The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has become the world's largest comparative assessment of academic achievement. While hundreds of studies have examined the factors predicting student achievement in PISA, a comprehensive overview of the main predictors has yet to be completed. To address this gap, we conducted a systematic…

During the last decade, there have been numerous reports detailing the importance of increasing science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) majors in the United States. Simultaneously, an increasing number of studies are being developed to predict a student's success and completion of a STEM degree, recognizing that retention is a…

The primary objective of this article was to critically evaluate the routine use of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for representing an individual's performance across a battery of executive function tasks. A conceptual review and statistical reanalysis of N = 10 studies that used CFA methods of EF tasks was undertaken. Despite evidence of…

Research suggests effective professional learning communities (PLCs) enhance teacher collaboration and student achievement. Some studies indicate that these communities also predict greater collective efficacy, while others suggest teacher efficacy is predictive of teachers working together. Although studies have identified effective,…

Character Education initiatives within schools have gained both proponents and opponents over recent years and continue to garner mixed reviews. Proponents argue that the need is urgent and the increasing level of school disruption, antisocial behavior and violence requires a focus on values/virtues/moral education and claim this is synonymous…

In this study, we examined relationships between the use of test results and US students' math, reading, and science performance in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2009. Based on a literature review, we hypothesized that the 16 items in the PISA school questionnaire, which are related to the use of test results, can be…

This study analyzed 2005-2006 Web of Science bibliometric data from institutions belonging to the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and corresponding ARL statistics to find any associations between indicators from the two data sets. Principal components analysis on 36 variables from 103 universities revealed obvious associations between…

Examines construct validity and psychometric properties of the Multi-Attitude Suicide Tendency Scale in adolescent psychiatric inpatients. Confirmatory factor analysis provides support for the fit of the 28-item, four-factor model. Results of regression analyses reveal that high scores on the repulsion by life and the attraction to death subscales…

The purpose of this article is to review evidence concerning the joint impact of family characteristics and child care experiences in understanding children's development. Although child care experiences are related to children's development across a variety of domains, family characteristics, particularly socioeconomic status and parenting…

The 32-item Attitudes about Romance and Mate Selection Scale (ARMSS) was developed to measure constraining beliefs about mate selection. Results of factor analysis showed few gender differences in the degree to which constraining beliefs about mate selection are held by single young adults. However, significant differences were found when age,…

This paper on the behavioral manifestations of child sexual abuse first reviews previous research concerning child variables, parent/family variables, sexual abuse in combination with other maltreatment, and physiological outcomes. Criteria for future research are offered and specific research needs in the areas of developmental progression,…

A 15-item questionnaire was administered on the online catalog terminals at the University of New England (Australia) to assess student attitudes toward computer technology and the new online catalog, and identify predictors of future online catalog use. Data analyses defined two groups of respondents: "reluctant users" and "naive enthusiasts."…

The large majority of students in the Kohlbergian tradition have focused on stages of moral judgment development, on moral reasoning, and on research comparing the influence of standard variables such as age, education, and gender on moral reasoning skills. After briefly comparing the four most frequently employed moral judgment tests developed…

Surveys college freshmen about different types of high school coursework and their relationship to academic aptitude and college success. Possible predictors of college success considered are the number of "academic,""aesthetic," and "practical" course credits, as well as high school grade point average, American…