Rosa Mourão

Homework and academic achievement across Spanish Compulsory Education

Homework (HW) is one of the most common school-related activities among parents, students and teachers. However, the need to assign HW to students has been extensively debated. The present investigation examines the relationship between specific HW variables (i.e. amount of HW completed, time spent on HW and perceived quality of HW time management) and academic achievement, while controlling for students’ gender and grade level. Participants included 454 students (ranging from 10 to 16 years of age) from three schools in northern Spain. A multivariate analyses of variance and path analyses showed that the amount of HW completed decreased with increased schooling, as did students’ perceived quality of HW time management. Data from hierarchical regression analyses completed by path analyses provided evidence that time spent on HW conjointly with perceived quality of HW time management explains how academic achievement is mediated by the amount of HW completed. These findings deepen the understanding of the complex impact of time spent on HW and on academic achievement.

Olhares de género face à matemática:uma investigação no ensino obrigatório espanhol

Looking at Mathematics through gender: a study in Spanish compulsory education. Studying attitudes and their important role in learning Mathematics has been one of the concerns of research over the last fifty years. Nowadays research still deals with attitudes, but a new focus of interest comes to light: studying the differences between male and female attitudes and the reasons for that. Some existing studies state that females perceive themselves as less competent than males do in learning Mathematics but those studies are still not conclusive. Data also suggest that over school years students’ attitudes grow more and more negative. The present study highlights the differences in attitudes towards Mathematics according to gender and school year in the Spanish educational context.

Understanding Gypsy Children's Conceptions of Learning: A Phenomenographic Study.

In Portugal, as in other European countries, gypsy children remain largely at the margins of the educational system. Their underachievement and the associated dropout rates from school are serious educational issues and factors contributing to their marginalization in society. However, there is limited research qualitatively examining the different ways in which gypsy children think about learning. The current study examined data provided by 26 Portuguese gypsy elementary school children ranging from 9- to 13- years-old. Data analysis presented an outcome space representing the gypsy children’s qualitatively different conceptions of learning. Accordingly with their gypsy culture, these Portuguese students perceived their learning of basic numeracy and literacy skills as important for helping their families selling at fairs. These children indicated that they do not intend to continue studying beyond elementary school as they believe that learning of these basic skills is enough for living as a gypsy. The implications for educational processes and school practices are discussed.

Trabalho de casa, auto-eficácia e rendimento em matemática

El Trabajo para Casa (TPC) es una estrategia educativa ampliamente utilizada en las escuelas de muchos paises. El TPC es un proceso complejo afectado por varios factores cognitivos, de motivacion, sociales y contextuales. La investigacion se ha concentrado en el tiempo que se gasta en la realizacion de las tareas de TPC, pese a los resultados de varios estudios y las criticas metodologicas sugerir la necesidad de dirigir la investigacion para otras variables. El objetivo de este estudio es el analisis del poder de prediccion de la auto-eficacia percibida en Matematicas y de tres dimensiones menos examinadas en la literatura del TPC (numero de TPC prescriptos, tasa de completamiento y correccion percibida del TPC) sobre el rendimiento en matematicas, en alumnos portugueses del 5° y 6° grado (10 y 11 anos). Los resultados sugieren que el rendimiento en matematicas se explica, positivamente y significativamente, por las variables elegidas. Las conclusiones sugieren la urgencia en repensar el TPC como una herramienta educativa promotora del exito academico

Homework, self-efficacy and Math achievement

El Trabajo para Casa (TPC) es una estrategia educativa ampliamente utilizada en las escuelas de muchos paises. El TPC es un proceso complejo afectado por varios factores cognitivos, de motivacion, sociales y contextuales. La investigacion se ha concentrado en el tiempo que se gasta en la realizacion de las tareas de TPC, pese a los resultados de varios estudios y las criticas metodologicas sugerir la necesidad de dirigir la investigacion para otras variables. El objetivo de este estudio es el analisis del poder de prediccion de la auto-eficacia percibida en Matematicas y de tres dimensiones menos examinadas en la literatura del TPC (numero de TPC prescriptos, tasa de completamiento y correccion percibida del TPC) sobre el rendimiento en matematicas, en alumnos portugueses del 5° y 6° grado (10 y 11 anos). Los resultados sugieren que el rendimiento en matematicas se explica, positivamente y significativamente, por las variables elegidas. Las conclusiones sugieren la urgencia en repensar el TPC como una herramienta educativa promotora del exito academico

Trabajo para casa, auto-eficacia y rendimiento en matemáticas

El Trabajo para Casa (TPC) es una estrategia educativa ampliamente utilizada en las escuelas de muchos paises. El TPC es un proceso complejo afectado por varios factores cognitivos, de motivacion, sociales y contextuales. La investigacion se ha concentrado en el tiempo que se gasta en la realizacion de las tareas de TPC, pese a los resultados de varios estudios y las criticas metodologicas sugerir la necesidad de dirigir la investigacion para otras variables. El objetivo de este estudio es el analisis del poder de prediccion de la auto-eficacia percibida en Matematicas y de tres dimensiones menos examinadas en la literatura del TPC (numero de TPC prescriptos, tasa de completamiento y correccion percibida del TPC) sobre el rendimiento en matematicas, en alumnos portugueses del 5° y 6° grado (10 y 11 anos). Los resultados sugieren que el rendimiento en matematicas se explica, positivamente y significativamente, por las variables elegidas. Las conclusiones sugieren la urgencia en repensar el TPC como una herramienta educativa promotora del exito academico