Research Report No.38 
Predicting First Granders' Academic Achievement 
 by 
Wiladlak Chuawanlee (1987 )

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        The  purposes of this study were (1) to find good predictors of  first  graders  mathematics  and  Thai  achievement,  (2)  to compare  chilreen's  achievement  in  both subjects between groups of children  with  different  family backgrounds, and (3) to examine the degree of  reward  and punishment experienced by children who attained different  level  of  academic  achievement.  Three  groups  of  predictors  of  interest were academic aptitudes, children's personality, and child -  rearing practices. 
        Participants  were 170 female and 210 male first granders from 3  schools  in  Bangkok  and  15 schools in the provinces 150 kilometers  around  bangkok.  Research instrumments were Independance - Practice  type of Child Rearing, Mathematics Aptitude Test, Thai Aptitude Test,  Adjustment  Scale, Self - Esteem Scale, Achievement Motivation Scale,  Attitude  towards Teacher Scale, and Achievement Tests in Mathematics  and  Thai.  In  analyzing the data, stepwise regression analysis, t- test, analysis of variance, and Z-test were applied. 
        Main results of the study were as follows : 
        1.  Good predictors of mathematics achievement were mathematics  aptitude,  Thai  aptitude,  the practice in independence in decision,  and  children's  adjustment. These predictors explained 42.9% of the  variance  of the mathematics achievement. For good predictors of the  Thai  achievement,  mathematics and Thai aptitudes, self - estum, the  practice  in  independence  in  decision,  and  children's adjustment  accounted for 36.3% of the variance of the Thai achievement. 
        2.  Children  who  experienced  fewer independence practice had  lower  scores in both subjects than those who experienced more in the  independence practice. 
        3.  Parents  whose  children  had  lower  academic  achievement  exercised  more reward and punishment than parents whose children had  higher achievement. 
        4.  childfen  whose  parents had lower education, who were from  small  families,  and  who  were in Bangkok had higher achievement in  both  subjects  than children whose parents had higher education, who  were from big families, and who were in the provinces ouside Bangkok.  However, there was no significant difference related to birth order. 
        5. children who scored highly in aptitude tests and personality  scales  had  higher achievement in both subjects than those who score  low  in those areas. From paired comparison, children who score high  in  adjustment  scale  and  also  were  from  Bangkok had the highest  achievement scores. 


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