Parental Homework Involvement and Students' Achievement: A Three-Level Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Applying a three-level meta-analysis, the goal of our investigation was to examine the relationship between parental homework involvement and students' achievement, and to investigate whether certain study features could have resulted in the inconsistent results relating to this relationship from prior studies. METHOD: We identified a total of 28 studies (32 independent samples) with 252 effect sizes for a total of 378222 participants. RESULTS: Our meta-analysis revealed an overall weak negative relationship between parental homework involvement and students' achievement ( r = −0.064, p < 0.001). The overall relationship was moderated by the dimension of parental homework involvement. Specifically, students' achievement was positively related to autonomy support, but largely unrelated to content support, parental control, frequency, and mixed. Additionally, the overall relationship was moderated by achievement measure, grade level, and parent gender. CONCLUSIONS: Given that parental autonomy support was the only dimension that was positively related to students' achievement, it would be important to conduct qualitative research that provides longitudinal descriptions of parent-child interactions relating to homework tasks as children make their transition from elementary to middle and high school.

Homework Purposes in Eighth Grade Students: Identifying Student Profiles and Their Relationship with Homework Effort, Completion, and Achievement

BACKGROUND: The main objective of the research was (1) to identify different profiles of students based on three purposes they had for homework (academic, self-regulatory and approval-seeking) and (2) to analyze their relationship with the homework effort, completion, and math achievement. METHOD: The study involved 3,018 eighth-grade students from various areas in China. Data were analyzed with Mplus using Latent Profile Analysis (LPA). RESULTS: As hypothesized, four different profiles were identified: High Profile (high in all purposes; 13.39%), Moderate Profile (moderate in all purposes; 56.63%), Low Profile (low in all purposes; 26.04%), and Very Low Profile (very low in all purposes; 3.94%). Belonging to a certain profile was related to the homework effort, completion, and math achievement: the higher the purposes, the greater the homework effort, completion, and higher math performance. CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study suggest certain similarities and consistency between individual groups (similar profiles) at different ages (i.e., eighth and eleventh graders). Belonging to one or the other profile may have different consequences or implications both for the student's behavior (for example, in terms of their involvement in homework and academic achievement) and for the educational practice of teachers and families.

Parental Involvement in Homework During Covid-19 Confinement.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to compare parents' involvement in students' homework during COVID-19 confinement and their involvement in normal circumstances. METHOD: 628 parents of elementary and high school students completed a questionnaire about their family and family involvement in their children's homework. To address the objective, data were examined using mean differences and analysis of variance. RESULTS: As predicted, the COVID-19 situation led to more time spent doing homework for students, as well as higher levels of conflict and stress within the family. In addition, parents reported having increased their homework management during confinement in terms of emotional and motivational support for their children compared to normal circumstances. Finally, the data showed more conflicts and family involvement in the families of children with special needs compared to families of children without special needs. CONCLUSIONS: The time spent in confinement posed many challenges to families' routines and the data indicated a lack of resources available for families to manage their children's tasks, as well as an increase in family stress and conflicts.

Coping Profiles and their Relationship with Self-compassion in Childhood.

INTRODUCTION: In line with the growing attention to mental health and stress in children, the present study analyzed the existence of differentiated profiles of coping in response to everyday stressors. The study also examined whether the identified profiles differed in levels of self-compassion. METHOD: 487 children (9 - 12 years old), selected by convenience sampling, participated in the study. A cross-sectional, ex post facto design was used. RESULTS: Four coping profiles were identified: a profile with low use of coping strategies (LCP), a profile with predominantly approach coping strategies (ACP), a profile with high use of all coping strategies (HMP) and a profile with moderate use of all strategies (MMP). The ACP and HMP profiles demonstrated significantly higher levels of positive self-compassion, whereas the HMP, LCP and MMP profiles demonstrated significantly higher levels of negative self-compassion than the ACP profile. CONCLUSIONS: These findings make it possible to determine the profiles of children who are more and less functional in terms of their psychological resources for coping with day-to-day stress. This may encourage the development of more individualized interventions in order to prevent childhood stress.

Coping Profiles and Their Relationship With Self-compassionin Childhood / Perfiles de Afrontamiento del Estrés y su Relación con la Autocompasiónen la Infancia

Introduction: In line with the growing attention to mental health and stressin children, the present study analyzed the existence of differentiated profilesof coping in response to everyday stressors. The study also examined whetherthe identified profiles differed in levels of self-compassion. Method: 487children (9 - 12 years old), selected by convenience sampling, participatedin the study. A cross-sectional, ex post facto design was used. Results:Four coping profiles were identified: a profile with low use of copingstrategies (LCP), a profile with predominantly approach coping strategies(ACP), a profile with high use of all coping strategies (HMP) and a profilewith moderate use of all strategies (MMP). The ACP and HMP profilesdemonstrated significantly higher levels of positive self-compassion,whereas the HMP, LCP and MMP profiles demonstrated significantly higherlevels of negative self-compassion than the ACP profile. Conclusions:These findings make it possible to determine the profiles of children whoare more and less functional in terms of their psychological resources forcoping with day-to-day stress. This may encourage the development ofmore individualized interventions in order to prevent childhood stress.

Antecedentes: en línea con la creciente atención hacia lasalud mental y el estrés en la población infantil, en el presente estudio seanalizó la existencia de perfiles diferenciados de afrontamiento del estrésen respuesta a las demandas cotidianas. Asimismo, se determinó si losperfiles identificados diferían en su nivel de autocompasión. Método: en el estudio participaron 487 niños (9 - 12 años), seleccionados medianteun muestreo por conveniencia. Se llevó a cabo un diseño ex post factotransversal. Resultados: se identificaron cuatro perfiles de afrontamiento:perfil con baja utilización de estrategias de afrontamiento (PBA), perfil conpredominio de estrategias aproximativas (PAA), perfil con alta utilizaciónde todas las estrategias (PAAM) y perfil con una utilización moderada detodas las estrategias (PMAM). El PAA y el PAAM evidenciaron los nivelessignificativamente más altos de autocompasión positiva. Asimismo,los perfiles PAAM, BA y PMAM mostraron niveles significativamentemás altos de autocompasión negativa que el perfil PAA. Conclusiones: estos hallazgos permiten determinar los perfiles de niños más y menosfuncionales en cuanto a sus recursos psicológicos para hacer frente alestrés cotidiano infantil. Ello favorecería el desarrollo de intervencionesmás individualizadas en la prevención del estrés infantil.

[Empirically Supported Psychological Treatments for Children and Adolescents: State of the Art].

Empirically Supported Psychological Treatments for Children and Adolescents: State of the Art. BACKGROUND: The empirical evidence accumulated on the efficacy, effectiveness, and efficiency of psychotherapeutic treatments in children and adolescents calls for an update. The main goal of this paper objective was to carry out a selective review of empirically supported psychological treatments for a variety of common psychological disorders and problems in childhood and adolescence. METHOD: A review was carried out of the psychological treatments for different psychological disorders and problems in social-emotional or behavioral adjustment in the child-adolescent population according to the Spanish National Health System (Clinical Practice Guidelines) levels of evidence and degrees of recommendation. RESULTS: The findings suggest that psychological treatments have empirical support for addressing a wide range of psychological problems in these developmental stages. The degree of empirical support ranges from low to high depending on the phenomenon analyzed. The review suggests unequal progress in the different fields of intervention. CONCLUSIONS: From this update, psychologists will be able to make informed decisions when implementing those empirically supported treatments to address the problems that occur in childhood and adolescence.

The Role of Anxiety in the Relationship between Self-efficacy and Math Achievement / El papel de la ansiedad en la relación entre la competencia percibida y el rendimiento en matemáticas

This study aims to improve current understanding of how the relationship between perceived math ability and math achievement may be mediated or moderated by levels of anxiety about math, considering intellectual abilities, gender, and school year. In this study, participants were 2,245 Spanish students (7th to 10th grade). All completed the FennemaSherman Mathematics Attitudes Scales and the Sternberg Triarchic Abilities Test. The main results showed that (I) perceivedcompetence is a potent predictor of achievement (the higher the perceived competence, the better the performance in mathematics), (II) anxiety about mathematics significantly mediates the relationship between perceived competence and math achievement (although the effect is small), and (III) levels of anxiety condition the intensity of the effect of perceived competence on math achievement (at high levels of anxiety the effect size of the relationship between perceived competence and achievement is large, whereas at low levels of anxiety the effect is small)

El estudio tiene como objetivo mejorar el conocimiento actual sobre cómo la relación entre la capacidad matemática percibida y el rendimiento matemático puede estar mediada, o moderada, por el nivel de ansiedad ante las matemáticas, teniendo en cuenta las habilidades intelectuales, el género y el curso escolar. En el estudio participaron 2,245 estudiantes españoles de 7º a 10º grado. Todos completaron las Escalas de Actitudes Matemáticas Fennema-Sherman y la Escalade Inteligencia Triárquica de Sternberg. Los principales resultados mostraron que (I) la competencia percibida es un potente predictor de rendimiento matemático (cuanto mayor es la competencia percibida mejor es el rendimiento en matemáticas), (II) la ansiedad ante las matemáticas media significativamente la relación entre la competencia percibida y el rendimiento matemático (aunque el efecto sea pequeño) y (III) el nivel de ansiedad condiciona la intensidad del efecto de la competencia percibida en el rendimiento matemático (a un nivel de ansiedad elevado el tamaño del efecto de la relación entre la competencia percibida y el logro es grande, mientras que a un nivel bajo el efecto es pequeño)

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.

Personal and Instructional Variables Related to the Learning Process in Postgraduate Courses.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to analyze the relationship between different student characteristics (gender, reason for choosing the master's degree and specialty), the instructional context (perceived quality of the instructional process), and the characteristics of the learning process (practical learning strategies and study approach) in postgraduate study. METHOD: 621 students completed the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire, the Inventory of Study Processes, the Inventory of Self-Regulatory Learning Processes and a questionnaire developed ad hoc about instructional processes. RESULTS: The data indicates notable differences between men's and women's involvement in their postgraduate study. Furthermore, the results also suggest that it is only when postgraduate courses are done for vocational reasons and students receive quality instruction that the two factors ensure students prioritize deep learning processes (e.g., significant learning, reflections on meaning, comprehensive learning) versus a surface learning approach. (e.g., memorization, lack of reflection). CONCLUSIONS: The results may be of interest for the design of postgraduate university education policy in relation to the selection processes for both students and teachers.

Student Perception of Teacher and Parent Involvement in Homework and Student Engagement: The Mediating Role of Motivation.

Currently, there is much debate about the value of assigning homework. Organizations such as the OECD have concluded that doing more homework is not synonymous with better performance. This study was designed to analyze the mediating role of student motivation in the relationship between the involvement of parents and teachers in homework and the engagement of students in these tasks. Seven hundred and thirty students in Compulsory Secondary Education (7th-10th grade) participated from 14 schools in the north of Spain. Three competing models were developed and tested to study motivational mediation: a non-motivational mediation model (direct effects model); a total motivational mediation model (indirect effects model); and a partial motivational mediation model (mixed effects model). The best model was adjusted according to gender and school year variables. The total mediation motivational model demonstrated the best fit (indirect effects model). The results suggest the total mediation of student motivation in the relationship between the perception of parents' and teachers' involvement in homework and student cognitive engagement in these tasks. Some differences, albeit slight, were observed with respect to gender and school year. The results have clear theoretical and educational implications.

Relationship Between Students' Prior Academic Achievement and Homework Behavioral Engagement: The Mediating/Moderating Role of Learning Motivation.

The interest of assigning homework is frequently discussed due to its alleged low impact on student achievement. One of the current lines of research is to emphasize the quality of student homework engagement rather than the amount of time spent on homework. The aim of this study was to determine (a) the extent to which students' prior achievement affects their homework engagement (i.e., time spent, time management, and amount of teacher-assigned homework done), and (b) how students' intrinsic motivation toward homework may mediate or moderate the relationship between prior achievement and the homework engagement variables. A large sample of students from the first 4 years of Secondary Education (N = 1899) completed questionnaires. The results showed that intrinsic motivation partially mediates, but does not moderate, the effect of prior achievement on the three variables related to homework engagement (time spent, time management, and amount of teacher-assigned homework done). These results highlight the importance of considering both students' current level of achievement and their motivation toward homework engagement when assigning homework.

Factors that determine the persistence and dropout of university students.

BACKGROUND: The increase of students in higher education means a more heterogeneous student body, complicating the identification of the variables that influence students' decisions to stay in or drop out of university. The objective of this study is to analyze the influence of these variables on students' decisions by establishing specific groups of students based on performance. METHOD: A study was carried out with 2,970 first-year university students from Portugal, using the decision tree technique. RESULTS: Academic performance is confirmed as a determining variable in the decision to remain or drop out, allowing us to establish three groups (high, medium and low achievement), in which different types of variables act as mediators: sex, type of course (licenciatura [BA] or mestrado integrado), the fact of studying at the students' first-choice university or the mother's educational level. CONCLUSIONS: Without neglecting the weight of academic achievement as a priority variable, we must consider these secondary variables in the configuration of student groups in order to plan support policies to avoid higher-risk students dropping out.

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.

The genetic heterogeneity of hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis in a sample of the Brazilian population.

To present the genetic heterogeneity of a sample of the Brazilian population with transthyretin (TTR) mutations. This cohort study was descriptive and retrospective, and enrolled patients with peripheral neuropathy of unknown cause that were found to have a mutation in the TTR gene during the process of etiological investigation, between July 1997 to January 2016. Over the study period, 129 point mutations were identified in 448 tested patients, of whom 128 were of Brazilian origin. The TTR Val30Met mutation was identified in 116 patients (90.6%); while 7 (4.7%) patients had a pathogenic non-TTR mutation and 7 (4.7%) carried non-pathogenic mutations (4.7%). The four non-TTRMet30 pathogenic mutations were TTR Aps38Tyr; TTR Ile107Val; TTR Val71Ala; and TTR Val122Ile. In the non-pathogenic group, we only found two mutations, including TTR Gly6Ser and TTR Thr119Thr. Our study depicts a scenario of greater genetic heterogeneity among Brazilian hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis (hATTR) patients with familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy (FAP). We expect that this number will grow fast over a short period of time, due to increasing availability of genetic tests, increasing knowledge of the disease and the multivariate origin of our population.

Motivational profiles in high school students: Differences in behavioural and emotional homework engagement and academic achievement.

This work examined whether combinations of academic and non-academic goals generated different motivational profiles in high school students. Besides, differences in homework behavioural engagement (i.e. amount of homework, time spent in homework, homework time management), homework emotional engagement (i.e. homework anxiety) and academic achievement were analysed. Participants were 714 high school students (43.4% boys and 56.6% girls). The study of potential motivational profiles was conducted by latent profile analysis, and the differences between the motivational profiles regarding homework variables and academic achievement were analysed using multivariate analysis. The results indicate the existence of five groups of motivational profiles: a group of students with multiple goals, a group of unmotivated students, two groups of students with a predominance of learning goals and, finally, a group comprising students with a high fear of failure. Both the group with multiple goals and the learning goals-oriented groups reported to do more homework, spending more time on homework, making better use of that time and having a higher academic achievement than counterparts. The avoidance-failure group and the group with multiple goals showed higher levels of homework anxiety. Globally, these results provide support for a person-centred approach.

Procrastinating Behavior in Computer-Based Learning Environments to Predict Performance: A Case Study in Moodle.

Introduction: Research about student performance has traditionally considered academic procrastination as a behavior that has negative effects on academic achievement. Although there is much evidence for this in class-based environments, there is a lack of research on Computer-Based Learning Environments (CBLEs). Therefore, the purpose of this study is to evaluate student behavior in a blended learning program and specifically procrastination behavior in relation to performance through Data Mining techniques. Materials and Methods: A sample of 140 undergraduate students participated in a blended learning experience implemented in a Moodle (Modular Object Oriented Developmental Learning Environment) Management System. Relevant interaction variables were selected for the study, taking into account student achievement and analyzing data by means of association rules, a mining technique. The association rules were arrived at and filtered through two selection criteria: 1, rules must have an accuracy over 0.8 and 2, they must be present in both sub-samples. Results: The findings of our study highlight the influence of time management in online learning environments, particularly on academic achievement, as there is an association between procrastination variables and student performance. Conclusion: Negative impact of procrastination in learning outcomes has been observed again but in virtual learning environments where practical implications, prevention of, and intervention in, are different from class-based learning. These aspects are discussed to help resolve student difficulties at various ages.

How Do Student Prior Achievement and Homework Behaviors Relate to Perceived Parental Involvement in Homework?

This study investigated how students' prior achievement is related to their homework behaviors (i.e., time spent on homework, homework time management, and amount of homework), and to their perceptions of parental involvement in homework (i.e., parental control and parental support). A total of 1250 secondary students from 7 to 10th grade participated in the study. Structural equation models were fitted to the data, compared, and a partial mediation model was chosen. The results indicated that students' prior academic performance was significantly associated with both of the students' homework variables, with direct and indirect results linking achievement and homework behaviors with perceived parental control and support behaviors about homework. Low-achieving students, in particular, perceived more parental control of homework in the secondary grades. These results, together with those of previous research, suggest a recursive relationship between secondary school students' achievement and their perceptions of parental involvement in homework, which represents the process of student learning and family engagement over time. Study limitations and educational implications are discussed.

Rationale and Applicability of Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM) in psychoeducational contexts.

BACKGROUND: In last few years, the use of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) has become dominant in structural validation of psychological tests. However, the requirement of latent variables only loading on specific target items introduces some constraints on the solutions found, namely a factor solution that links some items only in one specific dimension. The most recent use of exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM), which allows items to be predominantly related to a factor, with non-zero loadings on other factors, has been identified as the one that best respects the proper functioning of the assessed psychological attributes. METHOD: In this study we compared the two approaches to structural validity using the answers of a sample of 2,478 first-year higher education students to a multidimensional questionnaire of academic expectations. RESULTS: The results show clear gains in information collected when combining CFA and ESEM. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, some implications are highlighted for research and practice of psychological assessment.

"My Child has Cerebral Palsy": Parental Involvement and Children's School Engagement.

Engaged students tend to show school-committed behaviors (e.g., attend classes, get involved with the learning process), high achievement, and sense of belonging. However, students with disabilities are prone to show a lack of engagement with school due to the specific difficulties they have to handle. In fact, children with disabilities are likely to show poor participation in school when compared with children without disabilities. This poor involvement is related to their low autonomy to participate in the school activities, which, in turn, results in low school engagement. Parents play a crucial role in their children's education. Parental involvement in school activities promotes autonomous behaviors and, consequently, school engagement. In fact, extant literature has shown close relationships between parental involvement, school engagement, and academic performance. Yet, parental involvement in school activities of children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) has received little direct attention from researchers. These children tend to display lower participation due to the motor, or cognitive, impairments that compromise their autonomy, and have a high likelihood to develop learning disabilities, with special incidences in reading and arithmetic. Therefore, our aim is twofold, to understand the parental styles; and how the perceived parental involvement in school activities is related to their children school engagement. Hence, 19 interviews were conducted with one of the parents of 19 children with CP. These interviews explored the school routines of children and the perceived involvement of parents in those routines. Additionally, children filled out a questionnaire on school engagement. Results show that the majority of the parents were clustered in the Autonomy Allowance and Acceptance and Support parental style, and the majority of their children were perceived as autonomous. Moreover, about a half of the children reported a high level of school engagement. Finally, neither children's autonomous behaviors reported by parents, nor parental style, seem to be related with the children's level of school engagement. Rehabilitation centers and schools could consider training parents/caregivers focusing on their educational needs, promotion of reflections on the usefulness of applying autonomy promotion strategies with their child, and foster their involvement.

Profiles of Psychological Well-being and Coping Strategies among University Students.

In the transactional model of stress, coping responses are the key to preventing the stress response. In this study, the possible role of psychological well-being as a personal determinant of coping strategies in the academic context was analyzed. Specifically, the study has two objectives: (a) to identify different profiles of students according to their level of psychological well-being; and (b) to analyze the differences between these profiles in the use of three coping strategies (positive reappraisal, support-seeking, and planning). Age, gender, and degree were estimated as covariables. A total of 1,072 university students participated in the study. Latent profile analysis was applied to four indices of psychological well-being: self-acceptance, environmental mastery, purpose in life, and personal growth. An optimal four-profile solution, reflecting significant incremental shifts from low to very high psychological well-being, was obtained. As predicted, the profile membership distinguished between participants in positive reappraisal, support-seeking, and planning. Importantly, the higher the profile of psychological well-being was, the higher the use of the three coping strategies. Gender differences in coping strategies were observed, but no interaction effects with psychological well-being were found. Age and degree were not relevant in explaining the use of coping strategies. These results suggest that psychological well-being stands as an important personal resource to favor adaptive coping strategies for academic stress.