Background: Differences in competence gains between academic and non-academic track schools are often attributed to selection effects based on students' primary school performance and socioeconomic status (SES). However, how the competencies of comparable students (in terms of school performance and social background) at different tracks develop…

Grade retention is one of the most discussed and controversial educational measures, and yet, it is still widely applied in many countries. Research investigating the effects of grade retention on students' psychosocial variables presents mixed findings, partly due to the variables assessed, methodological issues, and the length of the studies.…

This study aims at investigating Finnish lower secondary grade students' (N = 469) emotional school well-being, social inclusion, and academic self-concept with regard to grade level, linguistic background, and needs for support. For collecting the data, a Finnish translation of the Perceptions of Inclusion Questionnaire for students was used. The…

Youth participation in community-based, structured out-of-school time programs (OST) has been found to promote positive developmental outcomes by providing youth with resources to build interpersonal relationships and essential life skills. The increasing prevalence and multiplicity of youth participation in these activities leads us to expand the…

Beliefs about academic functioning play an important role in the academic development of students. This study considers perceptions about underachievement, that is, the degree to which accomplishments are believed to be in line with potential. In particular, we examined why these perceptions might deviate from measured underachievement, determined…

This 2-year longitudinal study examined relations between enjoyment of learning in Chinese and mathematics, two major subjects in Chinese schools, and indexes of school performance. The participants included 1041 students (501 boys) initially in third, fifth, and seventh grades (mean age = 10.49 years) in China. Data on enjoyment of Chinese and…

Effective mathematics education for Latinx students with learning disabilities (LD) necessitates teachers who uphold high academic expectations, facilitate access to rigorous math curricula, and champion inclusive and meaningful student participation. This study delves into teachers' perspectives on instructing Latinx students with LD, including…

Schools often track students to classes based on ability. Proponents of tracking argue it is a low-cost tool to improve learning since instruction is more effective when students are more homogeneous, while opponents argue it exacerbates initial differences in opportunities without strong evidence of efficacy. In fact, little is known about the…

The present research examined the joint effects of social, dimensional, and temporal comparisons on students' academic self-concepts and parents' beliefs about their children's competencies during students' transition phase from elementary school to junior high school. To this end, we tested the newly developed 2I/E model using longitudinal data…

This study investigated longitudinal associations between mathematics- and literacy-related causal attributions and self-concepts of ability among Finnish adolescents (N = 237). Questionnaires were administered to adolescents in Grades 7 and 9 to obtain information on their causal attributions and self-concepts of ability. The results showed that…

The purpose of this study was to compare how face-to-face instruction and flipped learning differed in terms of student achievement in seventh grade science classes, as well as to assess how students who were in the flipped classroom felt about their experiences. A total of 81 students received face-to-face instruction, and 73 received flipped…

Academic underachievement, as measured on standardised assessments, is commonly reported among students on the autism spectrum. However, little is known about the factors that predict academic (under)achievement, limiting the development of effective and targeted interventions. This study explored teacher ratings of academic skills and enabling…

This paper is based on a survey conducted with 3153 students coming from 29 public elementary and high schools in the Philippines. A majority of the students were 9-12 years old. This current paper seeks to know which type of parental involvement is most pronounced and helpful in improving children's school outcomes. This study concludes that…

Tracking pupils based on their abilities or other aptitudes is a common practice in many countries. In Finland, selective classes with a special emphasis have become popular. The societal and individual effects of tracking are a topic of ongoing educational discussion. Tracking has been seen to increase educational inequality, but still it has…

One cohort that has not been given extended attention in the period during which transition takes place is academically high-performing students. This research study uniquely synthesises some of these key factors by investigating how students in mixed-ability, seventh-grade classrooms across Australia, Peru, Scotland, South Korea, Spain and…