Studies highlighting the importance of parental involvement in schooling have multiplied over the past years. However, well-validated tools assessing the different dimensions of parental involvement are lacking, especially when addressing young students' perception of their parents' involvement. This study offers a preliminary validation of the…

This study tested the factor structure of the explanatory style for failure (ESF) using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), tested measurement invariant across direct entry and transfer students, tested latent mean differences between these groups on the ESF factors, and tested a theoretical path model, whereby ESF explains variance in grades…

Studies of bicultural identity have claimed conflict--harmony and distance--overlap as relevant axes for describing bicultural identity, whereas other research emphasises variations across social situations. Based on this literature and focus group interviews, the bicultural identity of 300 young adults from immigrant families was examined, and a…

This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Learning-Related Boredom Scale (LRBS) from the Academic Emotions Questionnaire (AEQ; Pekrun, Goetz, & Perry, 2005; Pekrun, Goetz, Titz, & Perry, 2002) in a sample of 405 university students from Canada and China. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the factor…

Epistemic beliefs are deeply held convictions about the nature of knowledge, knowing, and learning. In this study, approximately 500 ninth and tenth-grade physical education (PE) students completed fitness-specific measures assessing their epistemic beliefs in the simplicity and stability of knowledge and the speed of its acquisition along with…

The National Survey of Student Engagement has been administered to freshmen and seniors at colleges and universities across the USA and Canada, since the spring of 2000, to gather information about the nature and the quality of their education. After each administration, participating schools are provided with an institutional report, including…

This study tested the Systematic Distortion Hypothesis by examining the factorial validity of student ratings of university teaching. Factorial validity is defined as the degree to which covariance among judged traits resembles the actual or true covariation of observable behaviors underlying these traits. Although many studies have examined the…

Survey of 279 students entering the Faculty of Education at the University of Western Ontario revealed a structure of beliefs about learning and knowledge having 10 factors that were nearly orthogonal with each other. Most students endorsed a view of learning that included both constructivist and transmission-oriented themes. Contains 58…

The relationship between a teacher's attitude and the environment of his or her class was examined. The research was designed to determine the effects of the learning environment on the academic achievements of students. This research measured teacher attitudes with the Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory (MTAI). Students' perceptions of the…

The factor structure of the responses of girls and boys to the mathematics items on the background questionnaire of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) was examined in an effort to identify the constructs that underlie the students' attitudes toward the study of mathematics. In addition, the hypothesis of equality of…

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…

The Student's Perception of Ability Scale (SPAS) was developed in response to a need for a reliable and valid instrument to measure academic, rather than general, self-concept in elementary school children. This scale was designed for use with children in Grades 3 to 6. Descriptive data on the SPAS were discussed in terms of its substantive,…

A five-point school subjects attitude scale, based on the semantic differential technique, was developed after two rounds of factor analysis; it contained 24 bipolar adjectives, each representing one of three factors: evaluation, usefulness, and difficulty. The scale was administered to Alberta (Canada) students in grades 5 and 8, who were…

Pilot, field, and final tests in listening and in speaking knowledge, skills, and attitudes for Alberta (Canada) students in grades 3, 6, 9, and 12 were constructed, using the following steps: (1) selection and validation of high-priority measurable objectives; (2) review of existing tests and related literature; (3) pilot test construction,…