Critical thinking disposition (CTD) is regarded as a personal trait within critical thinking (CT), representing an individual's tendency and attitude toward actively employing CT skills (CTS). Previous research has predominantly focused on the external influencing factors of CTD, with limited exploration into CTD itself and the interactions among…

This study investigates the complex interplay between teacher-student and peer relationships in shaping academic engagement during early adolescence. Drawing on a sample of 6048 students from public elementary schools in Slovenia, the predictive power of these relationships beyond academic achievement was examined. Results revealed that both…

The objective of this study was to understand the psychometric functioning of the Child Anger Regulation Measure (CARM), its prediction of emotional engagement, and if the prediction of emotional engagement differs for girls and boys. The sample included 251 upper-elementary school students in the United States (10% Black, 62% White, 6% Latinx, 5%…

This study investigates how individual-level factors contribute to classroom engagement variations of boys and girls across the elementary school years. Classroom engagement was assessed four times between the ages of 7 and 12 years in a large, representative population-based sample (N = 877) using latent growth modeling. Predictors included the…

The present study compared the diagnostic accuracy of a single computer adaptive test (CAT), Star Reading or Star Math, and a combination of the two in a gated screening framework to predict end-of-year proficiency in reading and math. Participants included 13,009 students in Grades 3-8 who had at least one fall screening score and end-of-year…

Social and emotional learning (SEL) has gradually implemented in Chinese schools and is considered as an effective way to improve students' performance. This research aimed to study the influence of SEL on students' bullying behavior, and the role that social and emotional competence (SEC) and peer relationship play in SEL and students' bullying.…

Previous studies have shown that peer victimization causes a great variety of severe adverse effects on children's development, and it is necessary to explore the influential factors and mechanisms of peer victimization. This study examined the associations between teacher-student relationships and peer victimization, as well as the roles of peer…

This study investigated students' fixed mindset trajectories using 6-year longitudinal data from the 4th grade (elementary school) to the 9th grade (middle school). The longitudinal associations between the trajectories and academic achievement with behavioral engagement as a mediator were examined using a piecewise latent growth model. The…

Prosocial teasing is the positive playful form of relational aggression, and studies have found children engage in playful teasing more often than aggressive teasing. Therefore, understanding the basic characteristics or skills that contribute to the more complex social skill of prosocial teasing is important. The current study focused on the role…

This study explored the predictive roles of social expectations (i.e., community influence and social values) and perceived adults' growth mindsets (i.e., teachers' growth mindset and parents' growth mindset) on self-regulated learning (SRL) strategy use and English learning achievement with 685 fourth to fifth graders in Hong Kong. Structural…

Most US students attend coeducational classes, but to what extent do students feel integrated into the entire classroom of their peers, especially with other-gender (OG) peers? The major goal of this study was to investigate how variations in gender integration (GI), measured by students' expectancies about inclusion, efficacy, and social costs of…

Autistic students often experience peer relationship difficulties. As peer acceptance and rejection may be malleable over time, we examined predictors of change in peer acceptance and peer rejection among early elementary-age autistic students. We followed 166 autistic children (mean age: 6.1 years [range: 4-8], 82.5% boys, grades preK-2nd)…

Using data from 832 kindergarten and first grade primary teachers and 662 of their students, the current study investigated teachers' use of behavioral and instructional classroom practices and whether these strategies moderated associations between teachers' expressions of positive and negative classroom emotion and students' social-emotional and…

The goal of the present study was to investigate the link between elementary school teacher burnout and students' perceptions of teacher social--emotional competence (SEC). A total of 676 Grades 4-7 students in 35 classrooms rated their classroom teachers' SEC. In addition, teachers self-reported their current level of experienced burnout at work…

This study examined whether defending and passive bystanding during peer victimization episodes were associated with individual- and classroom-level efficacy to stop peer victimization. Self-report survey data were analyzed from 1,467 Swedish fourth-grade students (mean age = 10.55) from 100 classrooms in 63 schools. Multilevel analyses revealed…