This study presents part of a research project currently underway which aims to characterise the best practices of highly effective schools in the Autonomous Region of the Basque Country (Spain). Multilevel statistical modelling and hierarchical linear models were used to select 32 highly effective schools, with highly effective being taken to…

The aim of this study was to assess students who bully and their perception of the emotional support, monitoring and instructional support offered by their teachers. Although research on bullying has increased over the past few decades, research on students who bully and their perceptions of their teachers' support and monitoring is scarce.…

The present study examines the relationship between neighborhood quality and parental monitoring of youth aged 10 to 18 (N = 1,630) from the Child Development Supplement of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Multiple measures of the neighborhood, including parents' perceptions of quality, structure (i.e., poverty and affluence), and social…

When cluster randomized experiments are analyzed as if units were independent, test statistics for treatment effects can be anticonservative. Hedges proposed a correction for such tests by scaling them to control their Type I error rate. This article generalizes the Hedges correction from a posttest-only experimental design to more common designs…

Background: To adapt to dramatic changes from physical growth, physical development and the increasing demand of significant others, humor has been found to be an effective coping strategy. However, previous studies have found that adolescents start to express their humor styles with aggressive components which causes negative consequences, such…

Interim tests are a central component of district-wide assessment systems, yet their technical quality to guide decisions (e.g., instructional) has been repeatedly questioned. In response, the study purpose was to investigate the validity of a series of English Language Arts (ELA) interim assessments in terms of dimensionality and prediction of…

The provision of special education for students with disabilities depends upon the availability of well-qualified special educators, which, in turn, depends upon the availability and characteristics of preparation programs. In countries of the world where special education systems are still developing the capacity to provide the education that…

Prior to high stakes examinations, teachers may engage in instructional practices to encourage their students to prepare well for their exams, including the use of "fear appeals". The current study examined whether academic buoyancy played a role in student appraisals of fear appeals as threatening or challenging. High school students…

Student reports are a common approach to characterizing how students experience their classrooms. We used a recently developed method--multilevel confirmatory factor analysis--to determine whether commonly employed measures of achievement goal structure constructs (mastery and performance) typically verified at the student level can be verified at…

Preschool teachers have important impacts on children's academic outcomes, and teachers' misperceptions of children's academic skills could have negative consequences, particularly for low-income preschoolers. This study utilized data gathered from 123 preschool teachers and their 760 preschoolers from 70 low-income, racially diverse centers.…

Intrinsic motivation (IM) is an important predictor of children's physical activity participation. The present 3-year longitudinal study examined changes in IM toward physical activity among a group of at-risk boys (N = 92) at a summer sports camp. Results showed the boys were intrinsically motivated in their first camp year, but their IM levels…

The processes and perceptions of students' self-regulated learning are not easily measured. Thus, research has presented and suggested numerous ways in which these processes and perceptions of self-regulated learning can be investigated and assessed. Accordingly, this study aims to assess whether training in how to regulate one's learning is…

We investigate the impact of external differentiation and vocational orientation of (lower and upper) secondary education on country variation in the mean numeracy skills of, and skills gaps between, adults with low and intermediate formal qualifications. We use data on 30- to 44-year-olds in 18 countries from the 2011-12 round of the Program for…

Inter-rater reliability, commonly assessed by intra-class correlation coefficient ICC, is an important index for describing the extent to which there is consistency amongst two or more raters in assigned measures. In organizational research, the data structure is often hierarchical and designs deviate substantially from the ideal of a balanced…

Background: Students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are more likely to exhibit behaviour difficulties than their typically developing peers. Aim: The aim of this study was to identify specific risk factors that influence variability in behaviour difficulties among individuals with SEND. Sample: The study sample comprised…