Psychometric Properties of the Principal Instructional Leadership Scale (PILS) in Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUNDS: The principal instructional leadership describes how school principals oversee the curriculum, instruction, and assessment. The main aims of the current study were translation and evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Principal Instructional Leadership Scale (PILS) in a Saudi Arabian population. METHODS: The translation and cross-cultural adaptation process has been conducted in five stages, including forward translation, translation synthesis, backward translation, expert committee, and pilot testing. Face, content, construct, and convergent validity were used to establish validity. Cronbach's alpha coefficient and McDonald's omega (Ω) were used for internal consistency. RESULTS: To validate the PILS structure, the total sample (N = 724) was randomly split into two subgroups, each comprising 362 individuals, for Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). Five factors obtained from EFA explain 71.07 % of the variance in PILS. The PILS encompasses domains of improving curriculum quality, teaching, and enhancing the effectiveness of adaptive learning, adding to the dimensions covered by previous instructional leadership measures. The five components show strong internal consistency (0.93 to 0.97). Both first-order and second-order CFAs confirmed the 5-factor model, meeting criteria (CFI > 0.91, GFI > 0.9, IFI > 0.9, RMSEA<0.05). All 21 items displayed suitable internal consistency (Cronbach's α > 0.8, McDonald's omega >0.7). Second-order average variance extracted validity (0.50) indicated PILS validity. Gender invariance analysis revealed no significant differences (∆CFI < 0.01, ΔRMSEA<0.01) in PILS structure between genders. CONCLUSION: The reliability and validity of the Arabic rendition of PILS are commendable, making it suitable for evaluating principal instructional leadership in Saudi Arabia.

Occupational Therapy students' Concepts of Learning: Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Associations With Deep, Strategic, and Surface Study Approaches.

This study aimed to gain knowledge about the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between learning concepts and approaches to studying among occupational therapy students. A repeated cross-sectional design was combined with a longitudinal study design. Self-report questionnaires assessed sociodemographic variables, learning concepts, and approaches to studying (deep/strategic/surface). Linear regression analyses (n ranging between 109 and 193 in the analyses) showed that higher transforming concept ratings were consistently associated with higher ratings on the deep study approach, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Higher reproducing concept ratings were positively associated with higher strategic approach ratings in the second and third study years. In view of the results, students' understanding of what learning is impacts on their study attitudes and behaviors, which in turn is likely to influence learning outcomes and academic performance.

Fostering idealogical and polical education via knowledge graph and KNN model: an emphasis on positive psychology.

As the primary domain of ideological and political education in higher education institutions, ideological and political courses must align with principles rooted in human psychology and education. Integrating educational psychology into ideological and political teaching in universities enhances the scientific, targeted, and forward-thinking nature of such education. The burgeoning exploration of knowledge graph applications has extended to machine translation, semantic search, and intelligent question answering. Diverging from traditional text matching, the knowledge spectrum graph transforms information acquisition in search engines. This paper pioneers a predictive system for delineating the relationship between educational psychology and ideological and political education in universities. Initially, it extracts diverse psychological mapping relationships of students, constructing a knowledge graph. By employing the KNN algorithm, the system analyzes psychological characteristics to effectively forecast the relationship between educational psychology and ideological and political education in universities. The system's functionality is meticulously detailed in this paper, and its performance is rigorously tested. The results demonstrate high accuracy, recall rates, and F1 values. The F1 score can reach 0.95enabling precise sample classification. The apex of the average curve for system response time peaks at approximately 2.5 s, maintaining an average response time of less than 3 s. This aligns seamlessly with the demands of practical online teaching requirements. The system adeptly forecasts the relationship between educational psychology and ideological and political education in universities, meeting response time requirements and thereby fostering the scientific and predictive nature of ideological and political teaching in higher education institutions.

The influence of perceived teacher support on online English learning engagement among Chinese university students: a cross-sectional study on the mediating effects of self-regulation.

Objectives: This study examines the association between perceived teacher support and self-regulation in learning, and their combined relationship with online English learning engagement among university students in China. The objective is to uncover the underlying mechanisms of this relationship, with a particular focus on the role of self-regulation in learning as a mediator. Methods: The study involved 1,361 university students from Southwest China, predominantly female (73.84%) with an average age of 18.94 years (SD = 1.07). Refined measurement tools were employed to assess perceived teacher support, online English learning engagement, and self-regulation in learning. Results: The findings indicate that components of self-regulation, such as goal setting, environmental structuring, and time management, act as full mediators in the relationship between perceived teacher support and online English learning engagement. Conclusion: This research underscores the importance of self-regulation in learning in linking perceived teacher support with online English learning engagement. The insights gained are crucial for enhancing teaching strategies in online English language education.

A Cross-Cultural Examination of Blatant and Subtle Dehumanization of Autistic People.

PURPOSE: This cross-cultural study examined various domains of dehumanization, including both blatant (viewing autistic people as animal-like, child-like, or machine-like) and subtle (denying agency and experience capabilities) dehumanization, of autistic individuals by Koreans and Americans. METHODS: A total of 404 Koreans and 229 Americans participated in an online survey, assessing blatant and subtle dehumanization, knowledge about autism, stigma toward and contact with autistic people, cultural factors, and demographic information. Robust linear mixed-effects regressions were conducted to examine the impact of the target group (autistic vs. non-autistic) and the country (South Korea vs. the US) on dehumanization. Additionally, correlations and multiple regressions were employed to identify individual variables associated with dehumanization. RESULTS: Both Koreans and Americans exhibited more dehumanizing attitudes towards autistic individuals than non-autistic individuals across all domains. Koreans showed greater dehumanization of autistic individuals than Americans in all domains except for the machine-like domain. Stigma toward autistic people was associated with all dehumanization domains among Koreans and with some of the domains among Americans. Individual variables associated with dehumanization varied across countries and domains. Positive contact quality frequently predicted lower dehumanization in both cultures. CONCLUSIONS: Non-autistic individuals consistently rated autistic people as less human than non-autistic people. Future research examining how autistic characteristics or societal perceptions that influence the consideration of an autistic person's humanness vary across cultures is needed. Implementing interventions aimed at enhancing non-autistic people's understanding of autistic individuals' agency and experience capabilities and promoting high-quality contact opportunities with autistic individuals may help reduce dehumanizing attitudes.

French Adaptation of the Strengths Use Scale.

Background: Positive psychology focuses on enhancing attitudes and behaviors that support well-being, with a key pillar being the use of psychological strengths for optimal functioning. This is linked to positive outcomes such as increased happiness and life satisfaction. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric validity of the French adaptation of the Strengths Use Scale (SUS), a self-report tool measuring how individuals use their strengths in daily life. The original SUS, developed by Govindji and Linley (2007), has not been thoroughly assessed across languages and cultures. Method: The French SUS's psychometric properties were examined using data from six independent French-speaking Canadian samples (N = 1397). After removing cases with missing data, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted on a subsample to establish the optimal factor structure. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was then performed to assess the factor structure's goodness-of-fit. Results: Both EFA and CFA supported a unidimensional structure of the scale. The French SUS demonstrated good internal consistency (α = .94). The one-factor model yielded an RMSEA of .122, indicating some model misspecification. However, allowing residuals of some items to covary improved the model fit (RMSEA = .077). Conclusion: The adapted French SUS exhibits similar properties to the original and presents no new consistency issues. This study contributes to adapting and validating the SUS in French for research and clinical practice. Future research should focus on developing a shorter version by eliminating redundancies and adapting the scale for children to evaluate positive psychology interventions' efficacy in youth.

Reception of experimental pedagogy and psychology in Chile. Analysis of the intellectual influences of Wilhelm Mann, 1904-1915.

This article provides a detailed analysis of the intellectual research project of Wilhelm Mann, one of the pioneers of experimental and educational psychology in Chile. Mann's work has been the object of so little analysis that his intellectual influences and networks are not clearly known. We analyzed 338 intratext citations from 22 works by Wilhelm Mann published during the period 1904-1915. As a result, we obtained a mapping of his cooperation networks and used a quantitative approach to study the authors who most influenced his career, among whom were William Stern, Herbert Spencer, Wilhelm Wundt, Alfred Binet, and Ernst Meumann. Mann was closely connected to the international and contemporary advances and discussions of his time, despite the lack of infrastructure and difficulties in communication. Mann was the first psychologist to develop a long-term project in Chile that aimed to measure the individualities of Chilean students and their intellectual development.

Tutorias universitárias em períodos de interrupção acadêmica: um relato a partir da experiência / Tutorías universitarias en períodos de interrupción académica: un relato desde la experiencia / University tutoring in periods of academic interruption: a report from experience

Las crisis sociales y la pandemia por COVID-19 representan períodos de interrupción académica que han impactado en el aprendizaje de la educación superior. Ante este panorama, las tutorías universitarias adquieren relevancia como una estrategia para poder afrontar estas crisis y permitir el intercambio de experiencias y emociones. El objetivo de este reporte consiste en presentar una estrategia tutorial diseñada entre los años 2019 y 2020, en el contexto de un programa de acompañamiento académico y psicoeducativo de una universidad estatal de Chile. Esta estrategia consta de seis fases: (1) Encuentro inicial; (2) Diagnóstico; (3) Planificación; (4) Implementación; (5) Evaluación; (6) Cierre del proceso. El desarrollo de esta propuesta demostró la importancia de las emociones, el diálogo y la valoración experiencial del estudiante en su proceso de aprendizaje y adaptación a la universidad. Asimismo, entrega un marco de acción para el acompañamiento académico y psicoeducativo ligado a los programas de tutorías universitarias.

As crises sociais e a pandemia por COVID-19 representam períodos de interrupção acadêmica que impactaram na aprendizagem da educação superior. Ante este panorama, as tutorias universitárias adquirem relevância como uma estratégia para poder afrontar estas crises e permitir o intercâmbio de experiências e emoções. O objetivo deste artigo consiste em apresentar uma estratégia tutorial desenhada entre os anos 2019 e 2020, no contexto de um programa de acompanhamento acadêmico e psico educativo de uma universidade estatal do Chile. Esta estratégia consta de seis fases: (1) Encontro inicial; (2) Diagnóstico; (3) Planejamento; (4) Implementação; (5) Avaliação; (6) Encerramento do processo. O desenvolvimento desta proposta demonstrou a importância das emoções, o diálogo e a valorização experiencial do estudante em seu processo de aprendizagem e adaptação à universidade. Igualmente, entrega um marco de ação para o acompanhamento acadêmico e psicoeducativo ligado aos programas de tutorias universitárias.

The social crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic represent periods of academic interruption that will affect the learning of Higher Education. Given this panorama, university tutors will acquire relevance as a strategy to be able to face this crisis and allow an exchange of experiences and emotions. The objective of this report is to present a tutorial strategy developed between the years of 2019 and 2020, in the context of an academic and psychoeducational support program of a state university in Chile. This strategy consists of six phases: (1) Initial meeting; (2) Diagnosis; (3) Planning; (4) Implementation; (5) Evaluation; (6) Close the process. The development of this proposal demonstrated the emotions importance, dialogue and the valorization of the student's experience in their learning process and adaptation to the university. In addition, it provides an action framework for academic and psychoeducational support linked to university tutoring programs.

Teaching Patients About Pain: The Emergence of Pain Science Education, its Learning Frameworks and Delivery Strategies.

Since it emerged in the early 2000's, intensive education about 'how pain works', widely known as pain neuroscience education or explaining pain, has evolved into a new educational approach, with new content and new strategies. The substantial differences from the original have led the PETAL collaboration to call the current iteration 'Pain Science Education'. This review presents a brief historical context for Pain Science Education, the clinical trials, consumer perspective, and real-world clinical data that have pushed the field to update both content and method. We describe the key role of educational psychology in driving this change, the central role of constructivism, and the constructivist learning frameworks around which Pain Science Education is now planned and delivered. We integrate terminology and concepts from the learning frameworks currently being used across the PETAL collaboration in both research and practice-the Interactive, Constructive, Active, Passive framework, transformative learning theory, and dynamic model of conceptual change. We then discuss strategies that are being used to enhance learning within clinical encounters, which focus on the skill, will, and thrill of learning. Finally, we provide practical examples of these strategies so as to assist the reader to drive their own patient pain education offerings towards more effective learning. PERSPECTIVE: Rapid progress in several fields and research groups has led to the emergence 'Pain Science Education'. This PETAL review describes challenges that have spurred the field forward, the learning frameworks and educational strategies that are addressing those challenges, and some easy wins to implement and mistakes to avoid.

The Relationship Between Math Anxiety and Math Achievement: Differentiating the Role of Learning Math Anxiety and Math Evaluation Anxiety.

BACKGROUND: Math anxiety (MA) is considered one of the variables that cause poor performance in contexts where mathematical competence is required. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The survey involved 28 Italian students in the first year of secondary school (corresponding to grade nine of English-speaking schools and of the Italian INVALSI evaluation system). The students, examined at the beginning of the school year, scored below the threshold of sufficiency in the calculation skills assessment test. This data analysis takes into consideration the development of their math performance; the hypothesis is that the level of MA may differentiate students who are able or not able to achieve the competencies expected by the course of study. RESULTS: Students who transitioned from an inadequate score to a sufficient one over the school year, exhibited significantly lower levels of MA compared to students who did not score sufficient on the math test at the end of the year. However, the significant difference primarily pertained to the "learning math" subscale, while the "math evaluation" subscale showed no significant differences between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest the possibility of using the assessment of MA levels to identify the presence and type of emotional difficulties associated with the study of mathematics. Specifically, in individuals with difficulties in learning mathematics, the presence of a dissociation between the two AMAS subscales could suggest different approaches to educational intervention.

Modelling the associations between academic engagement, study process and grit on academic achievement of physical education and sport university students.

OBJECTIVE: The present study examined the impact of academic engagement, study processes, and grit on the academic achievement of physical education and sport university students. METHODS: An internet-based survey recruited 459 university students aged 19-25 years (M = 21 ± 1.3) in physical education and sports (PES) to fill out questionnaires on Physical Education-Study Process Questionnaire (PE-SPQ), Physical Education-Grit (PE-Grit), academic engagement (A-USEI), and Grade Point Average (GPA). A path analysis was carried out to understand variable relationships. RESULTS: Data from each variable exhibited symmetrical and normal distribution, as indicated by the skewness and kurtosis values. The model's fit indices showed sufficient Comparative Fit Index (CFI = 0.92), Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI = 0.90), Goodness of Fit Index (GFI = 0.99) and Normed Fit Index (NFI = 0.90) and showed acceptable levels. The results indicated a statistically significant positive impact of engagement (ß = 0.299, p < 0.001) and study processes (ß = 0.397, p < 0.001) on academic achievement. However, the effect of grit on achievement was non-significant. CONCLUSIONS: Academic engagement as well as study processes are two important factors predicting academic achievement while grit seems to be not a major predictor. Hence, physical education and sport faculty and university administrators should prioritize student engagement as a determinant of academic outcomes by reforming or redesigning physical education and sport curriculum modules that can facilitate engagement.

Cardiac Autonomic Activity, Personality Traits, and Academic Performance in First-Year Medical Students: A Gender-Specific Relation.

Background It is not always the sincere or hardworking or intelligent student that gets the highest grades. Exploring unknown dimensions that may distinguish academic performance in adolescents/youth migrating from a high school study environment to that of a professional school and in a learning environment without parental supervision for the first time remains important. We hypothesized that cardiac autonomic activity influenced by cognitive domain factors and emotions would predict academic success in them. Further, we investigated which of their personality traits related to academic performance. Exploratory gender-based analysis was included. Methods A prospective cohort study measured first-year medical students' resting heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), and personality traits (from the self-reported NEO Five-Factor Inventory-3). Spearman's correlation coefficient tested the correlation between the year-end final aggregate marks and assessed parameters, including subgroup analysis based on gender. Regression analyses of variables with academic marks were performed in the entire cohort. Results The aggregate marks of 81 volunteering students (Mage = 18.7, SD = 0.8 years; 42 females, 39 males) as a cohort did not correlate with their resting heart rate or HRV indices. Subgroup analysis revealed a positive correlation between marks and high-frequency power (r = 0.33, p= 0.03) and total power (r = 0.37, p= 0.02) of HRV in females. The marks positively correlated with the personality conscientiousness score (r = 0.32, p= 0.04) and extraversion score (r = 0.34, p= 0.03) in females. Multivariable regression analysis in the entire cohort revealed no significant interactions. Conclusion Academic performance was significantly related to cardiac autonomic modulation and personality traits of conscientiousness and extraversion in female but not male first-year medical students. These results indicate a gender-specific difference in the relation between scholastic performance and HRV in adolescents/youth transiting from high school to professional schools and entering a study environment without parental supervision for the first time. Further our data expands the knowledge base of educational psychology among them.

Time to level up: A systematic review of interventions aiming to reduce stigma toward autistic people.

LAY ABSTRACT: How non-autistic people think about autistic people impacts autistic people negatively. Many studies developed trainings to reduce autism stigma. The existing trainings vary a lot in terms of study design, content, and reported effectiveness. This means that a review studying how the studies have been conducted is needed. We also looked at the quality of these studies. We collected and studied 26 studies that tried to reduce stigma toward autistic people. The studies often targeted White K-12 students and college students. Most trainings were implemented once. Trainings frequently used video or computer. Especially, recent studies tended to use online platforms. The study quality was poor for most studies. Some studies made inaccurate claims about the intervention effectiveness. Studies did not sufficiently address study limitations. Future trainings should aim to figure out why and how interventions work. How intervention changes people's behavior and thoughts should be studied. Researchers should study whether the training can change the societal stigma. Also, researchers should use a better study design.

Sensory Modulation among Kindergarten Children in Jordan Based on Parents' Perceptions.

This study aimed to explore sensory processing abilities in kindergarten children based on parents' perceptions of their children's sensory functioning. Employing a non-probability sampling technique, parents of 957 typical kindergarteners (52% males, 48% females) aged between four and six years in Amman-Jordan were surveyed via Arabic-Short Sensory Profile (A-SSP). Results showed that 37% and 24% of children exhibited definite difference and probable difference, respectively. These proportions indicate the importance of including sensory processing as a variable in studies that target children typical development, and to support the development of sensory processing among Jordanian children.

Desmedicalizando a vida escolar: desafios formativos para a Psicologia Escolar e Educacional em uma perspectiva crítica / Demedicalizing the school experience: challenges in continuing education on Educational Psychology and School Psychology from a critical point of view

O presente artigo tem por objetivo partilhar alguns desafios vivenciados por supervisoras de estágio no campo da Psicologia Escolar e Educacional, que adotam um referencial teórico-prático crítico, na construção de estratégias de enfrentamento aos processos de medicalização da educação. A Psicologia Escolar e Educacional em uma perspectiva crítica é uma abordagem teórico-prática que busca romper com a naturalização das experiências de fracasso escolar, apontando para as múltiplas determinações envolvidas no fenômeno, nas quais a própria Psicologia, como ciência e profissão, está envolvida. Para a discussão em tela, foi realizada pesquisa de abordagem qualitativa, o trabalho de campo envolvendo a realização de entrevistas semidirigidas com quatro supervisoras de estágio reconhecidas pela relevância de sua atuação nesse campo. A análise das entrevistas tornou possível tecer algumas reflexões, com destaque para: as primeiras aproximações com o universo escolar; a construção de propostas de intervenção; o papel da psicóloga escolar diante de demandas clínicas; os riscos de olhares preconceituosos e o trabalho envolvido na escrita dos relatórios. Espera-se que as reflexões aqui partilhadas possam contribuir para a formação e atuação de psicólogas escolares e educacionais que perspectivem práticas desmedicalizantes.

The goal of this paper is to share some of the challenges that internship supervisors face in the field of School Psychology and Educational Psychology. These internship supervisors look at the practical and theoretical knowledge of the field from a critical point of view in constructing coping strategies for the processes of education medicalization. A look at School and Educational Psychology from a critical perspective demands a theoretical-practical approach that looks to break free from the naturalization of school failure experiences. As such, the multiple factors involved in the phenomenon are taken into consideration ­ in which psychology itself, as a science and profession, is involved. A qualitative approach research was conducted, through semi-directed interviews with four internship supervisors known for their performance in the field. The evaluation of the interviews made a few analyses possible on the first contact with the school environment; the collaborative creation of intervention strategies; the role of the school's psychologist when a subject shares their concerns and challenges; the work involved in writing the psychological reports. Therefore, it is hoped that this paper can contribute to the training and the practice of school and educational psychologists who envisage demedicalizing practices.

Reflexões sobre educação inclusiva: A perspectiva de psicólogas e psicólogos de Mato Grosso / Reflections on inclusive education: the perspective of psychologists from Mato Grosso

Este artigo apresenta uma discussão sobre o processo educacional inclusivo na perspectiva de psicólogas e psicólogos do estado de Mato Grosso, a partir de suas vivências profissionais, especificamente, com as demandas de alunos com deficiência. Deriva de uma pesquisa qualitativa realizada no Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psicologia da Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso no período de 2017-2018. Os participantes da pesquisa foram sete profissionais que atuam na educação básica em municípios do estado de Mato Grosso, sendo seis psicólogas e um psicólogo, e o objetivo foi identificar as perspectivas desses profissionais sobre o processo educacional inclusivo a partir de suas expectativas, dificuldades e possibilidades de atuação. Para a produção de dados para análise, foram utilizadas a técnica de grupo focal e entrevistas individuais. Os dados foram analisados conforme a metodologia da Análise Temática e sob a perspectiva crítica em Psicologia Escolar, além da Psicologia Histórico-Cultural. Os resultados apontam que as atividades realizadas pelas psicólogas e psicólogos focam na formação dos profissionais que atuam nas escolas, orientação aos familiares e atendimento aos alunos. Destacam-se como dificuldades a articulação com os profissionais da escola, a fragilidade do atendimento na rede de serviços públicos e a precária compreensão dos profissionais sobre educação inclusiva.

This article presents a discussion of the inclusive educational process from the perspective of psychologists in the state of Mato Grosso, based on their professional experiences, specifically, with the demands of students with disabilities. It is the result of qualitative research carried out in the Postgraduate Program in Psychology at the Federal University of Mato Grosso in the period 2017-2018. The research participants were seven professionals working in basic education in municipalities in the state of Mato Grosso and aimed to identify the perspectives of these professionals on the inclusive education process based on their expectations, difficulties, and possibilities of action. To produce data for analysis, the focus group technique and individual interviews were used. The data were analyzed according to the methodology of Thematic Analysis and from a critical perspective in School Psychology in addition to Historical-Cultural Psychology. The results indicate that the activities carried out by the psychologists focus on the training of professionals working in schools, guidance to family members and assistance to students. As for difficulties, the articulation with school professionals, the fragility of service in the network public services and the precarious understanding of professionals about inclusive education stand out as difficulties.

Assessment of math anxiety as a potential tool to identify students at risk of poor acquisition of new math skills: longitudinal study of grade 9 Italian students.

Introduction: Numerous international educational institutions have sounded the alarm about the gradual increase in the number of students failing to achieve a sufficient level of proficiency in mathematical abilities. Thus, the growing interest in identifying possible solutions and factors interfering with learning seems justified. In recent years, special attention has accrued to the possible role played by emotional factors. Methods: In the present investigation, students in the first grade of a technical vocational secondary school are followed to assess the influence of math anxiety (MA) on the development of skill acquisition in calculus. A math skills assessment test is administered on two occasions, at the beginning and end of the school year. Results: Results highlighted that the score on the anxiety scale, administered at the beginning of the year, negatively correlated with the score obtained on the mathematics test, administered at the end of the school year: the higher the level of anxiety, the worse the performance. Furthermore, the score obtained in the second administration makes it possible to divide the students tested into two groups: students who improved their performance and students who did not benefit at all from repeating the test. In these two groups, an analysis of the relationships between the outcome of the end-of-year mathematics test and the level of MA at the beginning of the year showed that MA correlates negatively with performance only in students who will fail to acquire new expertise in mathematics over the course of the school year. Discussion: The results suggest that MA may interfere with the smooth development of math skills. Assessing the level of MA at the beginning of the school year could prove to be a useful tool in identifying which and how many students are at risk of failing to achieve the skills expected from the usual course of instruction. A consideration of anxiety as one of the variables at play in the genesis of learning difficulties may prompt educators to modify teaching methodology and strategies by increasing focus on the impact of the emotional dimension on learning.

Attitudes toward mathematics/statistics, anxiety, self-efficacy and academic performance: an artificial neural network.

Mathematics and statistical skills are crucial to daily life. However, many students found mathematics difficult to learn and understand. This research aimed to find relationships between mathematics and statistical attitudes and emotional dimensions, such as anxiety or self-efficacy. The sample consisted of two groups: the first group was formed by 276 Spanish students (75.7% female with an average age of 19.92 years) from different degrees at the University of Granada and the second one by agroup of 19 secondary school students from of a Secondary School in Granada, Spain (57.9% male students between 14 and 16 years of age from a public school). The instruments applied were a scale of attitude toward mathematics, a scale of attitude toward statistics, a scale to assess mathematical anxiety, and a scale to assess self-efficacy. An artificial neural network for the backpropagation algorithm was designed using dependent variable. The results showed a negative impact of anxiety on those attitudes, while self-efficacy had a positive impact on those mentioned attitudes. Therefore, emotional education is important in the well-being, and teaching in mathematics. The usefulness of the innovative neural network analysis in predicting the constructs evaluated in this study can be highlighted.