The present study investigated to what extent the members of adolescents' peer groups share similar educational expectations, and to what extent overall and school-related adjustment are associated with these expectations. Three hundred and ninety-four ninth-graders facing the transition to secondary education filled in questionnaires measuring…

This study investigated teachers' attitudes towards proofs in the secondary school mathematics curriculum. The study was motivated by a desire to fill a gap existing in the literature in relation to teachers' attitudes towards proofs. Thirty-four secondary school mathematics teachers' responses to a Likert type questionnaire and interviews were…

Students have different learning style strengths and preferences in the ways that they take in and process information. Some students tend to focus on facts, data, and algorithms; others are more comfortable with theories and mathematical models. Related to all of this and situated as the focus of this article is the fact that mathematics…

The California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE) is a graduation requirement that includes passing a two part exam: English-language arts (ELA) and mathematics. Students take the exam for the first time in 10th grade. In 2005-06, the passing rates were about 77% for ELA and 75% for math. This study uses student level data to focus on the…

This paper examines some intersections among school literacy events and practices, identity formation, and the institutional practice known in the US as tracking. During a year-long, critical ethnographic study to examine how a team-taught, interdisciplinary curriculum impacted the development of students' literacies, it was found that not only…

A recent study by Beilock, Reidell, and McConnell (2007) suggested that stereotype threat experienced in one domain (e.g., math) triggered by knowledge of a negative stereotype about a social group in that particular domain can spill over into subsequent tasks in totally unrelated domains (e.g., reading). The authors suggested that these findings…

The key aim of the research summarised in this article was to examine pupils' perception of music and to determine whether or not these perceptions were the same for both female and male pupils. The empirical enquiry consisted of the administration of a questionnaire to six secondary schools in the north-east of England followed by semi-structured…

Why are some students not willing to tell adults about a possibly violent situation in their school? In this study, 1,100 students in the Mid-South were surveyed on their knowledge of, and willingness to tell about, a possibly violent situation, their involvement in behaviors that are related to school violence, and their school's climate. About…

The tendency for school children to bully others was conceived as lying along a continuum of frequency, ranging from zero to very high. To examine social factors that may influence the position of individual students on this continuum, questionnaires were administered to Australian school children attending state coeducational schools: primary (N…

The study investigated the general attitude of Nigerian secondary school teachers toward peer evaluation of teachers. It also sought to determine whether teacher characteristics such as gender, school geographical location, academic qualification and teaching experience affected Nigerian teachers' attitude toward peer evaluation of teachers. To…

The current studies were designed to examine whether female adolescents have more negative reactions than male adolescents to achieving more than their same-sex friends. In Study 1, 51 females and 48 males from grades 8 and 10 were administered questions assessing their reactions to performing better than their closest same-sex friends in four…

School absenteeism and particularly unauthorized absenteeism or truancy has been the focus of a number of, so far largely unsuccessful, recent policy initiatives. The paper draws upon two sources of data, the British Household Panel Survey and detailed interviews with a group of persistent truants, to consider the extent, consequences and…

Science education in the United Kingdom faces a dual challenge in the near future: that of addressing increasing disaffection from the subject by pupils as they enter adolescence coupled with the downturn in learning as they leave primary school behind. Both bridging work and teacher creativity have been identified as key ingredients in ensuring…

Two large-scale studies assessed the nature and correlates of young Jamaicans' attitudes toward mental illness. In study 1, students viewed a videotaped job interview for a teacher whose history was manipulated to include a history of mental illness, or not. Students desired significantly less social distance (i.e., more contact) with the…

The teaching of "akhlaq" (moral values) in Islamic Education lessons is one of the important aspects in the Integrated Curriculum for Secondary Schools in Malaysia. Its purpose is to develop the potential of the individual in a holistic, balanced and integrated manner, encompassing the intellectual, spiritual, emotional and physical…