Abstract

1. Introduction

2. Material and methods

3. Results

4. Discussion

5. Conclusions

Ethical approval

Acknowledgements

References

Abstract

     Mental health problems are associated with a greater risk of being Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET) during young adulthood. Yet evidence on the extent to which self-reported mental health problems precede males’ and females’ NEET status and on the potential pathways linking mental health problems to NEET is lacking. This study examines the longitudinal associations that internalising and externalising problems during adolescence share with the risk of being NEET in young adulthood, with a focus on the mediating role of school performance. Data comes from a representative sample of 4,452 Swedish youth (51% females) who provided information on internalising and externalising problems at age 14–15 years. Information on secondary school grades (age 15–16 years), completion of upper secondary school (age 20–21 years) and NEET status at 21–22 years were drawn from administrative registers. Overall, 6% of participants were NEET at 21–22 years of age and rates were higher for those who had internalising and externalising problems at age 14–15 years. A series of gender-stratified multivariate regression models showed that for both genders, greater internalising and externalising problems predicted lower school grades and a reduced likelihood of upper secondary school completion. However, externalising problems were associated with an increased risk of being NEET for males, while internalising problems were associated with a higher likelihood of being NEET for females. The effects of externalising and internalising problems for males and females, respectively, were partially mediated by school performance. The findings indicate that mental health problems in adolescence are associated with exclusion from the labour market and education in early adulthood, but that internalising and externalising problems represent different risks for males and females. Furthermore, school performance in comprehensive and upper secondary school helps explain links between mental health problems and subsequent NEET status.

Introduction

     Young adulthood is a pivotal phase of life characterised by major transitions as youth enter adulthood through various education and employment pathways. A concerning number of young adults are Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET), with an OECD average of 15% among 20- to 24-year-olds in 2019 (varying between 6 and 33% across countries) (OECD, 2020a). Many young adults who are NEET are struggling to transition to employment or further education beyond secondary school and are at increased risk of ongoing difficulties in adulthood (Bäckman & Nilsson, 2016; InternationalLabourOffice, 2015; Ralston et al., 2016). Numerous studies show that NEET youth are more likely to have concurrent mental health problems than youth who are studying or working (e.g., Gariépy & Iyer, 2019; Goldman-Mellor et al., 2016; Henderson et al., 2017). However, the extent to which mental health problems precede NEET status, and the types of mental health problems that present most risk among males and females remains unclear.

Conclusions

     The current study illustrates how mental health problems during adolescence may interfere with youth’s educational transitions and pathways to secure positions on the labour market. Internalising and externalising problems in adolescence are associated with a greater likelihood of being NEET in the post-secondary school years but with different risks for males and females. Internalising and externalising problems are also associated with proximal (grades) and distal (attainment) school outcomes that can limit youth’s future opportunities. To help increase youth’s chances of favourable educational and labour-market trajectories, adolescents with mental health problems should be provided support to strengthen their comprehensive school grades and subsequent ability to complete upper secondary school. Although school performance is an important explanatory mechanism, it does not however exhaustively explain how mental health problems contribute to exclusion from education and employment in early adulthood.

1- Introduction

2- Social networks, social capital, social support and higher education outcomes

3- Method

4- Description of the studies included in the review and major themes

5- Relationship between social networks, social capital, social support and academic achievement in higher education

6- Conclusion and discussion

References

Abstract

Widening higher education participation has resulted in efforts directed towards increasing higher education access. However, inequality in higher education completion continues to exist. Social factors have been found to play an important role in academic achievement. Given the role of social factors, this article examines the academic outcomes of students from a social network, social capital, and social support perspective with a special focus on underrepresented groups in higher education. The article is based on a systematic review of literature where evidence shows that the networks of students including their family, ethnic and religious affiliations, friends, and faculty play a role in academic success. The article details a framework describing how network members of underrepresented groups complement each other with regard to resources offered and contribute to academic success.

Introduction

Widening higher education participation has gained increased political focus globally in recent years, resulting in efforts directed towards expanding higher education access (Marginson, 2016; Osborne, 2003). Indeed, these political reforms have resulted in an increase in the number and diversity of students entering higher education. For instance, in the last ten years, the enrolment of students aged 25–34 years in tertiary education has increased in all OECD countries, with some countries e.g., Australia, Czech Republic, Greece, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland even reporting an increase of over 10% (OECD, 2018). Furthermore, previously underrepresented groups such as students from low social background are now increasingly becoming a part of the higher education system. Nonetheless, disparities in education achievement continue to exist as increased participation within these groups alone cannot guarantee academic success (Crozier, Reay, Clayton, Collinader, & Grinstead, 2008; Marginson, 2016). It is observed that first-generation learners (Müller & Schneider, 2013; OECD, 2018), those with migration background (Ebert & Heublein, 2017) are still at-risk of dropping out of university without obtaining a degree. The achievement gap between students from high and low socio-economic backgrounds can be attributed partly to the differences in family’s resources vis-à-vis finances, academic guidance or information, parental involvement or language skills (Willingham, 2012). Alongside family members, the role of peers and support groups at university also influence academic outcomes. Hossler, Schmidt, and Vesper (1999) highlight the importance of peer support in improving understanding of course materials and clarifying difficult concepts (Gallop & Bastien, 2016). Peer support and networks also determine student’s integration and acceptance in higher education institutions which subsequently affects retention and success (Gallop & Bastien, 2016; Nagasawa & Wong, 1999).

1- Personality and cognitive ability as predictors of STEM performance in a Hispanic serving institution

2- Method

3- Results

4- Discussion

References

Abstract

The present study examined the Big Five factor model of personality and cognitive ability as predictors of academic performance in a sample of non-traditional student STEM majors (n = 342) at a Hispanic-serving two-year college in the United States. Cognitive ability, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness significantly predicted academic performance; however, main effects of Conscientiousness and Agreeableness were no longer significant after accounting for the interaction of Agreeableness with cognitive ability. Specifically, a significant interaction was observed on Agreeableness for individuals with higher cognitive ability (+1 SD). Findings indicate non-traditional STEM students high in cognitive ability may be influenced negatively in academic performance if they possess the trait of Agreeableness. This finding has implications for how personality moderates student academic performance within a non-traditional population quite differently from findings in other studies that have examined more traditional college-going students. Consequently, the present study suggests the interrelationship between Agreeableness and cognitive ability may be an important feature to consider in future work for two-year colleges attempting to retain and support non-traditional students in pursuit of STEM careers, which is particularly notable given the findings center around those with higher ability.

Personality and cognitive ability as predictors of STEM performance in a Hispanic serving institution

Postsecondary student enrollment, retention, and success in academic performance in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields is a significant concern for colleges and universities across the United States. Hispanic serving institutions (HSIs) consistently have lower enrollment, higher attrition, and lower success rates in STEM (Garcia & Hurtado, 2011; NSF, 2015). At the twoyear college level 37.9% of Hispanic students enrolling in a STEM associate’s degree program changed their major to a non-science field from 2003 to 2009, with 39.9% of Hispanic community college STEM students leaving postsecondary education altogether (Chen & Soldner, 2013). Moreover, the problem of student retention and performance in two-year colleges is amplified by academic deficiencies of students, since two-year colleges are mandated to accept virtually anyone desiring an education (Bettinger & Long, 2009). Two-year institutions do not rely on standardized test scores or high school GPA to select students they believe will be successful. Instead, two-year college HSIs must implement and rely on mechanisms that support all incoming students despite academic shortcomings in order to retain and graduate as many students as possible in STEM programs. This is necessary to make STEM programs viable and increase access to an underserved population. For administrators and counselors at twoyear HSIs, scrutinizing the target population for individual differences as antecedent indicators of obstacles in recruitment, retention, and student performance has become fundamental (Alfonso, 2006). Traditionally, student performance in STEM has been related to and partially explained by the following three factors: demographics (Crisp, Nora, & Taggart, 2009), traditional pre-college variables (e.g., high school GPA, SAT, and ACT scores; Kaufman, Agars, & Lopez-Wagner, 2007), and math ability (Crisp et al., 2009; Kokkelenberg & Sinha, 2010; Nicholls, Wolfe, Besterfield-Sacre, & Shuman, 2010; Rohr, 2012). However, additional research has shown that in traditional student populations individual differences in personality traits, specifically the Big Five (Kaufman et al., 2007; McAbee & Oswald, 2013; Vedel, Thomsen, & Larsen, 2015), and cognitive ability are related to student performance at the university level (Ackerman, Kanfer, & Calderwood, 2013; Di Fabio & Palazzeschi, 2009; Robbins et al., 2004). Accordingly, investigating traits that have been shown to be related to STEM performance and retention may prove useful for two-year HSIs that do not have the luxury of setting cut-off scores on traditional pre-college readiness assessments (e.g., SAT and high school GPA) to improve institutional rates of student performance.

1- Introduction

2- The present study

3- Method

4- Results

5- Discussion

6- Declarations of interest

References

Abstract

Motivation predicts academic achievement beyond cognitive ability. Expectancy value theory (Eccles et al., 1983) is a widely accepted and powerful approach explaining academic achievement as well as educational choices and attainment. Recently, attention to the multiplicative term of expectancy and value beliefs has increased. Trautwein et al. (2012) reported a detrimental effect of high task value when expectancy beliefs were low. We aimed to replicate and extend their study by using a large, representative sample of students attending upper secondary school in the German federal state Schleswig-Holstein (N = 3367). Following Trautwein et al. (2012), we applied latent interaction modelling to test whether the predictive value of expectancy value interactions differs for grades, final examinations, and standardized test scores as measures of achievement in two domains. We took the multi-dimensional structure of task value into consideration, analyzing the four components (attainment, intrinsic value, utility and cost) separately. Both a verbal and a non-verbal domain (English as a foreign language and mathematics) were investigated. Overall, the results supported those of Trautwein et al. (2012). However, our findings suggested measure- and domain-specific differences when using expectancy value beliefs and their interactions to predict academic achievement. Interaction terms predicted final examination results in both English and mathematics. Further, interaction effects were significant for grades in English but not mathematics. In general, effect sizes of multiplicative terms were small, especially in contrast to expectancy beliefs. Findings are discussed regarding the practical and conceptual importance of the multiplicative term in expectancy value theory applied in an educational setting.

Introduction

Individual differences in cognitive ability predict educational attainment and achievement (Deary, Strand, Smith, & Fernandes, 2007; Kuncel, Hezlett, & Ones, 2004; Rohde & Thompson, 2007). However, psychological constructs capturing individual differences in motivation (e.g., motivation, interest, and self-concept) have been shown to explain an additional amount of variance in these outcomes (ChamorroPremuzic, Harlaar, Greven, & Plomin, 2010; Duckworth & Seligman, 2005; Kuncel, Ones, & Sackett, 2010; Steinmayr & Spinath, 2009). One of the most influential frameworks to conceptualize achievement motivation is expectancy value theory (EVT; Eccles, 2009; Eccles et al., 1983; Wigfield & Eccles, 2000; Atkinson, 1957; for reviews, see Eccles & Wigfield, 2002; Wigfield & Eccles, 2000). According to expectancy value theory, achievement motivation depends on two elements: (a) expectancy of success as students’ beliefs of how well they will do on the activity, and (b) value beliefs describing the extent to which students’ value the activity (Eccles et al., 1983; Wigfield & Eccles, 1992; Wigfield, 1994). In other words, a person who beliefs a successful result when engaging in the task is possible, but does not have a compelling reason to do so will refrain from putting in a great deal of effort. Vice versa, if the task is important but is viewed as unlikely to be accomplished, the person might choose to engage in another task with higher expectancy of success. Value beliefs can be further differentiated into four subcomponents: cost, attainment value, intrinsic value, and utility value (see Eccles et al., 1983; Wigfield & Eccles, 1992; Trautwein et al., 2012). EVT has been shown to explain students’ effort (e.g., Dietrich, Viljaranta, Moeller, & Kracke, 2017), choices (e.g., Updegraff, Eccles, Barber, & O’Brien, 1996; Nagy, Trautwein, Baumert, Köller, & Garrett, 2007; Eccles & Wang, 2015), and achievement in a variety of contexts, including academic achievement on different educational levels (e.g., Denissen, Zarrett, & Eccles, 2007). Despite their clear theoretical distinction, expectancy and value beliefs are strongly correlated empirically.

مقاله سال 2016

A core axiom of educational systems is that school prepares youth for their future life, which includes preparation for their career. School represents the main “job” adolescents have, and it is a long-term protective environment for personal and vocational development. Hence, education can be viewed as a form of social capital (Coleman, 1988), as it guides the acquisition and improvement of strategies to approach authority figures (e.g., teachers) and learning tasks, gradually crafting adolescents’ life pursuits, learning patterns, and identities. As youth spend increasingly longer time in the educational system, their career goals become closely intertwined with their educational goals (Heckhausen & Tomasik, 2002; Negru, 2012; Negru, Pop, & Opre, 2013). One of the main educational goals is academic achievement. Academic achievement is a multidimensional construct (Stipek & Weisz, 1981), most often operationalized through the grades adolescents receive in school, more specifically their Grand Point Average or GPA (Poropat, 2009). Academic achievement has a strong influence on the occupational paths students take as they make the transition to adulthood (Schnabel, Alfeld, Eccles, Köller, & Baumert, 2002; Strenze, 2007) and it directly impacts their motivation and global learning strategies (Richardson, Abraham, & Bond, 2012). Accordingly, it is reasonable to assume that adolescents’ readiness and resources in approaching career issues (i.e., their career adaptability, Savickas, 2013) are also linked to their level of academic achievement. To date, more longitudinal proof for these relations is needed, in order to provide an in-depth understanding of how career adaptability is associated with academic achievement across time. To approach this shortcoming, we investigated the cross-lagged associations between academic achievement and career adaptability in a three-wave longitudinal study, including the moderating role of adolescents’ gender, type of schooling, and age.