This study utilised the "What Is Happening In this Class" (WIHIC) questionnaire to examine factors that influence Californian students' perceptions of their learning environment. Data were collected from 665 USA middle school science students in 11 Californian schools. Several background variables, such as gender, socioeconomic status,…

The Monitoring the Future study has provided the nation with a window into the important, but largely hidden, problem behaviors of illicit drug use, alcohol use, and tobacco use. It has provided a clearer view of the changing topography of these problems among adolescents and adults, a better understanding of the dynamics of factors that drive…

Young people entering post-secondary institutions or seeking employment generally require senior high school diplomas. There are few jobs available that do not require advanced levels of many kinds of literacy and most employers will consider only those applicants who have completed senior high school, even for entry-level positions. When English…

This paper draws on a large Australian commissioned research study that mapped classroom pedagogies called "productive pedagogies". The model of pedagogies derived from an admixture of theory and empirical observations and worked together what Fraser (1997) calls a politics of redistribution and a politics of recognition in its desire to…

The study reported in this article is based on a nationally representative sample of 10,400 students in grades 7 through 11 in 162 schools across Israel. The authors used hierarchical linear modeling to examine the differences between Jewish and Arab schools in the relationships between school-level variables--socioeconomic status (SES) of the…

This article describes the initial development and psychometric evaluation of an ins trument for use with secondary students to measure various perceptions about class activities. The instrument--Student Perceptions of Classroom Quality (SPOCQ)--focuses on meaningfulness, challenge, choice, self-efficacy, and appeal, constructs central to learning…

Adolescence is a time where individuals face a myriad of physical, cognitive, psychological, and social changes, presenting a time of stress and ambiguity. Experiencing stressful life events during this time introduces yet another challenge for the adolescent to address. The present study tested a reciprocal causation hypothesis. From this…

In the scientific literature, the debate around the school and class effect is polarized, because the variance between schools and classes is explained either by school and class process or by group composition. The first aim of this article is to shed light on this debate and move beyond it by reviewing qualitative and quantitative studies…

This study compares middle schools to K-8 schools, as well as to newly formed K-8 schools that are part of a K-8 conversion policy. The outcome is student achievement, and our sample includes 40,883 eighth-grade students from 95 schools across five cohorts. The analysis uses multilevel modeling to account for student, cohort, and school-level…

Hierarchical linear modeling is used to assess individual student, family, and school predictors of aggression in 111,662 students in sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. Nine measures of problem-solving strategies, quality of family and peer interaction, and perceptions of school climate are analyzed at the individual student level. Eight measures…

In this article, the author describes the four characteristics of effective middle schools: (1) Academic excellence; (2) Developmental responsiveness; (3) Social equity; and (4) Organizational Structure. An effective middle school should be a place of learning guided by people who have chosen to work with young adolescents, help them develop…

According to biological indicators trends in young people's health appear favourable, but the psychosocial aspects suggest a different pattern. We studied the differences across schools in common health complaints and in three groups of factors behind them: pupils' individual characteristics, family related factors and school-related factors.…

This article presents the results of the initial stage of research on grades 4-8 teachers' writing instruction within rural and urban contexts across Canada. Teachers' goals and their use of digital technologies and multimedia are examined within rural and urban schools in five eastern provinces. Through half-hour telephone interviews with 54…

This research examined patterns of substance use and academic factors among a sample of 733 African-American and European-American adolescents from a metropolitan area. First, youth were classified into 11th grade high, moderate, or no substance use groups and classified as users, initiators, desistors, and nonusers based on eighth and 11th grade…

Research finds that the availability of specific coping resources can alleviate the more harmful effects of stress among adolescents. Although studies have investigated the relationship between coping resources and various outcomes among general samples of youth, no research has focused on adolescents who report high personal standards in…