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• 1. [Article] The Development of Personal Resources in the Academic Domain: Age Differences in the Evolution of Coping and Perceived Control and the Process Structures that Facilitate Academic Engagement

  Studies investigating the development of perceived control and coping in the academic domain generally adopt an individual differences approach, reporting mean-level changes in these and associated constructs. ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: The Development of Personal Resources in the Academic Domain: Age Differences in the Evolution of Coping and Perceived Control and the Process Structures that Facilitate Academic Engagement Author: Greene, Teresa Marie Year: 2015 Studies investigating the development of perceived control and coping in the academic domain generally adopt an individual differences approach, reporting mean-level changes in these and associated constructs. Very few studies attempt to chart the process by which these personal resources exert individual and combined influences on academic outcomes, such as motivation and achievement, in light of normative developmental changes. Further, a consideration of reciprocal influences of these constructs on developmental changes and the contribution of social partners to these processes is not common. Conceptualized from a systems perspective, this study integrates these different approaches in a longitudinal inquiry into the development of perceived control and coping, the impact of coping on academic engagement and achievement, and how support from the context shapes, and is subsequently shaped by, student behavior. An action-theoretic model is used to describe the hypothesized relationships, deriving from Deci & Ryan's (1985) self-determination theory, and incorporating a flexible framework of coping as functionally similar yet structurally distinct strategies, defined as action-regulation under stress (Skinner, Edge, Altman, Sherwood, 2003; Skinner & Zimmer-Gembeck, 2007). Four ways of coping are examined, divided into two categories: mastery coping, comprising problem-solving and information-seeking, and helplessness coping, comprising escape and confusion ways of coping. Contextual support is conceptualized as teacher provision of structure, involvement, and autonomy support. Engagement, as a motivational resource that leads to increased achievement, comprises both behavioral and emotional aspects of engagement. A tri-partite formulation of perceived control is used (Skinner, Chapman, & Baltes, 1988a), comprising means-end (strategy), agency (capacity), and generalized control beliefs. Data collected during one year of a four-year longitudinal study from 665 students in grades four and six, and fifty-three of their teachers, were used for this investigation. Normative developmental differences were examined through comparisons of mean-level shifts in each of the model constructs; regression-based analyses tested for age differences over time in the process structure of the model. Reciprocal influences of coping and engagement on teacher support and perceived control, and of engagement and achievement on coping, were also tested for age differences. Results highlight the normative developmental changes that occur in these constructs during middle childhood, and indicate that the pattern of these changes is largely consistent with expectations; however, the process structure of the model relating the constructs of interest was found to be stable over time, with only one significant age difference detected: the influence on mastery coping of means-end control beliefs for effort. All other relationships tested did not differ significantly as children get older. Discussion focuses on evidence provided by the results of age trends in the developmental processes believed to be the drivers of change in the study constructs. Implications for the study of coping, regulatory processes, and features of the educational context, as they relate to the development of children's coping and control resources, are explored, with suggestions for the direction future research in these areas might take. Title: The Development of Personal Resources in the Academic Domain: Age Differences in the Evolution of Coping and Perceived Control and the Process Structures that Facilitate Academic Engagement Author: Greene, Teresa Marie Year: 2015 Studies investigating the development of perceived control and coping in the academic domain generally adopt an individual differences approach, reporting mean-level changes in these and associated constructs. Very few studies attempt to chart the process by which these personal resources exert individual and combined influences on academic outcomes, such as motivation and achievement, in light of normative developmental changes. Further, a consideration of reciprocal influences of these constructs on developmental changes and the contribution of social partners to these processes is not common. Conceptualized from a systems perspective, this study integrates these different approaches in a longitudinal inquiry into the development of perceived control and coping, the impact of coping on academic engagement and achievement, and how support from the context shapes, and is subsequently shaped by, student behavior. An action-theoretic model is used to describe the hypothesized relationships, deriving from Deci & Ryan's (1985) self-determination theory, and incorporating a flexible framework of coping as functionally similar yet structurally distinct strategies, defined as action-regulation under stress (Skinner, Edge, Altman, Sherwood, 2003; Skinner & Zimmer-Gembeck, 2007). Four ways of coping are examined, divided into two categories: mastery coping, comprising problem-solving and information-seeking, and helplessness coping, comprising escape and confusion ways of coping. Contextual support is conceptualized as teacher provision of structure, involvement, and autonomy support. Engagement, as a motivational resource that leads to increased achievement, comprises both behavioral and emotional aspects of engagement. A tri-partite formulation of perceived control is used (Skinner, Chapman, & Baltes, 1988a), comprising means-end (strategy), agency (capacity), and generalized control beliefs. Data collected during one year of a four-year longitudinal study from 665 students in grades four and six, and fifty-three of their teachers, were used for this investigation. Normative developmental differences were examined through comparisons of mean-level shifts in each of the model constructs; regression-based analyses tested for age differences over time in the process structure of the model. Reciprocal influences of coping and engagement on teacher support and perceived control, and of engagement and achievement on coping, were also tested for age differences. Results highlight the normative developmental changes that occur in these constructs during middle childhood, and indicate that the pattern of these changes is largely consistent with expectations; however, the process structure of the model relating the constructs of interest was found to be stable over time, with only one significant age difference detected: the influence on mastery coping of means-end control beliefs for effort. All other relationships tested did not differ significantly as children get older. Discussion focuses on evidence provided by the results of age trends in the developmental processes believed to be the drivers of change in the study constructs. Implications for the study of coping, regulatory processes, and features of the educational context, as they relate to the development of children's coping and control resources, are explored, with suggestions for the direction future research in these areas might take. Close

• 2. [Article] Motivational processes involved in academic help seeking and help avoidance

  During middle childhood, help seeking and avoidance are two ways children deal with academic problems. For this study, the dominant view of help seeking as a strategy of self-regulated learning was elaborated ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Motivational processes involved in academic help seeking and help avoidance Author: Marchand, Gwen Catherine Year: 2004 During middle childhood, help seeking and avoidance are two ways children deal with academic problems. For this study, the dominant view of help seeking as a strategy of self-regulated learning was elaborated to consider it a way of coping framed within the Self-System Model of Motivational Development. This framework allows for the consideration of (1) the opposite of help seeking (help avoidance) as a motivated way of coping, (2) the central role of teachers, and (3) the operation of multiple self-system processes in shaping students' coping behaviors. Self-report, teacher-report, and school record data from 765 3rd through 61 h grade students and their teachers were analyzed to determine the structure of help seeking and avoidance, the antecedents and consequences of these ways of coping, and developmental differences that may account for age-related changes in coping. Data were available from two time points, the fall and spring of one academic year, allowing for concurrent and change over time analyses. Title: Motivational processes involved in academic help seeking and help avoidance Author: Marchand, Gwen Catherine Year: 2004 During middle childhood, help seeking and avoidance are two ways children deal with academic problems. For this study, the dominant view of help seeking as a strategy of self-regulated learning was elaborated to consider it a way of coping framed within the Self-System Model of Motivational Development. This framework allows for the consideration of (1) the opposite of help seeking (help avoidance) as a motivated way of coping, (2) the central role of teachers, and (3) the operation of multiple self-system processes in shaping students' coping behaviors. Self-report, teacher-report, and school record data from 765 3rd through 61 h grade students and their teachers were analyzed to determine the structure of help seeking and avoidance, the antecedents and consequences of these ways of coping, and developmental differences that may account for age-related changes in coping. Data were available from two time points, the fall and spring of one academic year, allowing for concurrent and change over time analyses. Close

• 3. [Article] Parent and Teacher Influences on Children's Academic Motivation

  The current study developed a comprehensive theoretical framework of joint multiple contextual influences (JMCI framework) to guide empirical investigation of combine influences of social contexts on children's ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Parent and Teacher Influences on Children's Academic Motivation Author: Snyder, Tatiana Year: 2011 The current study developed a comprehensive theoretical framework of joint multiple contextual influences (JMCI framework) to guide empirical investigation of combine influences of social contexts on children's academic outcomes. Drawn from several general frameworks, four models of joint social influences were proposed: Independent, Interactive, Differential, and Sequential. Using a motivational framework, all four models were tested empirically for joint effects of parents and teachers on children's self-perceptions (relatedness, competence, and autonomy) and classroom engagement. Overall, this study provided some empirical support for every category of models proposed in the JMCI framework. The joint influences of parents and teachers on children's self-perceptions were mostly independent and unique. Most joint influences were additive: one social context couldn't buffer or amplify the effects of the other context. Only joint effects of Non-Supportive parents and Supportive teachers interacted in their influences on children's competence: Supportive teachers were able to safeguard and counterbalance the negative influences of Non-Supportive parents. The study also indicated that self-system processes are possible pathways through which parents and teachers exert their influences on children's academic engagement and that this influence depends on the age of the developing child. The study also suggested that children's engagement may be a mechanism that mediates the relationship between parents' and teachers' contexts. Title: Parent and Teacher Influences on Children's Academic Motivation Author: Snyder, Tatiana Year: 2011 The current study developed a comprehensive theoretical framework of joint multiple contextual influences (JMCI framework) to guide empirical investigation of combine influences of social contexts on children's academic outcomes. Drawn from several general frameworks, four models of joint social influences were proposed: Independent, Interactive, Differential, and Sequential. Using a motivational framework, all four models were tested empirically for joint effects of parents and teachers on children's self-perceptions (relatedness, competence, and autonomy) and classroom engagement. Overall, this study provided some empirical support for every category of models proposed in the JMCI framework. The joint influences of parents and teachers on children's self-perceptions were mostly independent and unique. Most joint influences were additive: one social context couldn't buffer or amplify the effects of the other context. Only joint effects of Non-Supportive parents and Supportive teachers interacted in their influences on children's competence: Supportive teachers were able to safeguard and counterbalance the negative influences of Non-Supportive parents. The study also indicated that self-system processes are possible pathways through which parents and teachers exert their influences on children's academic engagement and that this influence depends on the age of the developing child. The study also suggested that children's engagement may be a mechanism that mediates the relationship between parents' and teachers' contexts. Close