematics. A sample of 2,118 parent-child dyads was split randomly into two groups to conduct the analysis in two stages: (i) exploratory factor analysis on Group 1 and (ii) confirmatory factor analysis on Group 2. RESULTS: PHMS is comprised of two distinct but related factors (i.e. environment-time and motivation-emotion management). Results further indicated that the PHMS was positively related to homework self-regulation and positive emotions, and negatively related to math achievement. Contrary to expectations, no relationship was found between PHMS and amount of student homework completed. CONCLUSIONS: The scale revealed good psychometric quality.

"Homework Feedback Is ": Elementary and Middle School Teachers' Conceptions of Homework Feedback.

This study explored mathematics teachers' conceptions of the homework feedback focusing on four key aspects: definition, purpose, types, and perceived impact. Forty-seven teachers from elementary and middle schools participated in six focus groups. Data were analyzed using content analysis. To enhance the trustworthiness of findings, classroom observations were used for triangulation of data. Participants conceptualized homework feedback in three directions (i.e., teachers' feedback provided to students, students' feedback provided to teachers, and homework self-feedback), being teachers' monitoring of students' learning the purpose reported by most teachers. Participants also reported the types of homework feedback more frequently used in class (e.g., checking homework completion, checking homework on the board), and their perceived impact on students. Findings provide valuable information to deepen the understanding of the homework feedback process, which may help develop new avenues for future research.

Validity and reliability of the parental homework management scale / Validación y fiabilidad de la escala de gestión de tareas para casa para padres

BACKGROUND: Prior research has shown that parents help their children manage homework (i.e. environment, time, motivation and emotion management), especially in elementary school. However, researchers have not developed and validated a scale focused on those dimensions. METHOD: The purpose of the present study is to validate the Parental Homework Management Scale (PHMS) for parents of elementary school children in the domain of mathematics. A sample of 2,118 parent-child dyads was split randomly into two groups to conduct the analysis in two stages: (I) exploratory factor analysis on Group 1 and (II) confirmatory factor analysis on Group 2. RESULTS: PHMS is comprised of two distinct but related factors (i.e. environment-time and motivation-emotion management). Results further indicated that the PHMS was positively related to homework self-regulation and positive emotions, and negatively related to math achievement. Contrary to expectations, no relationship was found between PHMS and amount of student homework completed. CONCLUSIONS: The scale revealed good psychometric quality

ANTECEDENTES: investigaciones previas revelaron que los padres ayudan a sus hijos a gestionar las tareas para casa (i.e., el ambiente, el tiempo, la motivación y las emociones), especialmente en la escuela primaria. Sin embargo, la investigación no ha construido y validado una escala enfocada en esas dimensiones. MÉTODO: el presente estudio valida el Parental Homework Management Scale (PHMS) para padres de niños de escuela primaria en el dominio de las matemáticas. Una muestra de 2,118 díadas padres-hijos se dividió aleatoriamente en dos grupos para realizar el análisis en dos etapas: (I) análisis factorial exploratorio en el Grupo 1 y (II) análisis factorial confirmatorio en el Grupo 2. RESULTADOS: PHMS está compuesto por dos factores distintos pero relacionados (i.e., gestión del ambiente-tiempo y de la motivación-emoción). Los resultados indicaron además que el PHMS se relacionó positivamente con la autorregulación y las emociones positivas en las tareas para casa, y se relacionó negativamente con el rendimiento en matemáticas. Contrario a las expectativas, no se encontró relación entre PHMS y la cantidad de tareas completadas por los estudiantes. CONCLUSIONES: la escala ha revelado una buena calidad psicométrica

The effects of teachers' homework follow-up practices on students' EFL performance: a randomized-group design.

This study analyzed the effects of five types of homework follow-up practices (i.e., checking homework completion; answering questions about homework; checking homework orally; checking homework on the board; and collecting and grading homework) used in class by 26 teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) using a randomized-group design. Once a week, for 6 weeks, the EFL teachers used a particular type of homework follow-up practice they had previously been assigned to. At the end of the 6 weeks students completed an EFL exam as an outcome measure. The results showed that three types of homework follow-up practices (i.e., checking homework orally; checking homework on the board; and collecting and grading homework) had a positive impact on students' performance, thus highlighting the role of EFL teachers in the homework process. The effect of EFL teachers' homework follow-up practices on students' performance was affected by students' prior knowledge, but not by the number of homework follow-up sessions.

Parents' conceptions of their homework involvement in elementary school.

BACKGROUND: Homework is a universal practice used in schools, and is commonly related to academic achievement. According to literature, parental homework involvement has positive and negative aspects, depending on parents’ behaviors. METHOD: Assuming a phenomenographic perspective, this study examined 4th graders’ parents’ conceptions of their involvement in homework. With the purpose of mapping the parents’ various conceptions of homework involvement, 32 semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed. RESULTS: The results show that parents’ conceptions of homework involvement have a positive meaning, and focus primarily on the role played in the promotion of academic learning by (a) fostering their children’s autonomy, (b) exerting control over their learning, and (c) providing them with emotional encouragement (when children struggle with difficulties). CONCLUSIONS: Given that parents perceive their involvement in their children’s homework as important, it is necessary to promote parent-teacher collaboration and parent-training workshops to improve the quality of parental homework involvement.

An explanatory model of the intention to continue studying among non-traditional university students / Un modelo exploratorio de la intención de continuar estudiando en alumnos universitarios no-tradicionales

BACKGROUND: Although academic achievement is believed to be an important factor in students' decision to continue studying at university, research on this topic is limited. METHOD: The current study analyzed the relationship between academic achievement and the intention of 327 non-traditional students to continue studying at university, using a path model. RESULTS: The central hypothesis of the study was confirmed, as the intention to continue studying was determined by previous academic results, although the amount of variance explained was relatively low (13%). CONCLUSIONS: The results from this study indicate that the intention to continue studying at university depends less than expected on the performance achieved. So, universities should consider other variables such as the quality of the academic support offered to these students continue their studies

ANTECEDENTES: a pesar de la importancia que se atribuye al rendimiento académico en la toma de decisión de los alumnos mayores de 25 años sobre si continuar o no sus estudios en la Universidad, la investigación sobre este tópico es limitada. MÉTODO: se analizó la relación entre el rendimiento académico y la intención de 327 alumnos no-tradicionales de continuar sus estudios en la Universidad mediante el ajuste de un modelo de relaciones causales. RESULTADOS: la hipótesis central del estudio fue confirmada en la medida en que la intención de continuar con los estudios resultó determinada por los resultados académicos previos, aunque la cantidad de varianza explicada fue relativamente escasa (un 13%). CONCLUSIONES: de los resultados obtenidos en este estudio se concluyó que la intención de continuar en la Universidad depende menos de lo que se cree del rendimiento logrado, por lo que las universidades deberán dirigir su mirada también a otras variables como, por ejemplo, la calidad del apoyo que estos estudiantes reciben para continuar sus estudios

An explanatory model of the intention to continue studying among non-traditional university students.

BACKGROUND: Although academic achievement is believed to be an important factor in students' decision to continue studying at university, research on this topic is limited. METHOD: The current study analyzed the relationship between academic achievement and the intention of 327 non-traditional students to continue studying at university, using a path model. RESULTS: The central hypothesis of the study was confirmed, as the intention to continue studying was determined by previous academic results, although the amount of variance explained was relatively low (13%). CONCLUSIONS: The results from this study indicate that the intention to continue studying at university depends less than expected on the performance achieved. So, universities should consider other variables such as the quality of the academic support offered to these students continue their studies.