Background: Boys earn lower grades in languages than girls. The expectancy-value model by Eccles" et al." (1983, "A series of books in psychology. Achievement and achievement motives. Psychological and sociological approaches," W.H. Freeman, San Francisco, CA, 76) is a comprehensive theoretical model for explaining gender…

Background: Educational processes and outcomes are influenced by a multitude of factors, including individual and contextual characteristics. Recently, studies have demonstrated that student and context characteristics may produce unique and cumulative effects on educational outcomes. Aims: The study aimed to investigate (1) the relative…

Background: Assigning students to different school tracks on the basis of their achievement levels is a widely used strategy that aims at giving students the best possible learning opportunity. There is, however, a growing body of literature that questions such positive effects of tracking. Aims: This study compared the developmental trajectories…

Background: Recently, several studies have shown that strength of self-control is a crucial factor in determining positive outcomes in individuals' lives. Most attention has been directed to the relationships that self-control has with learning and academic achievement. Aims: This article analyses the effects of self-control not only on school…