There is an absence of cross-cultural qualitative research exploring sociocultural factors affecting reading motivation. To address the gap, the present study adopted the Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model of human development to investigate factors impacting reading motivation across American and Japanese fourth grade students. Additionally, we…

Self-regulated learning has been one of the important areas in educational research. The authors adopted structural equation modeling to explore and compare the impacts of three aspects of self-regulatory climate (i.e., academic emphasis, teacher trust, and student trust) on three features of self-regulated learning (i.e., self-efficacy, intrinsic…

The authors examine the factors influencing mathematics homework interest for Chinese students and compare the findings with a recent study involving U.S. students. The findings from multilevel analyses revealed that some predictors for homework interest functioned similarly (e.g., affective attitude toward homework, learning-oriented reasons,…

Gypsy children low school engagement, high rates of school dropout, and pervasive school failure are relevant societal challenges that may be explained by Gypsy people cultural mores, but also by the discriminatory behaviors of school peers. The latter may be a consequence of insufficient accurate knowledge of Gypsy culture. The present study…

An assumption of culture-based education with respect to American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) children is that discontinuity between home and school cultures is responsible for educational underachievement. Using data from the 2009 round of the National Indian Education Study, a subset of the larger National Assessment of Education Progress…

This study used Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort data to examine influences of the home and classroom learning environments on kindergarten mathematics achievement of Black, Latino, and White children. Regardless of race/ethnicity, children who started kindergarten proficient in mathematics earned spring scores about 7-8…

A meta-analysis of academic motivation focused on the relations between students' achievement goal orientations and societal values and human development indicators. The authors analyzed relevant studies using either A. J. Elliot and M. A. Church's (1997) or M. J. Middleton and C. Midgley's (1997) achievement goal instruments separating mastery,…

Investigated gender differences in the learning styles of high school boys and girls from Bermuda, Brunei, Hungary, Sweden, and New Zealand. Data from student surveys indicated that although boys' and girls' learning styles differed in numerous ways, individuals within each group were more unique then either group as a whole. Country-specific…

A study of Australian students from six ethnic groups supports the idea that if children from different cultural groups have distinct patterns of cognitive scores, they also have distinct patterns of family learning environments. (Editor)

The Multicultural Attitude Questionnaire, developed to measure multicultural attitudes of teacher trainees, was tested and found to be an effective tool in assessing and comparing student attitudes. (CJ)

Surveyed science students in Australia and Taiwan to explore their perceptions of seven dimensions of the classroom learning environment. Some students and teachers also completed interviews. Results highlighted differences in student attitudes between countries and emphasized the importance of cross-national studies to further understanding of…

Investigated 6000 predominantly American-Indian adolescents' self-reported family connectedness, educational commitment, and risk-taking behavior. Surveys indicated that low family connectedness related to decreased educational commitment and increased risk of absenteeism, substance use, and purchase of substances on campus. American Indian…

Reports a study in which Israeli researchers examined school cultural differences between effective and average secondary schools. The 20 participating schools taught mainly disadvantaged students. Teachers completed the Perceived School Culture Inventory. Results indicated that schools varied in their cultural dimensions, and the variation…

This study examined Chinese students' self-presentation bias and continuing motivation for difficult and easy tasks. Students read scenarios about characters who performed tasks, then answered questions about whether the characters and they themselves would do another similar task. Results revealed self-presentation bias among Chinese students…