This article examines how personal characteristics contribute to the success of homeschooled students in dual enrollment programs and their transition to higher education, the workforce, or the military. It emphasizes the effectiveness of metacognitive strategies in improving academic achievement and challenges misconceptions about socialization…

In this chapter, I consider how and why gender continues to impact motivation, task engagement, self-regulation, and educational aspirations, choices, and outcomes among both boys and girls. How can motivation theory and research contribute to understanding gender differences in achievement at school, where girls now tend to do better than boys,…

As a personality trait, second language (L2) grit--a combination of perseverance and passion for L2 learning--has recently been proposed as a meaningful predictor of learners' motivational behavior and L2 achievement. The results of a growing body of empirical studies carried out in various L2 contexts have substantiated the power of L2 grit in…

The idea that education should be made relevant to students is long-standing and pervasive in American society. Recently, motivation scientists have clarified important characteristics of students' relevance beliefs, ways to intervene, and individual characteristics moderating intervention effects. Yet, there has been little consideration of the…

This article examines the academic performance of secondary school students from the perspectives of grit and mindset through a detailed review of the literature. What makes a learner resilient? Persistent? Willing to take on academic challenges? The research on grit and mindset provides an understanding of why many secondary students struggle…

This book analyses discourses of effective learning environments globally. It focuses on the student's cultural identity and academic achievement, the significance of cultural and social capital to student's academic achievement, motivational strategies enhancing engagement and performance, effective teaching strategies, and quality in education…

This book focuses on discourses of effective learning environments globally for reducing discrimination in schools. It offers innovative ideas concerning the future directions that education and policy reforms could take, in order to promote equality, social justice, and access to quality of education for all. The chapters offer a timely analysis…

When children enter school for the first time, they encounter a variety of new challenges that include creating positive relationships with peer groups and adults as well as learning to meet the demands of a wide range of cognitive, social, and academic tasks (Baker, 2006; Birch & Ladd, 1997; Pianta, Steinberg, & Rollins, 1995). Infants…

The United States has seen an increase in cultural and linguistic diversity of student populations. Policy makers have looked toward existing research in dual language education, alternative curriculum, and bilingualism to support the needs of dual-language learners. In this paper, we review two areas of research that have implications for…

This integrative text spotlights what educators need to know about children's cognitive development across grade levels (PreK-12) and content areas. The book provides a concise introduction to developmental neuroscience and theories of learning. Chapters on general cognitive abilities probe such crucial questions as what children are capable of…

This work investigates in how far gamification and micro-learning, implemented by the novel technologies H5P and xAPI, are suitable to increase the motivation and learning performance of pupils with cognitive and behavioral challenges. The context for the field trials is the Norwegian SOL framework (short for Systematic Observation of Reading) in…

Although grades are still considered important signifiers of graduates' quality, greater attention has been paid to other measures of learning outcomes in higher education. This shift in attention is attributed to an increased focus on study quality, employability, quality development and accountability. This article examines how grades relate to…

This paper presents protests from academically successful students who privately conveyed to the researchers their feelings of personal discontent with schools. The criterion to select this "sample" was that these students, dissatisfied with school but having good marks, would reveal what others, academically less successful, could not…

The present article focuses on teacher competencies as a major factor that impacts student learning. Ultimately, all attempts to improve education converge in the teacher and the quality of his/her work with students. With their teaching methods, their communication and their classroom management, teachers can structure the kind of learning…

The Center on Innovations in Learning (CIL) is a national content center established to work with regional comprehensive centers and state education agencies (SEA) to build SEAs' capacity to stimulate, select, implement, and scale up innovation in learning. This report is a collection of evidence ratings and practice briefs. The categories for…