Task-Focused Behavior Mediates the Associations Between Supportive Interpersonal Environments and Students’ Academic Performance

Abstract

In the longitudinal study presented here, we tested the theoretical assumption that children's task-focused behavior in learning situations mediates the associations between supportive interpersonal environments and academic performance. The sample consisted of 2,137 Finnish-speaking children. Data on supportive interpersonal environments (characterized by authoritative parenting, positive teacher affect toward the child, and peer acceptance) were gathered in Grade 1. The children's task-focused behavior was measured in Grades 2 and 3, and academic performance was measured in Grades 1 and 4. The results supported our assumption by showing that all three supportive environments were positively associated with children's subsequent academic performance via increased task-focused behavior in learning situations. These findings suggest that students' academic performance can be promoted by increasing the support they receive from peers, parents, and teachers because such increased support leads to better task focus in learning tasks.

Calculation and word problem‐solving skills in primary grades – Impact of cognitive abilities and longitudinal interrelations with task‐persistent behaviour

“…As expected, we found the supportive effect of task persistence on problem‐solving skills but not on calculation. So far, researchers have emphasized the importance of task persistence as a behavioural dimension of self‐regulation in development of math skills generally (Blair & Razza, ; Geary et al ., ) and studies that have shown supportive relations between math and task persistence (Hirvonen et al ., ; Kiuru et al ., ; Mägi et al ., ) have examined math as a single domain. However, task persistence is specifically important in solving complicated, difficult, and boring tasks, and thus, we expected its effect for word problem‐solving tasks.…”

“…Authors suggest that attention is a crucial factor for acquiring math skills in primary school (Fuchs et al ., , ). Longitudinal studies indicate that task‐persistent or – avoidant behaviour probably influences acquiring domain‐specific skills reciprocally – students who work more persistently gain better skills and students with poorer domain‐specific skills subsequently show more task‐avoidant behaviour (Hirvonen et al ., ; Kiuru et al ., ). However, the role of persistent learning behaviour in the face of challenging tasks has not been examined separately for calculation and problem‐solving tasks.…”

Positive Teacher Affect and Maternal Support Facilitate Adjustment After the Transition to First Grade

“…In addition, a close, supportive relationship with a teacher may fulfill the child's basic psychological need for social relatedness (Baumeister & Leary, 1995;Deci & Ryan, 2000). When this need is met, children feel connected to the classroom, which in turn fosters motivation to behave in socially appropriate ways (see also Davis, 2003;Roorda, Koomen, Spilt, & Oort, 2011) and concentrate on learning (Kiuru et al, 2014;Wang & Eccles, 2012).…”

“…Externalizing problems was measured with 10 items, five measuring conduct problemsfor example, "Generally obedient" (reversed) and "Often fights with other children or bullies them"-and five measuring hyperactivity/ inattention-for example, "Restless, overactive, cannot stay still for long" and "Thinks things out before acting Positive teacher affect in Grade 1. The teachers rated their positive affect for each target student in Grade 1 on a 5-point scale (from 1 not at all to 5 very often) (see also Kiuru et al, 2013Kiuru et al, , 2014. Positive teacher affect was measured with two items ("When you teach this child how often do you feel satisfied" and "When you teach this child how often do you feel joy"; Cronbach's .90).…”

The Effectiveness of the GeoGebra Software: The Intermediary Role of Procedural Knowledge On Students’ Conceptual Knowledge and Their Achievement in Mathematics

“…Various teaching and learning aids are used to encourage students' involvement in class. According to Kiuru et al (2014), students' achievement can be improved by teachers who wholeheartedly support their students by providing interesting teaching methods to attract students' interest.…”