Research is presented on the attributional gender bias: the tendency to generate different attributions (explanations) for female versus male students' performance in math. Whereas boys' successes in math are attributed to ability, girls' successes are attributed to effort; conversely, boys' failures in math are attributed to a…

Research on impression management has shown that students can manage their social images by providing attributional self-presentation strategies (ASPSs). Based on the distinction between social desirability judgments and social utility judgments, two studies were conducted to examine the students' understanding of the impact of ASPSs both on…

Women almost always comprise a minority in engineering programs and a smaller percentage of women pursue engineering than other science and technology majors. The culture of engineering departments and negative stereotypes of women's engineering and mathematical ability have been identified as factors that inhibit women's entry into…

Based on social cognitive theory, the purpose of this study is to examine certain social cognitive and demographic factors involved in intrinsic satisfaction amongst secondary school students of different cultural backgrounds in a new migrant-receiving country. Given the role of schools in youth acculturation and adaptation, it is important to…

This study examined the relationship of academic self-efficacy to engagement in class discussion and performance on major course exams among students (N = 165) in an undergraduate human development course. Cluster analysis was used to identify three levels of academic self-efficacy: high (n = 34), medium (n = 91), and low (n = 40). Results…

This paper identifies those behaviours that students perceive to be academically dishonest and sheds light on several demographic, academic and situational factors that predict students' perceptions of academic dishonesty. Data for this investigation were obtained through self-administered questionnaires from a sample of 321 undergraduate students…

The present work investigates the validation of a newly developed instrument, the attributional bias instrument, based on achievement attribution theories that distinguish between effort and ability explanations of behavior. The instrument further incorporates the distinction between explanations for success versus failure in academic performance.…

This research examines the impact of same-sex versus opposite-sex social comparisons on the perception of one's own abilities at school and subsequent reported marks and academic choices. During their final year, male and female high school students were asked to describe themselves either in comparison with boys in their class, in comparison with…

According to the literature, among social comparison mechanisms, identification with an upward target would be the most frequent mechanism that students report to use. However, it remains unclear how the identification and the contrast mechanisms contribute to the construction of pupils' scholastic perceived competence. The aim of this study was…

An implicit theory of ability approach to motivation argues that students who believe traits to be malleable (incremental theorists), relative to those who believe traits to be fixed (entity theorists), cope more effectively when academic challenges arise. In the current work, we integrated the implicit theory literature with research on top dog…

The study examined children's and their parents' and teachers' perceptions of the malleability of the child's academic competencies. A total of 103 third- and sixth-graders and their parents and teachers were asked to rate how much the child could improve her/his competencies in mathematics and Finnish. The participants were asked to use…

While there is great deal of research that tracks self-regulatory academic beliefs and behaviors of students, relatively few efforts examine the specific self-beliefs of high achieving African American students. This study compared the intelligence-related beliefs, efficacy beliefs and academic goal orientations of 257 African American (N = 196)…

Children's academic self-efficacy is one of the strongest predictors of achievement (Wigfield and Eccles, "Contemporary Educational Psychology" 25(1): 68-81, 2000). The present research examined mathematics self-efficacy and the relationship of racial context from the perspective of two competing bodies of research. Stereotype threat theory would…

Applying three mathematical modeling techniques, this study proposes and tests the fit of an academic performance model, and then estimates the relative importance of four performance predictors: academic ability, performance goal orientation, educational technology use, and social network density. Drawing on social network theory, findings from…

The first year of college presents numerous challenges experienced as overwhelming by some freshmen who may become overly stressed and depressed. This longitudinal study examined perceived academic control (PAC) as a mediator of optimism and social support's buffering effects on freshman students' psychological health. Multiple regressions…