Gaps in STEM performance have narrowed over the last 50 years (Leaper et al., 2012; National Science Foundation, 2013). Nonetheless, disparities remain in many STEM fields -- with the largest occurring in the physical sciences, computer science, and engineering (UNESCO, 2012). Although gender gaps in science and math performance have been closing,…

Beliefs about academic functioning play an important role in the academic development of students. This study considers perceptions about underachievement, that is, the degree to which accomplishments are believed to be in line with potential. In particular, we examined why these perceptions might deviate from measured underachievement, determined…

Despite the racial/ethnic diversity of the United States, a significant difference remains between the standardized achievement scores of White students and Black students, most commonly known as the achievement gap or the opportunity gap. Although it is recognized that the opportunity gap is rooted in structural racism, scholars have examined…

Two developments in teacher expectation research formed the basis for the current study. First, researchers have begun investigating the self-fulfilling prophecy effects of teacher expectations on a variety of psycho-social outcomes in addition to the effects on academic achievement. Second, researchers have started to realize that some groups of…

Previous studies show that girls have a lower scientific self-concept than boys. Since interest starts declining over the course of lower secondary school, this exacerbates the issue that fewer girls aspire to choose a scientific profession. In this article, we present the concept of scientific profile classes. Profile classes pursue the goal of…

Every student comes into each classroom with a unique mathematical identity. Mathematical identity consists of the stories about a person's confidence, beliefs, and persistence with mathematics as told by her/himself or by others (Gweshe & Brodie, 2019). Identity is not fixed (Dweck & Yeager, 2019; Wenger, 1998) and is dynamic within a…

Social media use among adolescents continues to increase each year. This cross-sectional study explored how the amount of time spent using social media and the frequency of specific behaviors on social media, namely, behaviors that involve self-objectification, were related to body surveillance and body shame among a sample of early adolescents (N…

To better understand STEM interest development during adolescence in an urban community, we examined how "STEM Interested" youth differed from disinterested youth and how interest changed over time from age 11/12 to 12/13. We surveyed youth to measure interest in four components of STEM, used cluster analysis to categorize youth based on…

This study investigated gender disparities in students' science motivational beliefs, conceptualized as self-concept and intrinsic value, from Grades 4 to 8 in 22 countries. The gender-specific relation between science motivational beliefs and achievement was also scrutinized. Data from the 2011 and 2015 national cohorts of the Trends in…

This study evaluated how gender is related to children's intelligence beliefs, goal orientations and academic achievement and whether there are gender differences in how intelligence beliefs and goal orientations are related to academic achievement. The participants, 362 seventh grade students (55.8% girls; M[subscript age] = 13.20,…

My dissertation is a pre-mid-post-test, quantitative research design, including surveys and written assessments, to answer these research questions: 1. How do students' science mindset vary over time when engaged in science inquiry activities? Is there a difference between male and female students? 2. Is there a relationship between 7th grade…

This study investigated adolescents' perception and attitudes towards gender representation in video game covers, and the degree to which these depictions may influence their notions on gender and identification. Seventeen participants ranging from ages 12 and 13 participated in semi-structured interviews to explore this topic. This study's…

Extant research indicates culturally relevant literature (CRL) is linked to increased reading comprehension and interest in reading for Latinx students as well as other student groups. Current research also shows CRL can support home literacy instruction, facilitate writing instruction, foster sociopolitical awareness, underpin behavior…

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between the exam anxiety level of middle school students, their academic expectations stress, and level of motivation to study lesson. The study group consisted of 364 (184 female and 180 male) 7th and 8th grade secondary school students. Three instruments were used for data collection;…

In this study, it was aimed to determine the astronomy literacy levels of secondary school 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grade students and to examine the sub-dimensions of astronomy literacy in terms of some variables. In the research, descriptive scanning method was used. The study was carried out with secondary school students studying in a secondary…