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Although mindfulness has been suggested as a means to improve athletes' performance, few studies have connected changes in mindfulness with improved performance. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of an exploratory mindfulness intervention (MI) on performance using a mixed methods design. Thirty-four female National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) soccer athletes participated in a 12-week MI. Using the Mindfulness Inventory for Sport, athletic performance and self-perceived ability during the first three games of the season compared to the final three games of the season (August–November 2019) were analyzed using paired t tests. Postintervention focus groups explored athletes' perceptions of the MI on performance. Mindfulness, shots per game, and self-perceived athletic ability increased after the MI. Six themes emerged from the focus groups: awareness, increased focus, letting-go mentality, skill acquisition, self-compassion, and team cohesion. Coaches and sport psychology practitioners may consider implementing similar MI to improve performance and overall athletic experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the role of the digital literacy of Indonesian educators in their competence regarding online course design, in a Distance Education context, at tertiary level. It focuses on the competence of lecturers regarding digital literacy, and self-perceived ability in designing online courses. Lecturers (n = 275) at both public and private universities in Indonesia participated in this study. The developed instrument, measuring seven elements of digital literacy competence, in a teaching and pedagogical framework (Payton and Hague 2010), and six components of effective course design, aimed at achieving desired learning outcomes for students, was adopted from that of Brown and Voltz (2005). The result of Pearson’s correlation testing indicated a strong relationship between two variables r (275) = .765, p .001. The findings also showed that the digital literacy competence of educators had an influence of 58.6% on the quality of online course design, with a significant impact (F(1)=386.358; p=.000). It may therefore be concluded that it is important to upscale the digital literacy competence of lecturers, to promote the quality of online course design, in order to achieve desired learning outcomes. Further studies should particularly consider measuring the impact of online course design on the quality assurance of the course.

Despite high rates of incarceration among parents of school-aged children, few programs designed for these children have been implemented or evaluated within a school-based setting. The current study examined the impact of program participation on school-aged children's self-perceived competency. Participants for this study (N = 75) included elementary school-aged children (50.7% female, 99% African American), M = 8.38 years (SD = 1.56) who were participating in a year-long educational program and support group for children with incarcerated parents at one of three public elementary schools. Children completed either the Harter's Self Perception Profile for Children (grades 3–5) or the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children (grades 1 – 2) at the start (T1) and end (T2) of programming. Paired sample t-tests showed an increase in scores for self-perceived ability at T2 for third through fifth graders, with both higher social competence and academic competence scores. This research provides insight into the benefit of school programming for children with a parent incarcerated and highlights the need for further research on components of self-concept development among this population of children. Highlights: Despite high incarceration rates of parents of school-aged children, few school programs have been implemented or evaluated. Higher social and academic competence scores were reported after program completion. While not significant, younger students had higher scores after program completion. School programs may be a viable intervention avenue for children with incarcerated parents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the promising future of employment opportunities in occupations related to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), women remain underrepresented in some STEM occupational fields. We use data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to study the role of gender differences in achievement and self-perceived ability in math during childhood, along with parental occupation (science-related versus non-science-related jobs), in the subsequent decision of majoring in science in college. Our findings suggest a loss in STEM enrollment by otherwise qualified young women and highlight the potential importance of parental occupation in STEM in encouraging women's participation in certain STEM fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescents face many barriers on the path towards a STEM profession, especially girls. We examine the gender stereotypes, cognitive abilities, self-perceived ability and intrinsic values of 546 Russian school children from 12 to 17 years old by sex and STEM preferences. In our sample, STEM students compared to no-STEM have higher cognitive abilities, intrinsic motivation towards math and science, are more confident in their math abilities and perceive math as being easier. Boys scored higher in science, math and overall academic self-efficacy, intrinsic learning motivation and math's importance for future careers. Meanwhile, girls displayed higher levels of gender stereotypes related to STEM and lower self-efficacy in math. A network analysis was conducted to identify the structure of psychological traits and the position of the stem-related stereotypes among them. The analysis arrived at substantially different results when adolescents were grouped by sex or preference towards STEM. It also demonstrated that gender stereotypes are connected with cognitive abilities, with a stronger link in the no-STEM group. Such stereotypes play a more important role for girls than boys and, jointly with the general self-efficacy of cognitive and academic abilities, are associated with the factors that distinguish groups of adolescents in their future careers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Narcissists are assumed to lack the motivation and ability to share and understand the mental states of others. Prior empirical research, however, has yielded inconclusive findings and has differed with respect to the specific aspects of narcissism and socioemotional cognition that have been examined. Here, we propose a differentiated facet approach that can be applied across research traditions and that distinguishes between facets of narcissism (agentic vs. antagonistic) on the one hand, and facets of socioemotional cognition ability (SECA; self-perceived vs. actual) on the other. Using five nonclinical samples in two studies (total 'N' = 602), we investigated the effect of facets of grandiose narcissism on aspects of socioemotional cognition across measures of affective and cognitive empathy, Theory of Mind, and emotional intelligence, while also controlling for general reasoning ability. Across both studies, agentic facets of narcissism were found to be positively related to perceived SECA, whereas antagonistic facets of narcissism were found to be negatively related to perceived SECA. However, both narcissism facets were negatively related to actual SECA. Exploratory condition-based regression analyses further showed that agentic narcissists had a higher directed discrepancy between perceived and actual SECA: They self-enhanced their socio-emotional capacities. Implications of these results for the multifaceted theoretical understanding of the narcissism-SECA link are discussed.

Little is known about why people differ in their levels of academic motivation. This study explored the etiology of individual differences in enjoyment and self-perceived ability for several school subjects in nearly 13,000 twins aged 9–16 from 6 countries. The results showed a striking consistency across ages, school subjects, and cultures. Contrary to common belief, enjoyment of learning and children’s perceptions of their competence were no less heritable than cognitive ability. Genetic factors explained approximately 40% of the variance and all of the observed twins’ similarity in academic motivation. Shared environmental factors, such as home or classroom, did not contribute to the twin’s similarity in academic motivation. Environmental influences stemmed entirely from individual specific experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While previous studies demonstrated the existence of a ‘gender gap’, according to which girls outperform boys in their scholastic achievement, the reason for these differences is yet unclear. We used structural equation analyses and multiple-group comparisons to determine sex-specific influences of self-reported motivational variables (domain-specific self-perceived abilities, fear of failure) on teacher-reported mid-term school grades of 140 boys ( M age = 10.9) and 185 girls ( M age = 10.8) from Germany. Our results suggest that the gender gap derives at least partly from sex differences in the contribution of these motivational variables to children's performance in school: Regarding German, girls' level of self-perceived abilities was higher and also more relevant for their performance. Moreover, higher levels of fear of failure led to worse Math grades only for girls, suggesting the presence of gender-stereotypic beliefs. Further research should investigate the impact of additional constructs, e.g., gender-stereotype awareness, self-regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher education is undergoing generational transformation, as universities adapt to the needs of a 21st century workforce. This study investigated student perspectives of a work-integrated learning (WIL) placement program, firstly in relation to its longer-term worth since they had completed it, and secondly, with respect to its value regarding course relatedness and in enhancing their employability and/or workplace readiness. Participants answered a series of learning and career related questions, both immediately post-placement and six or more months later. Of three learning-related questions, students were generally positive about one and strongly endorsed the other two. Contrastingly, over time, students downplayed the initial value of their WIL with respect to the knowledge gained being relevant to their future careers. Students were in moderate to strong agreement with other career-related questions, notwithstanding concerns about their future employability. Implementation of a work skills development program is recommended to maximize the effectiveness of WIL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The present study investigated the roles of cognitive (working memory, intelligence) and motivational variables (self-perceived ability, intrinsic value) in explaining school achievement. The sample consisted of N =320 German elementary school children in the fourth grade. Working memory and intelligence were assessed in the classroom. Questionnaires including the motivational items were answered at home. Teachers provided midterm and endterm grades for the domains of German and Math. Using structural equation modeling, our main results indicated that across domains, both cognitive and motivational predictors explained substantial amounts of specific variance in school grades. The findings are, however, to some degree domain-specific in that cognitive variables were stronger predictors of Math (COG: β=.59; MOT: β=.41), whereas for German, motivational influences turned out to be better predictors (COG: β=.34; MOT: β=.67). Together, cognitive ability (including both WM and intelligence) and motivation (including self-perceived ability and intrinsic value) explained 75% and 71% of the variance in children's German and Math grades, respectively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The present study had two aims: First, to investigate the joint and specific roles of working memory (WM) and intelligence as predictors of school achievement. And second, to replicate and extend earlier findings (Spinath, Spinath, Harlaar, & Plomin, 2006) on the incremental validity of non-cognitive over cognitive abilities in the prediction of school achievement. The present sample consisted of N=179 Chinese primary school children in the fourth grade. All measures including working memory (WM), intelligence and motivational items were assessed in class. Teachers provided test scores for the domains of Chinese and Math. We found that WM was a good predictor of school achievement and comparable in predictive power to intelligence. Together, cognitive ability including both WM and intelligence explained 17.8% and 36.4% of the variance in children''s Chinese and Math scores, respectively. The relative importance of WM and intelligence varied with school domains with greater predictive power of WM for Math while intelligence explained a greater proportion of the variance in Chinese although the magnitude of this difference was only moderate. Domain-specific motivational constructs contributed only marginally to the prediction of school achievement for both Chinese and Math. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]