Autonomy is often discussed as a necessary condition for professionalism in any field, including the teaching profession. In the educational context, autonomy is seen to be critical for teachers to be able to synthesize their knowledge and skills and translate them into effective classroom practices in the best interest of their students. In…

As cross-country comparisons of education systems have become increasingly important for policy-making, different structural arrangements have attracted attention in the pursuit of equity and excellence. One area of interest has been instructional time in formal schooling. Missing in such comparisons is the role instruction outside of…

This study investigated the relationship between students' online learning anxiety (OLA) and academic self-efficacy (ASE) amid global challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis. Participants in this quantitative research included 718 tertiary education students from 28 countries who responded to a standardized questionnaire. Despite the crisis'…

Homework is a multifaceted process that involves a complex interplay of factors. However, the processes underlying homework behavior are not yet fully understood. In Study 1, we tested a model of homework processes by examining the influences and consequences of homework behavior based on 473 Chinese students. In Study 2 with 159 British students,…

This research was designed to examine how teachers and students from various cultures (China vs. USA) might present distinct behavioural features in learner-centred classrooms. The findings of the research would serve the purpose to answer the question regarding whether and how learner-centred instruction could better support the learning of…

The availability of public funding for private schools, in both primary and secondary education, has become a common feature in a number of OECD countries. The expansion of public subsidies for privately owned schools has consequences that go far beyond the involvement of private actors in the provision of education. These include deepening forms…

Using data from undergraduates in both Turkey and the United States, we examined cultural differences in the perceived parenting authority styles and the links between perceived parenting authority styles, academic achievement, and self-esteem. We also examined the separate contributions of fathers and mothers in each country. A total of 423…

Bandura's influential theory has been used to argue that teachers with high self-efficacy will be more effective at increasing pupil achievement--and a voluminous empirical literature has repeatedly documented associations consistent with this claim. However, few studies have considered whether these correlations reflect an underlying causal…

Introduction: Prior research consistently provides evidence supporting potential relationships between epistemological beliefs and learning. The current study examines the relationship between epistemological beliefs, academic motivation, and self-regulated learning strategies among different ethnic groups of American adolescents. Method: This…

The OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has become one of the key studies for evidence-based education policymaking across the globe. PISA has however received a lot of methodological criticism, including how the test scores are created. The aim of this paper is to investigate the so-called 'conditioning model', where…

This article examines French and English average performances and educational inequality in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) between 2000 and 2018. It asks why English average scores in 2018 are much higher than those of France when they were fairly similar in previous PISA assessments. It questions why the impact of…

Classroom climate in seven Confucian Asian countries/systems was examined with respect to three dimensions: teachers' affective qualities, behavioural-classroom management style and cognitive-pedagogical approaches. The results based on PISA 2012 data showed that there were substantial variations in classroom climate across the seven Confucian…

This paper compares the learning gain over one year of schooling among 15-year-old students in Austria and Scotland (United Kingdom). Common metrics for reading, mathematics and science learning, as established by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), are used. In order to overcome the limitations of a cross-sectional,…

Recent years have brought a major shift in the field of international comparative education with the rise of quantitative assessments of student achievement. Within these studies, outside-school-time (OST) as a supplement and complement to schooling has been included. However, OST is difficult to define and measure; and challenges multiply when…

The school principal impacts student achievement at a level second only to that of the classroom teacher. The United States and Germany are experiencing challenges in recruiting and retaining individuals for the principalship and the shortage is expected to intensify. Previous research has shown that increasing paperwork and responsibilities serve…