This study used generalizability ("G")-theory as a theoretical framework to study the effects of multiple facets on the variability and reliability of New York State Grades Four through Six constructed-response scores for ELA and Mathematics. The impact of the study could be both timely and significant given the current political climate…

How children and youth deal with academic challenges and setbacks can make a material difference to their learning and school success. Hence, it is important to investigate the factors that allow students to cope constructively. A process model focused on students' motivational resources was used to frame a study examining whether engagement in…

This study examined the influence of placement in a co-taught inclusive classroom on the academic achievement of general education students in grades 6-8 in a suburban New York school district on the 2014 New York State ELA and Mathematics Assessments. Propensity Score Matching (PSM) was utilized for sample selection in order to simulate a more…

This study examined young adolescents' experiences with best friendship dissolution. Participants were 77 sixth-grade students (M age = 11.63 years, SD = 0.36; 11.00-12.69 age range) who reported on past experiences with (1) "complete dissolutions" (when friendship ties are completely severed), and (2) "downgrade dissolutions"…

Family interviews were conducted with 28 7-12-year-old children who had experienced various forms of bullying and relational aggression by their peers, as well as with their parent and with an older sibling. Interviews explored possible supportive strategies of older siblings, parents, and teachers. All bullied children reported negative feelings…

Why do girls perform so well academically yet lose ground as professional women? This diminishing number of women up the leadership hierarchy is often referred to as the "leaky pipeline," and attributed to many factors: external ones such as work environments not conducive to work/life balance, and internal ones such as women's own…

Paralympic School Day (PSD) is a disability awareness program that provides a platform for attitude change by raising awareness about disability and disability sport. The purpose of this study was to determine if PSD would have a positive impact on the attitudes of students without disabilities toward the inclusion of students with disabilities in…

Systematic research into bullying has a short history of about 40 years. Investigations on school bullying within a multicultural context are especially limited. As schools in the 21st century grow more culturally diverse due to globalization and immigration, there is a need to look into bullying within this changing population. Specifically, the…

In this quasi-experimental study, the researcher investigated the effectiveness of three tactual strategies and one non-tactual strategy of content specific vocabulary acquisition. Flash cards, task cards, and learning wheels served as the tactual strategies, and vocabulary review sheets served as a non-tactual strategy. The sample (n = 85)…

Background: School-based interventions are critical for enhancing the health of youth. The "Goals for Health (GFH)" school-based project was a goal-setting and life-skills intervention conducted in rural areas to increase self-efficacy, knowledge, and positive behaviors related to healthy eating. The intervention was peer-led with high…

Research has begun to show associations between adolescents' mealtime practices and their engagement in problem behaviors. Few studies have addressed this longitudinally and/or examined lunchtime practices during the school day. This study tests for associations between urban multiethnic middle school students' (N = 1498) lunchtime practices in…

This study examined the relationship of social influences to use drugs and competence variables with lifetime poly-drug use for adolescents residing in inner-city regions. The same model was tested separately for boys and girls. Sixth- and seventh-graders (N = 2400) in inner-city schools self-reported substance use, social influences to use drugs…

Background: Anger, a component of negative affect, has previously been associated with increased drug use primarily among white high school-aged students. However, few studies have examined these associations over time, and fewer have examined them among younger adolescents and students of color. Affective factors may play a greater role in drug…

Objective: To examine mother-child dietary concordance that may contribute to healthy eating practices critical to cancer prevention in underserved rural families. Methods: A brief food frequency questionnaire was administered to 404 sixth-graders and their mothers in rural Virginia and New York. Results: Significant dietary fat concordance rates…