Middle school has been documented as the period in which a drop in students' science interest and achievement occurs. This trend indicates a lack of motivation for learning science; however, little is known about how different aspects of motivation interact with student engagement and science learning outcomes. This study examines the…

There is growing attention to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) issues in schools, including efforts to address such issues through the curriculum. This study examines whether students' perceptions of personal safety and school climate safety are stronger when curricula that include LGBTQ people are present and…

Although attitudes strongly predict later sexual behaviors, few studies have investigated the factors that influence early adolescent attitudes toward sex. Using a general population sample of urban seventh-grade students (N = 1,736), we examined how supportive parenting, television viewing, perceived social norms, and having a friend and/or…

In this article we use data from the Longitudinal Study of American Youth to examine the influence of parent education on pathways to science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) professions. Building on a general model of factors related to STEMM education and employment, we employ a two-group structural equation model to…