Is compulsive Internet use (CIU) an antecedent to poor mental health, a consequence, or both? Study 1 used a longitudinal design to track the development of CIU and mental health in Grade 8 (N = 1,030 males, 1,038 females, M[subscript age] = 13.7), 9, 10, and 11. Study 2 extended Study 1 by examining the kinds of Internet behaviors most strongly…

The present study uses an ecological systems perspective to examine how parental involvement in school-related activities in sixth grade influences early adolescents' school bonding and academic achievement in eighth grade. Results of multilevel models of multiple data sources (i.e., adolescents, parents, and principals) suggested that parents'…

Problem solving is often challenging for students because they do not understand the problem-solving process (PSP). This study presents a three-stage, context-based, problem-solving, learning activity that involves watching detective films, constructing a context-simulation activity, and introducing a project design to enable students to construct…

A transition from elementary to high school represents a very profound change and a potential source of stress, as it often requires young adolescents to make significant professional decisions. This topic was the focus of the present study in which 303 Croatian students attending their final year of elementary school completed measures of career…

Teachers make a difference for the outcome of their students in science classrooms. One focus in this context lies on teachers' professional knowledge. We describe this knowledge according to three domains, namely (1) content knowledge (CK), (2) pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), and (3) curricular knowledge (CuK). We hypothesise a positive…

Hands-on making (e.g., "Maker") has become prevalent in current educational settings. To understand the role that students' epistemic curiosity plays in hands-on making contests, this study explored its correlation to students' positive affect and continuance intention to participate in a hands-on making contest called…

Considering the essential role that socio-motivational relationships at school play with respect to achievement motivation, this study examined the differences between students with a low school self-concept and students with a high school self-concept in a large sample of 7th and 8th grade students (N= 1088; M[subscript Age]= 13.7) in secondary…

This is a five-year study conducted with junior high school students studying in a 1:1-laptop program in order to test the effects of the program on various measures related to the students: their attitudes, motivation, perceived school norms, self-efficacy, and behavioral intention towards learning with laptops, according to the Theory of Planned…

Currently, many societies are placing a greater onus on academic achievement--resulting in higher levels of stress being observed among adolescent students. Stress can have detrimental repercussions on adolescents' health and is also associated with anxiety and depression. However, since less is known about how high stress levels affect school…

Drawing on the programme for international student assessment 2009 US data-set, this study examines the relationship between formative assessment and students' reading achievement using a structural equation modelling approach. We find that formative assessment is positively related to students' reading achievement directly and indirectly (through…

Although academic pressures are regarded as a primary source of stress among students in Asian countries, there has been paucity of research on the effects of classroom settings providing structure and peer support on Asian adolescents' use of coping strategies and academic burnout. The present study was intended to address this issue. Three…

Background: Previous studies have shown that fundamental movement skills (FMS) and physical activity are related. Specifically, earlier studies have demonstrated that the ability to perform a variety of FMS increases the likelihood of children participating in a range of physical activities throughout their lives. To date, however, there have not…

Extensive support for the seemingly paradoxical negative effects of school- and class-average achievement on academic self-concept (ASC)-the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE)--is based largely on secondary students in Western countries or on cross-cultural Program for International Student Assessment studies. There is little research testing the…

It is well known that teachers frequently observe a decline in the scholastic motivation of many adolescent students, which in turn is often associated with a decline in students' individual school self-concept. In contrast, less is known about the association between students' individual school self-concept and school engagement, or the related…

Building on social-cognitive theory and the expectancy-value theory, this study indicated that early parent expectations for children’s post-secondary educational attainment have a stronger effect on 8th-grade achievement than home-based parental involvement. With a nationally representative sample of kindergarten students and their parents in the…