學生學術樂觀：驗證性因素分析（下）

Student Academic Optimism: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis

目的：本研究著眼於增加在學術樂觀（academic optimism）方面的文獻，並且採用一種綜合的測量法，包含學生所知覺到對教師的信任、學術推力（academic press），以及探索透過由學生角度出發的類似構念（constructs）等。同時，學生對教師的信任、對學術推力的知覺，以及對學校的認同之間的關係，也受到檢驗。在一個城市的學校行政區域中，我們考察了它們如何個別地和集體地與學生的學校成就產生關聯。設計／方法／進路：本研究評估了在一個城市行政區域中的49所小學、中學與高中等。所採用的測量項目包括在教師調查中的學生信任度（Adams & Forsyth）、學校認同問卷（Voelkl），以及學術推力的適應性等（Hoy, Hannum, & Tschannen-Moran）。驗證性因素分析被用於探索這三個受觀察的變項是否會形成一個我們稱之為學生學術樂觀的潛在變項。最後，有關學術樂觀之於學生成就的關係，則是使用結構方程模式來進行檢驗，社經地位則為控制變項。研究結果：在三個受觀察的變項之間，我們發現了強而顯著的關係。驗證性因素分析確認了這些變項形成了一個潛在變項，也就是作者們所稱的學生學術樂觀（student academic optimism）。學生學術樂觀對於學生成就具有顯著的直接影響（b = 0.73, p < 0.01），而社經地位（以具有免費和減免午餐資格的學生比例來測量）對學生成就之影響則顯現為負值（b = -0.37, p < 0.01）。學生學術樂觀與社經地位二者在學生成就中的解釋變異數為67%，其中又以學生學術樂觀的影響最大。社會意涵：研究發現，學生學術樂觀與社經地位並不相關，並且它對於學生成就有著顯著的影響，其影響力甚至超越了社經地位。基於這些學生的統計學特徵，作者們開始思考，或許當學校環境的其他條件都獲得考量時，社經地位並非如過去所以為的那麼具有影響力。原創性／價值：本研究對於聚焦於學生觀點之上的研究文獻有所貢獻，而且本研究也連結了三個重要機制的測量標準而形成了新的構念：學生學術樂觀。

Purpose–This research aims to add to the literature on Academic Optimism, a composite measure composed of teacher perceptions of trust in students, academic press, and collective efficacy by exploring a similar set of constructs from the student perceptive. The relationships between student trust in teachers, student perceptions of academic press, and student identification with school were examined as well as how they were individually and collectively related to student achievement in the schools in an urban school district.
Design/methodology/approach–This study assessed the perceptions of students in 49 elementary, middle, and high schools in one urban district. The measures used included the Student Trust in Teachers Survey (Adams and Forsyth), the Identification with School Questionnaire (Voelkl), and an adaptation of Academic Press (Hoy, Hannum and Tschannen- Moran). Confirmatory factor analysis was employed to explore whether these three observed variables would form a latent variable called Student Academic Optimism. Finally, the relationship of Academic Optimism to student achievement, controlling for SES, was examined using SEM.
Findings–Strong and significant relationships were found between all three of the observed variables. A CFA analysis confirmed that they formed a latent variable the authors called Student Academic Optimism. Student Academic Optimism had a significant direct effect on student achievement (b = 0.73, p < 0.01) while SES (percent of students eligible for the free and reduced lunch program) had a significant negative effect on student achievement (b = -0.37, p < 0.01). Together student academic optimism and SES explained 67 percent of the variance in student achievement with student academic optimism making the largest contribution to the explanation.
Social implications–The findings that Student Academic Optimism was unrelated to SES and that Student Academic Optimism has a significant effect on achievement over and above the effects of SES and student demographic characteristics leads the authors to consider the possibility that SES may not be as influential as once thought when other conditions of the school environment are taken into consideration.
Originality/value–This study makes a unique contribution to the literature by focusing on the perspectives of students and by linking the measures of three important dynamics within schools to form a new construct: Student Academic Optimism.