South Africa lags behind in terms of competing globally in science and technology. Thus, the purpose of the study was to investigate teacher factors that influenced learners' motivation to learn science in a secondary school. The study also aimed to determine whether significant differences in motivation regarding teacher influence existed among…

This study aimed to investigate preservice physical education teachers' (PPETs') attitudes toward fitness testing, and factors that may influence such attitudes. One hundred fifty-seven PPETs participated in the study (54.1% male). A slightly modified quantitative survey on PPETs' attitudes toward fitness testing validated by Keating et al. (2001)…

We administered both maximum-performance and typical-performance assessments of cultural intelligence to 114 undergraduates in a selective university in the Northeast of the United States. We found that cultural intelligence could be measured by both maximum-performance and typical-performance tests of cultural intelligence. Cultural intelligence…

This exploratory study assesses the utility of the U.S. version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) teacher form as a screener for mental health and behavior concerns. The SDQ was administered to a heavily economically vulnerable, Latinx community sample of 391 students in grades K-6. Internal reliability and differences by sex…

China's Clinical Medicine Level Test (CMLT) was designed to evaluate the key factors that affect the learning outcome of medical students prior to entering clinical practice. In this study, we systemically analyzed the performance of a cohort of medical students at Jinan University School of Medicine participating in the recent CMLT. The…

This study explains the development of science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) interest among elementary and middle schoolchildren. The cohort longitudinal design was applied, starting with three cohorts of students--fourth (10 years), fifth (11 years), and sixth (12 years) grade--followed for three consecutive years. A total of 947…

We examined the prospective associations between two indicators of mother-youth emotional climate (i.e., maternal affect, dyadic cohesiveness) during a peer problem discussion and youth coping with peer stress following entry into middle school. We also investigated youth baseline respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) as a moderator of these…

Accent is one of the most recognisable signals of social background in the United Kingdom (UK) today. It can cue a listener to a speaker's ethnicity, gender, sexuality, age, region, culture, or social class. For traits that are not visible, such as socio-economic status, accent is often the primary signal. Research in the United States has shown…

This dissertation is comprised of three essays, each examining a different topic in labor economics. In Chapter 1, I examine the productivity and selection effects of K-12 teacher tenure by leveraging variation from New Jersey's TEACHNJ Act. This law extended the pre-tenure period from three to four years and allowed districts to dismiss…

The current study investigated candidate predictors of performance on the Educative Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA) special education teacher portfolio at a rural university in the southeastern region of the United States. As educator preparation programs across the United States continue to grapple with common standards for licensure,…

Despite research linking teachers' occupational health to student outcomes, the processes through which these associations exist are unknown. In a sample of 516 teachers, four latent profiles of occupational health were identified, indicated by job stress, occupational burnout, and teaching self-efficacy: lowest occupational health (17%),…

As technology continues to permeate all aspects of modern society, it is critical for PK-12 students to participate in computer science (CS) learning opportunities that prepare them to navigate and leverage technology in their future careers. However, research consistently shows that Black, Hispanic/Latino/a/x, and Native American students,…

The California Community College (CCC) system serves a large student body, diverse in backgrounds, experiences, and educational goals. This report uses data from the CCC system's records to measure variation in achievement across the state's Strong Workforce Regions. We consider a range of achievement measures, including initial enrollments,…

Today's modern landscape of leaders fails to accurately represent societal diversity. This inequity, as in all inequities, is not accidental, but instead the results of socially constructed norms that begin in childhood. In this dissertation, I question how internalized norms of white supremacy and patriarchy perpetuate racial and gender aligned…

This study investigates the student- and school-level predictors of reading performance across five top-performing countries in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2021. Utilising a multilevel analysis, the research examines the influence of cognitive development, socio-cultural contexts and educational environments on…