Accurate teacher evaluations of student performance are crucial for effective teaching. This study examined whether students' immigration and language background affect teachers' evaluations. Multilevel analyses tested whether teachers overestimate the performance of immigrant relative to that of non-immigrant students. As part of the German PISA…

This paper examines the role of social class and prior achievement composition effects on pupils' progress and the judgements made about school performance. It finds that there are small but significant compositional effects on pupil progress raising questions about how pupils can best be allocated to schools. Comparisons between the official…

Prosody refers to features of speech such as intonation, volume and pace. In this paper, we examine teacher-student dialogue in an English lesson at a secondary school in England, using Conversation Analysis notation to mark features of prosody. We also make connections with Goffman's theoretical concept of footing. We show that, within an episode…

We investigated whether the sexes differ in science performance before they make important course and career selections. We collected teacher-report data from a sample of children from the Twins Early Development Study (TEDS) assessed at ages 9, 10 and 12 years (N greater than 2500 pairs). In addition we developed a test of scientific enquiry and…

This paper investigates the relations of students' spatial and object visualisation with their analytic, creative and practical abilities in three-dimensional geometry. Fifty-three 11-year-olds were tested using a Greek modified version of the Object-Spatial Imagery Questionnaire (OSIQ) (Blajenkova, Kozhevnikov, & Motes, 2006) and two mathematics…

Two studies aimed at understanding the time course of alienation from school and school factors that may influence alienation from school during early adolescence. In Study 1, 434 students from grade 5-8 participated (cross-sectional design). In Study 2, we followed 356 students from grade 6-7 (longitudinal design). The results confirm the…

This paper takes as its starting point assumptions about use of information and communication technology (ICT) by people born after 1983, the so called net generation. The focus of the paper is on social networking. A questionnaire survey was carried out with 1070 students from schools in Eastern Finland. Data are presented on students' ICT-skills…

This paper examines pupil school mobility in urban Kenya using African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC) household survey data which contain information on pupil transfers between schools. The aim is to identify which school characteristics attract the greatest demand for incoming transfers. The analysis reveals that there are frequent…

This paper explores a group of Singaporean English language teachers' knowledge and beliefs about critical literacy as well as their perspectives on how best to teach literacy and critical literacy in Singapore schools. A face-to-face survey was conducted among 58 English language teachers by using open-ended questions. The survey covered various…

This study addresses if preservice English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers' beliefs about the effectiveness of authentic, commercial, and teacher-made instructional materials can be changed after a semester-long pedagogical treatment. Data were collected from 90 preservice EFL teachers (Experimental: 45, Control: 45) at a public university in…

The ambiguity of words and signs as a resource or obstacle in group discussions is studied. How deaf and hearing students aged 13-15 years elaborate on ecological concepts through dialogue is described. Group interviews were conducted with 14 hearing and 18 deaf students. Probes were used to initiate discussion about the different meanings of…

While the effectiveness of teaching that emphasizes dialogue and inquiry has been well documented with respect to English-as-mother-tongue children, it remains an empirical question as to whether this approach is equally useful when the student body includes a substantial number of English-as-additional-language (EAL) students. Through a…

Studies have found that prior involvement in student politics while in school seems to be a good predictor of adult political engagement. While most studies of adults have obtained retrospective data on participation in school elections, there have been few studies of students about this activity. We contribute to this latter relatively unexplored…

The purpose of this paper is to explore how university students can develop knowledge in small task-based groups while acquiring hands-on computer skills. Inspired by the sociocultural perspective, this study presents a theoretical framework on co-construction of knowledge and on computer-supported collaborative learning. The participants were…

While most studies on diverse organizations have been directed at business organizations, the academic sector has also become increasingly international and heterogeneous. Few large-scale studies have investigated multicultural academic departments and none of those have dealt with diversity and group processes. Therefore, a survey was directed…