This paper develops a human capital-based structural equation model to analyze the mediocre-quality, low-productivity, and low-performance levels characterizing large subsets of universities in developing countries. Using a structural equation model, we have first specified one particular way in which overall university performance might be…

This study explores measures of curiosity and autonomy as two motivation and personality predictors of personal growth initiative (PGI), an indicator of cross-cultural adjustment. The sample comprised 221 international graduate students. Structural equation modeling was utilized to identify the relations among self-perceived language skills,…

In this study, relations between metacognition, achievement orientation and scientific research self-efficacy were investigated. Research findings attested that metacognitive thinking skills play a mediator effect between success orientations and self-efficacy on scientific research. Further to that, success orientation rendered a positive impact…

The aims of the current study are to identify the behavioral factors enabling students' acceptance and use of a podcast aggregator that provides tips about contents taught in the classroom, as well as to investigate its impact on knowledge formation among Accounting Sciences undergraduate students from a Federal University in Southern Brazil,…

Purpose: Earlier studies of social capital have focused on its influence on various aspects of business. There is substantial void in the literature on how social capital enables learning culture in organizations. The purpose of this paper is to explore direct and indirect relations between dimensions of social capital and learning culture in the…

Relationships between students' perceptions and their non-cognitive outcomes (epistemological beliefs, self-efficacy and attitudes to science) were investigated through secondary analysis of data from 14,167 United Arab Emirates students who participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Structural equation modeling…

This paper highlights the importance of conducting studies to ascertain students' perceptions of the teaching-learning process, as this information can provide a valuable guide to course planning and enhance teaching. This study analyses, based on structural equation modelling, the relationship between students' academic performance in an…

The aim of this study was to assess the reliability and validity of ERQ in a group of Egyptian adolescents. 648 adolescents from middle schools in Nasr city, Egypt were recruited. These adolescents aged 14-15 years old (M=14.4, SD=2.22). Of which,400 were females (61.72%) while 248 were males (38.27%). Exploratory Factor Analysis, with CFA and…

Research in the social sciences has focused extensively on the relationship between family background, educational attainment and social destination, on the one hand, and on the processes of skills creation and skills use, on the other. This paper brings these two branches of the literature together by examining the correlation between a range of…

Nonnormality of data presents unique challenges for researchers who wish to carry out structural equation modeling. The subsequent SPSS syntax program computes bootstrap-adjusted fit indices (comparative fit index, Tucker-Lewis index, incremental fit index, and root mean square error of approximation) that adjust for nonnormality, along with the…

Latent growth modeling (LGM) is a popular and flexible technique that may be used when data are collected across several different measurement occasions. Modeling the appropriate growth trajectory has important implications with respect to the accurate interpretation of parameter estimates of interest in a latent growth model that may impact…

Several researchers have recommended that level-specific fit indices should be applied to detect the lack of model fit at any level in multilevel structural equation models. Although we concur with their view, we note that these studies did not sufficiently consider the impact of intraclass correlation (ICC) on the performance of level-specific…

Determining the number of factors is a critical first step in exploratory factor analysis. Although various criteria and methods for determining the number of factors have been evaluated in the usual between-subjects R-technique factor analysis, there is still question of how these methods perform in within-subjects P-technique factor analysis. A…

This study examined whether social competence at the time of entrance to elementary school predicted school adjustment two years later. The sample consisted of 389 children followed from the 1st to the 3rd grade in Lithuanian urban schools. In the 3rd-grade school adjustment was measured by assessing popularity in class, student-teacher…

In this study, the associations between social support, reading confidence and English reading amount were examined using a sample of Grade 5 and Grade 6 primary school students (N = 570) in Hong Kong. It was hypothesised that the effect of parent support, teacher support, and peer support on reading amount was mediated by reading confidence. Age…