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Positive Youth Development and Academic Achievement in Slovenia

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Abstract

Background

The transition from lower-secondary to upper-secondary education marks a critical period for adolescents that impacts their academic achievement.

Objective

Based on Positive Youth Development (PYD) framework, we examined associations between math achievement as measured by PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) and PYD outcomes, such as Character, Confidence, Connection, and Caring, as well as variability by gender and school types.

Method

Using a cross sectional study design, we investigated Slovenian adolescents (N = 2802; 52% girls) who recently transitioned to upper-secondary level, who had participated in PISA study, and who had completed a PYD Short Form questionnaire.

Results

We used multiple regression analyses to address the study goals. Significant positive associations between Character, Confidence and math achievement and significant negative associations between Connection and math achievement were observed. In general, the associations between Caring and math achievement were not significant. Specifically, Confidence was positively associated with math achievement in general gymnasiums, in technical programmes, and among boys in our sample. Caring was negatively associated with math achievement in technical gymnasiums. Connection was negatively associated with math achievement in technical programmes. Character was positively associated with math achievement in vocational programmes of medium duration.

Conclusions

Across school types and gender, different associations were significant, indicating the importance of contextualizing when planning interventions. The results support the need for contextual understanding of factors that can promote academic (math) achievement. As Slovenia is ethnically homogeneous, the effects of contexts, such as school types and gender, can be given more attention as key factors for promoting PYD.

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Notes

  1. The PISA is a triennial international survey which aims to evaluate education systems worldwide by testing the skills and knowledge of 15-year-old students in math, reading and science.

  2. The first author has full access to the data base.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Educational Research Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Ana Kozina

  2. University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

    Nora Wiium & Radosveta Dimitrova

  3. University of Saint Joseph, West Hartford, CT, USA

    Jose-Michael Gonzalez

Authors
  1. Ana Kozina
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  2. Nora Wiium
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  3. Jose-Michael Gonzalez
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  4. Radosveta Dimitrova
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Correspondence to Ana Kozina.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. The parents of all participants gave written, informed content to their children’s participation before the beginning of the study, in accordance with the ethical guidelines of the Slovenian Psychological Society.

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Kozina, A., Wiium, N., Gonzalez, JM. et al. Positive Youth Development and Academic Achievement in Slovenia. Child Youth Care Forum 48, 223–240 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-018-9457-y

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