Biology research is becoming increasingly dependent on large-scale, "big data," networked research initiatives. At the same time, there has been a corresponding effort to expand undergraduate participation in research to benefit student learning and persistence in science. This essay examines the confluence of this trend through eight…

In the context of university higher education at undergraduate level, the model of student-institution integration, proposed by Tinto & Cullen and later refined in some of its parts, has often been used to explain the process of dropout/persevere, and even to anticipate such events. This paper approaches the evolution of the Tinto's model…

We examined antisocial adolescents' perceptions of the importance of and their ability to accomplish positive life outcomes (e.g., employment) and avoid negative ones (e.g., arrests) during their transition from adolescence to young adulthood. Participants were 1,354 adolescents from the Pathways to Desistance project, a multisite longitudinal…

Adolescents need to develop competencies to navigate an adult world that is complex and disorderly: a world of heterogeneous macro- to microecological systems containing contradictions and catch-22s. This exploratory essay examines adolescents' conscious processes of developing pertinent competencies for pursuing goals (agency) in these kinds of…

This study investigates the relationship between having an older sibling and early goal-directed motor development. In a longitudinal study, infants were filmed playing with their mother and were observed at 5 and 12 months of age. After each observation, they were assessed with the Mental Bayley Scale. From the mother-child interaction, playing…

This study used latent growth modelling (LGM) to explore the developmental course and longitudinal relationships between achievement goals (mastery and performance-approach) and academic performance over a three-year period (four time-points of data collection). Three hundred and fifty-two university students (152 women, 200 men) who first…

This study investigated whether adolescents' appraisals of their education-related goals change during the transition from comprehensive school to postcomprehensive secondary education (academic vs. vocational track) and how such appraisals contribute to their self-esteem. Six hundred and seven 16-year-old adolescents were surveyed three times:…

Background: Individual student characteristics such as competence motivation, achievement values, and goal orientations have been related in meaningful ways to task attainment. The standards-based National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) was developed in New Zealand with the intention of strengthening connections between student…

Achievement goal theory suggests that goal orientations and the perceived motivational climate may influence one another and other motivational variables over time. Therefore, the purpose of this study was threefold: (a) to examine the relationship between perceived motivational climate and goal orientations over time (b) to investigate how goal…

The relative contribution is examined of epistemological beliefs and implicit theories of intelligence to students' adoption of mastery, performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals in two different academic contexts, business administration and teacher education, in the short as well as the long term. The results showed that…

This article offers an analysis of the process of social self-determination of students in the upper grades of the city schools of Mordovia and the influence that their value orientations have on their professional intentions; there is focus on the degree of stability of value orientations as a deciding factor in this process. The work has been…

The authors describe five principles they identified from the literature on exemplary practices to help students with emotional disturbances (ED) have positive secondary school experiences and successful trajectories into early adulthood. The five are relationships, rigor, relevance, attention to the whole child, and involving students and…

This paper uses an individual case study approach to describe effects of the Learning Disabilities Transition Project, a 3-year federally funded research demonstration project which facilitated the transition of students with learning disabilities from high school to postsecondary institutions or to employment opportunities. Project goals included…

Although graduating from college may be viewed as a rite of passage for better social mobility in our society, first-generation students, whose parents never graduated from college, face unique challenges to achieve educational success in our country. The purpose of the proposed study is to investigate longitudinal educational attainments of…

The KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) Diamond (Daring Individual Achievers Making Outstanding New Dreams) Academy, housed in Cypress Junior High School in Memphis, Tennessee, opened in the summer of 2002. KIPP goals include enhancement of academic achievement and promotion of positive student leadership through an innovative redesign of…