In this paper, we report on the cross-cultural comparative analysis that was undertaken as part of the Social Unit of Learning project investigating student collaborative problem solving in China and Australia. The video-based research examined the 'negotiative foci' of dyadic student interaction during collaborative problem solving within the…

This paper reports the findings of a meta-synthesis of studies which investigated the ways in which teachers described their pedagogical practices in three different contexts: the Maldives, Australia and Nepal. Each of the studies was focused on making teachers' classroom practices visible in an effort to establish a shared language and…

South Australia's PISA performance has been in constant decline since 2003 with the proportion of PISA participants meeting the Australian national proficient standard dropping from 73% (in 2003) to 50% (in 2018). In contrast, Singapore is a consistently strong performer. To better understand student readiness in answering PISA questions, this…

From a social semiotic perspective, image designs in science textbooks are inevitably influenced by the sociocultural context in which the books are produced. The learning environments of Australia and Taiwan vary greatly. Drawing on social semiotics and cognitive science, this study compares classificational images in Australian and Taiwanese…

This study presents empirical findings demonstrating predictive validities of noncognitive variables for mathematics achievement among primary and secondary school students from cross-country perspectives. Results based on TIMSS 2015 assessment showed that confidence was a moderately strong predictor of mathematics achievement in all TIMSS…

Educators in mainland China are increasingly concerned about promoting school students' social and emotional wellbeing. However, there has been little exchange of research between China and western countries about this topic. For example, questionnaires developed in the west have not been generally available to mainland Chinese researchers. We…

Most existing research indicates that working students perform more poorly than do full-time students on standardized achievement tests. However, we know there are wide international variations in this gap. This article shows that national and international contexts help to explain the gap in the academic performance between working and nonworking…

The development of information technologies has transformed the environment in which young people access, create, and share information. Many countries, having recognized the imperative of digital technology, acknowledge the need to educate young people in the use of these technologies so as to underpin economic and social benefits. This article…

In this study, we explored the extent to which Australian, Chinese, and Korean middle school students perceived themselves to have scientific literacy as global citizens and attempted to identify differences and/or commonalities in their perceptions. A total of 655 middle school students (8th and 9th grades; 358 girls and 297 boys) from the three…

Extensive support for the seemingly paradoxical negative effects of school- and class-average achievement on academic self-concept (ASC)-the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE)--is based largely on secondary students in Western countries or on cross-cultural Program for International Student Assessment studies. There is little research testing the…

The effect of early adolescent alcohol use on antisocial behavior was examined at 1- and 2-year follow-up in Washington State, United States, and Victoria, Australia. Each state used the same methods to survey statewide representative samples of students ("N" = 1,858, 52% female) in 2002 (Grade 7 [G7]), 2003 (Grade 8 [G8]), and 2004…

Large-scale studies, such as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), provide data to understand cross-national differences and similarities. In this study, we aimed to identify factors predicting mathematics achievement of Turkish students by comparing to Australian students. First, construct equivalence and item bias…

The internal/external frame of reference (I/E) model and dimensional comparison theory posit paradoxical relations between achievement (ACH) and self-concept (SC) in mathematics (M) and verbal (V) domains; ACH in each domain positively affects SC in the matching domain (e.g., MACH to MSC) but negatively in the nonmatching domain (e.g., MACH to…

This paper reflects on a 2013-2014 Australia-China Council project in which school students in Australia and China produced and shared digital stories about their everyday lives and local cultures, with students being invited to give feedback on the language and content of the stories produced by their overseas peers. The main lessons learned…

The detrimental effects of school violence on students' physical and emotional health are well studied, and research has shown that school violence affects students in every nation across the globe. However, few cross-national studies have compared direct, physical forms of school violence to indirect, emotional forms such as teasing. Using…