Enabling academic achievement

How well a student learns academic skills depends on attitudes and behaviors affecting participation, according to Stephen Elliott, an educational psychologist, and James DiPerna, a researcher at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research.

Attitudes and behaviors, called academic enablers, include motivation, engagement, and interpersonal and study skills. Researchers found that these enablers affect student grades and performance on standardized achievement tests. Specifically, they found that interpersonal skills, along with prior achievement, influence motivation, which then influences study skills, engagement and, ultimately, achievement.

Because academic enablers contribute in meaningful ways to academic achievement, say the researchers, schools and educators need to consider what is being done to promote the development of academic enablers for all students.