Schools and universities devote considerable time and resources to developing students' social and emotional skills, such as emotional intelligence (EI). The goals of such programs are partly for ...personal development but partly to increase academic performance. The current meta-analysis examines the degree to which student EI is associated with academic performance. We found an overall effect of ρ = .20 using robust variance estimation (N = 42,529, k = 1,246 from 158 citations). The association is significantly stronger for ability EI (ρ = .24, k = 50) compared with self-rated (ρ = .12, k = 33) or mixed EI (ρ = .19, k = 90). Ability, self-rated, and mixed EI explained an additional 1.7%, 0.7%, and 2.3% of the variance, respectively, after controlling for intelligence and big five personality. Understanding and management branches of ability EI explained an additional 3.9% and 3.6%, respectively. Relative importance analysis suggests that EI is the third most important predictor for all three streams, after intelligence and conscientiousness. Moderators of the effect differed across the three EI streams. Ability EI was a stronger predictor of performance in humanities than science. Self-rated EI was a stronger predictor of grades than standardized test scores. We propose that three mechanisms underlie the EI/academic performance link: (a) regulating academic emotions, (b) building social relationships at school, and (c) academic content overlap with EI. Different streams of EI may affect performance through different mechanisms. We note some limitations, including the lack of evidence for a causal direction.
Public Significance Statement
This meta-analysis shows that emotional intelligence has a small to moderate association with academic performance, such that students with higher emotional intelligence tend to gain higher grades and achievement test scores. The association is stronger for skill-based emotional intelligence tasks than rating scales of emotional intelligence. It is strongest for skill-based tasks measuring understanding emotions and managing emotions.
School accountability programs tend to focus on students’ academic performance, as measured by standardized tests, But, as the authors in the November issue of Kappan explain, this presents an ...incomplete picture. Teresa Preston summarizes the arguments made in the issue on “Reframing Accountability.” These include discussions of limitations of testing, the need for other accountability measures, the use of data to promote improvement, and the importance of capacity building in any accountability system.
Catalyst in Action Bret Eynon, Laura M. Gambino / Bret Eynon, Laura M. Gambino
2018, 2023-07-03, 2018-10-31
eBook
Published in association with In 2017, Bret Eynon and Laura M. Gambino released High-Impact ePortfolio Practice, which drew broad acclaim from faculty and educational leaders. "An instant classic," ...wrote one reviewer. "The book I've been waiting for!" exclaimed another. With compelling evidence of the impact of ePortfolio "done well," and a practical framework for educators to follow, this research study quickly led to the formal recognition of ePortfolio as a validated High Impact Practice.Now, with Catalyst in Action: Case Studies of High-Impact ePortfolio Practice, Eynon and Gambino have taken the next step. The book offers 20 powerful case studies, drawn from campuses ranging from Bronx Community College to Yale University, from the University of South Carolina, to Dublin University and Arizona State. In High Impact ePortfolio Practice, Eynon and Gambino outlined the Catalyst Framework, spotlighting the strategies needed to launch, build and sustain a "high-impact" ePortfolio practice. Linking integrative social pedagogy to technology, assessment and professional development, the Catalyst Framework offers guiding principles and classroom-based ePortfolio practices that improve student success, deepen the student learning experience, and catalyze learning-centered institutional change. In Catalyst in Action, teams of faculty and college leaders detail their experiences exploring and testing the Framework on their campuses. Working with diverse groups of students in a broad range of disciplines and settings, the case study authors put Eynon and Gambino's integrative strategies into practice. Catalyst in Action shares their findings and their insights. As higher education enters a challenging new era, it must find new ways adapt and change, to support and demonstrate student growth and development. Catalyst in Action is a powerful combination of intensive research and practical experiencing. Offering exciting new evidence and fresh new insights, Catalyst in Action
This quantitative synthesis of 448 independent studies including 480,830 families revealed small positive associations (rs = .13 to .23) between parents' naturally occurring involvement in children's ...schooling and children's academic adjustment (i.e., achievement, engagement, and motivation) that were maintained over time. Parents' involvement was also positively related to children's social (r = .12) and emotional adjustment (r = .17) and negatively related to their delinquency (r = −.15), concurrently. Analyses focusing on children's academic adjustment revealed that different types of involvement (e.g., parents' participation in school events and discussion of school with children) were similarly positively associated with such adjustment. The only exception was that parents' homework assistance was negatively associated with children's achievement (r = −.15), but not engagement (r = .07) or motivation (r = .05). There was little variation due to age, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status in the links between different types of involvement and children's academic adjustment.
Public Significance Statement
The findings underscore the utility of parents' involvement in children's schooling, other than in the homework context, to support not only children's academic adjustment, but also other dimensions of their adjustment, regardless of children's developmental phase.
While forceful exclusion from academic activities has provided institutions of higher learning in South Africa with an effective deterrent strategy for dealing with academic laziness and financial ...non-compliance of students, it has also reinforced attitudes of intolerance and prejudice for the excluded students. This is worse for students studying at rural-based Higher Institutions of Learning (HIL), where access to modern learning tools and infrastructure for studies is often very limited. In such institutions, exclusion from academic activities discourages efforts and easily becomes a stumbling block for students’ academic success. This article sets out to deepen this argument in a rural South African context. It draws from the experiences of five purposively sampled students to systematically explore the link between academic exclusion and three interrelated variables, namely: feelings of hopelessness, social anxiety, and loss of interest in academic activities. Given such linkage, the study, inter alia, argues for the introduction of alternative and more humane policies that recognise the students’ efforts.
College students who do not have parents with 4-year degrees (first-generation students) earn lower grades and encounter more obstacles to success than do students who have at least one parent with a ...4-year degree (continuing-generation students). In the study reported here, we tested a novel intervention designed to reduce this social-class achievement gap with a randomized controlled trial (N = 168). Using senior college students' real-life stories, we conducted a difference-education intervention with incoming students about how their diverse backgrounds can shape what they experience in college. Compared with a standard intervention that provided similar stories of college adjustment without highlighting students' different backgrounds, the difference-education intervention eliminated the social-class achievement gap by increasing first-generation students' tendency to seek out college resources (e.g., meeting with professors) and, in turn, improving their end-of-year grade point averages. The difference-education intervention also improved the college transition for all students on numerous psychosocial outcomes (e.g., mental health and engagement).
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