There is evidence that participating in physical exercise reduces stress and the risk of many physical maladies. Exercise is also correlated with higher levels of approach motivation, or a tendency to approach challenge as an opportunity for growth or improvement instead of an opportunity for failure. To date, most research on this relationship…

This study investigated the relationship among critical motivational variables and mathematics achievement as middle grades students engaged in a reform-oriented curriculum, "Mathematics in Context." We tested 327 students in fifth, sixth, and seventh grade before and after two years of implementation. We performed a path analysis with…

Information System (IS) is a requirement for private colleges in improving their governance to reach Good University Governance (GUG). From 2006 to 2008 information technology (IT) assistance had been granted to 1,072 private colleges and continued by grant development program. Considering such a big IT grant, there is a need to study the IT grant…

Objective: MoveU is a social marketing initiative aimed at increasing moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) among undergraduate students. Using the Hierarchy of Effects model (HOEM), this study identified awareness of MoveU and examined associations between awareness, outcome expectations, self-efficacy, intentions, and MVPA. Participants:…

Schools are recognized as one of the most important settings for promoting social and emotional well-being among children and adolescents. This clustered randomized controlled trial evaluated Zippy's Friends, an international school-based emotional well-being programme, with 766 children from designated disadvantaged schools. The purpose of this…

There is an increase in literature suggesting exercise can promote positive changes in physical self-perceptions that can manifest as an increase in global self-esteem. In the present study, we assessed self-esteem using the hierarchical framework of the Exercise and Self-Esteem Model (EXSEM) along with cognitive facets at the subdomain level…

Academic confidence cultivated within the context of learning communities may be an important key to student success. This study examined the structural relationships of four constructs on academic performance and persistence for summer bridge learning community (SBLC) and non-SBLC members. Constructs included: 1) student background; 2) academic…

Objective: There is ongoing debate regarding the impact of youth behavior problems on placement change in child welfare compared to the impact of placement change on behavior problems. Existing studies provide support for both perspectives. The purpose of this study was to prospectively examine the relations of behavior problems and placement…

This study tested Social Cognitive Career Theory's (SCCT) academic performance model using a two-stage approach that combined meta-analytic and structural equation modeling methodologies. Unbiased correlations obtained from a previously published meta-analysis [Robbins, S. B., Lauver, K., Le, H., Davis, D., & Langley, R. (2004). Do psychosocial…

This paper describes the data sources and method used in conducting a 3-year evaluation of the Urban Systemic Initiative (USI) of the National Science Foundation in four cities. The paper also provides a discussion of two approaches to analyzing the evaluation results: structural equation modeling (SEM) and a complementary analysis of the…

This paper argues that efficacy of early intervention must be assessed in relation to both program and extra-program variables. A framework outlining five classes of independent variables and two classes of outcomes to be considered in efficacy research is presented, and regression and path analytic techniques are suggested as tools for addressing…

A need to provide more data about the impact of schools on children in terms of manipulable variables prompted an examination of the relationship between school organization and student aspirations for further education. A causal model is examined which would enable investigation of the mechanism by which school contexts could alter aspiration.…