Using an established global academic interest scale, academic interest dimensions of undergraduate (n = 326) and graduate (n = 401) students were compared. The four-factor structure, consisting of passion for learning, confidence in the future, career aspiration, and self-expression, held for both student groups. However, the item scores and mean…

Invariance testing and correlational analyses were conducted on a new test anxiety questionnaire, the Test Anxiety Measure for College Students (TAM-C), with 1.050 Australian and U.S. higher education students. The samples were administered the TAM-C along with other questionnaires. Results from the aforementioned analyses supported a modified…

Paradoxically, school leaders as a group report high levels of burnout but also high job satisfaction and passion for their work. School principals are passionate about their job, but this passion can be a double-edged sword leading to good (job satisfaction) and bad (burnout) outcomes. We extend the dualistic model of passion (DMP) in a study of…

To date, cross-cultural studies on Theory of Mind (ToM) have predominantly focused on preschoolers. This study focuses on middle childhood, comparing two samples of mainland Chinese (n = 126) and Australian (n = 83) children aged between 5.5 and 12 years. Strange Stories, the most commonly used measure of ToM, was employed. The study aimed to…

The Learning and Engagement Questionnaire (LEQ) measures instructional and environmental variables associated with learner engagement. The present study sought to determine the suitability of the LEQ to measure learner engagement with a sample of Canadian teachers and to further investigate the factorial structure in comparison with the Australian…

High-quality early childhood education is a vital experience for young children with and without disabilities. Social and communication experiences in the context of play represent a core curriculum that sets a foundation for later learning and participation. Using a new self-report instrument, this article describes data collected in a…

The temporal ordering of depression, aggression, and victimization has important implications for theory, policy, and practice. For a representative sample of high school students (Grades 7-10; N = 3,793) who completed the same psychometrically strong, multiitem scales 6 times over a 2-year period, there were reciprocal effects between…

This study explored motivation and engagement among 585 Jamaican middle and high school students. Motivation and engagement were assessed via students' responses to the Motivation and Engagement Scale. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) found satisfactory fit, and by most measures, multigroup CFA demonstrated comparable factor structure for males…

While measures of resilience have been applied in university settings, progress has been hindered by the lack of a consistent measure of resilience. Additionally, results from these measures cannot be easily translated into practical curriculum-based initiatives which support resilience development. Resilience is linked to student mental health…

Studies adopting a construct validity approach can be categorized into within- and between-network studies. Few studies have applied between-network approach and tested the correlations of the social (same-sex relations, opposite-sex relations, parent relations), moral (honesty-trustworthiness), and emotional (emotional stability) facets of the…

Over the last two decades, social capital has received increasing attention in the international literature. Despite the popularity of the construct, problems concerning definition, theoretical conceptualisation, and measurement continue to plague research and policy in this area. This investigation aimed to address this gap by developing a new…

For the international Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS2007) math and science motivation scales (self-concept, positive affect, and value), we evaluated the psychometric properties (factor structure, method effects, gender differences, and convergent and discriminant validity) in 4 Arab-speaking countries (Saudi Arabia,…

Traditional resources for ascertaining risk and protection for disengaged youth are often unsuitable, due to the stamina and skill required to complete them. Many of these tools assess risk without considering participants' potential for personal growth. The present study outlines the development and initial validation of a tool titled the…

This study explored motivation and engagement among North American (the United States and Canada; n = 1,540), U.K. (n = 1,558), Australian (n = 2,283), and Chinese (n = 3,753) secondary school students. Motivation and engagement were assessed via students' responses to the Motivation and Engagement Scale-High School (MES-HS). Confirmatory factor…

The most popular measures of multidimensional constructs typically fail to meet standards of good measurement: goodness of fit, measurement invariance, lack of differential item functioning, and well-differentiated factors that are not so highly correlated as to detract from their discriminant validity. Part of the problem, the authors argue, is…