The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how the implementation of Personality Theory in an upper-elementary classroom would impact the sense of community felt by the students in that class. Both purposive and voluntary sampling were used to identify two teachers willing to undertake the study with their classes. Students were assessed…

Children at the beginning of their formal educational experiences are developing cognitively, socially, and emotionally. However, due to the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic, many children are behind in these developmental areas. Self-awareness is a foundation of students' understandings of themselves and the world around them. Without a…

This paper focuses on data from a study of middle- to upper-middle class Scottish S2 ([approximately]seventh grade) students who participated in Inspiring Purpose, a school-based character development program, during the 2016 to 2017 school year. Directed by their teachers, participating youth reflected on values and future aspirations and…

Dimensional comparisons (i.e., comparing own performances across domains) may drive an increasing differentiation in students' math and verbal self-concepts over time, but little longitudinal research has directly tested this assumption. Using cross-sequential data spanning Grades 1-12 (N = 1069, ages 6-18, 92% White, 2% Black, 51% female,…

Stress impedes a students' ability to learn. This includes learning concepts in the academic realm, but also socially, emotionally, and culturally as well. This study took place in a K-12 school in rural North Dakota with a student population of under 200 children. The focus of this research was to find out more about stress and emotional…

Beliefs about academic functioning play an important role in the academic development of students. This study considers perceptions about underachievement, that is, the degree to which accomplishments are believed to be in line with potential. In particular, we examined why these perceptions might deviate from measured underachievement, determined…

Math achievement is an important predictor of progression to later science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education and careers. However, attitudinal factors also play a role, and interventions attempting to improve math attitudes may be important for increasing the number of STEM-aspiring students. To design effective interventions, it…

Young children bring rich social, cultural, and political knowledge to school, cultivated in their homes and communities. This knowledge, ranging from household skills to multilingual practices, is often marginalized in schools that value different norms. Drawing from ethnographic studies in Illinois and New York kindergarten classrooms, this…

Youths' development can be positively or negatively impacted by various factors in their internal and external environment. This study investigated the interactive effects of self-regulation and internalizing and externalizing problems on academic achievement (reading and maths) and positive youth development (PYD) across one year. Data were…

Research shows a decline in U.S. adolescent mental health over several decades. It also suggests that higher levels of life satisfaction lead to better mental health outcomes in this population. The purpose of this study was to investigate correlations between adolescent life satisfaction and eight developmental attributes that can be fostered by…

Insufficient research attention has been focused on the development of academic "under"-achievement and motivational beliefs. A longitudinal, person-centered approach was used to identify latent subgroups of growth in the joint development of teacher-reported underachievement and four motivational beliefs (self-concept, task importance,…

Growth mindset plays an important role in students' motivation for learning. Students who believe that their abilities are malleable are more likely to set mastery goals and to persist when encountering difficulties. Design-based makerspace -- or a makerspace structured with design-based learning components -- has many features known to improve…

Previous studies show that girls have a lower scientific self-concept than boys. Since interest starts declining over the course of lower secondary school, this exacerbates the issue that fewer girls aspire to choose a scientific profession. In this article, we present the concept of scientific profile classes. Profile classes pursue the goal of…

Initial teacher education programme and paper assessments need to encompass university degree requirements and attest to student mastery of teacher professional competencies. This article reports one aspect of an investigation of the nature and principles employed in the design of assessments for a three-year Bachelor of Teaching (Primary)…

Leisure activities are important in assisting individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to build relationships, learn to behave socially appropriately, and acquire new interests--competences that assist in cultivating positive self-consciousness (Specht et al., 2002; Womack et al., 2011). Statistics indicate that 2.3% of 8-year-old children…