The authors present a model of adolescents' peer relations in the classroom that integrates 3 social processes involving the adolescent students, the classroom teacher, and peers. One of the hypotheses was that teacher liking of students mediated the relation between students' social behaviors (e.g.. antisocial disruption and prosocial leadership)…

This study uses techniques developed for describing the "environments" of U.S. universities and explores the correlation between national characteristics and university characteristics in the British Commonwealth. Results suggest that these techniques are appropriate for characterizing Commonwealth universities and that national…

Describes the nature and occurrence of knowledge-construction links (KCLs) in 3 6th-grade classrooms that varied in degree of learner centeredness. KCLs are operationalized as prior learning that students bring to their current classroom experiences and include school and nonschool experiences. They are hypothesized to facilitate a…

In this 3-year longitudinal study, the authors tested and extended M. Senechal and J. Le Fevre's (2002) model of the relationships between preschool home literacy practices and children's literacy and language development. Parent-child reading (Home Literacy Environment Questionnaire plus a children's Title Recognition Test) and parental teaching…

Issues related to values and the impact of campus experiences on the values of undergraduates were studied for 410 undergraduates responding at 3 time points over the freshman year. Campus experiences with robust and value-specific effects are those that promote engagement in values-related issues. (SLD)

Children in open and traditional classrooms were observed and tested on physiological and performance measures. The children were categorized into subgroups according to their arousal level. Analyses of variance revealed that performance of high-arousal children in open classrooms decreased over time in contrast to all other subgroups. (Author/AL)

Students learned about electric motors by asking questions and receiving answers from an on-screen pedagogical agent named Dr. Phyz who stood next to an on-screen drawing of an electric motor. Results are consistent with a cognitive theory of multimedia learning and yield principles for the design of interactive multimedia learning environments.…

In 2 experiments, learners who were seated at a computer workstation received a narrated animation about lightning formation. Then, they took a retention test, a transfer test, and rated the speaker. The results are consistent with social agency theory, which posits that social cues in multimedia messages can encourage learners to interpret…

Goal structures reflect the motivational beliefs promoted by the prevailing instructional policies and procedures within an academic setting. Teachers' sense of efficacy refers to individuals' judgments or beliefs regarding their ability to accomplish critical instructional tasks. The relation between these constructs and differences on the basis…

A positive school climate is an important component of successful and effective schools and thus is often an aim of schoolwide initiatives. Climate has traditionally been conceptualized as a school-level factor and is often assumed to be related to other school-level factors (e.g., school size). The current study examines variation in perceptions…

Explores what diverse first grade children can learn about reading within a year-long balanced approach to emergent reading instruction. A research participant observer visited a classroom of 20 diverse children. Results show that the children were constructing a balanced view of reading and that a balanced program can be used successfully in a…

Examines the hierarchy of academic self-concept in four studies. Tests the hypotheses that strong hierarchical relations exist in the academic self-concept structure at a domain-specific level, and that a hierarchy exists in an educational setting with a strong focus on the curriculum. Results reveal support for the multidimensionality of academic…

In a repeated measures design (pretest, posttest, 1-year follow-up) with 161 3rd-grade students, the authors compared 2 curricula on floating and sinking within constructivist learning environments, varying in instructional support. The 2 curricula differed in the sequencing of content and the teacher's cognitively structuring statements. At the…

In the present study, the authors use the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Cohort of 1998-1999, to examine the extent to which family, school, and neighborhood factors account for the impact of socioeconomic status (SES) on children's early reading. Through the use of hierarchical linear modeling techniques, growth curve models…

Peer nomination procedures were used to explore the development of academic achievement values and their relation to perceptions of barriers to opportunity. A total of 615 boys and girls across 3 grade levels (2nd, 4th, 7th) and 2 ethnic groups (African American, Latino) nominated peers who they admired, respected, and wanted to be like.…