This study aimed to explore the factors that contribute to the high level of competitiveness among students in the People's Republic of China (PRC). The expectancy value theory has suggested that the fear of failure (FOF) and a highly perceived value for achievement (expectancy value belief (EVB)) are the key drivers of competitiveness. To examine…

University student academic competitions can test students' learning outcomes, improve their academic performance and stimulate their interest in learning. Exploring the behavioural mechanisms influencing students' academic competition is quite important, but there is currently little research on this topic. This study aims to fill this gap in the…

This study examined the relationship of positive and negative beliefs about competition and social comparison orientations with second language (L2) learners' engagement and performance. The participants were 343 Iranian undergraduate students, including 69 (20.1%) male and 273 (79.9%) female learners. They responded to self-report scales on…

For decades, charter schools have been promoted as a panacea for increasing competition in the educational marketplace. Supporters argue that increased choice forces neighboring schools to innovate, while opponents contend that charters "skim" students and funds away from traditional public schools (TPS). We test the two differing views…

School-choice policies are expected to generate healthy competition between schools, leading to improvements in school quality and better outcomes for students. However, the empirical literature testing this assumption yields mixed findings. This systematic review and meta-analysis tests this theory by synthesizing the empirical literature on the…

This study is a meta-analytical study that examines the effectiveness of gamification in learning performance in educational settings (n = 29; year-span = 2011-2019). Specifically, it aimed to investigate (a) whether gamification could improve learning performance, and (b) whether peer interaction (i.e., peer competition and peer collaboration)…

While girls have better grades than boys in high school, this does not translate into better performance of young women, as compared to young men, in university. Due to the high signalling value of university grades for subsequent income and employment outcomes, this has important consequences for gender inequalities at labour market entry.…

This study introduced computerized collaboration scripts with an intergroup competition mechanism to foster students' within-group collaboration in a multi-touch tabletop classroom, investigating whether the scripting effects could be further improved by integrating intergroup competition. As such, this study utilized an experimental design to…

The use of competition to motivate students is common but debated. The purpose of the study was: (a) to examine to whom teachers attribute the common emphasis on competition and (b) to explore the reasons teachers give to minimize competition or not in their classrooms. Teachers attribute the focus on competition least to teachers and then…

The performance of public education in Michigan has been significantly below average across the country for decades (US News, 2019). Lawmakers in Michigan sought to remedy this in the 1990's with the introduction of charter schools into the educational landscape. Throughout the years, there has been significant debate around whether charter…

This paper studies how rewards based on class rank affect student effort and performance using a game-theoretic classroom competition model and data from the resettlement of Southeast Asian refugees in the US. The paper finds that variation in the presence of strong or weak students changes the incentives and test scores of incumbent students…

Grade inflation is causing student's hard work to be undervalued. As high grades get easier and easier to achieve, the highest grades can only go up so far. The difference between excellent and decent is compressed. Everybody wins is a system that guides and shapes the mindset of most American students--except a small number of kids who lose out…

This case study investigated middle school students' perceptions of digital game-based learning (DGBL) in the classroom, focusing on engagement, motivation, and academic achievement. Using Piaget's (1962) Constructivist Learning Theory as a framework, the research examined the influence of interactive digital games on students' educational…

To gain insight into Chinese students' perspectives on their education, this study examines how they construct their learner identities by navigating multiple subject positions both at school and in their families. Drawing on the frame of learner identity formation and the concepts of Western and Confucian ways of being, thematic analysis is…

The intensity of teenage anxiety, depression, and at-risk behavior among suburban youth of high socio-economic status is epidemic. More empirical research mapping the relationship between academic "competition," often magnified at affluent schools, student performance; and student wellness is needed. This study explores the relationship…