In this paper we interpret pervasive difficulties with second degree inequalities as a macro-phenomenon emerging from Large Scale Assessment. In line with the theory of reification, we link common students' difficulties to approaches they use that undermine the intertwining of processes and the ensuing emergent mathematical objects. To frame the…

The article describes the analysis of the Italian physics curriculum documents in terms of the coverage of nature of science (NOS). NOS is not explicitly presented as part of the Italian high-school physics curriculum. The article focuses on analysing the implicit aspects of the curriculum documents. The Family Resemblance Approach (FRA) to NOS…

The purpose of this focused qualitative study was to examine two urban high school students' perceptions of a study-abroad experience, five years after the fact, with the intention of assessing long-term effects on increased global competency and awareness. The interviewees, selected from 11 participants, brought an already rich intercultural…

With the increasing shift from STEM to STEAM education, arts-based approaches to science teaching and learning are considered promising for aligning school science curricula with the development of twenty-first century skills, including creativity. Yet the impact of STEAM practices on student creativity and specifically on how the latter is…

Cognitive self-regulation is regarded as necessary for enhancing academic success and the possibility of lifelong learning. This study, based on 263,683 Italian 10th-grade students, examines the use of self-regulated cognitive strategies in immigrant and native students, as well as in boys and girls. Preliminarily, we examined the psychometric…

This study investigates how students and researchers shape their knowledge and perception of educational topics. The mindset or forma mentis of 159 Italian high school students and of 59 international researchers in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) are reconstructed through forma mentis networks, i.e., cognitive networks of…

Recent neurological breakthroughs in our understanding of the Critical Period Hypothesis and prosody may suggest strategies on how phonics instruction could improve L2 language learning and in particular phoneme/grapheme decoding. We therefore conducted a randomised controlled-trial on the application of prosody and phonics techniques, to improve…

The present study examined the validity of the Basic Empathy Scale (BES) [Jolliffe, D., & Farrington, D. P. (2006a). Development and validation of the Basic Empathy Scale. "Journal of Adolescence," 29, 589-611; Jolliffe, D., & Farrington, D. P. (2006b). Examining the relationship between low empathy and bullying. "Aggressive…