Resilience refers to the capacity of individuals to prosper despite encountering adverse circumstances. This paper defines academic resilience as the ability of 15-year-old students from disadvantaged backgrounds to perform at a certain level in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in reading, mathematics and science that…

Summer enrichment and residential programs can provide gifted students with positive social interactions and challenging curricula. However, little research has focused on gifted students' perceptions of the learning environment in such programs. This research project evaluated the psychometric properties and practical applications of the…

Energy balance-related behavior on schooldays and beliefs about school-based interventions may differ between students in different educational levels, sexes, and BMI (body mass index) categories. In Zwolle (the Netherlands), 1,084 adolescents (13-15 years) at 9 secondary schools completed a questionnaire. Overweight prevalence (boys 18.1%, girls…

Purpose: School leadership is fundamental in efforts to successfully implement school reform and improve student and teacher learning. Although there is an abundant amount of research on school leaders' formal training, assessment, and practice, little is known about their informal professional learning. In other words, how do school leaders learn…

We investigated and compared the learning environment perceptions of students, teachers and guides who participated in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)-based outreach activities in secondary education. In outreach activities, schools and teachers work together with companies and other external institutions in learning…

In this study we examined the role of trust as a mediator in social exchange between teachers and their school, particularly between perceived procedural justice and perceived organizational support, on the one hand, and teachers' affective organizational commitment and organizational citizenship behaviour, on the other hand. A model was developed…

To date a significant share of the European population can be considered at risk of social exclusion. It has been argued that adult education programmes are a powerful tool to support vulnerable adults increasing their social inclusion. This study aims to answer the question if and which subgroups of vulnerable adults experience an increase in…

This study examines the effects of general educational quality of schools, school citizenship policy, and ethnic homogeneity of the student body on the acquisition of citizenship competences in the final year of primary education. The theoretical framework is based on developmental, psychological, and sociological studies into effects of social…

This article investigates downgrading from the highest level of secondary education in The Netherlands. "Downgrading" is defined as continuation of secondary education at a lower level. We conduct a longitudinal case study of downgrading in the first 3 years of a secondary school. Univariate and multivariate statistical analyses are…

This paper studies the link between school facilities (buildings and grounds) and student achievement in eight countries using data from the TIMSS 2003 database. The results indicate a negative relationship, but the estimated coefficients are mainly insignificant. Interestingly, the coefficients differ heavily across countries. Whereas there seem…

Background: Vending machines account for food sales and revenue in schools. We examined 3 strategies for promoting the sale of lower-calorie food products from vending machines in high schools in the Netherlands. Methods: A school-based randomized controlled trial was conducted in 13 experimental schools and 15 control schools. Three strategies…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate organisational (cultural and relational) and task factors which potentially enhance teachers' professional development at work (TPD at Work). The development of lifelong learning competencies and, consequently, the careers of teachers, has become a permanent issue on the agenda of schools…

This study focuses on learning in three different hypermedia environments that either support autonomous learning, learner-controlled learning or system-controlled learning and explores the mediating role of academic self-regulation style (ASRS; i.e. a macro level of motivation) on learning. This research was performed to gain more insight in the…

In this study the perception of psychological needs and motivation in a student-centred and a teacher-centred learning environment are compared, using Self Determination Theory as a framework. The self-report Intrinsic Motivation Inventory was completed by 230 students (mean age 16.1 years) in pre-vocational secondary education. School records on…

Two studies were carried out in order to create distinct motivational profiles of students, examine the way in which context had an effect on motivational styles, and attempt to collaborate these findings with the L2 Motivational Self-System. The research questions for this study were concerned with ascertaining whether or not it is possible to…