Introduction. The current focus of empirical studies demonstrates the significance of mastery motivation in child development, academic achievement and school success. Consequently, it is critical to have reliable and valid tools to measure this important variable accurately. The Preschool version of the Dimensions of Mastery Questionnaire (DMQ) 18 has been validated in English, Hungarian, and Chinesem and translated to many other languages. This has opened cross-cultural and cross-ethnic studies among these countries. Method. In this study, we evaluate the psychometric properties of the Swahili version of the DMQ 18. Teachers and parents evaluated 397 preschool children recruited using a stratified random sampling technique from Kenya's counties. Results. Reliability was established by good internal consistency, construct reliability, test-retest and parallel forms reliability values. Factorial validity was proven by confirmatory factor analysis and this fitted the theoretical model quite well. Discussion and Conclusion. The Swahili Preschool Dimensions of Mastery Questionnaire was valid and reliable for collecting data in the Kenyan context and that of East Africa. This version compared well with other versions such as Hungarian, Spanish, Turkish, Persian and Indonesian.
Research has shown that the development of cognitive and social skills in preschool predicts school readiness in kindergarten. However, most longitudinal studies are short-term, tracking children’s development only through the early elementary school years. This study aims to investigate the long-term impact of preschool predictors, intelligence, and mothers’ education on grade six school performance. This study presents the results of an eight-year-long longitudinal study. The sample includes 202 Hungarian children (89 boys) from a disadvantaged region of southeastern Hungary. The independent variables were the preschool measures: DIFER (Diagnostic System for Assessing Development), a widely used, standardized school readiness test that measures cognitive and social skills; the Raven intelligence test; and socioeconomic status. The dependent variables in grade six were: National Standardized tests in math and reading (NABC, National Assessment of Basic Competencies) and school grades (GPA). Cronbach’s alpha reliability of each test is above 0.76. Correlations and a series of multiple regressions were used for analysis. All three independent variables have significant predictive power for school performance in sixth grade. DIFER skills were the best predictors for reading achievement, intelligence for math achievement, and GPA was best predicted by mothers’ education. The results show that developing preschool skills, mothers’ education and IQ in preschool are essential to long-term learning success.
This study examines the possible roles of mastery motivation and executive functions on academic achievement. Grade one children were selected using stratified random sampling. Teachers completed school versions of the Dimensions of Mastery Questionnaire (DMQ 18) and the Childhood Executive Functioning Inventory (CHEXI) to assess mastery motivation and executive functions, respectively. Standardized tests were used to assess academic achievement in Math, English and Kiswahili. The results indicated that mastery motivation, specifically cognitive persistence and mastery pleasure sub-scales, influence academic achievement directly and indirectly through executive functions. Furthermore, significant differences were found ranging from moderate to large effect sizes between those learners with high mastery motivation and low executive function difficulties and those with low mastery motivation and high executive function difficulties in academic achievement. Focusing on subject-specific curricular intervention alone is insufficient to enhance academic achievement and school success. Since mastery motivation and executive functions are malleable throughout life, intervention strategies to enhance them can improve approaches to learning, academic achievement and life success.
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