Although both teacher-student relationship (TSR) and peer relationship (PR) have been found important for the development of students' classroom engagement, little research has been done regarding the joint operations of these two factors. Guided by a developmental systems framework, this study examined longitudinal between-person and within-person associations between TSR/ PR and classroom engagement in a sample of 784 low-achieving students in the first three years of elementary school. A multidimensional approach was used to distinguish positive and negative dimensions of TSR, as well as peer liking and disliking. At the between-person level, results showed that students' classroom engagement was positively predicted by positive TSR and PR liking and was negatively predicted by negative TSR and PR disliking. Both positive and negative TSR interacted with PR disliking at the between-person level, such that the associations between positive/negative TSR and classroom engagement were stronger for students with lower levels of PR disliking. At the within-person level, changes in classroom engagement were associated with contemporaneous year-to-year changes in positive/negative TSR and PR disliking. No within-person level interaction effects were found. Cross-level interaction showed that the effects of within-person negative TSR on classroom engagement were stronger for students with lower overall levels of PR disliking. Findings highlighted the importance of using a multilevel multidimensional approach to understand the joint operations of TSR and PR in the development of classroom engagement in low-achieving students in early elementary school.

Theories of learning emphasize the importance of both the cognitive and affective state of the learner. The current study focused on children's affective reactions to corrective feedback during mathematics problem solving. Eighty-seven elementary school children ( age = 7.6 years, 41% female, 68% White) solved mathematical equivalence problems during an online video call and received trial-by-trial feedback on their answers. Trained researchers used children's facial expressions, tone of voice, and verbal statements to quantify their positive and negative affect on each trial. Overall, children tended to express more positive affect than negative affect. However, negative affect was more prominent when the child was incorrect and received negative feedback, and higher negative affect was associated with lower accuracy and lower persistence on the task. These results provide novel empirical evidence for the role of emotions during children's STEM learning in a non-evaluative context.

Social media environments enable users to proliferate misinformation surrounding COVID-19. Expert sources, such as Dr. Anthony Fauci have leveraged social media to present corrective multimedia messages. However, little is known about the efficacy of these messages in revising common misconceptions about COVID-19 and influencing behavior. In this study, we examined the efficacy of a multimodal intervention using authentic social media messages that directly addressed common COVID-19 misconceptions. Going further, we identified individual differences that influenced the effectiveness of the intervention, as well as whether those factors predicted individuals' willingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. The results showed that the intervention was successful in increasing knowledge when compared to a baseline control. Those who were older and reported less vaccine hesitancy showed greater learning from the intervention. Factors that significantly predicted intention to vaccinate included receiving the intervention, vaccine confidence, vaccine hesitancy, prior flu vaccination history, age, and fear of COVID-19. These findings indicate that multimodal messages can be effectively leveraged in social media to both fight misinformation and increase intention to be vaccinated - however, these interventions may not be as effective for all individuals.

To contain the COVID-19 pandemic schools have been closed in many countries. Children stayed at home and were assisted by their parents with their schoolwork. Evidently, homeschooling puts extra demands on parents. We presumed that parents' sense of efficacy in teaching would play a key role in how they cope with this extra task of homeschooling. In particular, we hypothesized that parental characteristics (level of parental education and stress) and social contextual factors (household chaos and school support) would contribute to parents' teaching self-efficacy and that, in turn, a lower efficacy would result in more parent-child conflict during home schooling. Participants were 173 mothers of children in kindergarten or early elementary schools, who provided information for one of their children about interpersonal conflicts around schoolwork before and during school closure. Additionally, they reported on their self-efficacy in teaching, perceived stress during lockdown, home chaos, and school support. Path analyses indicated that mothers' perceived stress and household chaos were associated with a lower sense of efficacy in teaching, whereas school support, but not level of parental education, was related to a higher level of teaching self-efficacy. Higher levels of self-efficacy beliefs, in turn, were associated with a lower degree of mother-child conflict during schoolwork, even after controlling for prior levels of conflict. We discuss how the results of this study might be used to foster parents' self-efficacy in teaching and thereby decrease the amount of parent-child conflict during parents' support with schoolwork.

Grounded in expectancy-value and stereotype threat theories, this four-year longitudinal study examined associations between changes in stereotype threat and motivation (self-efficacy, task values, and perceived costs) among 425 undergraduates from racial/ethnic groups typically underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Growth analyses indicated that students' stereotype threat and perceived cost of studying science increased during college, whereas science self-efficacy, intrinsic value, and attainment value declined. Parallel growth analyses suggested that higher initial stereotype threat related to a faster decline in attainment value and faster increase in perceived costs throughout college. Higher initial levels and a steeper increase in stereotype threat related to lower STEM GPA. Higher initial levels and a slower decline in motivation variables related to higher STEM GPA and more completed STEM courses. These findings provide empirical evidence for the relations between stereotype threat and motivation among underrepresented minority students during a key developmental period.

Prior research has indicated that both mainstream (e.g., positive classroom behavior management) and culturally responsive teaching practices (e.g., cultural socialization in the classroom and promoting parent involvement), as well as teacher-student ethnic match, are associated with greater academic achievement for students of color. The purpose of this study was to examine teacher-student ethnic match and culturally responsive teaching self-efficacy as predictors of self-reported teaching practices used with Latinx students. The present study used a sample of 236 teachers (38.6% Spanish-speaking Latinx) of Latinx students in New York City public schools. We found that bilingual Latinx teachers reported using more effective mainstream and culturally responsive teaching practices compared to non-Latinx teachers (who did not speak Spanish). Using structural equation modeling, we found support for a model in which greater reported use of effective teaching practices by bilingual Latinx teachers is mediated by their greater culturally responsive teaching self-efficacy. Taken together, the findings suggest that greater confidence with culturally responsive teaching among Spanish-speaking Latinx teachers contributes to improved classroom environments for Latinx students.

The goal of this study is to test the individual and combined effects of supplementing an online statistics lesson with four motivational strategies corresponding to Bandura's (1997) four sources of self-efficacy (anxiety coping, modeling, mental practice, and effort feedback) on cognitive, motivational, and affective outcomes. Internet participants ( = 279) completed an online statistics module in one of six conditions with one or all four self-efficacy-building strategies (5 treatment conditions) or none of these strategies (control condition). The results indicated that the four strategies worked effectively in combination, significantly improving transfer test scores ( = 0.608), increasing self-efficacy ratings ( = 0.696), and reducing task anxiety ratings ( = -0.534), as compared with the control condition. By contrast, no motivational strategy alone was effective. The results suggest the importance of taking advantage of the power of all four sources of self-efficacy information in combination when designing motivational interventions for online mathematical lessons.

Understanding and using symbolic fractions in mathematics is critical for access to advanced STEM concepts. However, children and adults consistently struggle with fractions. Here, we take a novel perspective on symbolic fractions, considering them within the framework of relational structures in cognitive psychology, such as those studied in analogy research. We tested the hypothesis that relational reasoning ability is important for reasoning about fractions by examining the relation between scores on a domain-general test of relational reasoning (TORR Jr.) and a test of fraction knowledge consisting of various types of fraction problems in 194 second grade and 145 fifth grade students. We found that relational reasoning was a significant predictor of fractions knowledge, even when controlling for non-verbal IQ and fractions magnitude processing for both grades. The effects of relational reasoning also remained significant when controlling for overall mathematics knowledge and skill for second graders but was attenuated for fifth graders. These findings suggest that this important subdomain of mathematical cognition is integrally tied to relational reasoning and opens the possibility that instruction targeting relational reasoning may prove to be a viable avenue for improving children's fractions skills.

Conventional research methods for understanding sources of individual differences in word-problem solving (WPS) only permit estimation of average relations between component processes and outcomes. The purpose of the present study was instead to examine whether and if so how the component processes engaged in WPS differ along the spectrum of WPS performance. Second graders ( = 1,130) from 126 classrooms in 17 schools were assessed on component processes (reasoning, in-class attentive behavior, working memory, language comprehension, calculation fluency, word reading) and WPS. Multilevel, unconditional quantile multiple regression indicated that 3 component processes, calculation fluency, language comprehension, and working memory, are engaged in WPS differentially depending on students' overall word-problem skill. The role of calculation fluency and language comprehension was stronger with more competent word-problem solving ability. By contrast, the role of working memory was stronger with intermediate-level than for strong problem solving. Results deepen insight into the role of these processes in WPS and provide the basis for hypothesizing how instructional strategies may be differentiated depending on students' overall level of WPS competence.

We investigated the longitudinal relations between cognitive skills, specifically language-related skills, and word-problem solving in 340 children (6.10 to 9.02 years). We used structural equation modeling to examine whether word-problem solving, computation skill, working memory, nonverbal reasoning, oral language, and word reading fluency measured at second grade were associated with performance on measures of word-problem solving in fourth grade. Results indicated that prior word-problem solving, computation skill, nonverbal reasoning, and oral language were significantly associated with children's later word-problem solving. Multi-group modeling suggested that these relations were not significantly different for boys versus girls. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Previous studies often document that Black and Latino adolescents demonstrate considerable positive self-concept despite their low academic achievement. We critically reviewed two common psychological explanations for this paradoxical phenomenon: selective devaluation hypothesis (lower value placed in schoolwork protects their self-concept) and external attribution hypothesis (external attribution of poor achievement protects their self-concept). For a deeper understanding of Black and Latino youth's development of self-concept as racially or ethnically influenced process, we revisited these hypotheses with consideration of explanatory mediator (i.e., academic value) and moderator (i.e., perceived school fairness), based on nationally representative longitudinal data of Black, Latino, and White 10th graders ( ~= 12,920, 50.5% female). Contrary to the selective devaluation hypothesis, we found that Black and Latino youth placed greater value in schoolwork than White adolescents. Contrary to the external attribution hypothesis, self-concept was similarly related to previous achievement between Black and White adolescents and more closely related among Latino adolescents. Based on the results, we proposed three alternative hypotheses that might better explain the process of developing academic self-concept among Black and Latino youth.

Despite agreement about the importance of executive function (EF) for children's early math achievement, its treatment in correlational studies reflects a lack of agreement about the theoretical connection between the two. It remains unclear whether the association between EF and math operates through a latent EF construct or specific EF components. Specifying the correct measurement model has important theoretical implications for the predicted effects of EF interventions on children's math achievement. In the current study, we tested whether associations between EF and math operate via a latent EF factor, or via specific EF components using data from a large, nationally representative sample. We then replicated these same analyses with a meta-analytic database drawn from ten studies that collected measures of children's EF and math achievement. Our results lend support to explanations that a single EF factor accounts for most of the EF component-specific associations with math achievement. We discuss theoretical and methodological implications of these findings for future work.

This investigation of undergraduates' heterogeneous science identity trajectories within a gateway chemistry course identified three latent classes () using growth mixture modeling. Underrepresented minorities were more likely to exhibit science identities versus patterns. Students with higher perceived competence were more likely classified into the class compared to the other classes. Students classified into the class scored significantly higher on the final exam and appeared to be more likely to remain in a STEM major across fall and spring semesters compared to the other two classes. Results suggest that some students' identities shift within a single semester and supporting science perceived competence before college may support students' science identity development.

We used structural equation modeling to investigate sources of individual differences in oral reading fluency in a transparent orthography, Russian. Phonological processing, orthographic processing, and rapid automatized naming were used as independent variables, each derived from a combination of two scores: phonological awareness and pseudoword repetition, spelling and orthographic choice, and rapid serial naming of letters and digits, respectively. The contribution of these to oral text-reading fluency was evaluated as a direct relationship and via two mediators, decoding accuracy and unitized reading, measured with a single-word oral reading test. The participants were "good" and "poor" readers, i.e., those with reading skills above the 90 and below the 10 percentiles ( = 1,344, grades 2-6, St. Petersburg, Russia). In both groups, orthographic processing skills significantly contributed to fluency and unitized reading, but not to decoding accuracy. Phonological processing skills did not contribute directly to reading fluency in either group, while contributing to decoding accuracy and, to a lesser extent, to unitized reading. With respect to the roles of decoding accuracy and unitized reading, the results for good and poor readers diverged: in good readers, unitized reading, but not decoding accuracy, was significantly related to reading fluency. For poor readers, decoding accuracy (measured as pseudoword decoding) was related to reading fluency, but unitized reading was not. These results underscore the importance of orthographic skills for reading fluency even in an orthography with consistent phonology-to-orthography correspondences. They also point to a qualitative difference in the reading strategies of good and poor readers.

Grit, the inclination to pursue long-term goals with passion and perseverance, predicts academic achievement and professional success, but how to encourage grit in students remains an open question. The goal of the current study was to understand how perceptions of school culture influence the development of grit in middle school students. We conducted a year-long, prospective, longitudinal study ( 1,277) examining grit, perceived goal structures (mastery vs. performance), and academic achievement. In cross-sectional analyses, we found that students who perceived their schools as more mastery goal-oriented were grittier and earned higher report card grades. In contrast, students who perceived their schools as more performance goal-oriented were less gritty and earned lower report card grades. In longitudinal analyses, changes in perceived mastery school goal structure predicted changes in grit over the school year, which in turn predicted changes in grades. Changes in perceived performance school goal structure, in contrast, did not reliably predict changes in grit. These findings suggest that school environments that emphasize the value of learning for learning's sake may encourage children to sustain interest in and effort toward long-term goals.

Note-taking is important for academic success and has been thoroughly studied in traditional classroom contexts. Recent advancements of technology have led to more students taking notes on computers, and in different situations than are common in traditional instructional contexts. However, research on computer-based note-taking is still an emerging area, and findings from these studies are mixed. In this exploratory study, we conducted multilevel analysis to comprehensively investigate the relationship between note-taking measures and subsequent student success at science inquiry among middle school students, using two scenarios of an open-ended learning environment named Virtual Performance Assessments. Analysis revealed an advantage for content elaborative note-taking over content reproductive note-taking conditional on the source of notes taken, but other measures were less consistent between the two scenarios. Implications of the findings and limitations of this research are also discussed.

The predictors of developing reading skill are well known, and there is increasing coherence around predictors of developing math as well. These achievement skills share strong relations. Less knowledge is available regarding the extent to which predictors overlap and predict one another, particularly longitudinally, and across different types of reading and math. We followed kindergarten students (n = 193) for one year, evaluating a range of relevant predictor skills in kindergarten, and a range of relevant achievement outcomes (core, fluency, complex) of reading and math in grade 1. Few predictors differentially predicted math versus reading with some exception (phonological awareness and rapid naming for reading; counting knowledge for math). The pattern was more similar for core and fluency outcomes relative to complex ones. A small set of predictors accounted for much of the overlap among math and reading outcomes, regardless of type (core, fluency, or complex). Results have the potential to inform the development of early screening tools to consider both achievement domains simultaneously, and support the importance of following students identified as at-risk in one domain for their performance in both domains.

The current study reports on the efficacy of a multi-faceted motivationally designed undergraduate enrichment summer program for supporting science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) persistence. Structural equation modeling was used to compare summer program participants ( = 186), who participated in the program between their first and second years in college, to a propensity score matched comparison sample ( = 401). Participation in the summer program positively predicted science motivation (self-efficacy, task value), assessed eight months after the end of the program (second year in college). The summer enrichment program was also beneficial for science persistence variables, as evidenced by significant direct and indirect effects of the program on science course completion during students' third year of college and students' intentions to pursue a science research career assessed during the third year of college. In general, the program was equally beneficial for all participants, but ancillary analyses indicated added benefits with respect to task value for students with relatively lower prior science achievement during the first year of college and with respect to subsequent science course taking for males. Implications for developing effective interventions to reduce the flow of individuals out of STEM fields and for translating motivational theory into practice are discussed.

Social skills and vocabulary are important areas of development involved in early reading achievement, yet little attention has been given to understanding the dynamic associations among them during the elementary years. This study examined the relations among three dimensions of social skills-cooperation, assertion, and self-control-vocabulary and developing reading comprehension (RC) skills in a longitudinal sample of first graders ( = 468). Using Structural Equation Modeling, reciprocal effects were observed between vocabulary and RC as well as direct effects among social skills, vocabulary, and RC after controlling for the influence of problem behaviors. This study highlights the reciprocal nature of students' vocabulary and RC skills as well as provides preliminary evidence suggesting that social skills play a role in developing vocabulary and RC skills, and further, vocabulary and RC skills play a role in social development during middle childhood. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

Whether executive functioning deficits result in children experiencing learning difficulties is presently unclear. Yet evidence for these hypothesized causal relations has many implications for early intervention design and delivery. We used a multi-year panel design, multiple criterion and predictor variable measures, extensive statistical control for potential confounds including autoregressive prior histories of both reading and mathematics difficulties, and additional epidemiological methods to preliminarily examine these hypothesized relations. Results from multivariate logistic regression analyses of a nationally representative and longitudinal sample of 18,080 children (i.e., the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort of 2011, or ECLS-K: 2011) indicated that working memory and, separately, cognitive flexibility deficits uniquely increased kindergarten children's risk of experiencing reading as well as mathematics difficulties in first grade. The risks associated with working memory deficits were particularly strong. Experimentally-evaluated, multi-component interventions designed to help young children with reading or mathematics difficulties may also need to remediate early deficits in executive function, particularly in working memory.

Other than cognitive ability, what competencies should schools promote in children? How are they organized, and to what extent do they predict consequential outcomes? Separate theoretical traditions have suggested interpersonal, intrapersonal, and intellectual dimensions, reflecting how children relate to other people, manage their own goals and impulses, and engage with ideas, respectively. However, very little work has examined character empirically. In the current investigation, we partnered with middle schools that had previously identified character strengths relevant in their communities. Across three longitudinal, prospective studies, we examined the factor structure of character, associations with intelligence and Big Five personality traits, and predictive validity for consequential outcomes like peer relations, class participation, and report card grades. In Study 1, teachers rated their students on behaviors exemplifying character strengths as they played out in students' daily lives. Exploratory factor analyses yielded a three-factor structure consisting of interpersonal (interpersonal self-control, gratitude, social intelligence), intellectual (zest, curiosity), and intrapersonal (academic self-control, grit) factors of character. In Study 2, children rated their own behavior and completed a test of cognitive ability. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the same three-factor structure, and these factors were only weakly associated with cognitive ability. In Study 3, teachers provided character ratings; in parallel, students completed measures of character as well as Big Five personality factors. As expected, intellectual, interpersonal, and intrapersonal character factors related to Big Five openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness, respectively. Across studies, positive peer relations were most consistently predicted by interpersonal character, class participation by intellectual character, and report card grades by intrapersonal character. Collectively, our findings support a tripartite taxonomy of character in the school context.