Purpose: This longitudinal study examined the contribution of preschool morphological awareness to word reading skills and reading comprehension, as well as to the developmental change of reading ability beyond other well-established oral language and cognitive predictors. A distinction was made between the domains of inflectional and derivational…

Small-scale spatial abilities that involve the mental representation and transformation of two- and three-dimensional images and manipulation of objects at table-top have been studied extensively and are considered predictive of both interest and success in STEM disciplines. However, research investigating the relation of large-scale spatial…

This dissertation provides a model for reconsidering student agency in educational spaces and specifically in self-placement practices. Employing a Cooperative Inquiry framework in which students were included in the research process, this project sought to understand the experience of incoming students at a larger research-intensive institution…

Using a positive psychological framework, Broaden-and-Build Theory, we investigated whether and how positive and negative emotions (affective factors) and cognitive flexibility are related to flourishing. Participants are 151 bilingual adults from diverse backgrounds enrolled in a local community college. Results showed that both positive and…

The goals of the current study were: 1) to modify and expand an existing spatial mathematical language coding system to include quantitative mathematical language terms and 2) to examine the extent to which preschool-aged children used spatial and quantitative mathematical language during a block play intervention. Participants included 24…

We study the relationship between locus of control and both educational attainment and college aspirations in adolescence, focusing on the potential channels through which locus of control may influence these outcomes. Even after controlling for a comprehensive set of socio-demographic factors and cognitive skills, there remains a strong…

Background: As autistic children are being diagnosed at a younger age, the need to identify appropriate early supports has increased. Therapist-delivered and parent-mediated autism intervention may benefit children and parents. Objective: This pilot study examined developmental outcomes for autistic pre-schoolers and mental health and wellbeing…

Videos are pivotal tools in pre-service teacher training. First-person, third-person, and 360-degree perspectives are commonly used types and the optimal type remains undetermined. In our study involving pre-service teachers (PSTs), we evaluated the efficacy of 360-degree videos against the first-person and third-person perspective videos…

Teachers' discourse is instrumental in facilitating the emergence of students' scientific discourse. Many studies have shown that teachers' cognitive demand levels and discursive moves are the main factors in eliciting students' scientific discourse, but few focus on whole-class (non-grouped) teaching settings. This research explored the…

Visual media (pictures, photographs) are often used in adult literacy instruction, presumably because they are easy for adult literacy learners to process. However, relatively little research has been conducted on how adult literacy learners comprehend visual media, such as picture stories. Some have argued that picture stories could be used as a…

This research sought to generate large-scale yet sophisticated data relating to ability grouping practices in physical education (PE) in secondary schools in England, with the intent of extending knowledge of the various ability grouping practices being adopted within and across schools. The prevalence of particular ability grouping practices,…

The aim of the present cross-sectional study was to investigate the relationship between academic self-efficacy, life goals and subjective well-being of middle school students. The study group for the research comprised 434 middle school students. According to the findings, subjective well-being was correlated at a significant level with academic…

We applied a balance theory of wisdom to thinking in the domain of science. In two studies, we administered maximum-performance scales measuring Scientific Wisdom, Scientific Reasoning, Scientific Creativity, and fluid and crystallized intelligence, and a typical-performance scale of self-assessed wisdom. Our Scientific Wisdom scale, along with…

Gifted programs, designed to enhance engagement and rigor for students exhibiting talent or potential beyond their peers in the general education classroom, are not equitably identifying and serving Hispanic/Latino students. This qualitative study explored gifted programming at a Title I elementary school located in a largely Hispanic/Latino…

Executive functions (EFs) are a set of high-level cognitive processes that enable children to perform a goal-directed behaviour. During the preschool years, EFs undergo significant developmental changes. Therefore, it is crucial to have reliable measures that accurately evaluate preschoolers' EFs in preschool-aged children. The present study aimed…