The authors investigated the role of gender in moderating the type of coping strategies employed by intellectually gifted adolescents in Singapore when confronted with different types of concerns. A total of 1,791 adolescents participated in this study, and data were obtained using self-report measures. Initial findings indicated that boys and…

This paper investigates achievement gaps between low and high socioeconomic students in 19 high-income countries. On average, math scores of students with indicators of high socioeconomic status (SES) are over one standard deviation above those with low SES indicators. The paper estimates the extent to which these achievement gaps can be…

This study, drawing on data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2007, examined the influences of self-perceived competence in mathematics and positive affect toward mathematics on mathematics achievement of adolescents in Singapore. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analyses revealed the positive influences…

As more primary and secondary students worldwide seek after-school tutoring in academic subjects, concerns are being raised about whether after-school tutoring can raise average test scores without widening the variability in student performance, and whether students of certain ability levels may benefit more than others from after-school…

This paper explores the nature and source of mathematics homework and teachers' and students' perspectives about the role of mathematics homework. The subjects of the study are three grade 8 mathematics teachers and 115 of their students. Data from field notes, teacher interviews and student questionnaire are analysed using qualitative methods.…

A total of 136 eighth-grade math students from 2 Singapore schools learned from either productive failure (PF) or vicarious failure (VF). PF students "generated" solutions to a complex problem targeting the concept of variance that they had not learned yet before receiving instruction on the targeted concept. VF students…

This paper reviews Ghana's performance in the TIMSS 2011 survey in comparison with other African and some high performing countries which participated in the TIMSS assessment. Students' achievement in the science content areas assessed were summarized and teacher preparation constructs of teachers of the students who took part in the assessment…

Due to the scarcity of cross-cultural comparative studies in exploring students' self-efficacy in science learning, this study attempted to develop a multi-dimensional science learning self-efficacy (SLSE) instrument to measure 316 Singaporean and 303 Taiwanese eighth graders' SLSE and further to examine the differences between the two student…

This study is to investigate the effectiveness of using mobile devices such as iPhone/iPad/android phone/tablet to facilitate mobile learning in aural skills. The application "Auralbook" was designed in 2011 by an engineer/musician to use mobile devices to learn aural skills. This application enables students to sing, record, clap and…

Background: The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) assesses the quality of the teaching and learning of science and mathematics among Grades 4 and 8 students across participating countries. Purpose: This study explored the relationship between positive affect towards science and mathematics and achievement in science and…

This paper proposes the identification and use of principle-based pedagogical patterns to help teachers to translate design principles into actionable teaching activities, and to scaffold student learning with sufficient flexibility and creativity. A set of pedagogical patterns for networked Second language (L2) learning, categorized and…

This study investigated aspects of the teacher-student relationship as they relate to school adjustment with 523 Grade 8 students in Singapore. The first question examined what configurations of teacher-student support could be identified with low-achieving students. Cluster analysis identified two sub-groups on the basis of specific qualities of…

Of 46 countries that participated in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study in 2003 (I. V. S. Mullis, M. O. Martin, E. J. Gonzalez, & S. J. Chrostowski, 2004), Malaysia was ranked 10th in international scores of mathematics achievement for 8th-grade students. The present author aimed to examine the importance of students'…

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…

In this study, we examined the presence of differential item functioning (DIF) among groups of students who were tested in their native language or in a different language when participating in the 1999 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. Data from 18,837 examinees from three countries (Singapore, United States, and Iran) were…