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…

The focus of our study is social status among first graders. In particular, we will consider the relationship between acceptance and rejection, and how these are connected to three social behavioral traits: bullying, victimization, and social withdrawal. The data set is from peer nominations of 748 children from 49 classrooms in the southwest of…

The present study aims at exploring predictors influencing mathematics performance. In particular, the study focuses on internal students' characteristics (gender, age, metacognitive experience, mathematics self-efficacy) and external contextual factors (GDP of school location, parents' educational level, teachers' educational…

This study examined whether teacher-rated versus self-rated student temperaments are different in relation to the school grades in Maths and Mother language (ML) instruction in a nationally representative sample of Finnish Secondary School students (n?=?1,063, mean age 15.1 years). The results indicated that teacher-rated temperament was more…

Despite the recent technical and theoretical advances in the investigation of children's social relations, the inherent complexity of these methods may prevent their easy integration into the classroom. A simple and effective tool can be valuable for teachers who wish to investigate students' social realities in the classroom. Therefore,…

The experience of meaning in a learning situation is a stated goal of Knowledge Promotion Reform in Norway. This study, guided by self-determination theory, examines how pursuing intrinsic and extrinsic life goals relates to the experience of meaning in vocational education. The study also examines how learning support, perceived competence, and…

Only a few studies have examined the direction of associations between academic achievement, interest, and self-concept of ability simultaneously by using longitudinal data over several school years. To examine the cross-lagged relationships between students' interest, self-concept of ability, and performance in mathematics and reading,…

This study investigated whether mathematical and reading difficulties and self-reported learning problems predicted school achievement in the ninth grade, at the age of 16, and how these difficulties further explained the transition either to upper secondary academic education or to vocational education. The sample of the present study comprised…

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…

According to the Simple View of Reading, reading ability can be divided into decoding and language comprehension. In the present study, decoding and comprehension's contribution to reading ability was studied both in children with reading difficulties and in children with typical reading ability. Decoding and comprehension was further divided…

The authors tested a self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000) process model of subjective wellbeing among students at Norwegian Folk High Schools. In this model the authors hypothesized that students' intrinsic goal progress expectancy in the chosen study activity and perceived autonomy support from teachers would be positively…

This study aimed to examine the direction of relationships between specific dimensions of perceived teaching behaviors and motivation in physical education over time among 330 secondary school students. Cross-lagged path-analytic models revealed that autonomous motivation was reciprocally related over time with perceived decision-making style, and…

The present two-wave longitudinal study examined the extent to which physical education (PE) teachers' democratic and socially supportive behavior, pupils' goal orientations, and the perceived motivational climate in PE explained differences in pupils' intended helping behavior by gender in PE classes. The results of 105 boys and…

This study explored the association between teacher-reported student-teacher relationship quality (closeness and conflict) and demographic factors, school functioning and child mental health in a cross-sectional study. The study was conducted among a national sample of Norwegian school children (N?=?825) in grades 1 to 7. Bivariate analyses and…

This 3-year longitudinal study investigated the associations of student (aged 9 to 10 years at the beginning of the study; n = 281; 51% girls) participation in extracurricular activities with teacher-rated socioemotional behavior and school achievement. MANOVA results showed that, after controlling for the grade level and the initial level of the…