Globally girls' performance in mathematics has improved over the years as measured by TIMSS results. Inconsistency in mathematics performance of boys and girls is still an area of great concern. This study examines the relationship between mathematics achievement and gender of South African Grade 9 learners from TIMSS 2015 data. The data were…

There is growing global concern concerning South African learners' mathematics achievement, with research identifying many factors contributing to poor mathematics achievement, with class size being one of them. When classrooms are overcrowded, this may lead to a stressful environment which can negatively impact the quality of teaching and…

This Snapshot investigates the career guidance and support available for 15-year-old students in their schools, who has the responsibility for providing this support and whether the type of support available varies according to students' socioeconomic background and the location of their school. It also examines the types of activities students…

Much of the focus of international comparative studies of students' achievement has been on New Zealand students' falling standards. Using the most recent findings from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), and, in particular, Year 9 New Zealand students' performance in specific items, this article suggests that there…

We tested the broad generality of a model for predicting 9th-10th grade students' STEM career expectations by age 30, focusing on hard science, mathematics and engineering professions only, known for driving innovation, research and development. The model's predictors included "motivation to learn mathematics", "gender", and…

Due to the fixed school start in Norway in August of the calendar year of students' sixth birthday, the age span in one class is up to twelve months. This can impact academic performance both in the early years and later. In this paper, we investigate the relationship between birth month and mathematics performance by paying attention to the…

The importance of family background in determining a student's academic achievement has long been acknowledged by researchers. Nonetheless, the effect of schooling on this relationship has also been widely investigated. Some studies have shown that family background plays a far stronger role while the effect of schooling is minimal; others have…

The PISA assessment indicated that the United States performs at the bottom tier among OECD membership nations in secondary school math education. The dearth of math proficiency presented a significant problem for the United States to maintain its future leadership in global technology. The purpose of this exploratory multiple case study was to…

Teachers lack effective curriculum-based instruments to assess their students' scientific competence that would provide information for modifying their inquiry instruction. The main purpose of this study was to develop and validate a Curriculum-Based Scientific Competence (CBSC) test to assess students' scientific competence in a 1-semester Grade…

Large-scale learning assessments can be used to generate performance and contextual data on student learning outcomes. They can be national, regional, or international; school based or household based. The UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP-UNESCO) has conducted a qualitative study to explore both how and why learning…

South Australia's PISA performance has been in constant decline since 2003 with the proportion of PISA participants meeting the Australian national proficient standard dropping from 73% (in 2003) to 50% (in 2018). In contrast, Singapore is a consistently strong performer. To better understand student readiness in answering PISA questions, this…

Inquiry-Based Teaching Practice (IBTP) is an essential component of science education, and promoting its implementation is at the heart of various reform efforts. Even though science teachers regard IBTP as an essential pedagogical method, they rarely use it for various reasons. This study utilizes Bronfenbrenner's ecological framework to examine…

Teachers use a variety of instructional strategies when they teach various mathematical topics and concepts. Some of these strategies have been found to positively affect the performance of learners while others do not. This study analysed the teacher questionnaire data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Studies (TIMSS) 2015…

Many studies have found that males, on average, perform better than females in mathematics, although the size of this gender gap is small and varies considerably across countries. Stereotype threat has been proposed as a principal cause of this gender gap. From this perspective, females' performance is affected by fear of confirming a negative…

One of the aims for compulsory education is to diminish or alleviate differences in children's skills existing prior to school entry. However, a growing gender gap in reading development has increasingly been documented. Regrettably, there is scant evidence on whether differences between genders (favouring girls) have their roots in pre-reading…