Francisco Pérez-González

Assessing Time Management Skills as an Important Aspect of Student Learning: The Construction and Evaluation of a Time Management Scale with Spanish High School Students

The main purpose of this study is to analyse the factorial structure, psychometric properties and predictive capacity for academic achievement of a scale designed to evaluate the time management skills of Spanish high school students. An adaptation of the Time Management Questionnaire was presented to two samples of 350 Spanish high school students. Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis results from the two samples shows an adequate fit of a three-factor oblique model, as well as its superior explanatory capacity compared to other competitive models considered. This model basically reproduces the structure of the original scale, integrating the subscales on short-range planning, long-range planning, and time attitudes. The psychometric properties of the three subscales also reach satisfactory values. Finally, the predictive capacity of time management skills on academic achievement is examined, especially regarding the scale on Long-range planning. The results are discussed with regard to the prior study on the topic and their instructional repercussions.

Assessment preferences of preservice teachers: analysis according to academic level and relationship with learning styles and motivational orientation

This study analyze the preferences of preservice teachers about different assessment procedures, and the relationship of these preferences with the students’ academic levels, learning styles and motivational orientations. The participants were 248 students in the Teaching degree program (124 first-year students and 124 in their third-year). The results confirmed that the preferences were structured on the basis of two orthogonal dimensions (preferences for conventional and non-conventional methods). There is also a sharp reduction in preferences for conventional procedures depending on the academic level considered, while a slight increase is observed in preferences for non-conventional ones. The preference for non-conventional procedures is associated with a deep learning style, methodical study, and elaborative learning, as well as an intrinsic orientation toward learning, the task value, and academic self-efficacy. Preference for conventional procedures is associated with elaborative processing, an extrinsic orientation toward learning, the task value, and an internal locus of control.

The process of identifying gifted children in elementary education: Teachers’ evaluations of creativity

This study describes the importance of creativity in the identification of gifted elementary-aged children and presents the process of validating a scale for rating the creativity of the students through the teachers’ responses. The results show the instrument’s unifactorial structure, satisfactory levels of internal consistency, as well as convergent and discriminant validity. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for the work of school psychologists.

Social interaction learning strategies, motivation, first-year students’ experiences and permanence in university studies*

Abstract Applying a structural equations modelling methodology, the study analyses the relationships and effects of self-regulated learning (social interaction learning strategies and motivation) and first-year university experiences on permanence in the sophomore year. The participants are 239 first-year students in different Engineering degrees at a public university in south-eastern Spain. Two alternative structural models are evaluated, showing the superiority of the model where first-year university experiences completely mediate the effects of self-regulated learning on permanence. Motivation and social interaction learning strategies show direct effects on first-year university experiences, and first-year university experiences, in turn, show direct effects on permanence; additionally, both motivation and social interaction learning strategies have indirect effects on permanence via first-year university experiences. The noteworthy theoretical implications of the results are discussed, as well as the teaching methodology and support services provided to first-year university students.

Factorial Structure and Psychometric Properties of the Time Management Behavior Scale (TMBS) in Colombian College Students

The factorial structure of the Time Management Behavior Scale (TMBS) was investigated in Colombian college students. Time management is an important predictor of the academic achievements and is key in reducing college desertion. 494 first year students from nine different programs and two universities in Bogotá city participated. A multidimensional structure of four sub scales that explain 42.68% of the variance was verified. Indexes of internal consistency above 0.7 in three factors and a global reliability of 0.84 were obtained. In accordance with previous research, women obtain higher scores against men in two of the obtained sub scales, and the students of Education programs score better in “Perception of time control” than engineering students. The results obtained in Colombia are compared with the North American and Spanish test.

The Schoolwork Engagement Inventory: Factorial Structure, Measurement Invariance by Gender and Educational Level, and Convergent Validity in Secondary Education (12-18 Years)

This study analyzes the dimensionality, reliability, metric invariance, and convergent validity of the Schoolwork Engagement Inventory (SEI) in secondary education. Participants in the study were 679 students in compulsory and post-compulsory secondary education in a large city in Eastern Spain during the 2014-2015 academic year. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) showed that the one-factor model of the SEI is superior to the other alternative models considered, providing an overall schoolwork engagement score in this educational stage. Reliability was also adequate and the instrument was found to be invariant by gender and educational level. Latent mean comparisons revealed a significant decline in schoolwork engagement throughout secondary compulsory education, and returning to higher levels in post-compulsory secondary education. A CFA also showed SEI’s convergent validity with self-regulated learning, given its direct relationship with metacognitive strategies and self-efficacy for learning, and its inverse relationship with test anxiety.

Development and Validation of the Questionnaire of Academic Stress in Secondary Education: Structure, Reliability and Nomological Validity

This study presents the validation process of the Questionnaire on Academic Stress in Secondary Education (QASSE) designed to assess the wide variety of school sources and situations related to academic stress in adolescence, and their relationship with students’ physical and psychological well-being. The participants were 860 Spanish high school students (52.9% girls) with an average age of 14.62 years (SD = 1.8). Through a cross-validation process, results supported the QASSE multifactorial structure with four first-order factors—academic overload, interaction with classmates, family pressure, and future-oriented perspective—and a second-order factor of academic stress, showing a significant and intense relationship with adolescents’ psychological and physical well-being. Results also highlight the effects of the gender and educational level interaction on the students’ stress, with girls showing higher levels of stress in the transition courses between educational phases (sophomore and junior years). The QASSE demonstrates good validity and reliability, showing potential for both research and educational application. The results show the high impact of the QASSE dimensions on psychological and physical well-being in adolescence, highlighting its special usefulness for designing and adjusting educational prevention and intervention actions in this area to the students’ specific characteristics and needs.