We examined how different types of negative emotional states (anger, disgust, sadness) influence arithmetic performance, and whether this influence is modulated by the types of arithmetic operations and moderated by adults' age. Younger and older adults verified addition and multiplication problems that were superimposed on emotionally negative…

A sample of 815 Dutch pupils from 49 classes was followed from age 6 (Dutch Grade 3) through age 11 (Grade 7) to estimate growth trajectories for pupils with different socio-ethnic backgrounds. The results indicate that the disadvantage for spelling already present in Grade 3 increases more strongly for Dutch low-socioeconomic status (SES) pupils…

Determines effects of social learning contexts (classroom, school, and administration) on 2,023 Dutch elementary students' social and cognitive outcomes. Examines differential effects of attending private or public schools for pupils' math achievement and sense of well-being at school. Indicators of cognitive and social effectiveness are mainly…

Examined effects of conceptually based instruction on development of students' procedural flexibility. Students in primary schools in the Netherlands participated in one of two instruction programs: the Realistic Program Design (RPD) or the Gradual Program Design (GPD). In both programs, conceptual understanding preceded procedural skill. However,…

The proportion of low-achieving children in a class can affect the progress of individual pupils in that class. Having a large proportion of low achievers in a class could slow down growth in cognitive achievement but, might also boost such growth, due to the effects of specialist teaching geared to low achievers' needs. In a longitudinal study of…