Having a low sense of belonging in secondary education is associated with feelings of social alienation, lower school performance, and dropping out early. Based on person-environment fit theory, we expect retained students to experience a misfit with their academic environment. This experience could intensify when there are fewer other retained…

Teacher empathy has become an essential topic in educational research for enhancing students' learning achievement. However, most existing studies focused on the direct relationship between teacher empathy and students' learning achievement. They ignored the mediation of student factors (e.g., students' sense of school belonging) between teacher…

Positive psychosocial adjustment is considered critical to adaptive student development and academic growth. Theories of positive youth development argue that psychosocial adjustment is a form of thriving and can be understood via multiple academic indicators, including achievement. To better understand the factors that support students'…

The role and impact of school boards vary considerably across contexts. Whereas school boards in some communities provide schools with extra resources, others mandate instructional approaches. Despite the potential importance of school boards for school resources and student achievement, related single-country research is limited, and…

The concept of school climate has received much attention as a predictor of educational outcomes, including students' well-being, academic achievement, and motivation. To measure this concept, international large-scale assessments often rely on students' perceptions of its different dimensions, such as their sense of belonging, teacher support,…

Stage-environment fit theory posits that the interpersonal dynamics and structural (i.e. school-level) resources afforded by a student's academic environment can either support or thwart student thriving (e.g. achievement). Thus, it is important to examine how these factors impact student achievement at the student- and school-level. This…

Drawing partly on publicly accessible commentary on 2015 Programme for International Students Assessment (PISA) scores (Organisation for Economic Cooperation Development, [OECD], 2016), this article reminds educators of the need to reflect on past, present, and possible future interventions and strategies to help "all" students be…

Based on a review of previous research, the paper describes the distinctive characteristics of rural areas and communities and the factors typically associated with shaping students' learning experience in rural contexts. Data from the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015 and the Teaching and Learning International…

During the last 20 years, there has been an increasing awareness that the U.S. is falling behind in its mathematics education of primary and secondary school students. For those who teach mathematics at the community college level, the deficiencies in mathematics education are painfully evident by the number of students requiring remedial math…

This author states that, since the civil rights movement, Americans have documented and decried--but done little to decrease--the achievement gap. This gulf, one of many that divide people by race and class, has festered in part because the larger question of inequitable investment in poor communities of color has long been neglected.…

Stanford education professor Martin Carnoy examines four main critiques of how international test results are used in policymaking. Of particular interest are critiques of the policy analyses published by the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). Using average PISA scores as a comparative measure of student achievement is misleading…

Key system challenges identified by the Abu Dhabi Education Council provided the impetus for an aggressive strategic plan as necessary guidance and support for the development of the P-12 education system to contribute to advancing its positioning in the global knowledge economy. For the Abu Dhabi Education Council, the analysis served as a tool…

In this era of accountability-by-numbers, the elevated status accorded to large-scale external assessments such as the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is symptomatic of a trend towards data-driven policy initiatives in education, and the need for regular sources of outcome data to constantly feed narrow indicators of…

These proceedings contain the abstracts of papers of EDUSREF 2018, which was held in Ankara, Turkey on 6-7 April 2018. Establishing in 2018 as a scientific initiative; Education, Society & Reform Research (EDUSREF-2018) is an International Conference that aims to bridge the knowledge gap, promote social research esteem, and produce democratic…

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) has become a policy priority in many countries. A growing body of research recognises that it provides a wide range of benefits, including social and economic benefits, better child well-being and learning outcomes as a foundation for lifelong learning, more equitable outcomes and reduction of poverty, and…