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Psicothema was founded in Asturias (northern Spain) in 1989, and is published jointly by the Psychology Faculty of the University of Oviedo and the Psychological Association of the Principality of Asturias (Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos del Principado de Asturias).
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Homework Purposes in Eighth Grade Students: Identifying Student Profiles and Their Relationship with Homework Effort, Completion, and Achievement

Jianzhong Xu1 and José Carlos Núñez2

1 Mississippi State University, USA / University of Macau, China,
2 Universidad de Oviedo / Universidad Autónoma de Chile, Chile

Background: The main objective of the research was (1) to identify different profiles of students based on three purposes they had for homework (academic, self-regulatory and approval-seeking) and (2) to analyze their relationship with the homework effort, completion, and math achievement. Method: The study involved 3,018 eighth-grade students from various areas in China. Data were analyzed with Mplus using Latent Profile Analysis (LPA). Results: As hypothesized, four different profiles were identified: High Profile (high in all purposes; 13.39%), Moderate Profile (moderate in all purposes; 56.63%), Low Profile (low in all purposes; 26.04%), and Very Low Profile (very low in all purposes; 3.94%). Belonging to a certain profile was related to the homework effort, completion, and math achievement: the higher the purposes, the greater the homework effort, completion, and higher math performance. Conclusions: The results of our study suggest certain similarities and consistency between individual groups (similar profiles) at different ages (i.e., eighth and eleventh graders). Belonging to one or the other profile may have different consequences or implications both for the student’s behavior (for example, in terms of their involvement in homework and academic achievement) and for the educational practice of teachers and families.

Antecedentes: El principal objetivo de la investigación ha sido (1) identificar diferentes perfiles de estudiantes a partir de tres de sus propósitos para realizar deberes (académico, auto-regulación y de búsqueda de aprobación) y (2) analizar su relación con el esfuerzo dedicado a la realización de los deberes, la cantidad de deberes finalizados y el rendimiento en matemáticas. Método: El estudio involucró a 3,018 estudiantes de octavo grado de diferentes áreas geográficas de China. Los datos se analizaron mediante Análisis de Perfiles latentes (LPA). Resultados: Se identificaron cuatro perfiles diferentes: alto en los tres propósitos (13,39%), moderado en los tres propósitos (56,63%), bajo en los tres propósitos (26,04%) y muy bajo en los tres propósitos (3,94%). Pertenecer a un determinado perfil se relaciona significativa y positivamente con el esfuerzo dedicado a los deberes, la cantidad de deberes finalizados y con el rendimiento en matemáticas. Conclusiones: La pertenencia a uno u otro perfil puede tener diferentes consecuencias o implicaciones tanto para el comportamiento del alumno (por ejemplo, en cuanto a su implicación en la realización de los deberes y respecto del rendimiento académico) como para la práctica educativa de los profesores y las familias.

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Impact factor 2022:  JCR WOS 2022:  FI = 3.6 (Q2);  JCI = 1.21 (Q1) / SCOPUS 2022:  SJR = 1.097;  CiteScore = 6.4 (Q1)