Problem Statement: Expectations/perceptions of the future are important concepts at every stage of life. However, these concepts become more important in adolescence, during which critical decisions about the future are made. Adolescents' expectations/perceptions of the future are vital from the perspectives of the families they live with, their…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the largest nationally representative assessment of what the nation's students know and can do in subjects such as the arts, mathematics, reading, and writing. The results of NAEP are released as The Nation's Report Card. District staff play an essential role in NAEP. Superintendents and…

This phenomenographic case study attempted to determine the alternative and misconceptions of learners in selected concepts in Physics. The research adds another dimension to understanding alternative conception in kinematics by qualitatively determining how learners describe/define a distance of 0m, a displacement of 0m, a speed of 0m/s, a…

This descriptive correlational study aims to compare the perception about eight dimensions of school coexistence of typically developing high school students (n = 545) and students with special educational needs (n = 75) from Chile and their relationship with the general academic performance. Based on the analysis of hierarchical and…

Using the draw-a-picture technique, the authors explored the learning conceptions held by students across grade levels. A total of 1,067 Taiwanese students in Grades 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 participated in this study. Participants were asked to use drawing to illustrate how they conceptualize learning. A coding checklist was developed to analyze…

Although the development of critical thinking and chemical literacy is a major goal of science education, the adequate emphasis has not been given to the measurement of both skills. This study reports the development and validation of an integrated assessment instrument to measure students' critical thinking skill and chemical literacy together in…

Research has begun to show that certain schoolwide characteristics--such as student-centered learning environments, leadership, and safety--can be important for improving student outcomes. In keeping with these insights, school improvement efforts around the country are becoming less narrowly focused on the performance of individual students and…

Using Stochastic Frontier Analysis, this article examines the efficiency and effectiveness of financial inputs and demographic data for educational outputs as measured by the Year 12 results for New South Wales secondary schools using a panel dataset from 2005 to 2010. Effective schools, in these analyses, are those that have higher Year 12…

The study purpose was to examine the relationship between sports participation and recent alcohol and past-year alcohol use among students. A secondary data analysis of the PRIDE survey (N = 37,616) was performed. A series of chi-square analyses and odds ratios were conducted. Results indicated sports participation reduced the odds for past-year…

In this article, the authors use the national High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09) dataset to explore (a) if repeating algebra in the eighth grade was associated with overall mathematics grades and course-taking patterns by twelfth grade, (b) if repeating algebra in the eighth grade was associated with students' final grade in algebra,…

Civic participation in the United States is highly unequal, resulting in a "civic engagement gap" between socioeconomic, racial, and gender groups. Variation in civic participation and the civic engagement gap remain contested, primarily as a result of inconsistent definitions and measurement issues in previous work. Using consistent…

In the current study, the aim is to determine the high school students' attitudes towards their teachers depending on some variables and the relationship between their attitudes and achievements. Thus, the study was designed according to relational survey model. The population of the study, which was specified based on the purposive sampling…

The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research established the Gains in the Education of Mathematics and Science (GEMS) program to serve communities in the National Capitol Area (Anderson, Tenenbaum, Ramadorai, & Yourick, 2015). The GEMS program was founded on four key elements to provide opportunities to primarily middle and high school students…

The purpose of the current study is to investigate post-basic English teachers' practice of critical thinking skills and the challenges they face while teaching skills in EFL classrooms. Three research questions were investigated to achieve this purpose: 1--To what extent do EFL teachers use classroom behaviors that nurture critical thinking at…

A key theme in science education research concerns the decline in young peoples' interest in science and the need for professionals in hard science. Goal Congruity Theory posits that an important aspect of the decision whether to pursue hard science for study or as a career is the perception that hard science careers do not fulfil social (working…