The purposes of the present investigation are to compare the structure and level of multidimensional self-concepts for boys and girls from England and Australia, and to demonstrate the use of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in making such comparisons. Subjects were random samples of 303 English preadolescents and 303 Australians that were…

A series of studies was conducted to investigate the nature of children's goals and the role of goals in children's competence in peer relations. First, a conceptual framework was devised which consisted of eight goal types reflecting social-interpersonal and task-related achievement aspects of game playing: task mastery, approach-oriented…

Study behaviors common to elementary school students were incorporated into a questionnaire administered to 793 fourth and sixth graders. Factor structures varied by sex and grade level, but gender differences in study strategies apparent by grade six may be the source of persistent gender differences in academic achievement. (SLD)

The Second International Mathematics Study was conducted in 20 countries under the sponsorship of the International Association for Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). Among the instruments used in this study was a questionnaire investigating student attitudes about school, instruction, and mathematics. The fit of an a priori model that…

An epistemological questionnaire assessing student beliefs about simple knowledge, certain knowledge, quick learning, and fixed ability to learn was administered to more than 1,000 high school students. Results demonstrate some epistemological development during high school and suggest that epistemological beliefs predict grade point average. (SLD)

Measures of both preferred and actual classroom and school environment were administered to 1,675 secondary school students in New South Wales (Australia). Shortened versions of the My Class Inventory, Classroom Environment Scale, and Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire, as well as the Quality of School Life questionnaire were…

The Responsibility for Student Achievement Questionnaire (RSA) was designed to measure elementary or secondary school teachers' beliefs regarding their responsibility for their students' academic successes and failures. The 30 items were constructed in the alternative-weighting format; for each item describing student success or failure, the…

The concept of psychosocial maturity is reviewed in preparation for the exploration of the feasibility of constructing a scale that measures maturity. Investigation produced a preliminary 54-item scale with high reliability and moderate validity, which is appended. A factor analysis of the scale supports the a priori structure by the theoretical…