Research demonstrated that a dyslexia diagnosis is mainly given after the most effective time for intervention has passed, referred to as the dyslexia paradox. Although some pre-reading cognitive measures have been found to be strong predictors of early literacy acquisition, i.e., phonological awareness (PA), letter knowledge (LK), and rapid…

The goal of this study was to investigate whether single executive function (EF) tests were predictive for learning performance in mainly young and middle-aged adults. The tests measured shifting and updating. Processing speed was also measured. In an observational study, cognitive performance and learning performance were measured objectively in…

This study focused on effects of high-ability programs on students' achievement emotions, i.e. emotions that students experience that are associated with achievement activities. Participants were students in grade 4-6 of primary education: 218 students attended full-time high-ability programs, 245 attended part-time high-ability programs (i.e.…

Youth policy is more than a mere response to the actual behavior of children, but it is equally influenced by values and beliefs of policy makers. These values are however rarely made explicit and, therefore, the authors refer to them as "the hidden curriculum" of youth policy. The study investigation explicates this hidden curriculum by…

This study investigates the structural invariance of the Achievement Goal Questionnaire (AGQ) in American, Chinese, and Dutch college students. Using confirmatory factor analyses (CFA), the authors found evidence for the four-factor structure of achievement goals in all three samples. Subsequent multigroup CFAs supported structural invariance of…

The authors define the requirements and a conceptual model for comparative evaluation research of simulation games and serious games (SGs) in a learning context. A first operationalisation of the model was used to comparatively evaluate a suite of 14 SGs on varying topics played between 2004 and 2009 in 13 institutes of higher education in the…

An important assumption of entrepreneurial competence is that (at least part of) it can be learned and developed. However, human resources development (HRD) practices aimed at further strengthening and developing small-business owner-managers' entrepreneurial competence are complex and underdeveloped. A multisource assessment of owner-managers'…

A tool used in student-centered education is discussion among students in small learning groups. The Western origin of student-centered education, coupled with cross-cultural differences in communication styles, may detract from its cross-cultural applicability. This study investigates how in student-centered education, students' cultural…

This study investigates associations between depressive problems and classroom social status in a large population cohort of Dutch early adolescents (N = 1046, age 13.52 plus or minus 0.51, 52.4% girls). Depressive problems were assessed by parent and self-reports and classroom status by peer nominations. We assessed peer status with respect to…

Adolescents (n=300) completed a Dutch version of the Dellas Identity Status Inventory-Occupation. Reliability of the five subscales ranged from "sufficient" to "very good," and the four identity status classifications accommodated about 90% of the respondents. As expected, achievement and social support by friends in the…

Conducted interviews with 39 young adults in the Netherlands who left school very early and followed their career development for an average of 5.5 years after dropping out. Approximately one in five students returned to school and achieved the educational attainment desired by the Dutch government. A similar number returned to schooling but did…

The present paper examined the underlying structure of Dutch adolescents' peer crowd identification and its relations with delinquency, aggression, depression, and anxiety. Questionnaire data were gathered from 2,334 adolescents between ages 12 and 19. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed four clearly interpretable…

Characterizes typical training programs on "learning to think," outlines past research, and lists criteria for an aptitude-treatment interaction (ATI) study of the relationship between tasks, training methods, and student attributes. Details are given of two computerized experiments examining the different effects of algorithmic and…

In this study, we examined relations between kindergartner's emotional security, task involvement and achievement and teacher's supportive presence in a cognitive training setting, in which the familiarity of the teacher was varied. Participants were 48 kindergarten children (mean age = 51.65 months); 16 children were trained by their regular…