Working within a methodological framework that identified four focus groups, high-achieving boys and girls and underachieving boys and girls, this article presents teachers' perceptions of how gender identity is seen to influence achievement levels. Beliefs about gender identity informed the teachers' perceptions in relation to each of the four…

The impact of childhood on success in adulthood has been much researched. This paper discusses how parental expectations, social class, childhood experiences and gender influenced the career success of disabled people. For respondents with congenital disabilities, disability was perceived as a primary factor influencing parental expectations, but…

The research literature documents the different approaches to learning that students in Higher Education (HE) can adopt, e.g. deep, surface and strategic. Stage 1 of a longitudinal study aimed to determine the students' approach to learning, and to assess whether this was related to previous learning experiences, initial expectations of HE and…

The present research examined alternative accounts of prior violation-of-expectation (VOE) reports that young infants can represent and reason about hidden objects. According to these accounts, young infants' apparent success in these VOE tasks reflects only novelty and familiarity preferences induced by the habituation or familiarization trials…

Research with anxious and depressed adults has suggested that anxiety is related to an increased anticipation of both negative memories and negative expectancies whereas depression is related to a reduction in positive memories and expectancies. The present study examined whether anxiety and depression in 123 school-aged adolescents would show the…

In 2000, the New South Wales Board of Studies introduced new syllabi for Junior Science (years 7-10) and Senior Science subjects (years 11 and 12), i.e. Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Earth and Environmental Science (Geology). The structure of these courses is similar: it is based on a contextual perspective and is underpinned by a number of…

Previous research suggests that an eventual information technology (IT) success depend on both its initial adoption (acceptance) and subsequent continued usage (continuance). Expectancy disconfirmation theory (EDT) has been successfully used to predict users' intention to continue using information technologies. This study proposed a decomposed…

The aim of this study is to explore three different developmental dimensions in an aging population. Based on sentence completion responses, the investigation examines personal anticipations of possible gains, maintenance, and losses. Additionally, the effects of age and other personal and situational factors are examined. The study sample…

Teenage mothers are acutely aware of the conventional wisdom on early childbearing: namely, that teen mothers' futures are bleak and that their children's development is compromised. This view, while supported by early research, has been tempered by more recent studies. After briefly reviewing trends in teen birthrates, this article highlights the…

This study focused on identifying intercultural attitudes associated with favorable expectations about participation in study abroad programs. A total of 282 U.S. 1st-year college students completed a questionnaire that included measures of ethnocentrism, intercultural communication apprehension, language interest and competence, prejudice,…

The major goal of this article is to provide teachers with a set of clear and concise recommendations as well as a model for developing effective instruments that will promote powerful learning opportunities for their students, and at the same time, improve their own teaching skills. Based on the author's experience, some of the most problematic…

The paper documents the "failure" of deaf education and proposes a model program for the education of deaf children. Reasons given for this failure include lack of linguistic access to curricular content and the cycle of low expectations. Early acquisition of American Sign Language (ASL) is encouraged both to develop cognitive skills and improve…

Examines study of school and family education and socialization experiences of Swiss 11- to 12-year olds, focusing on their analyses of parent/teacher roles and authority, emotions regarding educational practices, and strategies to face actual or anticipated demands. Discusses methodological issues involved in sociological study of children and…

If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a strong network of committed colleagues to launch an initiative like "SENSE." From its conception in fall 2006 to the first national administration in fall 2009, the Survey of Entering Student Engagement ("SENSE") has been supported by key individuals and groups, without whom there would have been…

A persistent and pervasive disparity in academic achievement exists between ethnic minority and English Learner students and their White and Asian peers. This qualitative single-case study of a high-poverty, high-performing middle school focused on the cultural norms, practices, and programs that were perceived to be contributing to narrowing the…