Over the past few decades, the figure of the market has clearly made its way into the field of education. For some authors, it represents an alternative to regulation by the public authorities, a different form of co-ordination which is better able to meet the objectives of the education systems. Through a secondary analysis of the PISA 2006…

Teachers' instructional practices fundamentally shape students' classroom experiences. However, it is still unclear what patterns of instructional practice are related to specific classroom goal structures, and how momentary changes in classroom goal structures affect students' momentary cognitive engagement in high school science.…

The positive relationship between self-regulation and student achievement has been repeatedly supported through research. Key considerations that have resulted from prior research include instructor feedback and explicit expectations, student perception of their control of their progress, accurate self-calibration, reflection, goal-setting, age,…

This study explored the predictive effects of science self-beliefs on science achievement for 24,680 13-year-old students from Gulf Cooperation Council member countries--Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates--who participated in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2007. The…

Aspects of assessment in physics are considered with the aim of designing assessments that will encourage a deep approach to student learning and will ultimately lead to higher levels of achievement. A range of physics questions are considered and categorized by the level of knowledge and understanding which is require for a successful answer.…

Ask someone to name a female scientist and they will inevitably say Marie Curie. They would be very unlikely to be able to name a second. Does this mean there have been no women achieving greatness in science in the past century? In fact, there have been many and not only have they achieved great things, they have had to overcome considerable…

The achievements of Michael Faraday in the fields of electricity and electrochemistry have led some to describe him as the greatest experimental scientist in history. Charles Dickens was the creative genius behind some of the most memorable characters in literature. In this article, we share an historical account of how the collaboration of these…

Background: When studying student performance across different countries or cultures, an important aspect for comparisons is that of score comparability. In other words, it is imperative that the latent variable (i.e., construct of interest) is understood and measured equivalently across all participating groups or countries, if our inferences…

The theory of constructivism states that learning is non-linear, recursive, continuous, complex and relational--Despite the difficulty of deducing constructivist pedagogy from constructivist theories, there are models and common elements to consider in planning new program. Reflective activities are a common feature of all the programs of…

Motivational interviewing (MI) is a brief client-centred intervention that increases intrinsic motivation for change. Little research has been conducted on MI to promote academic behaviours, but two studies found that one session of MI did improve middle-school students' math grades [Strait, G., Smith, B., McQuillin, S., Terry, J., Swan, S., &…

The study was conducted to show the effectiveness of concept mapping as a teaching strategy to undergraduate students taking introductory physics course. A number of researchers have investigated the effectiveness of concept mapping on student academic achievement. The main focus of these studies have been on comparing the effectiveness of concept…

This study examined the effect of the translation of traditional scientific vocabulary into plain English on student achievement in college science instruction. The study took place in the context of an introductory microbiology course. Data were collected from course sections instructed with traditional microbiology vocabulary as well as sections…

This paper reflects upon the development, design, and results of a questionnaire distributed to professors of science education concerning the processes involved in a national accreditation of teacher education programs in science. After a pilot study, five professors/administrators from public and private institutions designed a questionnaire and…

Main aim of this study is to examine the influence of computer-assisted roundhouse diagrams on high school 9th grade students' academic achievements in the subjects of "Force and Motion". The study was carried out in a public high school in Diyarbakir the province in the Southeast of Turkey. In the study, the "pre-test-post-test…

It is critical for countries to ensure that capable secondary school students receive further preparation in advanced mathematics and science, so that they are ready to enter challenging university-level studies that prepare them for careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. This group of students will become the…