The most effective stakeholders of distance education processes are the instructors who carry out and manage the teaching processes. Instructors are expected to master the process in order to carry out distance education effectively and efficiently. One of the most important factors affecting this situation is the satisfaction level of the…

First year university undergraduates' academic experience have always been an interesting topic of study. The main objective of the study was to seek a better understanding on the level of self-directed, resilience, and online study skills among first year undergraduates toward online distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 159…

Temporary school lockdowns and physical distancing practices due to the COVID-19 pandemic have led to the risk of problematic social media use (PSU) in students who need to socialize. The effect of PSU on students' academic commitment and the mechanisms that moderate this effect spark interest in researchers. For this reason, the present study…

This study investigated English first language (L1) speakers' motivation for learning Chinese as a second language (L2) in Australia and the links of underlying motivational components to learner sociobiographical (e.g. gender and reasons for learning) and language learning variables (i.e. experience abroad, hours of self-study, and speaking with…

Today, there is much more emphasis on research concerning factors affecting college students' decisions to study abroad than on factors influencing their initial interest in doing so. This paper, therefore, focuses on the latter, examining the determinants of students' initial interest in global learning based on a survey conducted at a university…

Changes over time in social-class inequality of educational attainment have been shown by previous research to depend on whether attainment is measured absolutely or relatively. The pioneering work in this respect by Bukodi and Goldthorpe found that inequality has fallen when attainment is measured absolutely (for example, as the percentage…

Creativity and entrepreneurship are fundamental to the personal and professional development of new generations and for social progress in general. The primary aim of this study was to analyze changes in the creative and entrepreneurial self-efficacy of undergraduates as they progress through university, and to examine whether these trajectories…

Processes that unfold over individuals' life courses are often associated with inequalities later in life. The literature lacks methodological approaches to analyze inequalities in outcomes between groups, for example, between women and men, in a life-course-sensitive manner. We propose a combination of methods--of sequence analysis, which enables…

Objective: Mental Health Literacy (MHL) might play an important role in preventing depression. This study assessed the MHL level for depression of university students and its association with intentions toward preventive actions against depression. Participants: University students (n = 315) were surveyed online. Methods: MHL level and group…

This dissertation presents three separate essays. The first two essays explore the gender wage gap and its dynamics in urban China from 1995 to 2018. The first chapter decomposes the gender wage gap based on the observed wage for workers with a precise measure of the hourly wages. The first chapter examines the observed average gender wage gap in…

Introduction: Recent evidence demonstrates an association between social media addiction (SMA) and aggressive behaviors; however, the longitudinal relationship between these two variables remains not fully understood. The aim of this study was to examine the longitudinal relationship between SMA and aggressive behaviors (overt and relational…

Using the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study Data (TIMSS) 2015 dataset, this study examines 30 different contextual indicators to determine significant predictors of girls' mathematics achievement globally. The study design employs three nested levels in the hierarchical linear model (individual, classroom, and nation) to…

Originally developed in the US educational context, the student engagement concept has become increasingly recognised internationally. It suggests a particular approach to the evaluation of higher education quality and institutional practices for enhancing student growth. However, the lack of cross-national research on student engagement patterns…

The extent to which Theory of Mind (ToM) performance is influenced by cultural and gender differences remains a subject of debate. A sample of 324 Dutch and 511 Italian children (52% boys; 2.8-11.7 years; 50% boys; 2.6-10.3 years; respectively) was administered the ToM Storybooks. Analysis focused on indicators of nonlinearity: moving standard…

Since the early 21st century the number of doctoral students leaving their own country to study abroad has risen significantly adding to swelling numbers of domestic students. The process of doctoral studies has been acknowledged as identity transformation, a process of "becoming" for domestic students and international students. What…