This study focuses on the relationship between students' early academic skills and academic achievement. In this context, it is aimed to examine the predictors of students' early literacy and numeracy skills on their later math and science achievements across countries. A quantitative research approach using a correlational survey design was…

The present study aimed to investigate cultural construction of children's perceptions of popularity determinants using a cross-cultural approach. This study examined 327 Chinese and 312 American fifth-graders' perceptions of what individual characteristics and peer relationships would make a peer popular. Consistent with cultural emphases,…

Chinese classrooms present an intriguing paradox to the claim of self-determination theory that autonomy facilitates learning. Chinese teachers appear to be controlling, but Chinese students do not have poor academic performance in international comparisons. The present study addressed this paradox by examining the cultural differences in…

A recent study in the USA documented the existence and growth of "excellence gaps" among students. These gaps are similar to the minimum competency achievement gaps that proliferate in policy discussions in many Western countries, but excellence gaps focus on the highest level of achievement rather than minimum competency. We extend this…

Spelling is a critical component to literacy development. Teachers of American children living overseas as well as adult "Third Culture Kids" (TCKs) have reported that spelling is especially challenging for the TCK population. This study investigated whether a difference existed in TCK spelling achievement compared to U.S. norms, as well…

In this article we examine two concepts that aid our understanding of processes of identification in multiethnic schools. The first concept focuses on the complementarity of "three processes of identity" (identifying the other, being identified, and self-identification). This is brought together with the concept of sociocultural coupling…

There is considerable debate about the relative importance of family versus school factors in producing academic and nonacademic student outcomes, and whether and how their impacts vary across different student groups. In addition to critically reviewing and synthesizing earlier work, this study extends the literature by (a) using the ECLS-K, a…

The primary aim of the present study was to investigate whether variations exist in child and parent attributions in predicting child academic achievement within a culture and between cultures. Participants were 158 students and their parents from three different primary schools in Hong Kong, including one British international school consisting…