Inquiry-Based Teaching Practice (IBTP) is an essential component of science education, and promoting its implementation is at the heart of various reform efforts. Even though science teachers regard IBTP as an essential pedagogical method, they rarely use it for various reasons. This study utilizes Bronfenbrenner's ecological framework to examine…

South African learner achievement remains poor, despite large investment in schooling over the last two decades. Literature and research findings offer no single explanation or solution. In this article, the authors explored the relative contribution of specific language factors such as the role of home- and school-language equivalence, cultural…

Determinants of educational achievement extend beyond the school environment to include the home environment. Both environments provide tangible and intangible resources to students that can influence science achievement. South Africa provides a context where inequalities in socio-economic status are vast, thus the environments from whence…

We investigate the relationship between teacher licensure test scores and student test achievement and high school course-taking. We focus on three subject/grade combinations--middle school math, ninth-grade algebra and geometry, and ninth-grade biology--and find evidence that a teacher's basic skills test scores are modestly predictive of student…

Understanding students' intentions to study science at upper-secondary school, at university, and to follow science careers continues as a central concern for international science education. Prior research has highlighted that students' science confidence has been associated with their intentions to study science further, although…

If strong school library media centers (SLMCs) positively impact middle school student reading achievement, as measured on standardized tests, are they also beneficial for middle school science achievement? To answer this question, the researcher built upon the statistical analyses used in previous school library impact studies with qualitative…

Eight hundred and ninety-nine (431 male, 467 female and one missing value) Grade 8 and 9 (n = 184 and 713, respectively, with two missing values) learners from secondary schools in Mpumalanga completed a science and mathematics questionnaire. Student's t tests showed that male and female, as well as language groups' scores, differed significantly.…