Academic Performance: Understanding Complex Student Outcomes Through an Integrative Lens

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

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Behavioral Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

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

Title: Mediator Role of Attentional Control and Learning Approach in the Link Between SES and Academic Performance
Authors: Zhengqing Li, Keting Chen, Lisa Looney, Jingjing Xu, Kevin Rosales & Xin Zhou
Affiliation: 1. University of Denver, USA 2. California State University, San Bernardino, USA 3. Shanghai Punan Kindergarten, China 4. East China Normal University, China
Abstract: This study examines the relationship between children's early academic performance, specifically school readiness, and family socio-economic status (SES), focusing on the mediating roles of attention control and learning approaches. Prior research consistently shows that children from low-income families often have limited vocabulary and mathematical knowledge before entering kindergarten. This cross-sectional study aims to investigate how attention control and learning approaches mediate the relationship between early academic performance and family SES (i.e., parental education level). A total of 149 children, aged 60 to 72 months, and their families were randomly selected from classrooms in Shanghai, China. Children's math skills, vocabulary, attention control, and learning approaches were assessed, and family SES was determined using parental questionnaires. A path model was used to examine the mediation effects. The results indicated that parental education level significantly influences children's academic performance, with learning approaches and attentional control acting as mediators. Furthermore, parental education level directly influences children’s vocabulary but indirectly influences children’s math skills. These findings suggest that supporting children's math and vocabulary development may involve different mechanisms at home, highlighting the importance of parental involvement. The results provide valuable insights for parents and educators aiming to enhance early academic readiness in children from diverse socio-economic backgrounds.