In this article, we describe the main phases in the development and validation of a questionnaire measuring secondary students' teleology and essentialism conceptions in the context of genetics. The validation process involved 714 Swiss and French secondary school students from 14 different schools. The process included interviews, several pilot…

Based on previous research and the limitations of existing questionnaires on teachers' value orientations (VOs), the purpose of this study was to develop and provide validity evidence of two French-language versions of a physical education (PE) teachers' VO questionnaire (OVEPS). The two versions are based on a model of 3 VOs (i.e., motor skills,…

Within the past decade, the achievement goal approach has begun to be used to study teacher achievement motivation. In recent research with students, a 3 × 2 model of achievement goals has been proffered that separates mastery-based goals in terms of a task/self distinction. The purpose of the present study was to extend this 3 × 2 model to…

IEA's International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) 2018 is designed to assess how well students are prepared for study, work, and life in a digital world. The study measures international differences in students' computer and information literacy (CIL): their ability to use computers to investigate, create, participate, and…

The aim of the present study was to gain an insight into French young people's conceptual development regarding the greenhouse effect. Because this effect cannot be directly manipulated, we can assume that its conceptualization is mainly shaped through the sharing of information. Eighty French students from Grade Seven through to adulthood…

IEA's International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) 2018 investigated how well students are prepared for study, work, and life in a digital world. ICILS 2018 measured international differences in students' computer and information literacy (CIL): their ability to use computers to investigate, create, participate, and communicate at…

Learning chemistry includes learning the language of chemistry (names, formulae, symbols, and chemical equations) which has to be done in connection with the other areas of chemical knowledge. In this study we investigate how French students understand and use names (of chemical species and common mixtures) and chemical formulae. We set a paper…

In this article we present exploratory research carried out in order to understand how students (from 12 to 14 years old) relate to technical objects. It uses technical objects that are part of everyday life and mediated reality. A questionnaire was administered to 57 students in French classes. The questionnaire was composed of three parts: 1)…

The present study examines the multilingual benefit in relation to language learning and mathematical learning. The objective is to assess whether speakers of three or more languages, depending on language profile and personal histories, show significant advantages in language learning and/or mathematical learning, and whether mother tongue…

This paper estimates the treatment effect of grade repetitions in French junior high schools, using a value-added test score as outcome and quarter of birth as instrument. With linear two-stage least squares, local average treatment effect is estimated at around 1.6 times the standard deviation of the achievement gain. With non-linear…

Video games are a very common leisure activity among teenagers and the aim of this study is to analyse their relations with cognitive and school performances. This study is part of a broad survey, conducted on 27,000 French teenagers (14.5 years old) in middle school (9th grade). The survey contained both a questionnaire on leisure activities…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the environmental attitudes (EA) in the population of 15-year-old French students and, to check if the French student population presents similar EA categorization as described in the different models in the literature (e.g. the Model of Ecological Values, Wiseman & Bogner 2003). The second aim of…

The present study examined how access to home and school IT resources impacted student mathematics achievement. Data comprised 144,395 secondary school students from 7,308 schools in 22 developed economies who participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2012. Results of hierarchical linear modelling showed that after…

Using PISA 2009, an international education database, this study compares gifted and talented (GT) students in three groups with normal (non-GT) students by examining student characteristics, reading, schooling, learning methods, and use of strategies for understanding and memorizing. Results indicate that the GT and non-GT gender distributions…

The present study sought to gauge the impact of integrating pupils with disabilities in ordinary schools on the social representations of disability and otherness held by their classmates. In particular, we studied the effects of the disability's visibility--a visible disability (i.e., cerebral palsy) versus a non-visible disability (i.e., severe…