Public art is increasingly recognised for its pedagogical value, especially in higher education, where it enhances institutions' educational outcomes and expands students' learning experiences. However, its potential in basic education remains under-exploited. This study aims to bridge the gap by investigating how public art is effectively…

To help guide school mental health policy and practice, we evaluated patterns of mental health help-seeking across lifetime adversity among sixth-grade adolescents. An ethnically/socioeconomically diverse sample of sixth-graders (N = 751) self-completed assessments of help-seeking and indicators of lifetime adversities: violence victimization,…

Both educators and researchers alike have a shared understanding that the mathematical identities, and perceptions of those identities, 6th and 7th grade students hold can influence their attitudes about their abilities as mathematics learners and doers. However, while identity work has gained popularity as a focus, researchers have yet to…

This cohort-sequential study compared the development of self-perception of ability in Icelandic school children with and without learning difficulties (LD). Participants (N = 198) were students with LD (n = 33) in Grade 4 through 8 and their classmates without LD (n = 165). Self-report measures were taken six times to assess students' perception…

This mixed methods study investigates conceptions of gender both in and outside of the media among a sample of 11- and 12-year-olds. Data from a quantitative survey and qualitative writing responses were collected and analyzed from 54 sixth graders at a U.S public elementary school. Results show that the majority held inclusive views of gender,…

A higher science self-concept may be required to stimulate state curiosity in incongruent situations, but there is limited research on the connection between science self-concept and state curiosity. The purpose of this study is to examine whether science self-concept moderates the process of arousing students' state curiosity when they encounter…

Background: Dealing with uncertainties is inherent in the engineering design process and often poses challenges for young learners. This necessitates providing learners with adequate support to navigate their uncertainties effectively. However, achieving this requires a deeper understanding of the factors influencing learners' uncertainty…

The aim of the study was to explore same-sex and opposite-sex friendship functions among 12 to 13- and 16 to 17-year-old Hungarian adolescents (n = 304). To explore perceptions of friendship functions, the McGill Friendship Questionnaire (MFQ, 30 items, 6 factors: stimulating companionship, help, intimacy, reliable alliance, self-validation,…

This four-wave longitudinal study among 698 Chinese early adolescents explored (1) how personal identity coherence and confusion develop; and (2) whether parenting style and peer relationships (i.e., close friend relationships and peer preference) were related to personal identity development. Participants (M[subscript age] = 11.39 yrs.,…

We illustrate how early adolescents use different patterns of ability feedback to promote a positive self-concept of ability (SCA) in mathematics. Students can simultaneously use ability appraisals from parents and teachers, while also drawing information from peer, dimensional, and temporal comparisons. Although we find these five sources are…

Nowadays, differentiated instruction (DI) has become a widely discussed topic in many schools and educational institutes. However, whilst the notion of DI is not new, studies on the effectiveness of DI with respect to student outcomes remain relatively unclear. This may be due partly to the operationalization of DI as well as the narrow focus of…

As multimodal composition is gradually integrated into STEM learning, research is needed to examine how to fully connect multimodal composing practices and STEM practices to support students' STEM identity exploration. To fill in this gap, we conducted a design-based research project to investigate how students explored STEM identities in a…

National and local data show that many female students lose interest in STEM at an early age, female students that remain interested in STEM show partiality for life sciences. This results in gender stratification in STEM subject areas and is evident in high school enrollments in elective courses. This three-manuscript dissertation investigates…

The outcomes of studies on the effectiveness of special education (SE) remain unclear. There are only a few studies on the effects of SE that have used advanced methodology to minimise the influence of potential selection bias. This study examined the plausible effects of SE on students' affective and motivational outcomes using a…

This article presents findings from a design-based research study that investigated curriculum implementation in a makerspace with a grade six teacher and her class over the course of one year. In comparing the figured worlds of classroom and makerspace, the authors explore through the examples of three students and the teacher how they each…