In 2 experiments the authors investigated whether assigning a perspective to middle school students prior to reading a long informational text would improve their reading comprehension. Pretest-posttest control group designs were employed in both experiments, in Experiment 1 (n = 146 fifth- and sixth-grade students) and in Experiment 2 (n = 83…

The achievement gap has long been the focus of educational research, policy, and intervention. The authors took a new approach to examining the achievement gap by examining achievement trajectories within each racial group. To identify these trajectories they used the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort, which is a nationally…

The authors examined science achievement growth at Grades 3, 5, and 8 and parent school involvement at the same time points using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999. Data were analyzed using cross-classified multilevel latent growth curve modeling with time invariant and varying covariates. School-based…

The authors examined the impact of 2 subsequent, longitudinal interdisciplinary interventions for 58 Hispanic English language learners (ELLs): (a) Grade 5 science with English language/reading embedded (i.e., science intervention) and (b) K-3 English language/reading with science embedded (i.e., language/reading intervention). Results revealed…

This study investigated the relationship between the English language competence of Finnish bilingual pupils and school-external factors such as parental expectations, home involvement, and exposure to English outside the classroom. Data on the pupils' language competence was collected from n?=?122 6th graders in bilingual education, and…

Employing the multiple-baseline across-subjects design, the authors examined the implementation and potential effect of a virtual-reality-based social interaction program on the interaction and communication performance of children with high functioning autism. The data were collected via behavior observation and analysis, questionnaires, and…

This study tested the assumption that the effectiveness of feedback with regard to performance, motivation, and affect is moderated by the learners' self-concept. A total of 72 sixth-graders completed a web-based interactive learning program. Half of the sample received feedback and the other half received no feedback. Differential feedback…

A framework based on research on bullying and on educational effectiveness was offered to schools to assist them in developing strategies and actions to improve their learning environment, their policy for teaching, and their evaluation mechanisms in order to reduce bullying. At the beginning and end of the intervention, the Revised Olweus…

The validity of the Student-Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS) was examined in a national sample of 863 Norwegian schoolchildren in grades 1-7 (aged 6-13). The original factor structure of the STRS was tested by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The CFA results did not support the original three-factor structure of the STRS. Subsequent CFA of the…

This paper examines how self-evaluation biases may influence satisfaction with performance. A review of theoretical positions suggests there are two views, both of which are supported by studies involving laboratory tasks. The first view predicts affective costs, and the second affective benefits of positive self-evaluation bias. We test the…

This paper aims to investigate to what extent a bias in self-evaluation is an enduring characteristic among children, and whether there is a relationship between the trajectory of children's self-evaluation bias over a five-year period and their psychosocial adjustment. 462 children (200 boys) in Grade 3 (mean age=8.6 years old) or Grade 4 (mean…

The study examined the impact of curriculum reform on teaching practice in primary mathematics in mainland China. The participants included 58 fifth grade mathematics teachers from 20 schools. Thirty-two of the classrooms had utilized a reform curriculum for 5 years prior to conducting the study, and the remaining 26 had been using the…

The purpose of the study reported in this article is to examine the impact of curriculum on instruction. Over a three-year period, we observed 579 algebra-related lessons in grades 6-8. Approximately half the lessons were taught in schools that had adopted a "Standards"-based mathematics curriculum called the Connected Mathematics Program (CMP),…

This study aimed to investigate the importance of self-efficacy and attitudes to wards writing in writing training. It was also necessary to establish whether these constructs could be more enhanced through a specific intervention as part of the motivational factors, than through training which coaches other writing components such as cognitive…

Attracting and retaining highly qualified school leaders is becoming increasingly important in our nation. The purpose of this study was to identify factors that motivate or inhibit practicing teachers from seeking administrative positions. Using exploratory factor analysis, survey responses of 329 students enrolled in Master of School…