Classwork and homework in early adolescence: The ecology of achievement

Association between Hope for the Future and Academic Performance in Adolescents: Results from the K-CHILD Study

In Japan, having hope for the future is emphasized in school. This study aimed to examine the association between hope for the future and academic performance among Japanese adolescents. Data were taken from the population-based Kochi Child Health Impact of Living Difficulty (K-CHILD) study conducted in 2016. Participants included 3477 adolescents in the eighth grade (i.e., 13-14 years old) in Kochi Prefecture. Information on hope for the future, self-rated academic performance, and time used for studying or playing was provided by the adolescents via a questionnaire. The question on resilience was answered by their caregivers. Propensity-score matching was applied for the allocation of hope for the future. Overall, 2283 adolescents (65.6%) had some form of hope for the future. Adolescents having hope for the future showed a higher self-rated academic performance (β = 0.21, 95% confidence interval (Confidence Interval (CI) = 0.10 to 0.32)), spent more time studying except in class (Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.89, 95% CI = 1.37 to 2.61), read more books (OR = 1.45, 95% CI = 1.19 to 1.75), and had a higher score of resilience (β = 1.48, 95% CI = 0.98 to 1.98), while the time to watch TV or DVDs was not different (p = 0.61). Our results highlight the importance of encouraging adolescents to have hope for the future to promote academic performance.

Parents' daily involvement in children's math homework and activities during early elementary school

This research examined parents’ involvement in children’s math homework and activities. During 2017 to 2019, American parents (N = 483; 80% mothers; 67% white) of young elementary school children (M_age = 7.47 years; 50% girls) reported on their math helping self‐efficacy; they also reported on their involvement in children’s math homework and activities daily for 12 days. At this time and a year later, children’s math motivation and achievement were assessed. Parents’ involvement in homework (vs. activities) was more affectively negative (d = .34), particularly among parents low in self‐efficacy (d = .23). The more affectively negative parents’ involvement, particularly in homework, the poorer children’s later math motivation and achievement (βs = −.09 to .20).

Electronic media use and academic performance in late childhood: A longitudinal study

INTRODUCTION

The effects of electronic media use on health has received much attention but less is known about links with academic performance. This study prospectively examines the effect of media use on academic performance in late childhood.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

1239 8- to 9-year-olds and their parents were recruited to take part in a prospective, longitudinal study. Academic performance was measured on a national achievement test at baseline and 10-11 years of age. Parents reported on their child's duration of electronic media use.

RESULTS

After control for baseline reading, watching more than two hours of television per day at 8-9 years of age predicted a 12-point lower performance in reading at 10-11 years, equivalent to the loss of a third of a year in learning. Using a computer for more than one hour a day predicted a similar 12-point lower numeracy performance. Regarding cross-sectional associations (presumed to capture short-term effects) of media use on numeracy, after controlling for prior media exposure, watching more than two hours of television per day at 10-11 years was concurrently associated with a 12-point lower numeracy score and using a computer for more than one hour per day with a 13-point lower numeracy performance. There was little evidence for concurrent effects on reading. There was no evidence of short- or long-term associations between videogame use and academic performance.

DISCUSSION

Cumulative television use is associated with poor reading and cumulative computer use with poorer numeracy. Beyond any links between heavy media use and health risks such as obesity, physical activity and mental health, these findings raise a possibility of additional risks of both television and computer use for learning in mid-childhood. These findings carry implications for parents, teachers and clinicians to consider the type and timing of media exposure in developing media plans for children.

Experiencing Sampling Research from Its Beginnings into the Future

Early experience sampling research sought to map the ecology of adolescents' lives. Its contributions include discovery of similar patterns in psychological states across diverse samples: positive emotions with friends, more negative states alone, high challenge but low motivation during schoolwork, and wider variability in teens' than adults' emotions, including more frequent extreme positive states. Recent ambulatory assessment research has expanded this mission and methods in valuable ways. Yet it still demands problem-solving (e.g., engaging participants, formulating analyses that represent teens' complex lives). A promising innovation is use of micro-longitudinal analyses to examine sequential processes (e.g., linkages between stress-coping-emotions; relationship episodes). Qualitative data can add "zones" for development of empirically-based theory about daily processes, such as adolescents' meaning-making and learning self-regulation.

Technology and interactive social media use among 8th and 10th graders in the U.S. and associations with homework and school grades

This study examined differences by age, gender, and race/ethnicity in the use of technology and interactive social media from 2013-2016 using data from nationally-representative samples of U.S. 8th and 10th graders (N=40,389). Results indicated that 8^th graders watch TV and play video games more than 10^th graders; boys play more video games and use interactive social media less than girls; and Black adolescents use most forms of media more often than those from other race/ethnicity groups, with the exception of using the computer for school reported most often by Asian adolescents. Mean differences showed that adolescents who spend more time on homework spend more time using the computer for school, and spend less time watching weekday TV, playing video games, and talking on the phone. Adolescents with higher grades spend more time using the computer for school and spend less time on all other types of technology and interactive social media, except for watching weekend TV. Multivariable logistic regression results indicate that watching TV on a weekday was consistently negatively associated with academic outcomes and using the computer for school was consistently positively associated with academic outcomes.

School stress in India: Effects on time and daily emotions

Like adolescents in East Asia, Indian middle-class adolescents face a highly competitive examination system. This study examines the influence of school demands on the daily time use and subjective states of Indian young people. One hundred urban, middle-class, 8th-grade students carried alarm watches for 1 week and provided 4764 reports on their activities and subjective states at random times, following the procedures of the Experience Sampling Method. These adolescents were found to spend one third of their waking time in school-related activities, with girls spending more time than boys. Schoolwork generated negative subjective states as reflected in low affect state, below-average activation levels, lower feeling of choice, and higher social anxiety. These negative states were most frequent during homework. The trade-off faced by Indian adolescents were evident in the findings that those who spent more time doing homework experienced lower average emotional states and more internalising problems, while those who spent more time in leisure experienced more favourable states but also reported higher academic anxiety and lower scholastic achievement.

Mystery Motivator as an Intervention to Promote Homework Completion and Accuracy

This study investigated the effectiveness of the mystery motivator intervention as a means to remediate mathematics homework accuracy and completion problems in five fifth-grade students. An ABAB reversal design with multiple baselines across two classrooms was used. The results indicated that the mystery motivator intervention was effective for all students on one or both outcome criteria. Additionally, both the teachers and students rated the intervention positively.

Homework Emotion Regulation Scale

The goal of the present investigation is to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Homework Emotion Regulation Scale (HERS) using 796 middle school students in China. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) supported the existence of two distinct yet related subscales for the HERS: Emotion Management and Cognitive Reappraisal. Concerning the concurrent and predictive validity evidence of the HERS, the results indicated that, consistent with theoretical expectations, Emotion Management and Cognitive Reappraisal were positively associated with mastery and performance orientation, desirable homework behaviors (e.g., completion), learning strategies (e.g., organization), and math homework grade reported by teachers at the end of school semester.

Advancing a biopsychosocial and contextual model of sleep in adolescence: a review and introduction to the special issue

Sleep problems in adolescence have been identified as an international public health issue. Over the past few decades, notable advances have been made in our understanding of the patterns and consequences of sleep in adolescence. Despite these important gains, there is much about the role of sleep in adolescence that remains to be understood. This Special Issue brings together studies that examine sleep as it specifically pertains to adolescent development and adjustment. In this introductory article, we argue for the importance of grounding the study of sleep and adolescence in developmental science and a developmental psychopathology framework. First, a review of the literature is used to outline a biopsychosocial and contextual model of sleep in adolescence. Second, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is used as an exemplar of the proposed model given the pervasiveness of sleep problems among youth with ADHD and the likelihood that sleep problems and ADHD symptoms are interconnected in complex ways. Finally, a brief introduction to the empirical articles included in the Special Issue is provided, with particular attention given to how these articles fit within the proposed biopsychosocial and contextual model. Along with the framework proposed in this article, the studies included in this Special Issue advance the current literature and point to critical directions for future research.

Time use and change in academic achievement: A longitudinal follow-up

As a follow-up of the research of Smith in 1990, academic achievement results from two years later are added to the data for 1208 of the 1584 seventh and ninth graders for whom Smith studied relationships between achievement and time use. Growth in academic achievement over two years, like contemporaneous achievement, is not positively related to time spent on homework or with parents at the beginning of the period. The other findings are also in general accord with the results of the previous study, although the associations are somewhat weaker and less consistent. Growth in reading, language, and overall achievement is significantly negatively related to time spent on house-hold chores, suggesting that chores may compete with academic or other intellectual activities or may cause destructive resentment. Growth in reading achievement is significantly negatively related to time spent listening to radio and recordings, suggesting negative effects of the adolescent subculture. Growth in mathematics achievement tends to be positively associated with time spent watching television among students with parents in lower-status occupations but has a statistically significant negative association with TV time among those with higher status parents, supporting previous findings of interaction between family SES and TV viewing. The results are interpreted in terms of competition among various time uses for the time and attention of adolescents.

Emotional Reactions Toward School Situations

The current study investigated self-reported positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) in high school students ( N = 451) within three academic contexts: homework, classwork/tests, and after-school activities. We examined whether context-specific emotions predicted grades, life satisfaction, and discipline records. Our findings revealed that context may be important when examining test-criterion relations, with students’ affective reactions during extracurricular activities leading to different relationships with outcomes than reported affect during homework and classwork/testing. Furthermore, we found that PA predicted student grades and satisfaction with life to a much greater extent than NA. Practical implications and future directions are discussed.

Engagement in after-school programs as a predictor of social competence and academic performance

Using the experience sampling method, this study examined two questions related to outcomes associated with after-school programming. First, does the quality of experience in after-school programs mediate the effect of program participation on social competence and academic performance? Second, among program participants, is the difference in quality of experience when in programs versus other settings after school related to higher social competence and academic performance? Middle school students (N = 196) attending eight programs in three Midwestern states reported a total of 4,970 randomly sampled experiences in and out of after-school programs during 1 week in the fall and spring of the 2001-2002 academic year. Engagement during after-school hours partially mediated the relationship between participation in after-school programs and social competence. In addition, relative perceptions of engagement, challenge, and importance when in after-school programs compared to elsewhere after school predicted higher English and math grades. Results suggest that the quality of experiences in after-school programs may be a more important factor than quantity of experiences (i.e., dosage) in predicting positive academic outcomes.

Effort on homework in grades 5-9: development, motivational antecedents, and the association with effort on classwork

In 2 studies, an expectancy-value framework was applied to investigate effort expended on mathematics homework. In Study 1 (2,712 students in grades 5, 7, and 9; mean age=13.37 years), lower homework effort was found in higher grades. The effects of intrinsic value on homework effort were higher in the older cohorts, whereas the effects of the expectancy component were lower. In Study 2 (571 students in grades 8 and 9; mean age=14.72), an expanded expectancy-value framework was found to explain both homework and classwork variables. The means for effort and value were lower for homework than for classwork; these differences were partly moderated by students' conscientiousness. The implications of homework behavior and motivation for developmental research are highlighted.

Mothers' affect in the homework context: the importance of staying positive

This research investigated mothers' affect in the context of children's homework. Mothers (N = 109) of children 8 to 12 years old were interviewed daily about their affect while interacting with children, their assistance with children's homework, and children's behavior while completing homework. At this time and 6 months later, children's motivational and emotional functioning was assessed. Although mothers' negative affect was lower than their positive affect, it was elevated on days their assistance with homework was high. This was accounted for by mothers' perceptions of children as helpless on days they provided heightened assistance. Mothers' positive affect in the homework context buffered children's motivational and emotional functioning against mothers' negative affect as well as children's helplessness.

How urban African American young adolescents spend their time: time budgets for locations, activities, and companionship

The time budgets of a population of youth provide important information about their daily experience and socialization. This study reports data on the time budgets of a sample of 253 urban African American poor to working- and middle-class 5th-8th graders in Chicago. These youth were found to spend less time in school than other postindustrial adolescent populations, but spent no less time doing homework than White suburban U.S. young adolescents. They spent large quantities of time at home and with their families--at rates comparable to rates for young adolescents in a society with collectivist values like India. Unlike with other populations, early adolescence was not associated with major age changes in time allocations. Amount of time in schoolwork did not differ by grade, and amount of time with family did not show the decline with age that has been found for European American suburban adolescents.

Toward a psychology of positive youth development

This article analyzes the development of initiative as an exemplar of one of many learning experiences that should be studied as part of positive youth development. The capacity for initiative is essential for adults in our society and will become more important in the 21st century, yet adolescents have few opportunities to learn it. Their typical experiences during schoolwork and unstructured leisure do not reflect conditions for learning initiative. The context best suited to the development of initiative appears to be that of structured voluntary activities, such as sports, arts, and participation in organizations, in which youths experience the rare combination of intrinsic motivation in combination with deep attention. An incomplete body of outcome research suggests that such activities are associated with positive development, but the developmental processes involved are only beginning to be understood. One promising approach has recorded language use and has found that adolescents participating in effective organizations acquire a new operating language that appears to correspond to the development of initiative.

Effects of perceived attractiveness and academic success on early adolescent peer popularity

Effects of perceived attractiveness and academic performance on 9th graders' ratings of peers' popularity were investigated. Participants were 270 9th graders (152 girls, 118 boys) who read a vignette describing a hypothetical same-sex peer with whom the student had been assigned to complete a project. The partner's attractiveness and academic performance were systematically varied in four conditions: high attractiveness/high grades, high attractiveness/low grades, low attractiveness/high grades, and low attractiveness/low grades. After reading the vignette, the students rated the partner's popularity. As hypothesized, analyses of variance revealed that attractive partners were significantly more popular than unattractive partners, regardless of whether the partner had high or low grades. Contrary to expectation, attractiveness was not more important to girls than to boys. Integration with past research and suggestions for future research are offered.

The relationship of maternal employment to early adolescent daily experience with and without parents

This study examines how maternal work may shape pre- and young adolescents' daily life experience. According to the procedures of the Experience Sampling Method (ESM), 295 10-13-year-old children carried electronic pagers for 1 week and completed self-report forms in response to random signals sent every other hour. Their daily experience did not differ by maternal employment status, with the following exceptions: full-time maternal employment was associated with more time doing homework with mothers and less time in general leisure, while part-time employment was associated with more time doing sports with parents. Relative to those with nonemployed mothers, youth with part-time employed mothers reported more positive daily moods and higher self-esteem, while youth reported time with full-time employed mothers to be the friendliest. While children with employed mothers spent no less time with family, parents, friends, in class or alone, they spent more time alone with fathers.