The study explores how parents' occupational field affects gender differences in educational fields. On the one hand, the theory of direct transfer predicts that adolescents enter fields similar to those of their parents because of intergenerational transmission of occupation-specific resources and that adolescents are more likely to draw upon the…

Background: A growing number of scholars argue that Hispanic-White disparities in college pathways are at least partly attributable to the fact that Hispanic students experience the college preparation and enrollment process differently from their White peers. Recent research suggests that one way in which the process differs between the two…

This article reports on the intergenerational transmission of environmental concern and the explanatory power of communication patterns within the family. Using representative data from the Parent-Child Socialization Study in Belgium (PCSS, 2012), this article focuses on the relative influence of the mother and the father, and gender-specific…

The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between test emotions and their proximal and distal antecedents in the math domain as proposed by the control-value theory of achievement emotions, using structural equation modeling. More specifically, it investigates the mediating role of cognitive appraisals of control and value in the…

During high school, developing competence in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is critically important as preparation to pursue STEM careers, yet students in the United States lag behind other countries, ranking 35th in mathematics and 27th in science achievement internationally. Given the importance of STEM careers as…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of financial aid policies on student persistence between the first and second year at a private four-year postsecondary institution in Taiwan. A two-phase sequential research design was employed with priority was given to the quantitative data-structural equation modeling (SEM). While the…

This study investigated parent general value of science operationalized in the 2006 questionnaire of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), as a determinant of adolescents' scientific literacy performance. The transmission of academic values literature is small. To the best of our knowledge, no previous studies to date have…

Building on social-cognitive theory and the expectancy-value theory, this study indicated that early parent expectations for children’s post-secondary educational attainment have a stronger effect on 8th-grade achievement than home-based parental involvement. With a nationally representative sample of kindergarten students and their parents in the…

Studies on factors affecting susceptibility to peer pressure are not plentiful although this susceptibility has been found to be associated with youth problems such as substance use and risky sexual behavior. The present study examined how adolescents' susceptibility to peer pressure is related to their relationships with mothers and emotional…

The inadequate number of American young adults selecting a scientific or engineering profession continues to be a major national concern. Using data from the 23-year record of the Longitudinal Study of American Youth (LSAY) and working within the social learning paradigm, this analysis uses a set of 21 variables to predict young people's…

This study focuses on processes involved in students' academic self-concept constructions before, during, and after secondary school transition. The study is based on a four-wave longitudinal dataset (N = 1953). Structural equation modeling showed that during school transition, the impact of grades on students' academic self-concepts in Math and…

A foundation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education is critical for students' college and career advancement, but many U.S. students fail to take advanced mathematics and science classes in high school. Research has neglected the potential role of parents in enhancing students' motivation for pursuing STEM courses.…

Students' motivation is known to be influenced by both internally referenced and externally referenced factors. Internally referenced factors include self-processes (sense of competence and affect), whereas externally referenced factors include significant others (parents, peers and teachers). Using the Facilitating Conditions Questionnaire, the…

The study examined individual factors and social factors that influence adolescent students' achievement in mathematics. The predictive model suggested direct positive effects of student intelligence, self-rated openness and parental education on achievement in mathematics, whereas direct effects of extraversion on measures of achievement were…

Achievement goal theory distinguishes between mastery goals (the goals of developing competence) and performance goals (the goals of demonstrating competence) [Ames [1992] "Journal of Educational Psychology" 84: 261-271]. In this study, we employed this theory aiming to better understand why adolescents' motivation to learn science…