This study explored parents' (N = 351) educational optimism in terms of their trust in the possibilities of school to develop children's intelligence. It was found that educational optimism could be depicted as a bipolar factor with optimism and pessimism on the opposing ends of the same dimension. Optimistic parents indicated more satisfaction…

Educators are increasingly recognising the importance of improving students' mathematics achievement. Much of the current research focuses on the impact of instructional variables on mathematics achievement. The goal of this study was to examine the influence of less researched variables--family and student factors. Participants were 747…

While many studies confirm that positive emotions, including enjoyment, lead to better student achievement, less empirical evidence exists about possible mediator variables that link achievement to enjoyment. It is proposed that achievement and enjoyment form a circular dependency; enjoyment in learning leads to higher achievement but a degree of…