Students' achievement-related self-beliefs, as manifest in values, goal orientations, perceived efficacy, mindsets, and a sense of autonomy and self-determination, have been the centerpiece of motivation theories that describe learning and development. The premise of the current special issue is that these intrapersonal beliefs tell us only half…

Participation in student peer leader roles, roles in which more senior students serve as mentors and educators to their peers, have continued to grow in their application and importance to institutions of higher education around the globe. Using a theoretical approach based in Legitimate Peripheral Participation and drawing from the International…

This study examined the impact of psychosocial environment and academic emotions on higher education students' intentions to leave their studies. The data were derived from a survey among students at study programmes for teacher education, early childhood education, and social science education at one higher education institution in Norway (n =…

Since 2011 the School of Media and Communication at RMIT University has been actively supporting an ethos of belonging throughout their learning and teaching. In 2017 'belonging' became a formal university priority, embedded in the institution's strategy and dispersed across Colleges and Schools through a range of activities and interventions.…

Wilson Kwamogi Okello and David Pérez II highlight Christian's story from their study of 100 Latino undergraduate men at 20 selective universities. Christian's experiences as an apparently successful student exemplify the double-edged nature of Latino men's challenges in higher education. Okello and Pérez apply the concept of public and hidden…

Classroom social integration with peers is vital to students' school success, and all students can benefit from contact with peers who are different in various ways. Teachers are uniquely positioned to support the social adaptation of diverse learners but require an understanding of classroom dynamics. Moreover, teachers need strategies that help…

This article highlights, though examples from research, the social dimensions of reading for young adolescents in classroom communities that are centrally focused on engagement. Included are the positive social consequences of engagement and suggestions for teachers interested in arranging for productive social activity inside of texts and outside…

In this article we document our experiences as facilitators for the "Engaging All Students" professional learning community (PLC), which was implemented to help Toronto public school teachers re-engage underachieving students. These students, who are known as "marker students," are members of the school system's most…

Researchers focus disproportionately on factors that contribute to low enrollment, persistence, and graduation rates among Latino males in higher education. Instead of examining factors that undermine the success of these undergraduates--which often perpetuates deficit-oriented discourses about Latino male college students, their families, and…

Learning is not just a cognitive process. Research shows that powerful social and emotional factors affect learning. These factors influence students' abilities to attend to and direct their learning; students' engagement in learning activities; and teachers' ability to connect with, challenge, and support students. Social and emotional factors…

The purpose of this study was to interpret students' participation in terms of social and argumentation norms to improve understanding of social interaction in scientific argumentation. Therefore, the study sought to identify social and argumentation norms formed in group argumentation and to explore changes in students' participation as lessons…

When students feel a sense of community and connectedness within an online classroom, they perceive a higher level of learning and believe that they understand the material because they are more engaged in the learning process (Young & Bruce, 2011; Russo & Benson, 2005). The purpose of this descriptive, quantitative study was to…

This study examines students' perceptions of the outcomes and processes of engaged reading in classrooms prioritizing engagement through self-selected, self-paced reading of compelling young adult literature. The primary data were 71 end-of-year student interviews, supported by end-of-year teacher interviews, biweekly observational data,…

This research explores the extent to which virtual worlds can serve as online collaborative learning environments for students by increasing social presence and engagement. 3D environments enable learning, which simulates face-to-face encounters while retaining the advantages of online learning. Students in Education departments created avatars…

This article poses the central question, How do neighborhoods (specifically, different public housing designs) shape parents' social interactions and social networks? To answer this question, we interviewed families residing in a HOPE VI neighborhood and an adjacent Section 8 apartment complex, all of whom had at least one child attending the…