The authors evaluated the effectiveness of the Quality Improvement System (QIS) developed and implemented by Children's Services Council of Palm Beach County (Florida) as a voluntary initiative to improve the quality of childcare and education. They adopted a growth model approach to investigate whether childcare sites that participated in…

Using nationally representative samples for public school teachers and principals, the authors inquired into whether principal background and school processes are related to teacher job satisfaction. Employing hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), the authors were able to control for background characteristics at both the teacher and school levels.…

Using longitudinal data of 18-to 20-year-old youths from the Youth in Transition Survey (YITS), the present analysis identified and profiled Canadian postsecondary education dropouts based on the theoretical framework of Tinto (1993). Pertaining to characteristics of pre-postsecondary education conditions, dropouts tended to be male, set low…

Using hierarchical linear modeling, the present study aimed to examine whether targeted intervention strategies implemented individually during a preschool program exhibited any short-term and long-term effects on children's school readiness in kindergarten, utilizing data gathered through the Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids…

The authors examined peer coaching in the context of the Mentored Implementation Program developed in the Appalachian Mathematics and Science Partnership. The experimental design contained 6 teachers receiving peer coaching with their 202 students and 5 teachers in the control group with their 105 students. Teachers considered peer coaching a…

Although Canadian students performed well on the 2000 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), there were considerable differences among provinces. Based on the Canadian sample of PISA 2000, our multilevel analysis examined the extent to which schools in various provinces produced differential effects on the reading achievement of…

A recently developed statistical technique, often referred to as classification and regression trees (CART), holds great potential for researchers to discover how student-level (and school-level) characteristics interactively affect growth in mathematics achievement. CART is a host of advanced statistical methods that statistically cluster…

The present study aims to explore the use of assessment in mathematics content courses for future elementary school teachers. Analysis of self assessment data on mathematical understanding and peer assessment data on oral mathematical presentation showed that pre-service teachers had a balanced understanding of procedural knowledge and problem…

Seven dimensions of school disciplinary climate were identified based on a representative sample of grade 8 students in the United States. Within schools, students varied considerably in their perceptions and experiences about discipline. The variation was related mainly to students' socioeconomic status (SES), sex, and ethnicity. There was a…

Using Longitudinal Study of American Youth data, researchers investigated factors related to middle and high school students' learning or growth in statistics, algebra, and geometry. Results indicated substantial growth in all three content areas in both middle and high school. Factors related to student learning included student characteristics…

Studied the victim-bully cycle in middle school and identified student and school characteristics that contributed to the cycle using data from the New Brunswick School Climate Study for 6,883 sixth graders and 6,868 eighth graders. Results of a multivariate, multilevel analysis show that the relationship of bully to victim was reciprocal, and…

Using structural equation modeling and data on 10th-grade students from the Longitudinal Study of American Youth, a model was developed to show the relationship to career aspiration of eight indicators of "educational productivity": mathematics achievement; motivation; instructional quantity and quality; home, class, and peer environment; and mass…

Used data from the New Brunswick Elementary School Study to examine how teacher professional satisfaction related to background characteristics and workplace conditions. Female teachers had more job satisfaction than males. Teachers who stayed in the profession longer were less satisfied with their professional role. Workplace conditions…

Analysis of Longitudinal Study of American Youth data indicates that during grades 7-11, males and females acquired mathematical skills at the same rate. Variation in student scores increased over time, and students maintained their initial position in the distribution. This fan-spread phenomenon also occurred among schools and was more pronounced…

This study examined reciprocal relationships between attitude toward mathematics and mathematics achievement. High school seniors from the Dominican Republic completed mathematics achievement tests and a questionnaire on mathematics attitudes. Results indicated that reciprocal relationships existed, suggesting that the reciprocal nature between…