This study is an exploration of how U.S. middle school students interacted with different topics in world history, and how their specific understandings of topics were connected to both sociocultural and instructional contexts. I observed two world history classrooms in a Midwestern Catholic school for 10 months and conducted task-based group…

Although learned helplessness has a long research tradition, neither its contextual predictors nor the ways that they take effect are fully understood. This study inquired into the role of selected aspects of the home learning environment for academic helplessness. We tested whether three dimensions of parent-child school-related…

This explanatory sequential mixed methods study examines what influences 7th and 8th grade rural middle school students to consider a potential career trajectory. Phase One of the study includes a demographic and career cluster interest survey of 38 participants. Phase Two of the study focused on 23 of the 38 Phase One participants, who were…

Homework is a multifaceted process that involves a complex interplay of factors. However, the processes underlying homework behavior are not yet fully understood. In Study 1, we tested a model of homework processes by examining the influences and consequences of homework behavior based on 473 Chinese students. In Study 2 with 159 British students,…

With particular reference to Changsha, China (recognised as a UNESCO creative city in 2017), the purpose of the present study was to examine the under-researched relationships between music types, music activities, and sources of creativity in school music learning as perceived by adolescent students. Between October 2019 and May 2020, data were…

This article explores cross-linguistic lexical influence (CLI), i.e. idiosyncratic borrowings and creations based on other languages, in texts written by pupils learning French and English as foreign languages, and whose language of instruction is German. The study, carried out in German-speaking Switzerland, was based on a plurilingual conception…

This study explores the performance of two emergent bilingual (EB) learners--a fifth-grade girl from refugee parents and a seventh-grade boy with university professor parents--on Constructed Response Questions (CRQs) in the STAAR test. Using qualitative methods such as interviews and writing sample analysis, the research evaluates their responses…

The current study was a retrospective mixed-methods quasi-experimental design (QED) study to determine the effects of Progress Learning on Grades 6-8 mathematics and ELA achievement by comparison growth on the Georgia Milestones Mathematics and ELA assessments of students who received Progress Learning services, in relation to students that did…

The middle-school years (Year 7 to Year 9) is a particular challenge for socially disadvantaged populations, with high proportions of children either repeating school years or dropping out of school. In Australia, a group of particular concern is First Nations children for whom there is a collective effort by all governments to improve education…

The importance of prosocial behavior in helping migrant youths overcome challenges associated with relocating to urban settings has been emphasized. However, the trajectory of prosocial behavior in this population and the factors influencing it remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the influence of cumulative family risk on the growth…

Purpose: An analysis of the relationship between discourse and cognition in the context of middle school science teaching is provided in this study. Teacher-led questions, cognitive demands and patterns of interaction were analysed for the discourse side of the study. The students' argumentation quality was explored for the cognition side of the…

This case study applied the Gap Analysis (Clark & Estes, 2008) approach in order to analyze, identify, and validate the knowledge and skills, motivation, and organizational influences and barriers that contribute to the English Language Learner (ELLs) achievement gap. This study focused on participants at Elementary School as its sample…

Aspirations and expectations are conceptually and empirically different. Given their differential impact on various educational outcomes, it is expected that they, and consequently their convergence, would be affected by different factors. This study examines the factors leading to high aspirations, high expectations and to their alignment by…

More than half of U.S. states have enacted policies to expand financial literacy education in schools with kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) with the goal of improving students' financial literacy skills. Although financial literacy education can be key to building long-term financial capabilities and well-being, more information is needed on…

RAND researchers conducted a study that aimed to fill the information gap on how to successfully implement a statewide financial education mandate by studying the implementation of Nevada's 2017 financial literacy education reform. The study focused on the reform enacted by the Nevada Legislature in 2017, Senate Bill 249, which required that…