Parental involvement in school is an undoubtedly important element of a student's educational experience and outcomes. Students with elevated emotional and behavioral risks (EBR) tend to experience poor educational outcomes, and research suggests varying levels of parental involvement across domains for these at-risk students. However, there is…

This study examines a sample of African American students attending urban middle schools in a Southern city, and considers their perceptions of learning environments within mathematics classrooms. This study concluded that variables like Academic Self-Concept, Mathematics Anxiety, Satisfaction, Involvement, and Academic Aspiration varied…

This study aims to identify effective affective states and behaviors of middle-school students' online mathematics learning in predicting their choices to study science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in higher education based on a "positive-affect-to-success hypothesis." The dataset (591 students and 316,974 actions)…

This study investigates the associations between parental involvement and academic achievement across three criteria: school level (elementary and middle school), gender (male and female) and subject (mathematics and science). Additionally, it examines whether students' attitudes towards a subject and their academic aspirations mediate this…

In this article we introduce key concepts from critical psychology to explore their potential when operationalised in qualitative, empirically-based analyses of career guidance and counselling. Critical psychology is particularly concerned with understanding the concrete lines of action that can support generalised human agency -- a focus that is…

Reading motivation may help explain some discrepancies in higher education attainment among Latinx adolescents. Using a person-centered approach to understand underlying reading motivation profiles among N = 254 Latinx adolescents, results identified four ordered classes of reading motivation including, (a) a "High" class characterized…

This report describes findings generated from student focus groups across five GEAR UP campuses in the Fall 2019 semester. The focus group participants described their perspectives of the GEAR UP program, experiences with the GEAR UP activities, and plans for future education. Findings obtained from the 2019 fall student focus groups echoed those…

This occasional paper presents national demographic subgroup data for the 1975-2021 Monitoring the Future (MTF) national survey results on 8th, 10th, and 12th graders' use of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. The study covers all major classes of illicit and licit psychoactive drugs for an array of population subgroups. The 2020 subgroup data presented…

We provide theory and evidence about how the design of college financial aid programs affects a variety of high school, college, and life outcomes. The evidence comes from an eight-year randomized trial where 2,587 high school ninth graders received a $12,000 merit-based grant offer. During high school, the program increased their college…

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of an intervention on students' achievement and motivation. The intervention was in the form of an instructional approach named Dual-Approach Instruction since it was designed to facilitate both the cognitive and non-cognitive aspects of students' learning. The intervention effects were…

This study examined student perceptions towards testing mandates. The specific purpose was to gain an understanding into the perceptions students have towards testing mandates and determine their perceived value in the areas of (1) Improvement, (2) External Attribution, (3) Affective Benefits, and (4) Irrelevance. In analyzing the perceptions of…

This article examines the extent to which normative beliefs on acculturation constitute (a) individual resources and risk factors for adolescents facing developmental tasks and (b) institutional norms that define developmental milieus in secondary schools. To what extent do egalitarianism, multiculturalism, assimilationism, and segregationism help…

English learners have long been defined as faulty linguistic beings, liabilities in a school system that values immediate academic readiness to perform like those in the mainstream. With a need to look at the many other facets that constitute who English learners are and what they are capable of in their academic pursuits, this case study looked…

Background: Middle school students elected to participate in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) extracurricular programs (EPs). Researchers examined and compared science motivation, STEM career identity, and STEM college confidence among participants and non-participants. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate…

Education policies are socio-spatially sensitive and, depending on the local situation, can be interpreted and understood differently. The concept of perceived learning support spaces (e.g. student cooperation, student-teacher relationships) refers to an understanding that students' school experiences are situated within the school. Using the…