Background: This empirical study aims to investigate the association between mathematics self-efficacy and mathematics achievement gaps among students in Grades 4, 8, and 12, utilizing data from the 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The study also considers student-level (e.g., mathematics self-efficacy, gender,…

School-age children are at high risk of experiencing traumatic and stressful events that can negatively impact their academic, emotional, and behavior performance. Students that have been exposed to a traumatic and adverse experience present with high rates of dropout, low academic performance, conduct problems, aggression, depression, and…

This doctoral dissertation investigates the effects of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) policy on educational equity in New Jersey, focusing on three primary research questions. Firstly, the study examines whether the implementation of NCLB mandates led to the closure of achievement gaps between black and white students, as evidenced by disparities…

Background: The powerful role of self-efficacy on student achievement is clear. Less clear, however, is our understanding of the specific roles of the different factors of writing self-efficacy on student writing self-regulation and success. Aims: This study expands our knowledge about student writing self-efficacy -- including its dimensions and…

This longitudinal study assessed the relative importance of second language exposure, motivational and attitudinal factors, and executive functions in predicting receptive vocabulary acquisition in children and adolescents after controlling for background characteristics (socio-economic status, non-verbal intelligence) and prior knowledge. The…

When it comes to fake news, no medium circulates and reaches more youth than social media. Social media can provide an opportunity for students to create and post with an authentic audience; however, social media can also perpetuate the danger of fake news. Youth across the globe emotionally engage with content several hours a day and can become…

The study aims to examine students' awareness and reported use of learning strategies as well as their effectiveness for word recognition using a word list memorization task. The sample included 1039 Grade 2, 1069 Grade 4, 832 Grade 6, and 3752 Grade 9 students (aged 8-15 years) from 272 Estonian schools. More students in higher grades reported…

Children's early literacy experiences are critical, yet it remains unclear whether memories of early reading instruction continue to be associated with reading habits into adulthood. We examined the association between recollections of reading experiences and present-day reading habits in an adult population. University students responded in…

School climate describes the quality of the school environment. School climate is a construct that refers to the perceived structural, interpersonal, and learning aspects of a school; a positive school climate is associated with school success and academic achievement (Hoy & Hannum, 1997), prosocial development (Koth et al., 2008), and…

To facilitate people using mathematical reasoning to compare risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded the COViD-TASER (Creation of Visualizations of Data: The Application of STEM Education Research) research team to create the COVID-19 Relative Risk Tool (RRT). The RRT uses an interactive bar chart…

This study evaluates a "nudge letter" to parents intervention designed to reduce chronic absenteeism among students in one urban district. Using a regression discontinuity design (RDD), it estimates the impact of the intervention on improving student attendance. The forcing variable for the RDD was 2016-2017 attendance rate, with a…

Attention skills are strong cross-sectional predictors of reading comprehension from childhood through to adolescence. However, less is known about the developmental relations between these two domains across this period. This study examined the codevelopment of reading and attention in a community sample of 614 Australian school students (50%…

In order to broaden findings beyond high-income countries, this study used path models to test associations between parent involvement and student achievement in Brazil using a 2017 census of public school students in fifth grade (N = 2,167,729, M[subscript age] = 11, 49 % female, 44% "Parda," 29% White, 11% Black, 3% Asian, 3%…

The purpose of this study is to explore students' motivation towards science learning at different grade levels and to investigate whether inductive reasoning can contribute to an explanation of science motivation. The study conducted a cross-sectional assessment in six public schools in Vietnam with a total population of 813 students from the…

Computational thinking (CT) has been described as an essential skill that should be learned by everyone and can, therefore, be included in their skill set. Computational thinking uses essential principles in computer science for solving problems, understanding complex systems, and human behaviour. This way of thinking has significant consequences…