teachers, particularly in providing these students the core competencies to be more globally competitive and functionality literate in science and in biological disciplines in particular. The purpose of this study was to determine the least mastered competencies of 10 graders in different biology competencies they learned from grade 7 to grade 10.…

This work evaluated the cross-sectional and longitudinal (i.e., over four months) impact of attachment to mother, father, and peers on three psychopathic traits (i.e., grandiose-manipulative, callous-unemotional, and impulsive-irresponsible) using a community adolescent sample, and if that impact was differentiated by gender. Though there is…

The aim of this research was to investigate the phenomenon of bullying and the dangerous effects on victims and the security of school environment, and to understand the psycho-social dimensions, through recognizing the degree of contribution of embodying the social values, feeling inferiority and strength of inner feeling of bullies who try to…

Does the mathematical reasoning ability develop with increase in age? How is mathematical reasoning ability differing according to gender? The current study is trying to find answers to these two questions. The study using cross-sectional design, was conducted with 409 (8th, 9th and 10th grade) students attending middle school and high school in…

The purpose of this research was to investigate pupil background characteristics and academic performance in senior secondary schools in Kitwe district with a view of recommending on how to improve pupils' performance. The study was conducted in Kitwe district because in the past years pupils' performance in senior secondary schools has been…

Although much is known about health-risk behaviors of adolescents, less is known about their health-promoting behaviors. The purpose of this analysis was to compare health-promoting behaviors in adolescents in Grades 9-12 by gender and ethnicity and explore how these behaviors changed over time. Data were collected from 878 rural adolescents…

Social support and socioeconomic status (SES) have received considerable attention in explaining academic achievement and the achievement gap between students with ethic majority and immigrant background, and between boys and girls. Using a Structural Equation Modeling approach we examine (1) if there exist a gap in school achievements between…

The study compares faculty and school demographics in selected high school science classrooms to expand the research on women with careers in science. The classrooms are either situated in "high need Local Education Agencies" or the classrooms are situated in "low-performing schools," as categorized by the Florida Department of…

The present study introduces and demonstrates a new methodology for item and test bias studies: "moderated differential item functioning (DIF)." This technique expands the DIF methodology to incorporate contextual and sociological variables as moderating or mediating effects of the DIF. Specifically, this paper explores differential…

Schools are complex social settings where students, teachers, administrators, and parents interact to shape a child's educational experience. Any effort to improve educational outcomes for America's children requires a dynamic understanding of the environments in which children learn. In "The Social Organization of Schooling", editors Larry Hedges…