Best friend expected emotion socialization responses were examined as a potential explanation for the link between social anxiety and youths' friendship quality and dysfunctional emotion regulation (ER). A community sample of 202 young adolescents ([X-bar][subscript age] = 12.66; 52.5% girls, 75.7% White) within 101 same-sex, reciprocated best…

Aggression toward teachers is linked to burnout and disengagement from teaching, but a positive school climate may reduce aggression and associated teacher distress. Using authoritative school climate theory, the study examined whether schools with high disciplinary structure and student support were associated with less aggression and less…

In this study, we examine the extent to which the discrepancy between teacher-reported and student-reported self-regulatory behaviours during writing were associated with students' end-of-year writing grades after controlling for student writing ability and other demographic characteristics. Results of our study, conducted with a sample of 201…

Gang involvement is associated with many negative outcomes. However, the social and emotional development of gang-involved youth has received little empirical investigation. This study examines the social and emotional outcomes of gang-involved youth. Data come from the 2009 Fairfax County Youth Survey administered to eighth, 10th, and 12th grade…

The purpose of this study was to analyze selected variables for public schools and districts in Virginia to determine the relationship of school and policy characteristics to teacher absences. This study included two research questions: What is the relationship between certain school district policy provisions and teacher absenteeism? What is the…

Despite the attested association between giftedness and high verbal abilities, and despite the central role attributed to classroom discourse analysis in educational research, discourse in gifted classes has not received due scholarly attention. This study takes a first step toward filling this gap. This study offers a microanalysis of a corpus of…

This study examined the relations between the schoolwide prevalence of teasing and bullying (PTB) and schoolwide academic performance in a sample of 271 Virginia middle schools. In addition, the study examined the mediating effects of student engagement. A three-step sequence of path models investigated associations between schoolwide PTB and…

The overuse of school suspensions has been linked to a host of negative outcomes, including racial disparities in discipline. School climate initiatives have shown promise in reducing these disparities. The present study used the Authoritative School Climate Survey--which measures disciplinary structure and student support as key measures of…

Physical health may be an important variable that influences students' behavioral and academic performance in school settings. Poor health status is hypothesized to negatively influence student performance even in the presence of evidence-based practices. In this study, teachers reported their perceptions of students' health status as well as…

The purpose of the study was to determine if there is a relationship between amount of training administrators receive in technology integration and their attitudes toward technology. Previous research has revealed a relationship between teachers' attitudes (Shiue, 2007; Shoffner, 2009), training (Adcock, 2008; Donnell, 2009; Lei, 2009; Sadik,…

Nationwide, schools are pushing for more students to take Algebra I in eighth grade, prior to formally entering high school. The algebra-for-all movement has been intended to alleviate equity issues which held minority and low-income students back from entering a college-preparatory path in high school. Students with the needed content,…

School climate is widely recognized as an important factor in promoting student academic achievement. The current study investigated the hypothesis that a demanding and supportive school climate, based on authoritative school climate theory, would serve as a protective factor for students living with 1 or no parents at home. Using a statewide…

This study's purpose was to examine the relations among future orientation, self-esteem, and later adolescent risk behaviors, and to compare two mediational models involving self-esteem versus future orientation as mediators. An ethnically diverse sample of 12- to 14-year-olds (N = 862, 54% female, 53% ethnic minority) was assessed longitudinally.…

We investigated students' perceptions related to psychological constructs in their science classes and the influence of these perceptions on their science identification and science career goals. Participants included 575 middle school students from two countries (334 students in the U.S. and 241 students in Iceland). Students completed a…

Background: During the middle school years, students frequently show significant declines in motivation toward school in general and mathematics in particular. One way in which researchers have sought to spark students' interests and build their sense of competence in mathematics and in STEM more generally is through the use of technology. Yet…