Task Persistence Research Articles

Associations between executive functions at age 3 and children’s learning behaviors at age 6

This longitudinal study explores the associations between children’s executive functions at the beginning of preschool and their learning behaviors, namely competence motivation and attentional persistence, at the end of preschool. Participants were 218 Portuguese children ( Mage = 40.4 months, SD = 4.2; 52% boys) and their preschool teachers ( n = 29). The children’s executive functions (specifically attention shifting, working memory, and response inhibition) were individually assessed when they were 3 years of age. Teachers’ perceptions about the children’s competence motivation and attentional persistence were assessed with the Preschool Learning Behaviors Scale (PLBS) when the children were 6 years old. Results showed positive associations between children’s executive functions and attentional persistence, but not competence motivation, after controlling for covariates (age, gender, and expressive vocabulary). These findings contribute to current evidence about the links between early executive functions and later behavioral indicators of child persistence in learning tasks.

The Role of Staffing and Safety in Improving Teachers’ Job Satisfaction in Nsukka Education Zone Enugu State

This study was conducted on the role of staffing and safety in improving teachers’ job satisfaction. The study was guided by three research questions and three hypotheses. The study was carried out in Nsukka Education Zone of Enugu State. A correlation research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised of 193 (6 principals and 187 teachers) the population served as sample because the population is manageable and accessible. The study adopted three instruments for data collection which include staffing questionnaire (SFQ), safety Questionnaire (STQ) and teachers’ job satisfaction questionnaire (TJSQ). The internal consistency reliability indices of SFQ, STQ and TJSQ were determined to be 0.72, 0.76 using Cronbach alpha. Pearson product moment correlation and multiple regression were adopted to answer the research questions and test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The result shows that task persistence and students’ engagement significantly predict students’ academic achievement in Economics. From these findings, it was recommended among others that, Teachers should make sure that students are actively involved in teaching and learning process by so doing, the academic achievement of the students will be improved.

Collaborative learning and persistence in music education: Examining music self-perception as a mediator among adolescent students

Declining enrolments and low persistence in music education are universal concerns among music educators. Identifying social-cognitive constructs that might be predictive of adolescent student persistence may assist in the development of interventions aimed at promoting persistence in music education in a global context. Using quantitative measures, this study considers the relationships between collaborative learning, music self-perception and perceived task persistence among secondary music students in Kenya. Collaborative learning has been shown to effectively enhance students’ engagement by exposing them to diverse opinions and perspectives, which stimulates learning, persistence and performance. Positive music self-perception enhances students’ confidence, motivation and determination. However, peer appraisals and comparisons during collaborative learning may impact students’ music self-perception and how they are perceived by their peers, which consequently reflects on their learning behaviour. Results from multiple regression analyses revealed that collaborative learning and music self-perception had significant positive predictive values for perceived task persistence. The two variables jointly accounted for approximately 17% of the variance in perceived task persistence. Mediation analyses using PROCESS revealed that music self-perception partially mediates the relationship between collaborative learning and perceived task persistence.

Child self-regulation profiles relate to emotion parenting in Black and Latinx mother-child dyads

Across cultures, child self-regulation develops within the parent-child relationship and requires flexible management of one's biology and behaviors. Despite documented relations between self-regulation and adaptive psychological adjustment, research has primarily focused on single indicator assessments of self-regulation within mostly White samples. The present study assessed indicators of self-regulation (i.e., task persistence, positive affect, resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia) in 100 Black and Latinx children (Mage = 6.83 years, SD = 1.50 years) and mother emotion parenting behaviors (Mage = 34.48 years, SD = 6.39 years). Using latent profile analysis, four child self-regulatory profiles were identified. Profile differences by mother emotion parenting behaviors were examined. Controlling for income, ANCOVAs indicated that mothers of children in relatively high self-regulatory profiles showed more positive emotion parenting behaviors when compared to mothers of children in comparatively lower regulatory profiles. Results highlight potential targets for fostering child self-regulation within racial and ethnic minority parent-child relationships.

Investigating Task Persistence in Preschool Children With Developmental Language Disorder.

The present study was designed to investigate persistence in preschool children with developmental language disorder (DLD) compared to similar-age peers with typical language (TL) on tasks designed to be moderately challenging, yet equivalent in difficulty for both groups. Sixteen preschool-age children with DLD were matched to 16 children with TL based on chronological age, biological sex, and maternal education. The children completed two play-based tasks that were designed to elicit some success but impossible to complete. Task persistence was measured by the total time spent attempting to complete each unachievable task. Despite equivalent task difficulty for both groups, the children with DLD exhibited less persistence than the TL group. This reduced persistence behavior on the part of the DLD group was a generalized and not a task-specific response. Despite experiencing the same degree of success on moderately challenging play-based tasks, the children in the DLD group exhibited reduced task persistence relative to the TL group. Potential implications for reduced persistence for children with DLD are discussed.

Linking persistence and executive functions with later academic achievement

Executive functions (EF) and task persistence are key factors in academic development. However, EF and persistence have rarely been examined together, and it remains unclear whether these two constructs are independently related to intellectual development. The present study addressed this gap by examining whether EF and persistence in kindergarten predict math and reading achievement in second grade. We assessed 88 children (51% female; mean age = 73.4 months) on EF and persistence tasks at T1 and obtained teacher ratings of their academic competence at T2 (mean age = 94.6 months). Regression analyses showed that both EF and persistence predicted math achievement, but only EF predicted reading achievement. To sum up, our findings suggest that persistence may be particularly relevant for math, reflecting the ability to endure and sustain. These are skills that are typically not captured by EF measures. Consequently, early interventions should target EF and persistence to support children’s mathematical potential.

What are the principal and most effective strategies for motivational self-regulation? A systematic review and meta-analyses

The regulation of motivation is considered a key aspect of self-regulated learning (SRL) as it is presumed that maintaining an adequate level of motivation is essential for engagement, effort and persistence in academic tasks. In this review, we aimed to improve our understanding of motivational regulation strategies, their supposed antecedents and the educational implications. A search was conducted in Web of Science, Scopus, PsycInfo, and ERIC databases. Of 4027 records identified, 64 (75 studies) were deemed eligible after inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied and studies with low methodological quality were discarded. Data on 18 different motivational regulation strategies were available. Extrinsic/controlling types of strategies were reported to be used more frequently than intrinsic/autonomous strategies. Motivational regulation strategies were significantly associated with metamotivational beliefs, academic skills and adjustment. Available evidence supports assumptions of theoretical models on antecedents and academic implications of motivational self-regulation. Educational impact and implications statementThe present study provides a compendium of the different motivational self-regulation strategies studied to date, describes the nature of these and unifies the different denominations used. The available evidence on the frequency of use of the different strategies that has been collected may be useful for educators, enabling them to anticipate and adapt to the status of the different motivational facets in students. Drawing on theoretical models of motivational self-regulation, the interconnections between the use of the strategies and their supposed antecedents and the expected educational implications were explored. This will provide researchers and educators with an interpretive framework to draw upon when adapting to interindividual diversity in strategy use and when assessing the compatibility between educational practices and the efficient use and training of motivational strategies.

Your feelings are reasonable: Emotional validation promotes persistence among preschoolers.

Persistence is a critical factor that significantly predicts life outcomes. Although individual differences in persistence emerge early in life, the knowledge of effective strategies for cultivating persistence in young children remains limited. Based on these two studies, we suggest that emotional validation, defined as the acceptance of emotions without judgment, is a beneficial technique for promoting persistence in the wake of frustration. Study 1 examined 150 parents of children aged 4-6years and found that parents' tendency to validate their children's emotions was positively associated with children's trait persistence. We conducted a randomized experiment (N=93, aged 4-6years) in Study 2 to establish a causal relationship between emotional validation and persistence in preschoolers. Children who received emotional validation feedback (n=31) exhibited higher levels of persistence than those who received emotional invalidation (n=31) and no feedback (baseline, n=31) on a frustrating task. The persistence between the emotional invalidation and no-feedback conditions was not statistically different. This finding highlights the vital role of emotional validation in promoting persistence in children at trait and state levels. In summary, this study offers a compelling strategy for empowering young children with resilience and determination when they encounter challenges. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Parental emotional validation predicts the trait-level persistence of children aged 4-6years. Children who received emotion-validation feedback persisted longer on a task than those who received emotion-invalidation feedback or no feedback. Children in the emotion invalidation condition did not differ from those in the no-feedback condition in terms of persistence. Future studies are required to investigate the mechanisms underlying emotional validation in promoting task persistence in children.

Task persistence through a dynamic lens: Understanding temporal-behavioral dynamics in kindergarten children

Most research approaches operationalize persistence through a static index, neglecting that persistence is inherently dynamic. The study aimed to analyze persistence as a dynamic process through a real-time modeling approach. More specifically, we computed a latent profile analysis to examine temporal-behavioral dynamics in a persistence task. The Swiss sample consisted of N = 241 children (Mage = 71.8 months, 52.3% female, 21% migration background). During a persistence task, task engagement was repeatedly coded in 10-s intervals, yielding 18 indicators of persistence. The results revealed three behavioral profiles: a highly persistent profile (70%), a declining persistence profile (19%), and a low persistence profile (11%). Furthermore, covariate analyses revealed profile differences in terms of executive functions and behavioral problems.

로젠탈 교육프로그램을 적용한 중국 무용수업 참여 중학생의 학업정서와 학업적 자기효능감이 과제지속에 미치는 영향

Purpose: The aim of this study was to apply the Rosenthal Education Program to middle school
 students who participated in Chinese dance classes and attempted to analyze the relationship between
 students' academic emotions, academic self-efficacy, and task persistence.
 Methods: For this purpose, 379 Chinese middle school students were selected and provided with
 the Rosenthal Educational Activity Program. In addition, academic emotions, academic self-efficacy,
 and task persistence questionnaires were measured. The collected data were analyzed by frequency
 analysis, reliability analysis, descriptive statistical analysis, and t-test analysis using the SPSS 22.0
 program, and confirmatory factor analysis was performed using the Amos 26.0 program.
 Results: First, Satisfaction with the Rosenthal Education Program applied to dance classes was high.
 Second, the Rosenthal Education Program showed significant differences in academic emotions,
 academic self-efficacy, and task persistence depending on the gender of the middle school students.
 Third, the Rosenthal Education Program showed significant differences in academic emotions, academic
 self-efficacy, and task persistence depending on the school.
 Conclusion: It is expected that the Rosenthal Educational Programs will provide useful information
 for the Chinese Education field by confirming the possibility that it can be applied to various subjects,
 including Chinese dance education.

Functional Analysis of Contextually Inappropriate Social Behavior in Children With Down Syndrome.

Children with Down syndrome often engage in contextually inappropriate social behavior, which researchers suggest may function to escape from difficult activities to preferred social interactions. Caregivers may reinforce the behavior, perceiving it only as evidence of the child's social strength, when, in fact, the pattern may also prevent or slow the development of critical skills. Unlike overt forms of challenging behavior, contextually inappropriate social behavior had never been subjected to experimental analysis. The purpose of the current study was to identify and demonstrate functional control of contextually inappropriate social behavior to caregiver-informed contingencies. We interviewed caregivers and subjected contextually inappropriate social behavior to functional analyses for nine young children with Down syndrome. We found sensitivity to the caregiver-informed contingencies for all nine participants with strong functional control and large effect sizes for most. Caregivers may not perceive contextually inappropriate social behavior as problematic, yet patterns of contextually inappropriate and other problem behaviors suggest decreased engagement and poor task persistence. Assessments that lead to intervention decisions may be more informative when they include questions about social topographies of behavior not typically considered as problematic. Once caregivers are aware of the pattern, they may be better prepared to intervene.

Efficacy of Game Based Learning (GBL) Instructional Approach on Students’ Task Persistence in Number Bases

This study investigated the efficacy of Game Based Learning (GBL) instructional approach on Junior Secondary School three students’ task persistence in number bases in public secondary schools in South East Nigeria. To achieve the purpose of the study, two research questions and three null hypotheses guided the study. The design of the study was quasi-experimental design; specifically, pre test-post test non-equivalent control group design. The population of the study comprised all the JSS3 students in the region. The sample of four (4) schools was drawn using multi-stage sampling procedures. Out of the four (4) schools sampled, two (2) were assigned to experimental groups and the other two (2) schools were assigned to control groups. Game Based Task Persistence Rating Scale (GBTPRS) containing of 20 items, was the instrument used for the study. The instrument was validated by three experts in Faculty of Education University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The instrument was trial tested on a sample of 30 JSS 3 students in private school and the reliability index of 0.83 was gotten using Cronbach’s Alpha. Six (6) lesson plans which lasted for three weeks, three (3) for the experimental group and the other three (3) for the control group were used for the study. The data collected were analyzed using mean, and standard deviation to answer the research questions and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The results of the study revealed that Game Based Learning instructional approach was efficacious in improving the students’ task persistence in number bases than conventional based learning instructional approach. Based on the findings, it was recommended that Mathematics teachers should use GBL instructional approach while teaching the subject.

Children's task persistence in first grade: The role of parent-child and teacher-child relationships

The present study investigated the extent to which the quality of both parent-child and teacher-child relationships uniquely and interactively relates to a child's task persistence in first grade. Furthermore, the study also examined the role of a child's task persistence in the quality of their relationships with their parents and teachers after controlling for the child's gender, temperament, academic performance, and parental education level. The study followed Lithuanian children from the beginning (T1, n = 337) to the end (T2, n = 341) of first grade, along with their parents (T1, n = 347; T2, n = 323) and first-grade teachers (T1, n = 24; T2, n = 25). At the start of first grade, the children completed reading, spelling, and math (i.e., addition and subtraction) performance tests. The parents and teachers filled out questionnaires at the beginning and end of these students’ first-grade academic year. The parents reported on the quality of their relationships with their children and on their children's temperament, while teachers reported on their relationship quality with each student and their task persistence. First, the results indicated that a conflictual relationship between the students and their teachers was related negatively to subsequent task persistence. Second, the moderation results indicated that if the teacher-child relationship was close, then a close parent-child relationship longitudinally was related positively to the children's task persistence. Third, the results indicated that a child's higher level of task persistence was associated longitudinally with a closer relationship with their first-grade teachers.

Impact Of Learning Approaches On Career Interest And Task Persistence Of Woodwork Technology Students In Nigerian Universities

Among the aims of woodwork technology in universities is to prepare graduates with the requisite skills and competencies in woodworking in order to enable them become productive and contribute to national development. Unfortunately, woodwork technology has been plagued with gross under achievement by students. It has also been plagued with poor implementation processes and structures across the tertiary institutions leading to poor career interest and low task persistence of students. The purpose of the study was to determine the impact of learning approaches on career interest & task persistence of woodwork technology students in Nigerian Universities. This study adopted a correlation research design. The population for this study is 76. The population comprised all the 300-level and 400-level students of woodwork technology education programme in the six universities that offer the programme in South-East, Nigeria. The data required for this study was collected using 20-item structured questionnaires. The data collected from the research questions was answered using Pearson Moment correlation coefficient to answer each of the questions. In determining the strength of the relationship Cohen (1988), guidelines were used to interpret the result. They are as follows: Small r =.10 to .29, Medium r =.30 to .49, and Large r =.50 to 1.0 respectively. Hypotheses 1-10 were tested at a 0.05 level of significance using ANOVA output from the Linear Regression Analysis. There is a largely positive relationship between students’ learning approach and career interest of students. There is a significant relationship between students’ learning approach and career interest of woodwork students. There is a strong positive relationship between students’ learning approach and task persistence of woodwork Students. There is a significant relationship between students’ learning approach and task persistence of woodwork students. Based on the findings of the study, the students’ learning approach has a significant influence on career interest of woodwork technology students. There is a significant relationship between students’ learning approach and career interest of woodwork students. The students’ learning approach has a significant influence on task persistence of woodwork technology students. There is also a significant influence of students’ learning approach on task persistence of woodwork students.

God, Can I Give Up?: The Diverging Effects of God-Related Thoughts on Task Persistence in Chinese Buddhists and Taoists

ABSTRACT Previous research has indicated that religiosity and engagement in faith practices are associated with increased task persistence. However, in this study, we sought to challenge this long-standing assumption by demonstrating that priming God-related concepts can actually lead to reduced task persistence in Taoism, a religion emphasizing passivity, calmness, and inaction. To investigate this theoretical perspective, we conducted two experimental studies using different behavioral measures of task persistence (anagram task and mirror-tracing task) and diverse religious priming techniques (the scrambled-sentence task and religious reading task). In Study 1, when Chinese Taoists were first reminded of God and then completed an unsolvable anagram task purported to measure the maturation of verbal abilities, they exhibited lower levels of task persistence than those in the neutral prime condition. In Study 2, we found that Taoist participants exposed to God-related primes spent less time on tracing a difficult geometric figures, indicating lower levels of task persistence. Across two studies, we replicated prior findings that exposure to God representations increased task persistence in Chinese Buddhists, who belong to a non-Abraham religious group. These results provided the first experimental evidence that activating thoughts of God may have divergent effects on task persistence in members of different religions.

Task persistence as a competency capable of reducing delinquency in early to mid-adolescence

In an effort to understand the segment of the juvenile population that seemingly ceases engaging in delinquency during adolescence, the relationship between a performance competency (task persistence) and offending was explored in 3,928 youth (2,005 boys and 1,923 girls) from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Three waves of data, with adjacent time periods separated by two years, were used to test the hypothesis that a change in task persistence would correlate with a change in future delinquency. Given that the two dependent variables in this study (delinquency at Time 2 and delinquency at Time 3) followed a negative binomial distribution, negative binomial regression and binomial logistic regression analyses were performed. Results from both analyses confirmed the hypothesis that a rise in task persistence from Time 1 to Time 2 would predict a decrease in delinquency from Time 1 to Time 2 to Time 3 and that a static measure of task persistence at Time 1 would predict a change in delinquency from Time 1 to Time 2. These results suggest that task persistence may be a competency capable of suppressing delinquency during a developmental period in which delinquency ordinarily rises.

Academic support from teachers and parents during grade 2: Links to teacher perceived children's task persistence

The present study investigated the interplay between teachers' (n = 40) and parents' (n = 606) self-reported quantity (frequency of help), and quality (positive affect while assisting a child) of academic support and teacher rated children's task persistence (n = 647). In the fall semester of Grade 2 children completed academic performance tests. Teachers and parents filled out questionnaires in the fall and spring semesters of Grade 2. First, the results showed that the frequency of teachers' and parents' help did not significantly predict teacher perceived children's task persistence, whereas teachers' and parents' positive affect while assisting a child contributed to the children's higher task persistence. Second, the results revealed that the effect of the frequency of teachers' help on teacher perceived children's task persistence is moderated by their positive affect while assisting a child. Finally, teachers and parents responded to lower children's task persistence by providing more frequent help, and parents responded with more positive affect when children's task persistence was high. Educational relevance statementThe current study confirms that both home and school contexts play a meaningful role in second graders' task persistence development by simultaneously taking into account the effect of the quantity (frequency of help) and quality (positive affect) of teachers' and parents' academic support. Results suggest that teachers' and parents' quality of academic support (positive affect) is critical in shaping more persistent children's behavior with the tasks according to the teachers' reports. Meanwhile, while the frequency of help seems not to have a unique effect on teacher perceived children's task persistence, it appears significant in interaction with teachers' positive affect, indicating that children remain the most persistent with the tasks when teachers are high in positive affect (joy and satisfaction) and low in the frequency of help. Further, as teachers' and parents' academic support is significant for teacher perceived children's task persistence, teacher perceived children's task persistence also seems to be an important factor in evoking teachers' and parents' academic support. Specifically, low children's task persistence triggers more frequent help from teachers with classwork and from parents with homework. In terms of positive affect, higher children's task persistence evokes more joy and satisfaction only for parents. Thus, the reciprocal associations investigation of two different teachers' and parents' academic support dimensions provide a better understanding of how both teachers and parents together can support children's task persistence during Grade 2. In sum, teachers and parents should monitor how frequently they offer help to children, focusing more on keeping a positive learning atmosphere by demonstrating joy and satisfaction.

Development and validation of mathematics persistence scale for secondary school students

The study focused on development and validation of the mathematics persistence scale (MPS) for measuring secondary school students’ persistence in learning mathematics. The study employed a descriptive survey design. Three research questions guided the study. The population of the study comprised 13,516 students distributed in 59 public secondary schools in Nsukka Education Zone, Enugu State, Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used in selecting a sample size of 1,378 secondary school mathematics students used for the study. In the development of MPS, 85 items were first constructed and subjected to face validity. After face validation, eight items were deleted in line with the recommendations and suggestions of the validators. The remaining 77 items were further subjected to exploratory factor analysis using statistical package for the social science version 25. 28 factorial pure items, that loaded into four salient factors (persistence in classroom mathematics exercise, persistence in mathematics take home assignments, persistence in a group mathematics tasks, and persistence in mathematics examination) emerged from the analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis of four factors using lavaan and semPlot packages indicated a harmony between four factor model and the data. The internal consistency coefficients of four factors ranges from 0.78 to 0.92.

Cognitive flexibility and academic performance of children in care and children from a community sample: the contrasting mediator effect of task persistence

ABSTRACT Objective This study investigated the role of cognitive flexibility and temperament as predictors of academic performance, in children in care and children from a community sample, longitudinally. Also, it examined the mediating role of child’s temperament in the relationship between cognitive flexibility and academic performance, as well as between-group differences. Method Participants were 46 children in care and 48 children from a community sample, aged 6 to 10 years. Cognitive flexibility, temperament, and academic performance were assessed with the Raven’s Colored Progressive Matrices set B (RCPM-B), the Portuguese version of School-Age Temperament Inventory (SATI), and the competence academic scale (CAS) of the Portuguese version of the Social Skills Rating System – Teacher Form (SSRS-T), respectively. Results Cognitive flexibility was a significant predictor of academic performance only for children in care. In both groups, negative reactivity and task persistence predicted academic performance, and children’s task persistence mediated the relationship between cognitive flexibility and academic performance. However, a between group difference was observed in this mediation: in addition to the mediation effect observed in both groups, a direct effect was also found in the in-care group. Conclusions These findings highlight the importance of promoting cognitive and task persistence competencies in normative and at-risk populations.

Pain-Related Beliefs, Coping, and Function: An Observational Study on the Moderating Influence of Country of Origin

Chronic pain is a multidimensional experience and pain treatments targeting psychosocial factors reduce pain and improve function. These treatments often overlook the sociocultural factors that influence pain and the psychological factors associated with function in people with chronic pain. Although preliminary findings suggest that cultural background may influence pain and function via their effects on beliefs and coping, no previous study has directly tested if the country of origin moderates the associations between these psychological factors and pain and function. This study sought to address this knowledge gap. Five hundred sixty-one adults with chronic pain, born and living in the USA (n = 273) or Portugal (n = 288), completed measures of pain, function, pain-related beliefs, and coping. Between-country similarities were found in the endorsement of beliefs related to disability, pain control, and emotion, and in asking for assistance, task persistence, and coping self-statement responses. Portuguese participants reported greater endorsement of harm, medication, solicitude, and medical cure beliefs, more frequent use of relaxation and support seeking, and less frequent use of guarding, resting, and exercising/stretching. In both countries, disability and harm beliefs and guarding responses were associated with worse outcomes; pain control and task persistence were associated with better outcomes. Six country-related small effect-size moderation effects emerged, such that task persistence and guarding are stronger predictors of pain and function in adults from the USA, but pain control, disability, emotion, and medication beliefs are more important in adults from Portugal. Some modifications may be needed when adapting multidisciplinary treatments from one country to another. PerspectiveThis article examines the similarities and differences in beliefs and coping endorsed by adults with chronic pain from 2 countries, and the potential moderation effects of country on the associations between these variables and pain and function. The findings suggest that some modifications may be needed when culturally customizing psychological pain treatments.