This research study analyzed the impact of teacher self-efficacy and student engagement on eleventh-grade South Carolina U.S. History and Constitution end-of-course state exam scores. Research questions centered on analyzing the relationships between the variables of teacher efficacy, student engagement, and student achievement as measured by the…

To better understand the role that ways of reasoning play in students' success on integer addition and subtraction problems, we examined the relationship between students' flexible use of ways of reasoning and their performance on integers open number sentences. Within groups of students in 3 participant groups--39 2nd and 4th graders who had…

Introduction: Based on internal and external assets, the positive youth development approach aims to increase the capacity among adolescents to overcome challenges as they transition to adulthood. Developmental assets have been found to be positively associated with academic achievement, a variety of health promoting behaviors, and improved…

The primary goal of the study presented in this dissertation is to describe 11th-graders' understandings, through different representations, of: (1) the definition of function, (2) the production of a function, and (3) the interpretation of a function. In addition, this dissertation seeks to describe the relationship between 11th-graders' scores…

A multilevel analysis of cross-sectional data from a survey involving 1941 pupils (in grades 10 and 11) and policy indicators developed from interviews with staff from 45 secondary schools in Wales examined the hypotheses that pupil smoking prevalence would be associated with: restrictive staff and pupil smoking policies; dissemination of school…

Family conflict is a salient risk factor for African American adolescents' mental health problems. No study we are aware of has estimated trajectories of their family conflict and whether groups differ in internalizing and externalizing problems during the transition to young adulthood, a critical antecedent in adult mental health and…

This study examined the effects of out-of-school suspension on high school students. Its purpose was to determine if exclusionary discipline practices led to negative consequences such as poor academic achievement and juvenile delinquency. The study also hoped to generate new insight into current disciplinary practices in order to yield a better…

This mixed-methods study investigated relationships among gender, academic motivation and achievement in a mid-sized Wisconsin high school. A questionnaire was developed that focused on perceived ability, achievement motives and achievement goals. Interviews with teachers focused on relationships among academic motivation and gender achievement.…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the interconnectedness of the environment, human development, and the factors that influence students' academic performance in a homogeneous ability grouped mathematics classroom. The study consisted of four African American urban high school juniors, 2 male and 2 female. During the 12 week…

As low-achieving students face difficult time at school and usually experience low motivation to learn, blogging in the classroom might be used as a possible way of motivating them through its use as an e-portfolio (show-case blog) for students to show their work. The researcher used case study approach to examine 11th grade class (n = 22) Arab…

The effects of meta-cognitive strategy use on learning reading comprehension have gained much interest of researchers and educators (Chumpavan, 2000; Shmais, 2002; Phakiti, 2003; Aegpongpaow 2008; Subasi, 2009; Zhang and Wu, 2009). Available literature indicated a positive correlation between learners' meta-cognitive strategy use and their…

Integrating both quantitative and qualitative approaches, this study examined the knowledge and application of strategic reading among Taiwanese adolescents learning to read English as a foreign language. A total of 144 Grade 11 students participated in this study. Correlational analysis and t-tests were applied to analyzing quantitative data,…

In this pilot study, we sought to examine the influence of the beliefs of Grade 10 to 12 physical science teachers on their intended and actual usage of interactive simulations (Physics Education Technology, or PhET) in their classrooms. A combination of the Theory of Planned Behaviour, the Technology Acceptance Model and the Innovation Diffusion…

In this paper, I use a nationally representative sample of American high school seniors in 1992 to examine change and stability in the employment patterns of youth as they make the transition from high school to college. Students with weak attachments to the labor force in high school tend to remain unemployed during the first year of college.…

This paper reports a study of how students may connect the limiting process inherent in the derivative to the limit of the difference quotient (LDQ) when solving problems. The data was collected mainly through task-based interviews with five eleventh grade students. It was found that the students used various kinds of limiting processes and…