This longitudinal study tested the "influence of involvement" and "selection" hypotheses for the association between religious versus non-religious activity involvement and two salient indicators of adolescent psychosocial adjustment (substance use and academic achievement). Participants included 3,993 Canadian adolescents…

The purpose of this study is to examine the contribution of gender to the academic self-perceptions of ability and related coursework plans for high school and college across academically advanced students. Participants were academically advanced students (N = 447) from grades 5 to 12. Findings revealed that (a) girls' self-perceptions of ability…

This article contributes new evidence on the associations among immigrant generation, gender, and sexual risk behavior among Latino adolescents in the United States. Longitudinal data from 3,272 Latino adolescents (grades 7-12) who participated in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) were examined for evidence of the…

A two-part screening procedure was used to assess school-age children's experience with bullying. In the first part 16,799 students (8,195 girls, 8,604 boys) in grades 4 to 12 were provided with a definition of bullying and then asked about their experiences using two general questions from the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire (1996). In the…

Bullying is a problem that has been studied in schools worldwide, but there is little research on bullying within Christian schools, a dearth which may stem from the assumption that Christian schools teach character traits that are inimical to bullying. Yet understanding the extent and nature of bullying in Christian schools may lead to a better…

The Advanced Virtual Academy Twilight High School (Twilight High School) provides Houston Independent School District (HISD) high school students with opportunities to earn credits toward graduation and targets students who are at risk of not completing courses required to earn a high school diploma. This 2012-2013 Twilight High School program…

This paper presents a research-based framework for analyzing and monitoring students' understanding of functions in equation form. The framework consists of "growth points" which describe "big ideas" of students' understanding of the concept. The data were collected from Grades 8, 9, and 10 students using a set of tasks…

This report by the Center on Education Policy (CEP), an independent nonprofit organization, looks at the achievement of boys and girls on the state reading and mathematics tests used for No Child Left Behind (NCLB) accountability. The report addresses four main questions: (1) What is the current status of performance differences between boys and…

Many models in science education have tried to clarify the causal relationships of affective variables on student performance, by presenting theoretical models, exploratory SEM (structural equation models), and confirmatory SEM. Based on the literature, the recent AS-TI-CU model scrutinised the most robust stimuli of conceptual understanding (CU):…

Research has shown that emotions play a significant role in the learning process and academic achievement. However, the fact that measurement of emotions during or after instruction usually requires written responses on lengthy research instruments has been given as a reason why researchers have tended to avoid research on this topic in…

Background: Caffeine, the only licit psychoactive drug available to minors, may have a harmful impact on students' health and adjustment, yet little is known about its use or effects on students, especially from a developmental perspective. Caffeine use in 5th- and 10th-grade students was examined in a cross-sectional design, and relations and…

The school is an important setting for physical activity. The purpose of the present study was to examine the association between physical environmental characteristics and participation in daily physical activity during school breaks. Data from 130 schools and 16 471 students (Grades 4-10) in Norway were obtained in 2004 through self-administered…

Although seatbelts save lives, adolescents may be disproportionately likely to omit their use. Using data from the 1997 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a national survey of more than 16,000 U.S. public and private high school students, the authors employed a series of logistic regression analyses to examine cross-sectional associations between past…

The last several decades have witnessed a large increase in the number of girls who participate in sports in the United States. Today an estimated 8 million third- through 12th-grade girls and 12 million boys participate in organized and team sports. While much progress has been made toward achieving gender equity in youth sports, too many girls…

The aim of this study is to conduct an exploratory baseline survey of West Bank students to assess student attitudes and practices towards Human Rights and Democracy (HDR). To achieve the goal of this research, a survey of 3450 youth was conducted that included students from the 8th, 10th and 12th grades throughout the West Bank. The specific…