In Lebanon, science is taught in an international language (French or English) based on a language-in-education policy rooted in Lebanon's colonial history. Given the intersection among social/socioeconomic class, educational equity, and science performance, learning science in a language other than one's own raises concerns around…

We explore the impact of the language of instruction on academic performance of Arabic-speaking students who are expected to learn mathematics and science in and through a second language (L2). Using as a theoretical background Cummins's (1984) framework relating language proficiency to academic achievement, we provide some insights into the…

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…

This article claims to provide evidence on whether content-subject and cognitive achievement vary in CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) and non-CLIL classrooms in the framework of a newly introduced CLIL programme in Italy. A standardized and validated science test (TIMSS) was administered to a sample 988 fourth-grade students. The…

Understanding the long-standing educational inequities associated with socioeconomic status remains significant for transforming educational policies and practices. To better understand entanglements among socioeconomic status and students' performance in mathematics, we examined different home factors (including language of the test) that…

Using Malaysia TIMSS 2015 data, this study examined the association between eighth grade students' science achievement and mathematics score and the determining factors of science achievement. A total of 9,726 students participated in TIMSS 2015 with an average score of 508.60 with standard deviation of 89.86 for science and 501.57 with standard…

Choice of instructional language is influenced by both previous and current perceptions of the value of a given language. For many South African learners, this has contributed to their education being presented either partially or entirely in a second or third language. This effectively limits their cultural capital and educational opportunities.…

Studies have shown that resources are crucial for improving schooling, perhaps even more so in developing countries than in economically developed countries, where adequate school structures and material resources may be taken for granted. Recent research reviews suggest that computer use continues to grow in mathematics and science instruction,…

Across Europe we can observe the reinforcement of monolingual education policies, despite increasing multilingualism. Recent research has shown that the emphasis is on language proficiency in the socially dominant language. This is viewed as the key to educational success. The use of other languages or linguistic repertoires is not valued in…

In this paper, we try to unravel some of the unintended and intended academic effects associated with post-Soviet educational reforms by focusing on three cases: Estonia, Latvia and Russia. We have chosen this comparison because a unique "natural experiment" in the three countries allows us to compare the changing academic performance on…

Background: The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) assesses the quality of the teaching and learning of science and mathematics among Grades 4 and 8 students across participating countries. Purpose: This study explored the relationship between positive affect towards science and mathematics and achievement in science and…

"The Condition of Education 2017" is a congressionally mandated annual report summarizing the latest data on education in the United States. This report is designed to help policymakers and the public monitor educational progress. This year's report includes 50 indicators on topics ranging from prekindergarten through postsecondary…

For more than 50 years, the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) has been conducting comparative studies of educational achievement in a number of curriculum areas, including mathematics and science. TIMSS 2011 represents the fifth cycle of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS),…

In 1999 Ministers responsible for school education agreed to the new set of "National Goals for Schooling in the Twenty-First Century," with the aim of providing high quality schooling in Australia which would secure for students the necessary knowledge, understanding, skills and values for a productive and rewarding life. As a…