Two decades after I left teaching primary school for a university career, I observed students and teachers in a mainstream primary school in Hong Kong. There were three main student communities within the school. Those who were labeled extremely low achievers were taught in a small class of not more than 12; these students were taught a curriculum…

The present study explored whether competence beliefs and intrinsic motivation for different school domains show reciprocal effects over time. A sample of 670 German elementary school pupils (M= 8.8 years, SD= 0.51) was followed over 1 year. At 4 measurement occasions, children completed self-reports on their intrinsic motivation and competence…

The authors addressed the following research question: Does composition of dyads in terms of gender and ability affect student participation, the level of cognitive elaborations during a collaborative activity, and individual student achievement? The study involved 24 6th-grade dyads paired as follows: a low-ability student with a medium-ability…

This study examined development of academic, language, and social skills among 4-year-olds in publicly supported prekindergarten (pre-K) programs in relation to 3 methods of measuring pre-K quality, which are as follows: (a) adherence to 9 standards of quality related to program infrastructure and design, (b) observations of the overall quality of…

FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUTS WERE INVESTIGATED. IQ AND PREVIOUS GRADE WERE EXAMINED, 23.8 PERCENT OF THE DROPOUTS QUESTIONED INDICATED LACK OF INTEREST AS THE PRIMARY REASON FOR LEAVING SCHOOL. ANOTHER 13.4 PERCENT INDICATED PARENTAL LACK OF INTEREST, WHILE 15.3 PERCENT INDICATED DISCOURAGEMENT THROUGH COURSE FAILURE. NINE…

This document was produced by the authors based on their research for the report "Lost talent? The occupational ambitions and attainments of young Australians", and is an added resource for further information. The purpose of this supplement is to provide greater detail about the background of research into the topic of human talent in…

This paper examines whether a single first-year inquiry-based seminar can have a lasting impact on students' academic skills. Fifty-four Inquiry students and 71 comparable students participated in three performance tests: a research skills exercise; an evaluation of oral presentation ability; and a test of critical reasoning and teamwork skills.…

For the full implementation of the quality of education, education reform is sweeping the earth of the motherland, realizing the reform from materials to the ways of teaching, from the contents to the form, from the form to the essence. However, how can the reform of basic education exist without the reform of normal education? We must face the…

The Malaysian Ministry of Education has implemented the use of English as the medium of instruction at primary school level beginning 2003. These students are the main group of people affected by this change in policy. Besides, the implementation of the approach also raises the readiness of students in the rural areas. Therefore, the aims of the…

The aim of this study was to verify whether children from low socio-economic status (SES) are victims of stereotype threat. Children in first grade (6 to 7 years old) and third grade (8 to 9 years old) performed Raven's progressive matrices, an intellectual ability test commonly used by psychologists. The test was presented either with the…

This paper presented the achievements of the expert performance approach. The 10-year rule of expertise is one of them, a very practical rule. However, the expert performance approach does not answer some important questions directly arising out of its main statements. The cognitive-developmental theory of giftedness can help in this regard…

This research focused on children's awareness of peers' social judgments of them, age differences in accuracy attained, and the process by which accuracy is achieved. Children were accurately aware of peers' perceptions of them on behavioral, social status, and ability dimensions in Grades 1 through 6. Older children were more accurate than…

Two studies reported here sought to determine if there was a significant effect on retention to the second year of college for students who participated in a first-year seminar compared to those who did not for students of high, middle, and low levels of pre-college academic preparation. The studies also examined possible interactive effects.…

The factor structure of the "KeyMath--Revised Normative Update" (KMR-NU) "Form A" was analyzed using data from a sample of 130 students. The KMR-NU is composed of 13 subtests that are purported to measure three important aspects of math ability: Basic Concepts, Operations, and Applications. A confirmatory factor analysis…

The longitudinal development of the intraindividual coupling between academic achievement, interest, and self-concept of ability (SCA) was analyzed in a sample of approximately 1,000 children between grades 1 and 12 (ages 6-17). Across all calculated indexes, the average level of coupling was positive. Individuals generally felt competent and…