Goal Orientation Profiles and Self-Concept of Secondary School Students

The objective of this study is to identify possible combinations of multiple goals that lead to different goal orientation profiles and to determine whether there are significant group differences in self-concept dimensions. The Achievement Goals Tendencies Questionnaire (AGTQ) and the Self-Description Questionnaire-II (SDQ-II) were administered to a sample of 2,022 students of Compulsory Secondary education, ranging in age from 12 to 16 years (M = 13.81, SD = 1.35). Cluster analysis identified four profiles of motivational goals: a group of students with a generalized high motivation profile, a group of students with generalized low motivation profile, a group of students with a predominance of learning goals and achievement goals, and a last group of students with a predominance of achievement goals and social reinforcement goals. Results reveal statistically significant differences among the profiles obtained regarding self-concept dimensions.

Coordination of aproximations in secondary school students’ understanding of limit concept

The aim of this research is to characterize the coordination of the processes of approximation related to the understanding of the limit of a function. We analyze the answers of 64 post-secondary school students to 7 problems considering the dynamic and metric conception of limit of a function. Results indicate that the metric understanding of the limit in terms of inequality supports that the student is capable of coordinating the approximations in the domain and in the range when lateral approximations coincide. However, the student is not capable of this coordination when lateral approximations do not coincide. This indicates that the metric understanding of the limit begins with the previous construction of the dynamic conception in case of coincidence of the lateral approximations in the range.

Estimation of the Proportion of Underachieving Students in Compulsory Secondary Education in Spain: An Application of the Rasch Model

There are very few studies in Spain that treat underachievement rigorously, and those that do are typically related to gifted students. The present study examined the proportion of underachieving students using the Rasch measurement model. A sample of 643 first-year high school students (mean age = 12.09; SD = 0.47) from 8 schools in the province of Alicante (Spain) completed the Battery of Differential and General Skills (Badyg), and these students' General Points Average (GPAs) were recovered by teachers. Dichotomous and Partial credit Rasch models were performed. After adjusting the measurement instruments, the individual underachievement index provided a total sample of 181 underachieving students, or 28.14% of the total sample across the ability levels. This study confirms that the Rasch measurement model can accurately estimate the construct validity of both the intelligence test and the academic grades for the calculation of underachieving students. Furthermore, the present study constitutes a pioneer framework for the estimation of the prevalence of underachievement in Spain.