We present a plausible causal analysis of the impact of playing after school on academic performance and investigate parental support as a potential channel. We exploit the data from the 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Survey to evaluate the effects by using a propensity score matching approach. The results show that playing…

The design research programme learning by imitative and creative reasoning (LICR) studies whether, how and why tasks and teaching that enhance creative reasoning lead to a more productive struggle and more efficient learning than the common but inefficient task designs based on imitating given solution procedures. The purpose of this paper is to…

To consider how processes of education governance linking the work of international organisations and national and regional policy-making in two contrasting policy environments affect policy enactment in schools, differences in mathematics teaching between English and German secondary schools were analysed using Bernstein's account of pedagogic…

What are high school students thinking? The purpose of this study was to examine the degree that psychosocial attitudes affect academic achievement in mathematics for students of different races during secondary schooling. Based on a quantitative methodology, data was gathered from a nationally distributed survey involving over 16,000 student…

For children with persistent mathematics difficulties, research and practice espouses that an altered kind of mathematics instruction is necessary due to sustained performance differences. Yet, a critical issue in mathematics education rests in the question of why research locates the problem within these children. In this paper, we challenge a…

According to the reciprocal-effects model (REM), prior academic self-concept (ASC) has a positive effect on subsequent achievement beyond what can be explained in terms of prior achievement and vice versa. The present study investigated the REM for students studying in special classes for the gifted compared to students studying in regular…

This study describes 3 years of mathematics intervention research examining the effectiveness of a summer individualized tutoring program for rising fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade students with low mathematics achievement. Based on an iceberg model of learning, an instructional framework was developed that identified and targeted students'…

Mathematics has been widely recognized as being challenging for most students. In this study, an online formative peer-tutoring approach was proposed to cope with this problem, and an online learning system was developed accordingly. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, an experiment was conducted to explore its effects on…

This study examined the effects of low-achieving children's use of helping tools in a synchronous mathematics peer-tutoring system on the children's mathematics learning and their learning behaviours. In a remedial class, 16 third-grade students in a remedial class engaged in peer tutoring in a face-to-face synchronous online environment during a…

The National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination in South Africa is a standardised assessment whose main function is to determine whether Grade 12 learners have mastered subject knowledge at the culmination of their secondary education. Alongside this, the National Benchmark Test Project (NBTP) was introduced to develop the National Benchmark…

This study investigated differences between the US and Finland in terms of how students' attitude is related to mathematical reasoning skills through the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2011. Attitude towards mathematics was observed via 3 TIMSS contextual variables: liking mathematics, valuing mathematics, and…

The numerous and varied applications of mathematics to all human endeavours justifies placing emphasis on the teaching and learning of the subject. This study established the effectiveness of the 5E instructional model (Bybee, Taylor, Gardner, Scotter, Powell, Westbrook, & Landes, 2006) for enhancing learning outcomes in mathematics. The study…

Many math students, both EL and non-EL, struggle to reach the level of proficiency on California state tests which is required since the passage of NCLB in 2002 (California Department of Education, 2012). In California only 34% of students scored at the level of proficiency or above in 2011 (National Assessment for Educational Progress, 2012). The…

The advent of advanced technologies provides new opportunities for delivering instruction to students with disabilities. Many classrooms have access to mobile devices, such as iPads and Kindles, and educators utilize these devices to differentiate instruction and augment teacher-led instruction. This delivery method, known as blended learning, can…

One of the critical issues facing middle level educators is making sure we have the types of support in place for providing equitable learning environments for all students and helping them to feel that they belong in school. Literature suggests that a gender gap exists within middle level education today with respect to achievement scores and the…