Assessing text quality as an indication of underlying skills still remains challenging; irrespective of the approach, many studies struggle with reliability or validity problems. If writing is considered problem-solving, a report must make the reader understand the described situation and call for its mental reconstruction. Therefore, text quality…

The ability to solve complex problems successfully represents a key competence for students' educational success and beyond. While strategy application and metastrategic knowledge constitute two underlying components that drive successful complex problem solving (CPS), little is known about how these two facets develop individually and jointly in…

Inspired by a "whole child" framing, the current study takes a "whole classroom" perspective to consider classroom practice. Study aims included: (1) presenting a systematic video-based observational coding strategy to concurrently consider practice domains that have implications for learning--cognitive instruction, classroom…

Children may not yet understand political issues or be engaged in politics, but identification with social groups emerges early; indeed, nearly a third of first-graders report identification with a political party. As a result, it is likely that ingroup favoritism (or preference for members of one's own political group) and outgroup derogation (or…

There is a lack of research on students' conceptions of giftedness and intelligence, despite recognition of their influence on real-life factors such as achievement and motivation. This paper presents a cross-sectional mixed methods study that investigated Finnish students' (age 6-16 years; N = 1282) implicit conceptions of giftedness and…

Students engagement with school is a concern of the educational community, research and policy makers. It has been conceptualized as a multidimensional construct conditioned by several individual and contextual factors, namely personal, family, social and academic variables. Regarding academic variables, school retention is a controversial option,…

Pursuant to the criterion of fluency, two types of mathematical achievement tests were used in the present study: simple subtraction (to measure mathematical fluency) and number series completion (to serve as a nonfluency mathematics test). A cohort of 223 d/Deaf and hard of hearing (d/Dhh) students in grades 3-9 in special education schools took…

Background: Adaptability regulates individuals' cognitive, behavioural and emotional responses to new, unexpected and uncertain situations, but to date no study has analysed whether adaptability contemporarily favours cognitive, behavioural and emotional aspects of learning. Aims: This study aims to address this gap by examining (i) the direct…

Spatial ability has been shown the positive correlations with the mathematics achievement of typically developing children. However, whether there is a relationship between spatial ability and mathematics achievement in deaf children and the mechanisms that underlie the relationship remain unknown. 256 deaf children in Grades 3 to 9 in two special…

Hope--a multidimensional positive motivational state--is particularly salient with adolescents in the school setting. Cognitive hope focuses on goal attainment cognitions whereas behavioral hope focuses on actions required for goal attainment. Studies rarely examine the contribution of each type of hope to adolescents' academic functioning and…

Background: Although multiple cross-sectional studies have shown symptoms of sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to be statistically distinct, studies have yet to examine the temporal stability and measurement invariance of SCT in a longitudinal sample. To date, only six studies have assessed SCT…

The visual working memory forms the basis for cognitive processes in learning, and it is therefore of interest to gain greater insight into gender and age differences in visual working memory among pupils. In this study, we wanted to see if there are differences between children in first, third, fifth, seventh and ninth grade in Norwegian schools…

This study presents evidence of the validity and reliability of scores for the newly developed Brazilian Portuguese version of the Delaware School Climate Survey-Student (Brazilian DSCS-S). The sample consisted of 378 students, grades 5 through 9, attending four private and three public schools in southern Brazil. Confirmatory factor analyses…

Relationships between attention/executive functions and language learning were investigated in students in Grades 4 to 9 (N = 88) with and without specific learning disabilities (SLDs) in multiword syntax in oral and written language (OWL LD), word reading and spelling (dyslexia), and subword letter writing (dysgraphia). Prior…

Research on factors that may promote engagement is hampered by the absence of a measure of classroom-level engagement. Literature has suggested that engagement may have 3 dimensions--affective, behavioral, and cognitive. No existing engagement scales measure all 3 dimensions at the classroom level. The Classroom Engagement Inventory (CEI) was…