Browsing by Subject "koulusuoriutuminen"
Now showing items 1-5 of 5
-
(2017)Objectives. Previous research has found associations between both cognitive ability and anxiety and school performance and anxiety. The nature of these associations is not yet clear however. On one hand, it has been speculated that the optimal development of emotion regulation requires cognitive skills and that performing well at school could protect one from anxiety e.g. through increased feelings of competence. On the other hand, anxiety may interfere with cognitive performance by directing attention to negative thoughts and impair school performance e.g. through absences from school. The objective of this study was to investigate the associations between anxiety, cognitive ability and school performance in 12- and 17-year-old youth. Of additional interest were the longitudinal changes in anxiety and cognitive ability in a 5-year follow-up. Methods. The data in this study consisted of the youth who participated in the 12- and 17-year follow-ups (N = 451) of the longitudinal study of Glycyrrhizin in Licorice (GLAKU). Anxiety was assessed using an Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) questionnaire completed by parents when the participants were 12. When participants were 17, they completed an Achenbach Youth Self Report (YSR) questionnaire. The cognitive ability of the participants was assessed using two subtests of verbal reasoning and two subtests of visual reasoning of Wechsler Intelligence Scale. Information about school performance was gained from parent evaluations. The associations between anxiety, cognitive ability and school performance were examined with negative binomial, logistic and linear regression models. Results and conclusions. In accordance with the diverse and partly controversial results of previous research this study also found the complexity of the associations between cognitive ability and anxiety: On one hand, lower anxiety was associated with better cognitive ability in cross-sectional designs. On the other hand, higher anxiety at the age of 12 was associated with improved performance IQ in a 5-year follow up. However, this association was found only among girls and for boys anxiety had an impairing effect on the development of performance IQ. These results suggest that early support should be targeted especially towards boys with anxiety in order to protect their cognitive development.
-
(2023)Digital gaming is common nowadays regardless of age, as the majority of individuals aged 10 to 75 play digital games at least occasionally. For this reason, it is necessary to investigate the connection between digital gaming and well-being. Additionally, exploring the relationship between digital gaming and academic performance is essential, as school-age children and students also play digital games. Previous research on the topic has been conducted, but there is relatively little qualitative research based on adult experiences. This study focuses on the experiences of adults who have played a significant amount during their lives and how they perceive gaming’s impact on their well-being, academic performance, and school well-being. Interviewees were asked to define well-being in terms of physical, mental and social aspects, as well as academic performance and school well-being. They were also asked to define problematic gaming. The goal of this study is to gather more information about the positive and negative influences of gaming on an individual’s well-being and academic performance. Educators can use the gathered information when planning the gaming education of the children or youth. The research was conducted as a qualitative study, and data were collected through written interviews with six participants. The interviewees were selected on the assumption that they have played a lot at some point in their lives. The chosen research method was phenomenography because the study focused on the interviewees’ own experiences and perceptions of the phenomenon under investigation. The study found similarities with previous research. Interviewees described connections between digital gaming and well-being like those found in previous studies. One observed connection was the reduction of stress as a result of gaming. Similarities were also found in the interviewees’ perceptions of physical, mental and social well-being, as well as academic performance and problematic gaming, compared to previous research. An example of such similarity was linking the feeling of competence to mental well-being. This research provided a player-centric perspective on digital games. Especially for mental and social well-being, benefits were perceived from gaming. However, drawbacks were also identified and could be described on personal experience. It can be concluded that digital gaming has connections to perceived well-being in its various aspects, both positively and negatively. Academic performance may suffer from excessive amounts of gaming according to interviewees.
-
(2020)Aims: Previous research has shown that high instability of home, work, or daycare environment is associated with poorer cognitive achievement. This topic, however, has not been investigated in school environment. This study investigated (1) whether instability of school environment is associated with students’ school achievement and (2) whether students’ temperament traits modify these associations. Method: The data included a representative sample of Finnish 9th grade students (N=1835–1915). The instability of school environment was measured with three instability scales: instability of social relationships, learning spaces, and general structure. School achievement was measured with school grades. Standardized cognitive tests were performed for a subsample of the data (N=121–137). Students’ temperament traits were assessed using questionnaires fulfilled by teachers. Results: High instability of social relationships was related to poorer school grades independently of student’s temperament traits. High instability of learning spaces was associated with poorer grades in students with low (vs. high) task orientation or high (vs. low) flexibility. Instability of school environment had no main effects to standardized cognitive tests. High instability of learning spaces was associated with poorer cognitive achievement in students with high task orientation (vs. low) or high reactivity (vs. low). Conclusions: High instability of school environment appears to be associated with students’ poorer school achievement. These associations are modified by students’ temperament traits. The results indicate that there should not be excessive instability of students’ social relationships or learning spaces to provide optimal and equal opportunities for school achievement for students with different temperaments.
-
(2015)In this research we examined, first, the relation between war traumas and other significant stress-factors and school achievement. Second, we tested if Urie Bronfenbrenners PPCT-model could structure the factors affecting school achievement. Finally we searched to find out if any of those factors could protect school achievement from the effects of major negative life-events. The study was conducted in two stages, in spring 2006 and 2007 and included 303 children, aged 10-13 years from the 6th grade. 48,8% were boys and 51,2% girls. The research consisted of self-report questionnaires. Language skills were tested with the Arabic Achievement Test, mathematic skills with the Mathematics Achievement Test, major negative life-eventswith the Major Life-event Checklist, traumatic experiences with Inclusive Gaza Traumatic Event Checklist, coping-skills with the shortened version of Children's Coping Stategies Checklist- Revised 1-lomaketta, jolla arvioitiin lapsen coping-keinoja, Motivational Strategies for Learning Questionnaire, parental scholastic-support practices were measured with a newly-developed instrument, siblings relations was measured with the Siblings Relation scale, teachers practices were measured with an instrument based on the Students Perception about School Work instrument, and peer social relationship with the Friendship Quality and Peer Popularity/Acceptance scale. The results show that the negative life-events have a negative effect on school-achievement. Despite this the traumatic events didn't affect negatively students school-achievement. The results showed also that Urie Brofenbrenners PPCT-model could help structure the factors affecting school-achievement. The role of parents and teachers didn't rise as significant. Instead the results showed that good motivational beliefs and self-regulated learning could protect school-achievement from the impact of negative life-events. The results on whereby the good motivational beliefs and self-regulated learning would protect school-achievement from negative life-events is only partially confirmed by previous research. Instead the results showing that parents and teacher didn't play any part in school-achievement is surprising compared to the previous research and awakens a need for further research. If in future researches it is possible to confirm the special role of good motivational beliefs and self-regulated learning for the shool-achievement of children in difficult conditions it would point-out a new priority in teaching and raising children for schools, teachers and parents.
-
(2015)This study aimed at providing additional information about the effects of gender and the education level of parents to a child's school performance. On the basis of previous research, it was known that in the Western countries the school performance of girls is somewhat better than boys. It was also known that parental education predicts children's school performance. The study aimed to find mediating factors which could explain the effect of these variables. The data used in this study was part of a follow-up study which is collected by the Finnish Centre for Educational Assessment. It contained quite a large (N 1606-2316) set of data, where one age-group of primal school students in the city of Vantaa was measured - in 6th grade, 9th grade and in secondary school. At each time of measurement, information about the participants' school performance was collected. Participants' cognitive performance was measured, and they were also asked about lifestyle, and about their methods of study. According to the results of this study, the effect of gender and parents' education to the children's educational performance is at the same level as international studies have reported. The effect of gender was mediated by certain motivational factors. It was possible to explain the whole effect of gender by motivational factors. The effect of parental education was mediated by the cognitive performance of the participants. In general, this study confirms earlier observations about the subject, but it also provides some new information. In particular, the link between student's gender and motivational factors is interesting. It might provide a useful starting point for future studies, and it may direct research towards more detailed knowledge of school motivation. It seems that the effect of parental education was mediated by the cognitive performance of the participants. However, the details of this effect remain largely unknown.
Now showing items 1-5 of 5