Achievement motivation in children

Given the diverse and substantial developmental outcomes associated with low peer acceptance, it is important to research its potential predictors. However, the developmental antecedents are not likely restricted to simple, one-lagged links within the same domain. Rather, peer status may stem from a developmental sequence of effects across several domains, particularly across those that develop at the same time and in the same environment as peer status. A developmental cascade model is best used to capture sequential changes over time, across multiple domains, and during sensitive periods of development Academic motivation and achievement likely exemplify predictors that would affect peer status sequentially over time during the early primary school years. This study examined the developmental cascade of task avoidance, academic achievement, and peer acceptance using a sample of 545 (311 boys, 234 girls) Finnish students in the 1st through 4th grade (M = 7.67, SD = 0.31 years old at the outset).

This study was designed to investigate friend influence on academic
achievement and task avoidance during middle childhood in a sample of 794
participants in 397 stable same-sex friendship dyads (205 girl dyads and 192 boy dyads)
from four municipalities in Finland: two in Central Finland, one in Western Finland,
and one in Eastern Finland. Longitudinal data were collected during the spring of 3rd
grade and 4th grade and reports were available from both members of each friendship
dyad. The Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM; Kenny, Kashy & Cook, 2006)
was used with a single sample of participants to estimate friend influence on academic
achievement and task avoidance between two types of friendship dyads: (1) dyads that
were distinguishable as a function of relative math achievement and relative peer
acceptance and (2) dyads that were indistinguishable as a function of relative math
achievement and relative peer acceptance. The results demonstrate that when friends are distinguished by math achievement the high achiever influences the low achiever’s math achievement, but not the reverse. When friends are distinguishable by peer acceptance the high accepted partner influences the low accepted partner’s math achievement, but not the reverse. When friends are indistinguishable on the basis of math achievement and peer
acceptance there is mutual influence on math achievement. There was no evidence of
friend influence on task avoidance. There was no evidence of friend influence from an
individual’s own task avoidance predicting changes in friend math achievement, except
among dyads that could not be distinguished on the basis of math achievement. Math
achievement predicted within-individual changes in task avoidance for all friendship
dyads, except those that could not be distinguished by relative math achievement.
The findings suggest that friends influence math achievement during middle
childhood. Furthermore, when friends are distinguished, relative math achievement and
peer acceptance determines who is influencing whom within a friendship dyad. The use
of the APIM for distinguishable and indistinguishable dyads on a single sample of
participants illustrates that it is not sufficient to ignore differentiating features between
friends, or to discard friendships that are more similar. Implications for teaching
strategies and classroom interventions are discussed.

The role of affect in children's (Grades 3-8) achievement motivation was assessed using peer-, teacher-, and self-report measures of perceived academic ability, affect, and conduct. Relationships between the measures and three types of achievement test scores were studied by correlational analyses as were associations with grade point average in the 6th-8th grade sample. The hypothesis that peer- and teacher reports of children's ability, affect, and conformity are related to children's achievement was supported and indicated that others' perceptions may be more significant than self-reports in this respect. The independent contribution of children's affect to achievement motivation was demonstrated for older children for the grade point measure. Pervasive gender differences were observed, and implications for future research on self-presentation factors were discussed.

Two studies were conducted in which children's (Grades 3--8) perceptions of classmates' academic performance, school affect, and behavioral conduct were examined in relation to achievement outcomes as measured by standardized achievement test scores in language, mathematics, and science, and school grades in English, mathematics, and science. Study 1 was a longitudinal design and the main research question addressed was whether the way a child's peers perceive him or her with respect to school characteristics would be related to children's academic outcomes concurrently, and one year later. Support was found for several hypotheses advanced. Peers' perceptions were related to children's concurrent achievement test scores and school grades. Peers' perceptions were also generally predictive of the following year's school grades. Domain differences were found in that peers' perceptions of academic performance were more strongly predictive than affect or conduct domain judgments. Peers' perceptions were also more strongly related to school grades than to achievement test scores. The second study continued the examination of peers' perceptions with additional perceptions measured from children's self-judgments and teachers' ratings. In Study 2, the main question explored was whether peers' perceptions of children's academic qualities would be predictive of children's concurrent achievement outcomes beyond children's self-perceptions and teachers' perceptions. Results showed that even after controlling for both self and teacher judgments, peers' perceptions were strongly related to all school grades. Theoretical and practical implications of the research findings were discussed and suggestions for future research were offered.