Walberg’s theory of academic achievement posits that psychological

characteristics of individual students and their immediate psychological environments

influence educational outcomes which consist the cognitive, behavioral and attitudinal
traits. This theory addresses the learning influences that have an impact on a student's
academic success. In this investigation of academic achievement, Walberg employed a
range of techniques to pinpoint the variables that influence a student's ability to function
academically. He categorized 11 relevant areas of variables in his hypothesis, and
found that 8 of them were influenced by social-emotional factors, including peer
pressure, classroom management, parental support, student-teacher interactions,
social-behavioral traits, and motivational-effective traits. Different representations of the
variables are used. Age, aptitude, and motivation make up the first three factors which
reflect to characteristics of the student. The fourth and fifth variables reflect instruction
which are the quantity and quality, and the final four variables which are the classroom
climate, home environment, peer group, and exposure to media that represent the
aspects of the psychological environment. He explained that these variables has a
certain effects that might cause problems with the academic performance of students if
it will not be properly guided. Giving importance with a certain variable can mean a big
impact with the student’s academic performance.
Studies of learning settings have focused on conceptualization and theory development
in recent decades. In higher education contexts, faculty and course evaluations have
generally included student feedback as well. According to research, the psychosocial
aspects of learning settings in the classroom have incremental relevance in predicting
students' academic success. These psychosocial traits, which include self-concept,
attitudes, actions, intrinsic motivation, and overall student engagement in learning, are
helpful in studies of curriculum evaluation and can give teachers information they can
use to set up classrooms that perform more effectively. Furthermore, the said theory
also established that the student ability or prior knowledge is a better success. In line
with this theory the General education and Professional education has a good
connection in the said theory. The Ability or prior achievement, for Walberg, includes
factors that can be measured by “the usual standardized test” (Walberg & Tsai, 1985; p.
159). These factors would include the learner’s aptitude, ability, and IQ, as well as
previous achievement. Walberg has assessed this variable using students’
mathematics, science, and reading cognitive subtest scores on the National
Assessment of Educational Progress (Kuterbach, 2013). In the other hand the
Motivation or self-concept, in the Walberg model, is operationalized as scores on
personality tests of the student’s willingness to persevere intensively on learning tasks
(Walberg & Tsai, 1985). Through this motivation the student will know where they are
more productive and motivated in terms of subjects. The quantity and quality also had a
big factor on student performance in line of subject’s impact. The Quantity of instruction
is described as the amount of time students engage in learning this includes the time
scheduled, allowed, or assigned for a given instructional unit by the teacher, as well as
the fraction of this time the student actually spends learning the content. In addition, this
variable has been 16 measured through effective use of class time, interruptions during
class, and teachers’ ability to gain students’ attention quickly (Parkerson, Lomax,
Schiller, and Walberg, 1984). Others have measured quantity of instruction as time on
mathematics homework which is a professional education subject in school and outside
of school (Ma & Wang, 2001 cited by Kuterbach, 2013). In the quality this includes the
experience of the student’s psychological and curricular experiences, and can be seen
as the appropriateness of the instructional experience. This state that the more teacher
give an appraisal to students such as giving an enough amount of homework in
students, telling the students what is right and wrong and praising them to a good work
can also be a reason for the academic performance of ones learner. There is also a big
impact on how the environment like school and family on how a child can perform in a
class in line with different subects. According to Walberg, Classroom and school
environment, including classroom morale refers to the classroom as a social
atmosphere and has been measured through access to classroom materials nd the
percentage of students who continue toward a 17 bachelor’s degree or take additional
science classes.
While previous models for learning, particularly those in the United States, focused on
information processing and psychological constructs such as those found in cognitive
and educational psychology, in the 1990s other theorists began to include motivational,
affective, and social context factors, as well as cognition (Pintrich, 1989). According to
this perspective students need more than general knowledge and basic competencies
in math, reading, and writing to be successful academically (Weinstein & Van Meter
Stone, 1993). This approach has become known as the Self-Regulated Learning (SRL)
perspective.

Links;
https://www.ipl.org/essay/Walbergs-Theory-Of-Educational-Productivity-
FJSRQR5SWG#:~:text=Walberg's%20theory%20tackles%20about%20the,academic
%20performance%20of%20a%20student.
https://etda.libraries.psu.edu/files/final_submissions/8075
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ846830.pdf