Openness to experience has often been linked to academic achievement because it subsumes traits such as curiosity, open-mindedness, thoughtfulness, and intellectuality. However, recent meta-analyses have reported rather small true correlation estimates. In this article, we first provide a comprehensive rationale for a relationship between openness…

The present study took a meta-analytic approach to investigate whether students' engagement acts as a mediator in the association between affective teacher-student relationships and students' achievement. Furthermore, we examined whether results differed for primary and secondary school and whether similar results were found in a longitudinal…

Structural equation modeling (SEM) is one of the most popular multivariate statistical techniques in Turkish educational research. This study elaborates the SEM procedures employed by 75 educational research articles which were published from 2010 to 2015 in Turkey. After documenting and coding 75 academic papers, categorical frequencies and…

Despite increases in the number of articles published in higher education journals using structural equation modelling (SEM), research addressing their statistical sufficiency, methodological appropriateness and quantitative rigour is sparse. In response, this article provides a census of all covariance-based SEM articles published up until 2013…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to conduct a critical review of the mediation studies published in the field of Human Resource Development (HRD) to discern if the study designs, the nature of data collection and the choice of statistical methods justify the causal claims made in those studies. Design/methodology/approach: This paper conducts…

This report summarizes the complex research literature on quantitative methods for assessing how impacts of educational interventions on instructional practices and student learning differ across students, educators, and schools. It also provides technical guidance about the use and interpretation of these methods. The research topics addressed…

The central aim of the present paper is to analyse the degree to which welfare problems accumulate over time and to what extent such an accumulation is related to class position and household formation. We utilize longitudinal data from the Swedish Survey of Living Conditions, following a panel that was first interviewed in 1979 and, thereafter,…

This paper presents a discussion of various statistical concepts and techniques in light of two propositions. The first is that researchers need to select analytical techniques that prevent them from committing Type VI errors, which are inconsistencies between the research question and the statistical analysis. The second is that many statistical…

Reviews recent developments in structural equation modeling (SEM). Discusses issues critical to designing and evaluating SEM studies and recent technological developments. Examines innovations in applying SEM to different research contexts and designs. Also discusses procedures for redressing common problems and misunderstandings in the…

Discusses linear structural relations, Two Stage Least Squares, and path analysis as statistical procedures that sometimes permit causal inferences from correlational findings. Even though two variables cannot be interpreted causally due to a possible but unknown third variable, these methods are appropriate for handling models with correlated…

Basic philosophical and statistical issues in structural equation modeling (SEM) are reviewed, including model conceptualization, identification, and parameter estimation and data-model-fit assessment and model modification. These issues should be addressed before the researcher uses any of the new generation of SEM software. (SLD)