Knowledge of compound word structures in Chinese and English was investigated, comparing 435 Chinese and 258 Americans, including second, fourth, and sixth graders, and college undergraduates. As anticipated, the results revealed that Chinese speakers performed better on a word structure analogy task than their English-speaking counterparts. Also,…

Beginning in sixth grade at an average age of 11.9 years, 416 adolescents and their parents participated in 4 waves of data collection involving family observations and multiple-reporter assessments. Ecological theory and the process-person-context-time (PPCT) model guided the hypotheses and analyses. Lagged, growth curve models revealed that…

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a predictive correlation between a specific sixth grade achievement test known as the Stanford Achievement Test 10 and the eighth grade college readiness assessment instrument known as the Explore Exam for a group of North Texas students. Following an assessment during sixth grade, via the…

Social coping and self-concept were explored among Irish (n = 115) and American (n = 134) grades 3-8 students. Denying one's giftedness or the impact it has on peer relationships were associated with poor self-concept in both samples. Among Irish students, denying giftedness was associated with more positive self-concept when paired with a high…

Experimental research has demonstrated both the deleterious effects of negative stereotypes about ability on academic performance and the relative ease with which stereotypes can be countered in educational settings. The extent to which stereotypes contribute to the achievement gap between American students from dominant social and economic groups…

The focus of this paper is on detailing the decisions made when we created, implemented and studied a mathematics professional development (PD) program in low-performing, urban schools. Our program held many characteristics espoused by researchers as critical for effectiveness. We begin by reviewing the characteristics of quality PD programs that…

The present exploratory study examined student perceptions of the stressfulness and incidence of life events across three countries--Greece, Cyprus and the United States. The participants include 378 6th-grade elementary school students. Students in the United States completed the "What Do You Think?" questionnaire and its translated…

Lack of reading motivation impedes upper elementary and secondary school students' willingness to improve critical reading skills and strategies to be successful in school. Struggling readers often show a negative attitude towards reading tasks and manifest low motivation to read. Although the importance of motivation is clear, there is limited…

Background: Studies exploring the relationship between students' achievement and the quality of the classroom learning environments have shown that there is a strong relationship between these two concepts. Learning environment instruments are constantly being revised and updated, including for use in different cultures, which requires continued…

The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the wind band classroom as a social context and examine its influence on middle-school students' identity constructions. The integration of sociologically based identity theory and social identity theory from social psychology suggested by Deaux and Martin as well as Stets and Burke proved…

In a pedagogical method increasing in popularity, students of all levels--from elementary to post graduate--are likely to be asked to engage in debate with peers. How they understand the purposes and values of argumentive discourse is likely to affect its effectiveness. The 3 studies presented here involve junior high school, senior high school,…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the implementation of a whole school one-to-one iPod Touch project in a middle school in the southeastern United States. While some focused studies have been undertaken in this new field of learning, there has been little research to date that documents activity within a whole school implementation…

This article discusses the use of a reading curriculum designed to incorporate all of the proven practice components of reading as suggested in the United States National Reading Panel report (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2000). These practices are phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension.…

Three experiments examined whether quizzing promotes learning and retention of material from a social studies course with sixth grade students from a suburban middle school. The material used in the experiments was the course material students were to learn and some of the dependent measures were the actual tests on which students received grades.…

Three million students in the United States are classified as gifted, yet little is known about the effectiveness of traditional gifted and talented (G&T) programs. In theory, G&T programs might help high-achieving students because they group them with other high achievers and typically offer specially trained teachers and a more advanced…