Excellence gaps are differences in advanced education outcomes among student groups. This study replicates and extends an earlier study on the prevalence and magnitude of excellence gaps based on student sex and immigrant status using Grade 8 TIMSS data. Data were included for the 12 countries that have participated in each TIMSS administration…

Based on the expectancy-value perspective on identity and identity formation, this paper explores the relationship between math identity (MI) and the dimensions of motivation (i.e. intrinsic value, attainment value, utility value and perceived competence) and math achievement in primary school. An additional aim of our research was to explore…

Globally, the private school share of enrollment increased from about 14 percent in 2000 to about 18 percent in 2019. We estimate the systemic effect of private enrollment share on learning outcomes. Estimates of the systemic effect of private school enrollment capture any competitive effects as well as any differences between public and private…

Previous studies have paid considerable attention to the impact on a child's primary education of attending pre-primary school. Researchers have asserted that early educational intervention can compensate for the effects of poverty and inadequate learning environments on child development and school success. This study analyzes the relationship…

Students' information and communication technology (ICT) skills have been shown to be a valuable resource for their educational performance, although to varying degrees across countries. Our paper adds to existing knowledge to understand how and why country-specific ICT characteristics make a difference to math performance benefits students glean…

Background: Home mathematics environment (HME) research has focused on parent--child interactions surrounding numerical activities as measured by the frequency of engaging in such activities. However, HME survey questions have been developed from limited perspectives (e.g., "Early Childhood Research Quarterly," 27, 2012, 231;…

Our study is among the first to provide a comprehensive review of cross-national patterns of gender differences in various STEM-related constructs--achievement, beliefs, attitudes, aspirations, and participation, concerning country-level gender equality. We complement our review with empirical analyses utilizing rigorous methodologies and richer…

Mathematics is pivotal in the contemporary technology-driven world. However, poor mathematical performance continues to be a concern in many countries. Guided by Mathematics in a Cultural Context (MCC) framework, this article investigates the similarities, differences, and potential reasons behind early numeracy achievement in South Africa and…

Chinese children routinely outperform American peers in standardized tests of mathematics knowledge. To examine mediators of this effect, 95 Chinese and US 5-year-olds completed a test of overall symbolic arithmetic, an IQ subtest, and three tests each of symbolic and non-symbolic numerical magnitude knowledge (magnitude comparison, approximate…

Many educators focus on the cognitive and/or cultural/contextual deficits that students bring to learning tasks, which are oftentimes used to explain poor academic performance. Metacognition that can be taught and learned for improving learning performance is regarded as an alternative. The purpose of this year-long collaborative action research…

Chinese students are more likely than US students to hold a malleable view of success in school, yet are more likely to hold fixed mindsets about intelligence. We demonstrate that this apparently contradictory pattern of cross-cultural differences holds true across multiple samples and is related to how students conceptualize intelligence and its…

Authentic contextual learning (ACL) with mobile apps near home became prevalent and promising due to the COVID-19 pandemic since students were asked to learn near home without going to school. However, learning with mobile apps may cause problematic issues, such as anxiety and acceptance of either students or parents. This study aims to…

How do adult "culture wars" in education affect student learning in the classroom? I explore this question by combining information on nearly 500 school district political controversies with data on state test scores. Leveraging variation in the location and timing of these events as the basis for a difference-in-differences design, I…

This study aims to assess the mathematics literacy levels of 15-year-old students participating in the PISA-2022 test, considering the impacts of the frequency of digital device usage, and the influence of printed and digital learning resources in the educational context across Estonia, Finland, China (Hong Kong), Croatia, and Turkey during…

Mathematical achievement is affected by many psychosocial variables. Motivation and problem-solving, for instance, are important correlates. Although psychosocial variables are susceptible to cultural influences, most of the prior studies are based on samples obtained from Western populations. This highlights the need for cross-cultural…