Background: Research on the presentation of information in narrative versus expository text genres is inconclusive with respect to the question of which is more beneficial for student learning. Aims: We examine the effect of presenting factual content in either narrative or expository genres on student learning. We also consider relevant prior…

Background: Despite a large body of international literature concerning the antecedents, correlates of and treatments for test anxiety, there has been little research until recently using samples of students drawn from the UK. There is a need to establish some basic normative data for test anxiety scores in this population of students, in order to…

Background: Academic self-handicapping refers to the use of impediments to successful performance on academic tasks. Previous studies have shown that it is related to personal achievement goals. A performance goal orientation is a positive predictor of self-handicapping, whereas a task goal orientation is unrelated to self-handicapping. Aims: The…

Background: Dweck has emphasized the role of pupils' implicit theories about intellectual ability in explaining variations in their engagement, persistence and achievement. She has also highlighted the role of confidence in one's intelligence as a factor influencing educational attainment. Aim: The aim of this paper is to develop a model of…

Background: Children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) are often identified by classroom teachers and the identification process relies heavily on teachers' perceptions. The literature would suggest that teachers' perceptions may be influenced by a child's gender, behaviour and the type of motor problem they demonstrate. To date, the…

Background: The Western classical training of many secondary music specialist teachers may be inappropriate for the demands of the contemporary secondary school classroom, leading to a conflict between their self-concepts as "musicians" and as "teachers". Aims: To undertake a short-term longitudinal comparison of the developing identities and the…

Background: Little research has focused on factors influencing teachers' decisions about whether and how to intervene in bullying incidents. Such factors have the potential to influence the role of teachers as agents in counteracting bullying. Aims: To examine: (a) whether moral orientation predicts teachers' responses to bullying, (b) the role of…

Background: Research evidence seems to suggest that the social and cultural environments influence students' approaches to their study. This social and cultural contention has led to the rethinking and reconceptualization of theories (e.g. Biggs, 1987; Marton & Saljo, 1976) pertaining to student approaches to learning (SAL) in academic settings.…

Background: Enhancing student engagement is considered an important strategy for improving retention. Students' Time Perspective is an under-researched factor that may significantly influence student engagement. Aims: This study examines interrelationships between elements of student engagement and relationship with Time Perspective. We propose…

Background: It is commonly assumed that there is conceptual equivalence between the task and ego achievement goals proposed by Nicholl's (1989) dichotomous achievement goal theory (Nicholls, 1989), and the mastery and performance approach goals advanced by Elliot's (1997) trichotomous hierarchical model of approach and avoidance achievement…

This study examined the effect of age-correction on IQ scores among preterm school-aged children. Data from the Flinders Medical Centre Neonatal Unit Follow-up Program for 81 children aged five years and assessed with the WPPSI-III, and 177 children aged eight years and assessed with the WISC-IV, were analysed. Corrected IQ scores were…

Metacognition refers to students' knowledge and regulation of cognition, as well as their accuracy in predicting their academic performance. This study addressed two major questions: 1) how do metacognitive knowledge, regulation and accuracy differ across domains?, and 2) how do students' individual differences relate to their reported…

This study examined the validity of using teacher-administered educational and intelligence tests to screen students for learning disabilities (LDs). Twenty-seven Technical and Further Education (TAFE) students from regional Victoria who were enrolled in a program that was designed to reconnect school dropouts with education via TAFE participated…

This study investigates how categorical organization functions in pre-school children, focusing on the dichotomy between living and nonliving things. The variables of familiarity, frequency of word use and perceptual complexity were controlled. Sixty children aged between 4 years and 5 years 10 months were investigated. Three tasks were used: a…

Writers have beliefs that may influence engagement during writing and consequently effect writing quality. Students completed a writing beliefs inventory that identified transmissional and transactional beliefs. Transmissional beliefs reflect limited cognitive and affective engagement during writing whereas transactional beliefs reflect higher…