Janine Bempechat

Cross-National Differences in Academic Achievement: Beyond Etic Conceptions of Children's Understandings

This article reviews theory and research on cross-national (Asian vs. American) differences in academic achievement, and shows that current research: (a) has made claims about achievement motivation with little regard for contemporary theory, and (b) has formed broad assumptions about the influence of culture, while paying cursory attention to the cultural contexts of learning. These difficulties cast doubt on the validity of the accumulated findings, and their practical application in the classroom. We argue that researchers need to integrate the social cognitive approach to achievement motivation–with its focus on beliefs about learning–with principles of cultural psychology–with their focus on culture and context. Further, we stress that qualitative methodologies, emphasizing meaning-making in context, can illuminate the deeper meanings that children and parents attach to school experiences. This will enable us to build grounded theory, and help us seek deeper understandings of similarities and differences within and across cultures.

The Socialization of Achievement in Poor and Minority Students A Comparative Study

Ethnic similarities and differences in children’s perceptions of their parents’ educational socialization practices and attributions for success and failure, and the impact of these variables on mathematics achievement, were examined in a sample of 591 poor African American, Latino, Indo-Chinese, and Caucasian fifth and sixth graders. Students completed the Educational Socialization Scale (ESS), the Sydney Attribution Scale (SAS), and the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT) in math. Results revealed distinct ethnic differences in perceptions of educational socialization and attributions. However, the factors that distinguished the groups were not the ones that predicted higher mathematics achievement. Rather, the authors found evidence for the notion that higher achievement is predicted by both cultural universals as well as cultural specifics. Findings are discussed in terms of the culture and contexts of achievement.

Personality correlates of career choice in the Kibbutz: A comparison between career and noncareer women

The study compared Kibbutz career women (who studied beyond high school and worked in their profession) to Kibbutz noncareer women (who did not study beyond high school and worked in various nonprofessional jobs such as the laundry, the kitchen, and child care) on several personality characteristics. All subjects were nonorthodox Jewish women who were born and raised in the Kibbutz. The two groups completed a variety of self-report inventories, including the Bem Sex-Role Orientation Inventory, need for achievement inventory, two self-esteem scales that measured both the global self-esteem and various dimensions of self-esteem (academic, social, physical appearance, physical abilities, and self-regard) and Cattells Clinical Analysis Questionnaire (CAQ), which is a short version of Cattells 16 Personality Factors Test. The results showed that Kibbutz career women differed significantly from noncareer women on several personality characteristics. These women attributed to themselves more instrumental characteristics, were found to be more independent and emotionally stable, and had a higher need for achievement and a higher academic and social self-esteem. In addition, the division of household work was more egalitarian in the case of career women. The results are discussed in view of the fact that all of the career women were actually holding traditionally “feminine” positions such as teachers and social workers.

Children's need for approval and achievement motivation: an interactional approach

This study examined the effects of childrens need for approval (nApp) and a situational variable‐frequency of expectancy statements‐on childrens achievement cognitions and behaviour. We replicated the Dweck and Gilliard (1975) paradigm, but also mea sured childrens nApp. Ninety fifth grade boys and girls stated expectancies either prior to each trial, prior to the first and last trials, or prior to the last trial only. We found that although high and low nApp children lowered their expectancies after failure, high nApp children lowered them less than low nApp children. In contrast, persistence was influenced only by the frequency of expectancy statements and not by childrens nApp. The results are discussed in the context of the interactional point of view in personality psychology.