Latest publications from our Fellows
March 2012
Wang, M. T., & Eccles, J. S. (2012). Adolescent behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement trajectories in school and their differential relations to educational success. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 22, 31-39.
Abstract
The current study used a multidimensional approach to examine developmental trajectories of three dimension of school engagement (school participation, sense of school belonging, and self-regulated learning) from grades 7 to 11 and their relationships to changes in adolescents’ academic outcomes over time. The sample includes 1,148 African American and European American adolescents (52% females, 56% black, 34% white, and 10% others). As expected, the downward trajectories of change in school participation, sense of belonging to school, and self-regulated learning differed as did their predictive relationships with academic performance and educational aspiration, with school belonging declining most markedly, but being least predictive of changes in grade point average.
Wang, M. T., & Dishion, T. J. (2012). The trajectories of adolescents’perceptions of school climate, deviant peer affiliation, and behavioral problems during the middle school years. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 22, 40-53.
Abstract
This longitudinal study examined trajectories of change in adolescents’ perceptions of four dimensions of school climate (academic support, behavior management, teacher social support, and peer social support) and the effects of such trajectories on adolescent problem behaviors. We also tested whether school climate moderated the associations between deviant peer affiliation and adolescent problem behaviors. The 1,030 participating adolescents from eight schools were followed from sixth through eighth grades (54% female; 76% European American). Findings indicated that all the dimensions of school climate declined, and behavioral problems and deviant peer affiliation increased. Declines in each dimension were associated with increases in behavioral problems. The prediction of problem behavior from peer affiliation was moderated by adolescents’ perceptions of school climate.
February 2012
Obschonka, M., Silbereisen, R. K., & Wasilewski, J. (2012). Constellations of new demands concerning careers and jobs: Results from a two-country study on social and economic change. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 80, 211-223.
Abstract
Focusing on new demands posed by social and economic change, and applying a pattern-based approach, this study examined constellations of increasing labor market uncertainties (understood as threat) and increasing job-related learning tasks (understood as positive challenge). We investigated whether and how the groups of working individuals behind these constellations would systematically differ in socio-demographic characteristics and psychological resources and adjustment. Results derived from two corresponding data sets from Germany and Poland (German data set: N = 1448; Polish data set: N = 1584). Discriminant analyses revealed very similar results in both countries. As expected, respondents with a "Negative change" pattern (high uncertainty/low learning) differed from the "Positive change" group (low uncertainty/high learning) in that they showed higher levels of psychological resources (e.g., change-related self-efficacy), adjustment (e.g., work satisfaction), and socioeconomic status. Respondents with a "Complex change" pattern (high/high) mainly differed from those with a "No change" pattern (low/low) in that they showed more change-related exploration. Additional analyses revealed that the "Positive change" pattern is particularly prevalent in high positions (i.e., managers and professionals). Taken together, the results illustrate that constellations of change-related demands are systematically distributed within the working population as a function of socio-demographic background and psychological make-up.
Obschonka, M., Goethner, M., Silbereisen, R. K., & Cantner, U. (2012). Social identity and the transition to entrepreneurship: The role of group identification with workplace peers. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 80, 137-147. FULL TEXT
Abstract
What role does social identity play in the transition from employed work to entrepreneurship? It was expected that social identity affects the cognitive processes that, according to the theory of planned behavior (TPB), underlie the formation of entrepreneurial intentions. Focusing on academic scientists' intentions to commercialize research knowledge, we investigated social identity (scientists' group identification with their workplace peers in academia) as a moderator in the TPB model. Our hypotheses were tested in a sample of 488 German scientists. The data revealed that entrepreneurial intentions were predicted by attitude, social norms, and perceived control and that group identification was negatively associated with perceived control. Multi-group structural equation modeling further showed that group identification moderated the TPB-intention link. Scientists with low group identification based their entrepreneurial intentions not so much on social norms and attitudes but on their self-initiative and control beliefs. Among scientists with high group identification, in turn, entrepreneurial intentions were mainly a function of social norms. These results, in sum, illustrate the long-neglected importance of identification with, and social cohesion within, peer groups at the workplace for the transition to entrepreneurship.
More publications by Martin Obschonka
January 2012
Parker, P.D., Lüdtke, O., Trautwein, U. & Roberts, B.W. (2011), Personality and Relationship Quality during the Transition from High School to Early Adulthood, Journal of Personality DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-6494.2012.00766.x (early view) FULL TEXT
Abstract
Objective: The post-high school transition period is believed to be associated with considerable changes in social networks, yet longitudinal studies documenting these changes are scarce. To address this gap, the current research explored three relevant issues. First, changes in participant's relationship characteristics during the transition from high school were examined. Second, the roles of personality traits as antecedents of these changes were studied. Third, the association between change in relationship characteristics and personality during the transition was explored.
Method: A sample of over 2000 German emerging adults, surveyed before leaving school and then two years after the transition from high school, was assessed on personality traits and a multidimensional assessment of the quality of their relationships.
Results: Findings indicated that participants experienced mostly positive changes in relationship quality during the transition from high school and that antecedent personality at school was an important predictor of the nature of this change. Finally, change in relationship quality was found to be associated with personality change during the post-school transition.
Conclusion: Findings indicated that personality traits may influence transition success and that change in relationships during this transition may influence personality development. The implications of the research for post-school transition success are discussed.
More publications by Philip Parker
August 2011
Symonds, J., & Hagell, A. (2011). Adolescents and the organisation of their school time: Changes over recent decades in England. Educational Review, 63(3), 291-312.
Abstract
The organisation of time at school has important implications for adolescents’ development and achievement, and educators’ management of out-of-school time. However, this has been a somewhat neglected research area. This paper comprises a scoping review of existing literature and secondary analysis of data on school time, in order to map out the territory, identify emerging time trends, and clarify the need for further research. It finds that UK school timetables and calendars are similar over 30 years despite considerable legal freedom to re-organise them. However, subtle shifts have occurred including (a) the National Curriculum reducing flexible off-curriculum teaching time, (b) decreasing lunchtime and no more afternoon break, (c) shorter school days and extended schooling, (d) more pastoral time, and (e) the increasing prevalence of 16-18 year olds in educational tracks instead of employment. Our review points to adult agendas and cultural reproduction as driving forces behind the development of school time, rather than consideration of adolescents’ developmental needs.
More publications by Jennifer Symonds
Wang, M. T., Willett, J. B., & Eccles, J. S. (2011). The assessment of school engagement: Examining dimensionality and measurement invariance across gender and race/ethnicity Journal of School Psychology, 49, 465-480.
Abstract
The construct of school engagement has attracted growing interest as a way to ameliorate the decline in academic achievement and increase in dropout rates. The current study tested the fit of a second-order multidimensional factor model of school engagement, using large-scale representative data on 1103 students in middle school. In order to make valid model comparisons by group, we evaluated the extent to which the measurement structure of this model was invariant by gender and by race/ethnicity (European-American vs. African-American students). Finally, we examined differences in latent factor means by these same groups. From our confirmatory factor analyses, we concluded that school engagement was a multidimensional construct, with evidence to support the hypothesized second-order engagement factor structure with behavioral, emotional, and cognitive dimensions. In this sample, boys and girls did not substantially differ, nor did European-American and African-American students, in terms of the underlying constructs of engagement and the composition of these constructs. Finally, there were substantial differences in behavioral and emotional engagement by gender and by racial/ethnic groups in terms of second-order factor mean differences.
More publications by Ming-Te Wang
Sabates, R., Duckworth, K. and Feinstein, L. (2011). The impact of mothers’ learning on their children academic performance at Key Stage 3: Evidence from ALSPAC Oxford Review of Education, 37(4), 485-504.
Abstract
This paper investigates whether the inter-generational benefits of parental adult education exist over and above the achievement of parental educational qualifications during schooling and whether returns to parental adult learning are greatest for children of parents with low levels of education. Using data from the UK Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, ALSPAC, results show that mothers’ participation in adult education is not associated with improvements in their children’s academic attainment in English and mathematics at age 14 once the previous parental academic qualifications are included. This lack of relationship was found for the overall sample, and for subgroups defined by the type of adult education (accredited, unaccredited or informal learning), the intensity of learning (duration and engagement) and by mothers’ prior educational qualifications. Although our results suggest that maternal adult learning is not a key factor for improvement in children’s test scores at age 14, further research is needed to investigate the role of parental adult learning at other stages of children’s cognitive development.
