Background: A sample of 1448 students in grades 7 and 9 was drawn from public schools in Atlantic Canada to explore students' knowledge of science and mathematics requirements for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. Also explored were their mathematics self-efficacy (MSE), their future career interests, their…

The study examined the role of classroom assessment and its relationships to student characteristics and mathematics performance by comparing the USA, Canada and Finland using Program of International Student Assessment (PISA) 2003 data. The results indicated that student individual characteristics such as gender, family social-cultural status,…

In this rapidly changing and technologically evolving world there is a need for skilled labor and professionals in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This warrants concern, as the number of individuals graduating from and/or pursuing careers in STEM fields is seriously lagging. Students must be inspired, be…

Academic integrity at our small Canadian college is informed by several key frameworks and centred around teaching, learning, and proactive education. Mathematics assessments were quickly moved through various learning environments over the past year, showing that some assessment design strategies were no longer feasible if they instead centred on…

A study examining the relationship between classroom environment and academic self-efficacy surveyed 951 mathematics students in grades 8 and 10 in 4 Canadian high schools. Improved levels of involvement, investigation, and task orientation were associated with higher levels of academic efficacy. Conventional classrooms may foster academic…

Recent research demonstrates that in many countries gender differences in mathematics achievement have virtually disappeared. Expectancy-value theory and social cognition theory both predict that if gender differences in achievement have declined there should be a similar decline in gender differences in self-beliefs. Extant literature is…

A structural model of mathematics achievement was tested with 117 male and 108 female Canadian high school seniors, examining the role of self-efficacy as a mediator between mathematics attitudes and achievement. The postulated model for similarly specified parameters was a good fit to data for both males and females. (SLD)

Given international concerns about students' pursuit (or more correctly, non-pursuit) of courses and careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, this study is about achieving a better understanding of factors related to high school students' engagement in science. The study builds on previous secondary analyses of Programme for…

The authors explored the moderating effect of teachers' expectancies and general sense of efficacy on the relationship between students' achievement and their cognitive engagement and achievement 1 year later. They used hierarchical linear modeling with a longitudinal sample of 79 mathematics teachers and their 1,364 secondary school students…

In this study, we tested the claim that sex differences in mathematics achievement are related to boys' and girls' differing achievement-related beliefs. We compared the mathematics report card grades, 2001 Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA) Numeracy subtest scores, performance attributions, and self-efficacy of 161 British Columbian public school…

Preservice elementary school teachers are under ever increasing pressure to deliver quality mathematics instruction to their students. Mathematics anxiety and mathematics teacher efficacy are constructs that are commonly measured in preservice elementary school teachers and are used to help identify future challenges these preservice teachers…

This study examines how one teacher supported low-achieving students' self-regulated learning (SRL) in the context of a secondary mathematics class. The teacher's scaffolding provided students with multiple opportunities to use feedback and adapt learning and study strategies. Data compared pre- and post-measures of metacognitive skills,…

The current study investigated the impact of performance feedback on female students' motivation following a summative classroom assessment in STEM. Seventh through ninth grade students (N = 161) were randomly assigned by their math or science class to one of the following conditions: grades, written comments, grades and comments, and no feedback.…

This paper investigates the phenomena of overclaiming -- the propensity for individuals to claim more knowledge about an issue or topic than they really (or could possibly) do. Using Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) data from nine Anglophone countries and over 40,000 young people, we examine teenagers' propensity to claim…

Background: National ranking from the triennial Programme of International Student Assessment (PISA) often serves as a barometer of national performance and human capital. Though excessive student- and school-level covariates (n > 700) may prove intractable for traditional least-squares estimate procedures, shrinkage methods may be more…