In the context of the distinction between normative and descriptive approaches to the relationship between science and religion, this article discusses the recent work of the sociologist Elaine Ecklund. It reviews four of her published outputs, summarising her data concerning the views of religious people and professional scientists, including…

Introduction: The prevalence rates of bullying vary significantly across countries and continents. Specifically, UNESCO estimates that the prevalence rates vary from 22.8% (CentralAmerica) to 48.2% (Sub-Saharan Africa). Recently these differences among countries andregions have been attributed to culture- and country-level variables. Thus, the…

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…

In research universities, research time is often too scarce to satiate the wishes of all faculty and must be allocated according to guidelines and principles. We examine self-reported research hours for full-time faculty at research universities in 13 countries (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Finland, Germany, Italy, Malaysia,…

This is an interpretive-descriptive analysis of responses to 41 open ended questionnaires returned by academics working beyond normal retirement age. The sample consisted mainly of academics from the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. The research addressed the question of what motivates some academics to continue working beyond the…

Although countries worldwide are emphasizing the importance of science education for technological development and global economic competition, comparative findings from standardized international student assessments reveal a huge gap in science scores between developed and developing countries. Certain developed economies too have made little…

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 study investigated how N = 5,126 adolescents (mean age of 15 years) from 18 countries perceive and cope with future- and school-related stress. The adolescents completed the Problem Questionnaire (PQ), which assesses stress, and the Coping Across Situations Questionnaire (CASQ), which assesses three coping styles (reflection/support-seeking,…

Using data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2003 and 2007 administrations, this study examines international trends in technology use and explores the international patterns in how teacher-directed, student-use of technology is related to eighth grade mathematics achievement. Descriptive patterns in…

TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) is an international assessment of mathematics and science at the fourth and eighth grades that has been conducted every four years since 1995, with the most recent assessment in 2011. PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) is an international assessment of reading…

The cultural capital in families, more specifically, the educational level of parents, has during the last decades been shown to be the most important dimension of socioeconomic influence on school performance in many countries. Less is known about the factors that actually mediate this influence. The aim, therefore, is to investigate the relative…

Briefly describes the papers of James Raths, Bernard Spodek, James Hoot, Cynthia Sunal, Patricia Olmsted and Helena Hoas which are presented in this issue. These manuscripts focus on teacher training approaches in various countries.(RJC)

This report presents Phase 1 of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) 3-phase Preprimary Project being conducted in 11 to 15 countries. The project spans the years 1987 through 1997. The Preprimary Project has been designed to be conducted in three interrelated phases: Phase 1, a household survey in each…