Despite the recent policy proclamations urging state and local educators to implement integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) curricula, relatively little is known about the role and impact of pre-college engineering courses within these initiatives. When combined with appropriate mathematics and science courses, high…

Prior research on trends in educational inequality has focused chiefly on changing gaps in educational attainment by family income or parental occupation. In contrast, this contribution provides the first assessment of trends in educational attainment by family wealth and suggests that we should be at least as much concerned about growing wealth…

This study examined the development of adolescents' self-concept of ability in mathematics and literacy during secondary school, and the role that mothers' and fathers' beliefs concerning their child's abilities play in this development. Also examined was whether the role of mothers' and fathers' beliefs about their adolescent child's ability in…

As a nation built from the migration of peoples from every continent in the world, modern Australia developed a unique culture based on an egalitarian ethos. Recent research, however, suggests that social inequality is increasing and, in particular, social mobility is in decline. In this paper, I examine one aspect of social inequality that has…

This study examines the choice of a university major with a special focus on the type of major chosen in the first year and success/failure at the end of this first year, using a sample of 2284 students in Flanders, Belgium. Extending previous research, the effects of prior subject uptake, occupational interests, prior mathematics and Dutch…

Using a propensity score matching method, and regression modeling based on the 2002 Education Longitudinal Study, this study found a significant Catholic school, mathematics achievement effect among those 12th graders who were least likely to attend Catholic school. This result is evident within districts after we used the School District…

While there have been steady increases in postsecondary education attendance by students with learning disabilities (LD), limited research has examined secondary schooling factors that may affect and promote their postsecondary educational aspirations and enrollment. Drawing on a sample of 370 students with LD from the National Longitudinal…

The current study examines predictors of math achievement and college graduation by integrating social learning theory and expectancy-value theory. Data came from a nationally-representative longitudinal database tracking 12,144 students over twelve years from 8th grade forward. Models for math achievement and college graduation were tested…

The inadequate number of American young adults selecting a scientific or engineering profession continues to be a major national concern. Using data from the 23-year record of the Longitudinal Study of American Youth (LSAY) and working within the social learning paradigm, this analysis uses a set of 21 variables to predict young people's…

This contribution asks which factors predict early school leaving, non-completion, and completion in upper secondary education in Norway? The data comprises survey and public register data for 9,749 students. The analyses identified three major groups of variables predicting early school leaving, non-completion, and completion: social background,…

Introduction: This prospective longitudinal study examined several selected family- and school-related factors simultaneously in order to investigate the importance of well known and less examined predictors of educational attainment. Method: The participants were 844 (486 girls) nine-, 12-, and 15-years old comprehensive school students. Family-…

Empirical research on parental involvement in children's education often makes the assumption that levels of involvement remain fixed over time. This paper highlights evidence from a longitudinal study that half of parents of young people in Year 9 reported becoming more or less involved in their child's school life over a two-year period and…

This article is based on data from two national research projects in Norway dealing with upper secondary educational reforms that began in 1994. Together, the research projects represent a longitudinal study of prospective life course data from 1995 to 2003, covering approximately 500 students from the time they were receiving special education in…

Cross-sectional studies have revealed many psychosocial correlates of adolescent substance use, including familial, environmental, and personality variables. In this prospective study, correlates of substance use were classified as concomitants or unstable if they covaried with substance use across time, increasing (or decreasing) when substance…

This longitudinal study examined risk assessment dimensions and practices used by the Orange County (California) Juvenile Probation Office to identify youth most at risk of re-offending. Results indicated that the risk assessment was not equally predictive for females and males. The use of gender specific norms or gender neutral assessments and…