Cross-sectional studies of bullying mask variability in categories of and persistence of bullying victimization. Longitudinal, individual-level data offers a greater insight into schoolchildren's psychosomatic maladjustment as a consequence of bullying. Swedish schoolchildren (n = 3,349), with unique identifiers, in 44 schools (4th-9th grade),…

The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of an expectancy-value-based questionnaire measuring five aspects of test-taking motivation (effort, expectancies, importance, interest, and test anxiety). The questionnaire was distributed to a sample of Swedish Grade 9 students taking a low-stakes (n = 1,047) or a high-stakes (n =…

This study investigated changes in reported test-taking motivation from a low-stakes to a high-stakes test and if there are differences in reported test-taking motivation between school classes. A questionnaire including scales assessing reported effort, expectancies, perceived importance, interest, and test anxiety was administered to a sample of…

During the past decade, numerous schools in Sweden have implemented education for sustainable development (ESD) as an explicit guiding approach in teaching. In this paper, we investigate the effect of this approach in comparison with that of pupils taught in ordinary schools. Accordingly, we introduce the concept of sustainability consciousness to…

Gender differences between boys and girls in the perception of the classroom setting, and their relationship to achievement in mathematics and aspects of self-regulated learning skills are the focus for this article. Throughout the component analysis of answers from 6758 Swedish students we found some differences in how boys and girls perceive…

Based on Bourdieu's conceptualization of social capital (the social stratification perspective), this study examines the impact of social capital on the educational outcomes of young people in Sweden, with a focus on the extra-familial aspect of social capital -- that is, social capital generated by parental networks and active membership in…

Discourses about the value of effort and hard work are prevalent and powerful in many western societies and educational contexts. Yet, paradoxically, in these same contexts effortless achievement is often lauded, and in certain discourses is heralded as the pinnacle of success and a sign of genius. In this paper we interrogate discourses about…

Aim: This study investigates the association between two types of social relations during leisure time (to parents and peers) and the frequency of alcohol use among Swedish adolescents, taking possible interaction effects into account. Methods: The data were collected during the 1995-2005 time period by using a questionnaire handed out in the…

The current study examined concordance and discordance between a measure of bullying and measures of peer aggression with respect to the number of students identified as victims. Swedish adolescents (N = 1,760) completed a web-based questionnaire. A measure of bullying and measures of peer aggression were compared in order to elucidate the unique…

In the present online survey, 158 teachers in regular and special education teaching in grades six to nine were asked to rate the importance of probable reasons for problematic school absenteeism. On average, the teachers estimated that among their students, 19 students had presented with problematic school absenteeism over the last five years.…

The purpose of the study was to investigate how different student characteristics such as gender influence grades. In order to answer these questions, multivariate techniques were used. The data derive from The Gothenburg Educational Longitudinal Database (GOLD), and the subjects were 99,070 ninth-grade students born in 1987. The analyses were…

The purpose of the present article is to study the interrelations between goal orientations, achievements and well-being in school. For this purpose adolescents' academic self-perceived competence, personal interest in school subjects, and affect in regard to different evaluative situations that take place in school were related to eight different…

Sloyd (craft and design) education in Swedish comprehensive high schools was examined in a national evaluation. During the first phase of the evaluation, questionnaires were completed by 1,314 grade 9 students and 101 teachers. For a 10-week period, 200 of those students and their teachers kept diaries describing their work in craft and design. In…

This report describes a project that is part of a national assessment program in Sweden under which the performance and attitudes of students in the 5th and 9th years of the compulsory school are being studied. The study focuses on the description of classroom activities and attained goals as well as on attitudes towards the subject, English as a…