Completion of higher-level mathematics courses in secondary school is advantageous for success in many university-level science, technology, engineering and mathematics courses. Based on survey data from 942 Year 10 students from Western Australia, the Year 11 mathematics course choices made by girls and boys were compared. Findings indicated that…

Effective collaborative problem solving comprises cognitive dimensions, in which men tend to outperform women, and social dimensions in which women tend to outperform men. We extend research on between-country differences in gender gaps by considering collaborative problem solving and its association with two indicators of societal-level gender…

There is a significant amount of research into gender differences in academic performance in the science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) fields. This has identified important differences between the academic achievement of men and women as measured through grade point averages and time to completion. However, the specific STEM fields of…

While no major change in relation to student attrition and retention data has been recorded over the past 20 years, the increasingly neoliberal agenda imposed on Australian higher education institutions has led to increased scrutiny around such data. In this case study, we explore discourses of attrition and retention to understand better the…

This paper explores the transitional experiences and challenges faced by girls from the Torres Strait Islands when they leave individual communities to attend boarding school in regional Queensland. The paper presents original ethnographic research using a narrative enquiry approach, capturing stories as narrated by a broad cohort of girls from…

While technical and vocational education and training (TVET) has the potential to bolster the participation of women in the labour market, this potential is not always well understood and capitalized on. In general, female students are lowly represented in TVET compared to general programmes, and in particular girls and women tend to be…

Results of international achievement surveys such as the Programme in International Student Assessment have consistently reported an achievement gap between immigrant and non-immigrant student populations around the world. This paper unpacks this persistent achievement gap by examining key characteristics that influence the performance of first-…

A new look at children from the world's richest countries offers a mixed picture of their health, skills and happiness. For far too many, issues such as poverty, exclusion and pollution threaten their mental well-being, physical health and opportunities to develop skills. Even countries with good social, economic and environmental conditions are a…

Using survey data, this paper presents a comprehensive analysis of student engagement for different groups of students, many of which may be classified as "nontraditional". The analysis presented in this paper is based on Kahu's framework for student engagement. Both the antecedents as well as consequences of engagement are incorporated…

Professional dance careers require years of intensive training. Stress experienced during training must be balanced with adequate recovery to prevent overtraining and burnout. Little is known, however, about how dancers achieve recovery-stress balance. This study examined dancers' recollection of stress and recovery during their vocational dance…

In explaining academic achievement, school climate and social belonging (connectedness, identification) emerge as important variables. However, both constructs are rarely explored in one model. In the current study, a social psychological framework based on the social identity perspective (Turner, Hogg, Oakes, Reicher, & Wetherell, 1987) is…

This retrospective narrative investigation challenges aspects of structural determinism. The biographical data generated in the study revealed that the baby-boomer, male participants were not academically constrained by their working class identities. Interpersonal relationships experienced within an individual's unique communities of practice…

This research explored teacher perceptions of how they influence academic performance of Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) Physical Education students. VCE Physical Education teachers (n = 37) from 31 secondary schools in Victoria, Australia participated in a qualitative study using focus groups with a semi-structured interview schedule.…

We examined the relationship between university outcome expectations and student adjustment using 2 samples of business students. Study 1 (N = 135) reveals that, for students with high academic self-efficacy, outcome expectations had a positive association with satisfaction; in contrast, for students with low academic self-efficacy, outcome…

This study is an investigation into factors that encourage and/or inhibit the use of social media in the academic learning process between Australian and Malaysian students at higher learning institutions. Push-pull-mooring theory was used as a guide, resulting in seven independent variables ("convenience", "social influence",…