An extensive literature has investigated the link between living in an area with an academically selective schooling system and young people's educational outcomes. In contrast, evidence on the link between selective education and young people's wider outcomes is relatively sparse. This article uses rich survey data to test whether young people…

Based on the control-value theory of achievement emotions, this longitudinal study examined students' control-value appraisals as antecedents of their enjoyment and boredom in mathematics. Self-report data for appraisals and emotions were collected from 579 students in their final year of primary schooling over three waves. Data were analyzed…

Female underrepresentation in postcompulsory physics is an ongoing issue for science education research, policy, and practice. In this article, we apply Bourdieusian and Butlerian conceptual lenses to qualitative and quantitative data collected as part of a wider longitudinal study of students' science and career aspirations age 10-16. Drawing on…

The internal/external frame of reference (I/E) model and dimensional comparison theory posit paradoxical relations between achievement (ACH) and self-concept (SC) in mathematics (M) and verbal (V) domains; ACH in each domain positively affects SC in the matching domain (e.g., MACH to MSC) but negatively in the nonmatching domain (e.g., MACH to…

Low participation rates in the study of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) post-16 are a matter of international concern. Existing evidence suggests children's science aspirations are largely formed within the critical 10 to 14 age period. This article reports on survey data from over 9,000 elementary school children in…

This article reports the findings of an analysis into the effect of one year's schooling for 15-year-olds in England on reading performance, reading engagement, and reading activities. The analyses were done on PISA 2000 data by applying a regression discontinuity approach within a multilevel framework. The effect of schooling is estimated as the…

A key feature of current school-sector reform in England is the restructuring of teachers' work and the increased use of support staff to undertake a range of activities previously undertaken by teachers. Supporters speak of a new teacher professionalism focused on the "core task" of teaching. Critics fear deprofessionalization through a…

The attribution of low literacy levels among Gypsy children to difficulties of access to schools neglects underlying sociocultural explanations. There has been little analysis in reports/studies of Gypsy attitudes toward literacy, nor of outcomes of acquisition. Informed by new literacy theory and by the discourse of previous ethnographic studies,…

Studied connections between class size and teaching interactions using a multimethod approach and data from a longitudinal study of more than 10,000 children and their teachers over 3 years. Results show, overall, that in smaller classes, there is more individualized teacher support for learning. Interprets results in the context of teacher time…

The social representation attached to an English or Argentinan national identity were studied for schoolboys aged 7, 10, 12, and 17 years (220 in England and 146 in Argentina) following the Falkland Islands conflict. Findings suggest the potential of socially oriented theoretical frameworks for research on political socialization. (SLD)

Examines the research findings about English educational reforms related to markets in education and discusses several mechanisms intended to bring demand and supply into equilibrium. The English examples clarify the limitations of quasi-markets introduced under current conditions. Discusses implications for the design of policy around strong…

Examines the implementation of educational assessment policy in the United States, England, and Wales from the perspectives of power, what educators need to learn, and legitimacy. Findings suggest that assessment policy is useful for promoting easily observable changes, but not for deep modifications of teaching practice. (SLD)

This study used a diagnostic testing approach to compare the mathematics achievement of eighth-grade students across a sample of 20 countries, analyzing data from the Third International Math and Science Study-Revised (TIMSS-R, 1999). Using the rule-space method, student mastery was measured on 23 specific content knowledge and processing…