High school is a critical period for science identity development. Teacher influences are important but under-researched. Teachers' growth-mindset practices may help students meet the growing challenges to their ability, achievement, and identity in science and have long-term influences, especially for underrepresented students. We explored U.S.…

Despite the importance of preparing socially responsible graduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to address the current state of poverty and inequality, very few studies in higher education have examined the development of STEM students' outcomes critical to promoting a more equitable society, typically focusing on…

By using multi-level modeling, this study explores the impact of students' perception of the quality of the teacher-student relationship and family structure on student achievement after controlling for socioeconomic status (SES), school urbanicity, and school control. The data from 750 schools and 17,000 10th grade students were analyzed. Family…

Background/Context: Studies that compare the achievement benefits of charter public schools versus traditional public schools (TPSs) yield quite uneven results. The quality and long-term commitment of teachers represent related mediators that may help to explain effective and ineffective charter schools. Early findings on the comparative rates of…

There is considerable variation in state policies related to the certification required for teachers in kindergarten and first grade, and relatively little is known about these policies' effects on student learning. This study considers whether children who have kindergarten and first-grade teachers with certification in early childhood education…

This study had three purposes and four hypotheses were tested. Three purposes: (1) To use hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to investigate whether students' perceptions of their engineering career intentions changed over time; (2) To use HLM to test the effects of gender, engineering identification (the degree to which an individual values a…

Our newly proposed integrated academic self-concept model integrates 3 major theories of academic self-concept formation and developmental perspectives into a unified conceptual and methodological framework. Relations among math self-concept (MSC), school grades, test scores, and school-level contextual effects over 6 years, from the end of…

This study used ECLS-K 1998-1999 data to evaluate whether specific kindergarten teaching practices predicted school-year learning gains differently, depending on children's ethnicity, SES, and fall test scores. Exploratory factor analyses guided the creation of four literacy and five math instruction composites from teachers' reports of their…

This review explores predictors and consequences of students' growth goals and growth mindset in school with particular emphasis on how correlational statistical methods can be applied to illuminate key issues and implications. Study 1 used cross-sectional data and employed structural equation modelling (SEM) to investigate the role of growth…

Objectives: We examined the longitudinal relationship between cardiovascular fitness (CRF) and academic performance (AP) among students in a diverse public school district. Furthermore, we determined whether the relationship between CRF and AP varied by student sociodemographic characteristics. Methods: This study used data from 2005-2006 to…

Relying heavily on case or regional studies, higher education institutions market the perceived global skills that students acquire from education abroad as a value-added commodity. As industries increase their global reach, understanding the labor market effects of education abroad from a national perspective is necessary and timely. This study…

Links between positive and negative aspects of the parent-child relationship and child adjustment are undisputed. Scholars recognize the importance of parental differential treatment (PDT) of siblings, yet, less is known about PDT in the context of the shared (family-wide) parent-child relationship climate, or about the extent to which positivity…

This study examines Latina/o students' remedial math needs and outcomes. Data were drawn from a national sample of Latina/o students. Hierarchical generalized linear modeling techniques were used to predict three successful remediation outcomes. Results highlight the importance of providing financial aid and academic support to Latina/o students,…

Based on a one-year longitudinal experimental study with 3,782 kindergarten school children across 15 countries, this article examines the association between prayer and happiness. Results show that the post-test scores on the faces scale were higher for the participant group who had taken the prayer lessons vis-à-vis the comparison group.…

Background: Adolescence is a critical phase of development and experimentation with delinquent behaviors. There is a growing body of literature exploring individual and structural impacts of discrimination on health outcomes and delinquent behaviors. However, there is limited research assessing how school diversity and discrimination impact…