Thérèse Bouffard

Intellectual impairment in school-age children exposed to manganese from drinking water.

Background Manganese is an essential nutrient, but in excess it can be a potent neurotoxicant. Despite the common occurrence of manganese in groundwater, the risks associated with this source of exposure are largely unknown. Objectives Our first aim was to assess the relations between exposure to manganese from drinking water and children’s intelligence quotient (IQ). Second, we examined the relations between manganese exposures from water consumption and from the diet with children’s hair manganese concentration. Methods This cross-sectional study included 362 children 6–13 years of age living in communities supplied by groundwater. Manganese concentration was measured in home tap water (MnW) and children’s hair (MnH). We estimated manganese intake from water ingestion and the diet using a food frequency questionnaire and assessed IQ with the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence. Results The median MnW in children’s home tap water was 34 μg/L (range, 1–2,700 μg/L). MnH increased with manganese intake from water consumption, but not with dietary manganese intake. Higher MnW and MnH were significantly associated with lower IQ scores. A 10-fold increase in MnW was associated with a decrease of 2.4 IQ points (95% confidence interval: −3.9 to −0.9; p < 0.01), adjusting for maternal intelligence, family income, and other potential confounders. There was a 6.2-point difference in IQ between children in the lowest and highest MnW quintiles. MnW was more strongly associated with Performance IQ than Verbal IQ. Conclusions The findings of this cross-sectional study suggest that exposure to manganese at levels common in groundwater is associated with intellectual impairment in children.

Changes in self-perceptions of competence and intrinsic motivation among elementary schoolchildren

BACKGROUND Childrens perceived competence and intrinsic motivation are assumed to be very high at the outset of schooling. However, how they change and how they relate to each other and to academic achievement across early schooling years remain open to question. AIMS This 3-year longitudinal study was aimed at examining the following questions. Do childrens perceived competence and intrinsic motivation about reading and mathematics change across the first 3 years of schooling? Do their perceived competence and intrinsic motivation differ according to academic domains? Do their perceived competence and intrinsic motivation relate to their academic achievement in each academic domain? SAMPLE A total of 115 elementary schoolchildren (63 boys and 52 girls) were examined in first grade (mean age = 84,5 months, SD =.67) and for the next 2 years. METHOD Children responded to questionnaires about their perceived competence and intrinsic motivation in reading and mathematics. Year-end grades in these two subjects were used as a measure of performance. RESULTS Changes in perceived competence and intrinsic motivation, and between-year intercorrelations, were observed to differ according to academic domains and gender. Intrinsic motivation did not make a significant contribution to academic achievement at either school grade or in any academic domain, whereas perceived competence was significantly related to achievement at each school grade in both reading and mathematics. CONCLUSIONS Differences between boys and girls observed in this study were not linked to a specific domain and cannot be attributed to gender-role stereotypes. Girls appeared to be more precocious in differentiating their competence and intrinsic motivation according to academic domain, as well as in being able to process and integrate information about their ability from past performances in a domain to judge their competence in the same domain.

Neurobehavioral function in school-age children exposed to manganese in drinking water.

Background: Manganese neurotoxicity is well documented in individuals occupationally exposed to airborne particulates, but few data are available on risks from drinking-water exposure. Objective: We examined associations of exposure from concentrations of manganese in water and hair with memory, attention, motor function, and parent- and teacher-reported hyperactive behaviors. Methods: We recruited 375 children and measured manganese in home tap water (MnW) and hair (MnH). We estimated manganese intake from water ingestion. Using structural equation modeling, we estimated associations between neurobehavioral functions and MnH, MnW, and manganese intake from water. We evaluated exposure–response relationships using generalized additive models. Results: After adjusting for potential confounders, a 1-SD increase in log10 MnH was associated with a significant difference of –24% (95% CI: –36, –12%) SD in memory and –25% (95% CI: –41, –9%) SD in attention. The relations between log10 MnH and poorer memory and attention were linear. A 1-SD increase in log10 MnW was associated with a significant difference of –14% (95% CI: –24, –4%) SD in memory, and this relation was nonlinear, with a steeper decline in performance at MnW > 100 μg/L. A 1-SD increase in log10 manganese intake from water was associated with a significant difference of –11% (95% CI: –21, –0.4%) SD in motor function. The relation between log10 manganese intake and poorer motor function was linear. There was no significant association between manganese exposure and hyperactivity. Conclusion: Exposure to manganese in water was associated with poorer neurobehavioral performances in children, even at low levels commonly encountered in North America. Citation: Oulhote Y, Mergler D, Barbeau B, Bellinger DC, Bouffard T, Brodeur ME, Saint-Amour D, Legrand M, Sauvé S, Bouchard MF. 2014. Neurobehavioral function in school-age children exposed to manganese in drinking water. Environ Health Perspect 122:1343–1350; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1307918

What Makes a Good Writer? Differences in Good and Poor Writers' Self-Regulation of Writing.

What makes someone a good writer? To begin to answer this question, we compared the discourse knowledge and self-regulation of good and poor writers, as well as the quality and length of their final texts. Forty-eight junior-college students were given 50 minutes to write a text comparing Montreal (where they went to school) to another city of their choice. Results showed that poor writers were no more linear than good writers, and no less actively self-regulated their writing. However, good writers waited longer before beginning to write, and wrote texts that were more specifically comparative than did poor writers. Good writers also introduced fewer errors into their texts, more accurately evaluated the structure of their text, and produced longer texts of better quality.

Students’ transition from elementary to high school and changes of the relationship between motivation and academic performance

Abstract336 students, 186 girls and 150 boys were met at the end of the school year, both at grade six and at Secondary one, in order to examine the impact of the transition from elementary to secondary school on various motivational variables. Analyses showed changes in self-efficacy beliefs and learning goals, whatever students’ level of achievement and gender. However, self-efficacy beliefs appeared as the most powerful predictor of academic performance at both school levels. In addition, the pattern of relations between academic performance and the variables examined was relatively similar at both times of measurement. The discussion focuses on changes in self-efficacy beliefs and learning goals and on their relations to academic performance.Résumé336 élèves, 186 filles et 150 garçons, ont été rencontrés une première fois en sixième année du primaire et une seconde fois vers la même période l’année suivante, en première année du secondaire afin d’examiner l’impact du passage au secondaire sur leur motivation. Les analyses montrent que peu importe leur niveau de rendement antérieur et leur sexe, tous les élèves présentent des modifications de leur sentiment d’auto-efficacité et des buts d’apprentissage qu’ils poursuivent suite à leur passage au secondaire. Cependant, aux deux temps de mesure, le sentiment d’auto-efficacité relatif à la matière est la variable qui contribue le plus à la variance totale observée dans le rendement dans la matière, et le patron des relations entre les variables et le rendement scolaire diffère peu. La discussion met l’accent sur les changements observés dans le sentiment d’auto-efficacité et les buts d’apprentissage et sur leurs rapports avec le rendement scolaire.

Coeducational or Single-Sex School: Does It Make a Difference on High School Girls' Academic Motivation?.

The aim of the present study was to further examine the impact over time of single‐sex and coeducational school environments on girls’ motivation in language arts and mathematics. Two cohorts comprising 340 girls (7th to 9th grade; 9th to 11th grade) from eight coeducational and two single‐sex schools were followed during a period of three academic years in a longitudinal research scheme. Data were collected with a self‐reported questionnaire including several scales: parental and teachers’ support, competence beliefs, utility‐value and achievement goals. In general, mixed‐design repeated measures analyses of variance indicated no effect of the environment or of the interaction between environment and time of measurement. Significant time effects on several variables indicated a general decline of achievement motivation over time. Consequently, the multiplication of non‐mixed high schools, as proposed by some, would constitute an expensive and inefficient social policy, as far as girls’ motivation is concerned.

The illusion of scholastic incompetence and peer acceptance in primary school

This paper reports results from two studies aimed at examining whether perception of social acceptance and actual social acceptance differ according to the presence of an illusion of scholastic incompetence. Results of both studies conducted in Belgium and in Quebec (respectively 179 and 543 participants) show that children’s illusion of scholastic incompetence is linked to a negative perception of social acceptance. However, according to the evaluation by peers, social acceptance of those children is similar to the others. This suggests a generalization of the negative bias of self-evaluation to both academic and social domains. The discussion proposes further variables that could improve the understanding of the origin of the illusion of incompetence.RésuméCet article rapporte les résultats de deux études visant à examiner si le sentiment d’acceptation par le groupe des pairs et l’acceptation réelle par ces derniers diffèrent selon que les élèves présentent un problème d’illusion d’incompétence scolaire. Autant dans l’étude réalisée en Belgique que dans celle faite au Québec (respectivement 179 et 543 participants), les résultats indiquent que l’illusion d’incompétence s’accompagne d’un biais d’évaluation négatif de son acceptation sociale. L’évaluation des pairs n’indiquant pas que les élèves affectés par l’illusion d’incompétence sont moins bien acceptés que les autres, ces résultats suggèrent une généralisation d’un biais d’évaluation négatif du domaine scolaire au domaine social. La discussion propose des pistes à explorer pour comprendre les origines de l’illusion d’incompétence.

When quantity is not enough: Disentangling the roles of practice time, self-regulation and deliberate practice in musical achievement

Past research has referred to either the concepts of self-regulation or deliberate practice to explain the relationships between learning strategies and musical achievement and performance. In addition, even though most scholars agree that formal practice time plays an important role in musical achievement, empirical investigations have failed to show consistent associations between practice time and achievement. The aim of this article is to suggest an integrative framework in which self-regulation, deliberate practice strategies and practice time are simultaneously taken into account in the prediction of musical achievement. In this framework, we propose that formal practice should be defined as a goal-directed and focused period of practice that includes both self-regulation and deliberate practice strategies. We further posit that practice time will predict musical achievement only if associated with formal practice. This integrative framework was tested in a 4-month prospective study using structural equation modelling. Results revealed that this integrative model was a better predictor of musical achievement than traditional methods of measurement. The suggested integration of self-regulation and deliberate practice within a single framework provides a more complete picture of the associations between learning strategies, practice time and musical achievement.

Teachers’ recognition of children with an illusion of incompetence

This study addresses the issue of illusion of incompetence among elementary school children. The first objective is to examine whether teachers are able to recognize children with an illusion of incompetence, The second objective is to see whether teachers’ appraisal of the behaviours and psychological characteristics of these children differ from their appraisals of other children. Seventy-four teachers and their 684 pupils from the fourth and fifth grades who were participating in a larger project were examined. By and large, only 31.3% of the pupils affected by an illusion of incompetence were identified as such by their teachers. However, teachers evaluated boys with an illusion of incompetence as being less autonomous, having a more negative mood and being more withdrawn than their peers. The teachers did not report these characteristics in girls with an illusion of incompetence. The discussion focuses on various hypotheses likely involved in teachers’ difficulty in identifying children whose self-appraisals of competence are negative.RésuméCette étude s’intéresse au phénomène de l’illusion d’incompétence chez l’élève du primaire. Le premier objectif est d’examiner la sensibilité des enseignants à la présence du phénomène chez certains de leurs élèves en vérifiant dans quelle mesure ils sont capables de les identifier. Le second objectif est d’examiner comment ils évaluent diverses caractéristiques de ces mêmes élèves. Soixante-quatorze enseignants de 684 élèves de quatrième et cinquième année du primaire participant à un projet plus vaste portant sur les biais dans l’évaluation de leurs compétences ont été examinés. Dans l’ensemble, les enseignants identifient 31.3% des élèves affectés par l’illusion d’incompétence. Cependant, ils évaluent les garçons présentant ce problème comme étant plus retirés, d’humeur plus négative, et moins autonomes en classe que les autres garçons; aucune de ces différences n’est rapportée chez les filles. La discussion propose diverses hypothèses en regard de cette difficulté des enseignants à reconnaître ceux de leurs élèves ayant un important problème d’évaluation de leurs capacités.

A developmental study of the relationship between reading development and the self-system

The aims of this three-year longitudinal study were to examine 1) the concurrent development of different components of the self-system; 2) how the development of this self-system relates to cognitive and metacognitive development in reading; and 3) whether or not there are gender differences both in the development of the self-system as well as in its relation to the development of reading. One hundred and seventy-eight elementary school children were first assessed in the fourth grade and then again in each of the two following years. A similar pattern of intercorrelations between self-system components was evident for boys and girls, and this pattern was quite stable across the three school grades. In addition, similar patterns of moderate relations between the self-system and cognitive and metacognitive development in reading were observed across time. According to these findings, there appears to be some stability, consistency and coherence in how late elementary school children’s beliefs about themselves as learners are organized in their self-system. It is also evident that children of this age are able to make valid self-appraisals of their capabilities.RésuméLes buts de cette étude longitudinale conduite pendant trois ans étaient d’examiner: 1) le développement conjoint de différentes facettes du système du soi; 2) dans quelle mesure le développement de ce système est en relation avec le développement d’aspects cognitifs et métacognitifs de la lecture; 3) dans quelle mesure le développement de ces relations est différent chez les garçons et chez les filles.Cent soixante-dix-huit enfants de l’école élémentaire ont été examinés en 4ème année (10 ans) et au cours des deux années suivantes. Une même structure corrélationnelle entre composantes du soi a été trouvée pour les enfants des deux sexes, cette structure restant stable durant les trois années considérées. Les relations entre les composantes du système de soi et le développement des aspects cognitifs et métacognitifs de l’acquisition de la lecture se sont avérées plutôt faibles aux trois étapes de l’étude longitudinale. Les données indiquent la stabilité et la cohérence des croyances que les enfants ont de leurs caractéristiques en tant qu’apprenants à la fin de la scolarité élémentaire. Il est clair enfin que les enfants de cet âge sont capables d’évaluations valides de leurs propres capacités.