The Self-Efficacy Parent-Report Scale was designed to assess parent perceptions of self-efficacy of their children aged 7 to 17 years. Internal aspects of validity indicated a marginal fit of the data to the unidimensional model. External facets of validity indicated the Self-Efficacy Parent-Report Scale had excellent convergent and discriminant…

The main goal of this research study was to develop and validate a three-tier diagnostic test to determine pre-service teachers' (PSTs) conceptual knowledge of the water cycle. For a three-tier diagnostic test, the first tier assesses content knowledge; in the second tier, a reason is selected for the content answer; and the third tier allows…

Social and emotional competencies have received increased attention as important components of school readiness for young children. Universal programs incorporating social and emotional learning (SEL) instruction for all preschool students are needed given the relation between social and emotional competencies in early childhood and later…

"To prepare our children for the world of tomorrow, we must enhance the learning environments of today" ("Partnership for 21st Century Skills," 2009, p. 24). In the first decade of the 21st Century, a common set of skills necessary for postsecondary success has emerged which includes creativity, critical thinking, problem…

In 1985 the state of Georgia introduced the Quality Core Curriculum (QCC) in accordance with the Quality Basic Education (QBE) Act. These learning standards identified the content knowledge that students were required to learn in each subject area at all grade levels. The QCC was replaced by the Georgia Performance Standards (GPS) to identify the…

There are a large number of students entering college underprepared for college-level mathematics (Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 2011). While this problem is not new, it has become the focus of national attention because of the impact it has on college completion and workforce development. There is much written in the…

This study provided a unique opportunity to examine how two groups of teachers experienced the integration of technology in a K-12 school system in the southeastern United States. The total number of respondents (n = 338) included 21st Century Model Classroom (CMC) program teachers (n = 27) and non-participants (n = 311). Teachers in the 21st CMC…

As a result of growing attention in cross-cultural research, existing measurement instruments developed in one language are being translated and adapted for use in other languages and cultural contexts. Producing invariant measurement instruments that assess educational and psychological constructs provide a way of testing the cross-cultural…

Previous literature provides an overview of the multiple relationships between alcohol use, protective behavioral strategies (PBS), alcohol-related negative consequences, depression, and sleep problems among college students, as well as differences by individual level characteristics, such as age, gender, and race/ethnicity. The purpose of this…

A focus group of 18 faculty members at Campus O of a higher educational institution and another focus group of 16 faculty members at Campus S of the same institution comprised the sample, representative of close to 100% of their respective populations. Independently, both groups were engaged in interactive Problem-Based Learning sessions. They…

Faculty members ("N" = 39) from two universities had their lectures recorded. From these videos, we selected 5-min vignettes centered on eight dimensions of the Teacher Behavior Checklist. Undergraduate students from two universities ("N" = 753) viewed three 5-min video clips of college teachers across various disciplines.…

A pilot study was conducted to examine the psychometric properties of the Environmental School Transition Anxiety Scale (E-STAS) with a sample of 220 fourth- to sixth-grade students who were about to or had completed their school transition. The results of an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of the students' responses on the E-STAS produced a…

This study explored student self-perceptions of writing skills in journalism and mass communication programs at thirteen public state universities in the mid-Atlantic region. Factor analysis revealed seven sets of perceptions among 860 students. A Media Writing Self-Perception Scale was constructed and found to be reliable. The authors propose…

The Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing indicate that multiple sources of validity evidence should be used to support the interpretation of test scores. In the past decade, examinee response processes, as a source of validity evidence, have received increased attention. However, there have been relatively few methodological studies…

In two experiments, we examined fourth and fifth graders' comprehension of the source of information in texts presenting controversial issues. In Experiment 1, participants read short texts in which two people presented different arguments regarding an issue. Participants identified who said what and evaluated each source's knowledge of the issue.…