Academic Performance: Understanding Complex Student Outcomes Through an Integrative Lens

A special issue of Behavioral Sciences (ISSN 2076-328X). This special issue belongs to the section "Developmental Psychology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2025 | Viewed by 1939

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Child Development, California State University, San Bernardino, CA 92407, USA
Interests: working memory and executive functions; computerized cognitive training; neuropsychological assessment; learning differences

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Guest Editor
Department of Child Development, California State University, San Bernardino, CA 92407, USA
Interests: teacher beliefs; contextual influences on self-processes; educational interventions; student perceptions of trust and care

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Child Development, California State University, San Bernardino, CA 92407, USA
Interests: individual differences in cognitive abilities; psychometrics; cognitive modeling

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As has been increasingly acknowledged and supported by research, the academic performance of children is complexly associated with a host of cognitive factors (e.g., executive functions, attention, and working memory), interpersonal and intrapersonal variables (e.g., parent–child relations, the quality of teacher–student interaction quality, and students’ perceived competence), and contextual influences. To date, considerable research has examined each of these sets of influences in a primarily isolated manner. Generally, therefore, a unified understanding of how such variables impact K12 students’ performance in school is lacking. Moreover, strong theoretical models for understanding these complex processes have not yet been articulated well. This Special Issue of Behavioral Sciences seeks contributions from experts in cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, educational psychology, school psychology and other related areas that aim to fully elucidate the complex interactions among the myriad of variables that affect school performance. The primary objective of this Special Issue is to present studies across multiple specialty areas that have each made their own unique contribution to understanding children’s experience of school. As the Guest Editors of this Special Issue, we are particularly interested in projects that have a strong conceptual basis and have been conducted within applied settings. Specifically, manuscripts that contribute to our theoretical understanding of children’s educational experience and/or focus on evidence-based applications in the school setting are encouraged. Original research articles, meta-analyses, and theoretical/discussion papers are welcome.

Dr. Eugene Wong
Dr. Lisa Looney
Dr. Kevin Rosales
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • academic performance
  • cognitive abilities
  • academic motivation systems
  • perspectives on student outcomes relations within the school setting
  • student experiences

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

22 pages, 1580 KiB  
Article
After-School Behaviors, Self-Management, and Parental Involvement as Predictors of Academic Achievement in Adolescents
by Meng Xiao, Mingzhang Zuo, Xinqi Liu, Kunyu Wang and Heng Luo
Behav. Sci. 2025, 15(2), 172; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15020172 - 6 Feb 2025
Viewed by 1002
Abstract
How adolescents’ after-school behaviors, self-management, and parental involvement are associated with their academic success and personal development has drawn growing attention. This study systematically examined how these three factors predict academic achievement. Data were collected from 353 seventh-grade students through a self-designed daily [...] Read more.
How adolescents’ after-school behaviors, self-management, and parental involvement are associated with their academic success and personal development has drawn growing attention. This study systematically examined how these three factors predict academic achievement. Data were collected from 353 seventh-grade students through a self-designed daily behavior log sheet and self-management app, and multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to identify key predictors. The results indicated that academic achievement was positively related to sleep quality, homework duration, self-assessment, and parental involvement, while it was negatively associated with sleep duration, exercise duration, and the number of daily planned tasks. Despite these insights, the study has limitations, including reliance on self-reported data, which may introduce bias, and the use of a cross-sectional design, which precludes determining the temporal sequence of variables and inferring causal relationships. These findings provide valuable insights for educators, parents, and students; they also emphasize the importance of organizing students’ after-school activities effectively, enhancing their self-management competencies, and encouraging active parental involvement in fostering students’ academic success and overall development. Full article
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