This study attempts to investigate the causes of underachievement and what influences cognitive or affective achievements of underachievers. In particular, this study focuses on the social causes of underachievement and the educational effects of spe...
This study attempts to investigate the causes of underachievement and what influences cognitive or affective achievements of underachievers. In particular, this study focuses on the social causes of underachievement and the educational effects of special supplemental instruction and low ability grouping for underachievers. In addition to using representative data from the Korea Education Longitudinal Study(KELS), this study adopts a multi-level analysis method to raise the reliability and validity of the results. The major findings can be summarized as follows.
First, underachievement is caused by socio-economic backgrounds including parents' schooling, structural losses of family, and parental involvement. In particular, family poverty of a student and the average SES of a school is the main cause of underachievement in each level.
Second, the special supplemental instruction for underachievers has negative effects on cognitive and affective achievements. These negative effects are larger in cognitive achievements. In addition, the self-efficacy about math of underachievers who attend a special supplemental instruction is lower than that of underachievers who do not.
Third, low ability grouping for underachievers also has negative or no effects. These negative effects of cognitive achievements are larger in math than English. And the affective effects of low ability grouping are not statistically significant.
Fourth, participation-oriented instructions can not offset the negative effects of special supplemental instruction and low ability grouping. This study tested the interaction terms of participation-oriented instruction and special supplemental instruction or low ability grouping. As a result, it was shown that these interaction terms have no effect on cognitive and affective achievements except for the self-efficacy about English of underachievers.
Fifth, this study tested the effects of the parental involvement. As a result, it is clear that parental involvement contributes to prevent their children from becoming underachievers. But this contribution is mediated by the study time of students, specially private tutoring time. In addition, while parental involvement has positive effects on affective achievements, it has no effects on cognitive achievements of underachievers.
Finally, this study tested the effects of the academic achievement pressure, the relationship between teachers and students, and the scholastic climate of school level. As a result, academic achievement pressure contributes to the prevention of underachievement. But academic achievement pressure has no effects on cognitive achievements of underachievers and it has negative effects on affective achievements. While the relationship between teachers and students has negative effects on cognitive achievements, the scholastic climate has positive effects on cognitive and affective achievements. But the scholastic climate has no effects to overcome the underachievement.
From these findings, it is suggested that the reform of ability grouping and special supplemental instruction is imperative. In addition, this study suggests that these reforms could succeed in line with the socio-economic restructuring and curriculum reform which focuses on lifelong competency.
Key words: underachievement, special supplemental instruction, ability grouping