The aim of this study was to examine the effects of critical thinking (CT) teaching involving general, immersion, and mixed approaches on the CT skills and dispositions of high-school students. The study, which had three experimental groups (EG) and one control group, employed a pretest--posttest control-group quasi-experimental design. CT…

Semester schools provide high-school students with a relatively new type of learning environment that largely has not been empirically studied. This study used a retrospective survey (n = 797) to explore the learning outcomes that stem from semester schools and identify features within the educational environment that promote them. Participants…

In light of rising college student debt, many states now offer multiple options for students to earn college credit while still in high school. Concurrent enrollment programs, which allow qualified high school teachers to teach college credit-bearing classes in the high school, are one such option. Because concurrent enrollment classes teach…

Control-value theory suggests that students' control and value appraisals mediate the relation between contextual supports and student emotions in formal learning settings; however, this theory has not been tested in informal learning contexts. Understanding mechanisms for instructional support in informal learning contexts can inform the design…

School climate is an essential ingredient of student well-being and academic success. Although it has been studied extensively, only a few well-validated instruments are available for the assessment of school climate. The aim of this study was to assess the factor validity and measurement invariance of the Socio-educational Environment…

We investigated the impact of RULER--an evidence-based approach to social and emotional learning--on school climate. Students and teachers from 37 Mexican high schools completed measures of school climate and school satisfaction before, one year into, and two years into RULER implementation. There were significant improvements in multiple…

We examined the predictive relationship between high school students' gender, ethnicity, science self-efficacy as measured by the Science Self-Efficacy Questionnaire composite score, teacher interpersonal behaviors (TIP) as measured by the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI) scale scores, and science grade point average in an urban Title I…

In this research, we developed and validate an instrument for assessing high-school students' perceptions of socio-scientific issues (SSI)-based learning in biology. The development of the instrument was carried out using the following four steps: item formulation, content validation, construct validation and reliability calculation. According to…

The study's main aim was to explore the role of Facebook class groups, created and managed by high-school students, in facilitating social dynamics and learning experiences. Fourteen Facebook class groups were observed online and students were subsequently questioned through focus-group interviews. Our findings show that Facebook class groups can…

Because there has been very little past research into gifted students' science learning environments, especially in Singapore, we selected from four established questionnaires six learning environment scales that are consistent with Van Tassel-Baska and Stambaugh's guidelines for gifted education. These scales were modified slightly to enhance…

At-risk behaviours, including substance abuse, suicidal ideation and delinquency, are prevalent amongst teenage youth in high-school settings. Focusing on the academic and emotional needs of their students encourages teachers to have thoughtful interactions and be continually aware of the problems of their students. Evidence-based interventions,…

Working with scientists has been suggested as an effective way for high-school students to learn authentic science. However, little research has involved students' perceptions of science learning environments in a university internship. This study drew on the theoretical framework of community of practice with cogenerative dialogues to design an…

Given that schools are, potentially, powerful sites for influencing adolescent behaviour, it is important that there is greater understanding of the psychosocial aspects of the school climate that can be leveraged for this purpose. The research reported in this article used structural equation modelling (with data from a sample of 6120 students at…

Parental involvement in children's learning has been found to influence academic success. However, very few tools exist for measuring parental involvement, particularly ones that target adolescents' self-report. The present study assessed the factor structure, reliability and convergent validity of a new scale to assess adolescents' perceptions of…

The study of learning environments involves describing educational contexts and identifying empirical relationships among subject matter (curriculum), teaching practices and other environmental variables. In recent years, this has become a growing field of academic inquiry within elementary, secondary and post-secondary research. Investigations of…