The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of individual and school average achievement on students' self-concept in science. The data of the last four Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) cycles were used, and a two-stage individual data meta-analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between…

Mathematics is a gateway to science-related careers and all stakeholders want to improve the achievement levels in mathematics. In this study we use data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2015 to investigate the association between the learner situational factors of gender, grade level age appropriateness, school…

A general validity and survey quality concern with student questionnaires under low-stakes assessment conditions is that some responders will not genuinely engage with the questionnaire, often with more random response patterns as a result. Using a mixture IRT approach and a meta-analytic lens across 22 educational systems participating in TIMSS…

Parental involvement is essential for children's education. Several studies have examined relationships between parental involvement and parents' socioeconomic status. However, less attention has been placed on school influences on parental involvement, even though schools play an important role in children's education and can affect the parents…

The Council of the European Union has set the goal of reducing low achievement in reading, mathematics and science among 15-year-olds to less than 15 % by 2020. How are European countries going to achieve this? One of the key elements in the learning process is the instruction time available to students. In fact, not only the quality of…

This report examines the recommended minimum instruction time in full-time compulsory general education in 2016/17 in 42 European education systems. It includes national diagrams illustrating the data by country and by subject. The comparative overview examines the policy changes that have taken place over the last year regarding the recommended…

STEM education is a current focus of many educators and policymakers and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) with the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics (CCSSM) are foundational documents driving curricular and instructional decision making for teachers and students in K-8 classrooms across the United States. Thus, practitioners…

Background: While existing evidence strongly suggests that immigrant students underperform relative to their native counterparts on measures of mathematics, science, and reading, country-level analyses assessing the homogeneity of the immigrant achievement gap across different factors have not been systematically conducted. Beyond finding a…

This country review offers an independent analysis of major issues facing the use of school resources in Portugal from an international perspective. It provides a description of national policies, an analysis of strengths and challenges and options for possible future approaches. The analysis focuses on the process of decentralisation of school…

Using an equity perspective, this article compares the education systems of the United States and the Netherlands. Existing data examining student demographics, the organizational structures, curricula, funding, and student outcomes are examined. The Netherlands appears to be getting a "bigger bang for their buck." We make the case that…

The 2007 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Survey highlighted how attitudes to mathematics had declined sharply for students in many of the high attaining countries in the survey, England being no exception. There is a notable drop in positive attitudes to mathematics between 9 and 14, as well as a remarkable decline for 14 year olds…