Academic Functioning Research Articles

Level and relationships of academic skills and family functions with academic performance during Covid 19 pandemic

BackgroundThe research indicates that academic skills and family function may influence academic achievement. The Covid 19 epidemic has impacted regular academic and family function. However, there is a dearth of studies evaluating the relevance of academic skills and family function on college students' academic achievement. This research was done to determine the levels and relationships between academic achievement and study skills and family functions. Two hundred seventy-nine college students were assessed with Sociodemographic and academic proforma, Study Skills Assessment Questionnaire (SSAQ), and The McMaster Family Functioning Scale (MFFS).ResultsResults revealed that the mean score of SSAQ and MFFS were 179.92 and 17.88, respectively. Multiple regression analysis showed that the score of reading skills and the MFFS score statistically significantly predicted the score of the exam.ConclusionsOn the basis of this study's results, it is possible to conclude that reading skills and family functioning may influence academic success.

PREVENTION OF SECONDARY DISABILITIES FOR CHILDREN WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS

Developmental disorders (also called developmental disabilities) are a group of early-onset developmental disorders characterized by impairments in personal, social, academic, or occupational functioning. The article focuses on a group of children with developmental disorders including autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and learning disorder. Secondary disabilities are often referred to as mental disorders and behavioral complications, which arise as a result of the primary disorder\injury. In particular, the group of children with developmental disorders often tends to integrate different types of developmental disorders, which will be the group at risk of having many difficulties at the same time and having a high rate of secondary disabilities. The article points out the manifestations, and causes of secondary disabilities and proposes ways to prevent secondary disabilities for children with developmental disorders.

“Terror victims are probably not the easiest to follow up”: students’ perception of learning and teaching in the aftermath of trauma

ABSTRACT In August 2011, Norwegian schools welcomed survivors of the Utøya massacre to a new school year. Based on interviews with 135 students who went back to school weeks after experiencing extreme trauma, this study investigates their perception of schooling and learning. Sixty percent of the students reported a variety of reduced academic functioning, and they were not prepared for the learning impairments they faced. Their stories indicate that neither were the schools. Rather, schools appeared to be trauma sensitive only to certain aspects of the trauma-induced effects on schooling: A variety of actions aimed at enhancing school well-being were implemented, however few educational measures to assist and restore impaired academic functioning were reported. The students blamed themselves for reduced academic performance, and had few expectations with regard to teachers helping them academically. The findings are discussed in the context of influential pedagogical ideals in Norwegian and Scandinavian schools.

Emotion Recognition Skill in Specific Learning Disorder and Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Social difficulties can affect both academic and relational-social functioning in common neurodevelopmental disorders such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and specific learning disorder. It is known that social cognitive skills directly affect social functioning. The aim in this study is to examine the social cognitive skill of facial emotion recognition in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and specific learning disorder and to investigate whether literacy learning is related to emotion recognition. In the study, we compared the emotion recognition skill of 41 children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, 50 with specific learning disorder, and 43 typically developed children using the Reading Mind in the Eyes Test. In addition, we evaluated the relationship between children's emotion recognition ability and literacy learning time. Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and specific learning disorder groups did not show a statistically significant difference in terms of Reading Mind in the Eyes Test scores, but both groups had lower scores than their typically eveloped peers (P < .001). In addition, we found that low Reading Mind in the Eyes Test scores were associated with late learning in reading and writing (P < .001, r = -.033). This study found that the specific learning disorder and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder groups showed similar but poorer impact recognition skills than their typically developed peers. In addition, we showed that literacy learning speed is related to emotion recognition.

Students' Emotional Well-being and Academic Functioning Before, During, and After Lockdown in Germany: Cohort Study.

The COVID-19 lockdowns have led to social detriments and altered learning environments among university students. Recent research indicates that such ramifications may engender various impairments to students' mental health. However, such research has major limitations, such as the lack of a prepandemic control measure, the focus on singular well-being parameters, or the investigation of only the early phases of the pandemic. To address these research gaps, this comprehensive and nationwide study compared 3 student cohorts (aged 17-48 years) in Germany: a prepandemic cohort (January-February 2020), a postlockdown cohort (May 2020-July 2020), and an intralockdown cohort (January-February 2021) regarding students' general emotional well-being and academic functioning. It was hypothesized that, because of rigorous lockdown-related restrictions, students in the intralockdown cohort would report diminished general emotional well-being compared with the other cohorts. Furthermore, because of ongoing remote learning since the beginning of the pandemic, it was expected that students' academic functioning would decrease across all 3 cohorts. The data collection was performed over 3 consecutive semesters (fall semester 2019-2020, spring semester 2020, and fall semester 2020-2021). Students were surveyed on the web on various aspects regarding their general emotional well-being (eg, stress and general well-being) and academic functioning (eg, concentration and study-related flow). Data analyses were performed using multivariate ANOVAs. A total of 787 students participated in this study. Results indicated higher general well-being in the postlockdown cohort than in the intralockdown cohort (P=.02). As for students' academic functioning, our results revealed that students in the prepandemic cohort reported higher study-related flow (P=.007) and concentration (P=.001) than those in the intralockdown cohort. In addition, students reported higher flow (P=.04) and concentration (P=.04) in the postlockdown cohort than those in the intralockdown cohort. No cohort effects were revealed for other aspects of general emotional well-being (eg, perceived stress) and academic functioning (eg, procrastination). This study indicates that students' general emotional well-being as well as motivational and attentional components of academic functioning can be impaired owing to the COVID-19 lockdowns and ongoing remote learning formats. The necessity and design of interventional programs remedying such effects in light of the ongoing crisis need to be addressed.

Online Learning Stress and Chinese College Students’ Academic Coping during COVID-19: The Role of Academic Hope and Academic Self-Efficacy

Colleges around the world have adopted emergency online learning to continue with teaching and learning activities during COVID-19. Existing research has indicated that this teaching mode is perceived negatively by many college students. The difficulty students encounter in emergency online learning can adversely affect their mental health and academic performance. To shed further light on how emergency online learning may have impeded college students’ academic functioning and adjustment, this study examined the association between online learning stress and academic coping and the mediating roles of academic self-efficacy and academic hope. It was conducted in early 2021, a year after the outbreak of the pandemic. Ninety-nine Chinese college students in Hong Kong were recruited and they completed an online questionnaire for this study. Results showed that online learning stress was negatively associated with approach academic coping and social support seeking, and the associations were mediated by academic hope. On the other hand, online learning stress was positively associated with avoidance academic coping, which was not mediated by academic hope. The mediation effects of academic self-efficacy were all non-significant. In sum, college students used more passive and maladaptive coping to handle academic problems when they experienced more online learning stress, and this was partly explained by lower levels of academic hope.

Critical Language Testing, Multilingualism and Social Justice

AbstractThe paper reports on trends in language testing taking place over the years and aim at critical perspectives of testing and promoting inclusion, equity and justice. It begins with critical theories by Messick, Foucault and Bourdieu, leading to critical language testing (CLT) which focused on consequences and uses of tests. Given the power of tests and their detrimental effects questions were raised regarding the impact of language tests on individuals and society. Based on theories of sociolinguistics and applied linguistics it was realized that bi‐multilingual students, especially immigrants in the first years of migration and beyond continue to use their first languages as resources for academic functioning, referring to it as their ‘full language repertoire’. These languages are needed especially when processing academic school tests, presented in the new language which students have not yet acquired. The paper reports on studies where immigrant students are tested in multilingual tests and reach significantly high scores compared to those tested only in the new language. In experiments, using a variety of tools, students showed positive attitude to the procedure as they felt recognition and respect. Multilingual tests need to be practiced in schools to avoid language rights violations. Multimodal assessment methods are also proposed as additional ways for expanding the underpinnings of language construct. Lastly, it is recommended that language testing researchers and practitioners conduct research to identify cases of violate language rights and suggest new assessment models to overcome it, leading to increased social justice.

Children's excessive digital media use, mental health problems and the protective role of parenting during COVID-19

COVID-19's outbreak in March 2020 and the social distancing measures that followed it changed the lives of children worldwide. Studies assessing the pandemic's implications for children have reported an alarming increase in the use of digital media (DM) and warned of its adverse impacts on children's functioning and development. The current study aimed to assess the relationship between excessive and problematic DM use and emotional, behavioral, and academic functioning among Israeli adolescents during COVID-19 and to identify adolescents at elevated risk of developing problematic DM use. Three hundred forty-seven Israeli parent–child dyads (M age = 11.81, SD = 1.41) separately completed measures assessing children's DM use (time and addiction), functioning (academic, social, emotional, and behavioral), behavioral dysregulation, and the parents' parenting practices. The results showed that DM addiction, but not DM use, was related to children's emotional, behavioral, and academic difficulties. Moreover, the results indicated that negative parenting and behavioral dysregulation increased the risk of DM addiction, which in turn increased emotional, behavioral, and academic difficulties. The results underscored parents' role in preventing problematic DM use and highlighted the need to treat DM use and problematic DM use as distinct constructs.

Life aspirations, school engagement, social anxiety, social media use and fear of missing out among adolescents

Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) – people’s intense concerns that they might miss pleasant moments that their peers may enjoy—has been found to relate to a variety of undesired outcomes, including poor academic functioning. Yet, little is known about why some students may exhibit more FoMO than others. In this cross-sectional study with a sample of Turkish adolescents (N1 = 506; 50.8% males; Mage = 15.8 years; SD = 0.83), we examined to what extent intrinsic and extrinsic life goals for using social media predict FoMO over and above social anxiety. We found through path analyses that extrinsic goals of attaining popularity, garnering attention, and conveying a positive image of oneself to others related to FoMO which in turn related to lower grades by means of in-class distraction and out-of-class study interference. Taken together, the present results suggest that the goals that adolescents try to attain through social media use may explain why FoMO might be more prevalent in that age group.

Awareness on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder among Primary School Teachers of Public Schools in Kathmandu

Introduction: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common childhood mental health disorders. It causes impairment in the child’s key life activities, for instance, social relations, academic, family and vocational functioning, furthermore, adherence to social regulations, norms and laws. Teachers can play a valuable informant in regard to diagnosis on ADHD as they are in regular contact with children. The objective of this study was to identify level of awareness and associated factors of awareness on ADHD among primary school teachers of public schools in Kathmandu.&#x0D; Methods: Descriptive cross sectional research design was used. Out of 274 primary level schools in Kathmandu, 14 schools were selected by lottery method. Cluster random sampling technique was used. All the available primary teachers from selected schools were included in the study. Knowledge of Attention Deficit Disorder Scale (KADDS) was used to collect data. The total sample size was 130. SPSS version 20 was used for data analysis. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to find out the association between awareness on ADHD and selected study variables.&#x0D; Results: Among 130 school teachers, more than half (50.8%) had low level of awareness. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, the educational level was significantly associated with awareness on ADHD. However, in bivariate analysis the teachers’ age and duration of teaching were also significantly associated with the awareness on ADHD.&#x0D; Conclusion: More than half of primary level school teachers of public schools had low level of awareness on ADHD. Education level of the teachers was associated with level of awareness. Hence, the teachers need to be encouraged to pursue higher level education.

Whether academic and teaching staff are universal

Academic personnel routinely carry out a wide range of teaching, research, administrative, and expert functions. However, many of them do not focus on universality, but in fact specialize in performing one or several academic functions (profiles). The article deals with the discrepancy between the traditional distribution of professional duties of academic and teaching staff (ATS) and their actual performance. The research methodology is based on the positive agency theory, which allows explaining the peculiarities of social and labour relations in the academic sphere. The research methods of descriptive, frequency and regression analysis are used, including the method of logistic regression. The empirical basis includes the results of a survey conducted in 2022 of 207 academic and teaching staff members of the Southern Federal University, Russia. The questionnaire was compiled of the aspects of academic, teaching, expert and administrative profiles, as well as the questions about the socio-economic characteristics of respondents, the professional role they prefer, labour productivity and salary satisfaction. The results of studying the structure and the ATS’s choice of professional roles (profiles) can be used to solve problems in the field of social and labour relations at the university. According to the findings, the share of employees choosing specialization and the share of ‘universal’ employees were distributed equally; a discrepancy was found between respondents’ preference for performing one or another function and the actual work they do in the academic field. It was revealed that the specialization of work in a certain profile has a significant impact on labour productivity, and an increase in the number of work profiles reduces the likelihood of being in a group of employees satisfied with the correlation between their salary and the volume and complexity of the work performed.

Academic Language Functions In Arabic Research Articles

A language is a communication tool that has many functions. In academic writing, language performs certain functions, such as providing information, analyzing, comparing, and categorizing. Quality academic writing should show proper educational function through accurate and appropriate language. This study investigated academic language functions in Arabic language research articles. This study is based on several issues, such as the weaknesses of students and researchers in producing quality research reports, the need to understand the diversity of the academic language function in Arabic, as well as the lack of studies in the literary language based on the function of the academic language in Arabic. This study uses the descriptive qualitative approach and content analysis method. The analyzed content was sentenced that contained academic language functions. Sentences containing academic language functions were taken from 30 research articles in the field of Arabic written by native Arabic speakers. The analysis of language functions in the study was done using 12 academic language functions by Chamot and O'Malley (1994) and Dutro and Muran (2003). The study results found that writers use various academic functions to achieve the desired purpose. Various language registers are used for the function to be presented. Similarly, the use of language functions was also influenced by multiple aspects such as the research components (problem statement, objectives, etc), factors of the type of study (quantitative and qualitative), and others. For example, predicting and hypothesizing functions and problem-solving functions are more likely to be used in quantitative studies. This differs from qualitative studies that use other functions, such as informing and summarizing. In conclusion, the writers were seen to be successful in conveying the function of academic language in their writing by using appropriate vocabulary and sentences according to the function they wanted to share.

Learning development 2030

Whilst the widening participation agenda and the impact of COVID-19 has arguably increased the importance of learning development (LD) within the UK Higher Education Sector, it is widely acknowledged that the role, and indeed title, of the learning developer varies greatly between institutions. Some staff are employed on academic contracts with research requirements, others not. Similarly, some staff are faculty based whilst others are employed within a central team. This means that as Bickle et al. (2021) explain: LD operates in a ‘third space’. The disparity within the profession has meant that the role of the learning developer is multi-faceted, reflected in Hilsdon’s (2011, p.14) definition of LD: “Learning development is a complex set of multi-disciplinary and cross-disciplinary academic roles and functions, involving teaching, tutoring, research, and the design and production of learning materials […]”. This workshop provided participants with an opportunity to untangle the complex LD web and map out ideas for the future of the LD profession. Acting as newspaper editors, participants got out their crystal balls and produced a front page of a newspaper in 2030 where the main headline has been dedicated to the field of LD. Perhaps a LD staff member has won a prestigious award, maybe LD has received some form of international recognition. After presenting their front pages, participants engaged in a discussion around how as a profession we can achieve some of these aspirations. Participants took ideas with them that they could apply to their own practice.

Introducing mobile apps to promote the well-being of German and Italian university students. A cross-national application of the Technology Acceptance Model

Stress represents a significant risk factor for several psychophysical diseases among college students, such as depression and anxiety, which may undermine their academic functioning, resulting in high drop rates from college. Nevertheless, university services for mental health promotion are typically underutilized. As a result, professionals and authorities strive to find new ways to address students' mental health needs. In this view, mobile apps seem appropriate for well-being promotion interventions. Drawing on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), which is the most widely used theory on users' intention to use technologies, we assumed that perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU) would be positively related to intention to use (INT), and PEOU would be positively related to PU among both Italian and German university students. To test our hypotheses, we replicated the same cross-sectional study in Italy (n = 255) and Germany (n = 228) with university students. Although we found partial scalar invariance of the TAM dimensions across the two nations, our predictions were only partially confirmed: PEOU was positively related to PU in the Italian sample only. Overall, this study is one of the first empirical attempts to compare TAM cross-nationally within the European context and it contributes to the small but increasing body of research investigating students’ acceptance of smartphone-based interventions for stress management and well-being promotion. Understanding mobile health acceptance could help universities increase students’ chances of adopting the proposed services, considering the factors influencing this choice.

Assessing academic impairment in college students with disabilities: A new measure to promote evidence-based accommodation granting

College students with disabilities may be entitled to academic accommodations such as additional time on exams, testing in a separate setting, or assistance with note-taking. To receive accommodations, students must request services from their college and show that they experience substantial limitations in academic functioning. Without norm-referenced data, it is difficult for college disability support professionals to determine if students’ self-reported academic problems reflect substantial limitations characteristic of a disability, or academic challenges experienced by most other students. The Academic Impairment Measure (AIM) is a brief, multidimensional, norm-referenced rating scale that can help professionals identify college students with significant impairment who need academic support. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis indicate that the AIM assesses seven distinct and interpretable domains of academic functioning relevant to postsecondary students. Initial studies also provide evidence of internal and temporal consistency; composite reliability; content, convergent and discriminant validity; and the ability to differentiate students with and without disabilities. Finally, the AIM includes a response validity scale to detect non-credible ratings. Normative data from a large, diverse standardization sample allow professionals to use AIM scores to screen students for significant impairment, tailor accommodations to students’ specific limitations, and monitor the effectiveness of accommodations over time.

Academic functioning in children with and without sluggish cognitive tempo

Sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) is increasingly conceptualized as a transdiagnostic set of symptoms associated with poorer functional outcomes, although the extent to which SCT is associated with academic functioning remains unclear. This study recruited children based on the presence or absence of clinically elevated SCT symptoms, using a multi-informant and multi-method design to provide a comprehensive examination of academic functioning in children with and without clinically elevated SCT symptoms. Participants were 207 children in Grades 2–5 (ages 7–11 years; 63.3% male), including 103 with clinically elevated teacher-reported SCT symptoms and 104 without elevated SCT, closely matched on grade and sex. A multi-informant, multi-method design that included standardized achievement testing, curriculum-based measurement (CBM), grades, classroom and laboratory observations, and parent and teacher rating scales was used. Children with elevated SCT symptoms had poorer academic functioning than their peers across most domains examined. Specifically, compared to children without SCT, children with elevated SCT had significantly lower grade point average (d = 0.42) and standardized achievement scores (ds = 0.40–0.77), poorer CBM performance including lower productivity (ds = 0.39–0.51), poorer homework performance and organizational skills (ds = 0.58–0.85), and lower teacher-reported academic skills (ds = 0.63–0.74) and academic enablers (ds = 0.66–0.74). The groups did not significantly differ on percentage of time on task during classroom observations or academic enabler interpersonal skills. Most effects were robust to control of family income, medication use, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder inattentive symptoms, although effects for motivation and study skills academic enablers were reduced. This study demonstrates that children with clinically elevated SCT symptoms have wide-ranging academic difficulties compared to their peers without SCT. Findings point to the potential importance of assessing and treating SCT to improve academic outcomes.

Taking the good with the bad?: Social Media and Online Racial Discrimination Influences on Psychological and Academic Functioning in Black and Hispanic Youth.

Though increasing attention is being paid to adolescents' social media use, racially/ethnically-marginalized youth remain under-represented in that literature, and the effect of social media and its mechanism on these youth remain unclear. This study examined the effects of social media use on Black and Hispanic youth's psychological and academic functioning, with an attempt to investigate the role of online racial discrimination in accounting for these associations. Participants consisted of 356 Black and Hispanic youth (Mage = 16.01 years, SD = 1.60), and 78% female. The findings revealed a positive association between social media use and academic self-efficacy. A negative indirect association also emerged where social media use was associated with more exposure to vicarious, but not individual, online racial discrimination, which was related to more depressive symptoms and in turn lower academic self-efficacy. There was no direct effect of social media use on Black and Hispanic youth's anxiety symptoms, but its effect occurred indirectly via both individual and vicarious online racial discrimination. There was no evidence of group differences between Black and Hispanic youth. The findings confirm that social media is a space that proffers positive and negative effects on adolescents' psychological and academic functioning, suggesting the need for unique protections for racially/ethnically marginalized youth as they explore these online environments.

Une ou plusieurs orthorexies ? Conceptualisation, évaluation et enjeux sociétaux : une revue critique de la littérature

In recent years, the interest in the quality of food is getting increasingly widespread in our society. From now on, consumers are paying more attention to food components and are trying to adopt a more environmentally friendly by consuming, for example, products from short circuits. However, this attention to the quality of food can be pathological. The neologism orthorexia nervosa, invented in 1997, describes this obsessive relationship with food. People with orthorexia develop obsessions related to food quality and may develop eating rituals in order to stay “healthy”. Orthorexia nervosa is not yet considered a psychiatric disorder due to a lack of consensus on its definition, but it is associated with impaired somatic, social, professional and/or academic functioning. Indeed, although orthorexia nervosa has been the subject of increasing scientific interest, it remains poorly understood because the main tools used to assess it offer a partial measure of the concept. For example, the “ORTHO” self-questionnaire, which is the most widely used in the scientific literature, assesses an interest in healthy eating rather than psychopathological obsessions. The current data and knowledge on orthorexia nervosa are therefore uncertain, making it difficult to understand this concept. In order to better understand the issues at stake in the assessment of orthorexia nervosa, a critical reading of these tools is proposed in this article. Moreover, a new conceptualization of orthorexia emerged a few years ago. It offers a better understanding of this concept with a healthy side (i.e., healthy orthorexia) and a pathological side (i.e., orthorexia nervosa). In an attempt to clarify the knowledge on orthorexia, the main objective of this critical review of the literature is to present orthorexia nervosa according to its initial conceptualization and its current understanding in accordance with scientific advances. The second objective is to distinguish orthorexia nervosa from anorexia nervosa. The third objective is to highlight the emergence of a growing, and sometimes pathological, interest in healthy eating within the context of societal development. To achieve these objectives, a review of the literature on orthorexia and healthy eating was conducted.

3.17 The Impact of Executive Functioning Deficit on Illness Severity in Patients With an ADHD Diagnosis: A Real-World Data Study

Executive functioning (EF) is a multifaceted neuropsychological construct that allows individuals to engage in goal-directed and novel problem-solving behaviors. EF deficits have been identified in a subgroup of patients with ADHD. Heterogeneity in peer, family, and academic functioning among individuals with ADHD has been related to EF performance. Electronic health record (EHR) data captures the presentation of patients with ADHD in a real-world clinical setting and is therefore well suited to study the impact of EF deficits on ADHD illness severity.

27.1 Paths to Postsecondary Education Enrollment Among Adolescents With and Without Childhood ADHD

Despite the long-term deficits associated with ADHD, some adolescents with ADHD enroll in postsecondary education (PSE). Postsecondary students represent a relatively high-functioning segment of the population, but students with ADHD continue to experience academic difficulties in higher education. Beyond admittance to postsecondary programs, do adolescents with ADHD histories who enroll in postsecondary studies differ from those who do not? We aimed to determine whether symptoms and academic functioning are distinct developmentally from childhood through adolescence between adolescents with and without ADHD who did and did not enroll in PSE.