This paper introduces Causal Agency Theory, an extension of the functional model of self-determination. Causal Agency Theory addresses the need for interventions and assessments pertaining to selfdetermination for all students and incorporates the significant advances in understanding of disability and in the field of positive psychology since the…

Analogies for teaching about causation abound. Rick Rogers is alert, however, to the risks inherent in drawing on everyday ideas to explain historical processes. What most often gets lost is the importance of the chronological dimension; both the length of time during which some contributory causes may have been present, and the ways in which they…

This report summarizes the complex research literature on quantitative methods for assessing how impacts of educational interventions on instructional practices and student learning differ across students, educators, and schools. It also provides technical guidance about the use and interpretation of these methods. The research topics addressed…

Does maternal education have an impact on children's educational outcomes even at the very low levels found in many developing countries? We use instrumental variables analysis to address this issue in Pakistan. We find that children of mothers with some education spend 72 more minutes per day on educational activities at home. Mothers with some…

The study of SLA, as is true for much social science research, aims broadly at answering questions of causality--for instance, "Is one learning context more likely than another to promote gains in second language learning?" Context-of-learning research in the study of SLA, however, often involves observational, rather than experimental,…

This article considers and illustrates a strategy to study effects of school context on differential item functioning (DIF) in large-scale assessment. The approach employs a hierarchical generalized linear modeling framework to (a) detect DIF, and (b) identify school-level correlates of the between-group differences in item performance. To…

In this article, the authors attempt to employ a pedagogical tool, social perspective-taking, as a way to engage their students in the act of critical self-reflection, from a personal and professional point of view. The use of perspective taking devices, especially around issues of diversity (e.g., race, class, gender, ethnicity, and language) is…