This study investigates how larger ideological tensions related to internationalisation and nationalisation are manifested in local education systems, especially in English textbooks. We begin this exploration with a review of the School Curriculum of the Republic of Korea. Using three textbooks as cases; we examine how they reflect and manage the…

Although many studies have documented developmental change in mathematics motivation, little is known about how these trends predict math performance. A sample of 288 participants from the United States reported their perceived math ability, math utility value and math interest in 5th, 7th and 9th grades. Latent growth curve models estimated…

In this quantitative, archival study, academic achievement and self-concept scores were compared for middle-school students with EBD based on whether the students had been placed into a self-contained learning environment (SCLE) or a mainstreamed least restrictive environment (MLRE). Academic achievement scores and self-concept scores for 2007…

This study uses intraindividual variability and change methods to test theoretical accounts of self-concept and its change across time and context and to test the developmental implications of this variability. The 5-year longitudinal study of 541 youths in a rural Pennsylvania community from 3rd through 7th grade included twice-yearly assessments…

This paper investigates the growth of early adolescent self-esteem and self-concept as students progress through the middle level years (sixth through eighth grade). Based on mixed method longitudinal research conducted from 2004 to 2007, the study's findings suggest that this sample of 104 urban students' self-esteem changed most significantly…

The purpose of this ethnographic study was to analyze seventh grade students' and teachers' perceptions of literacy learning in language arts and reading classes. This paper includes a report of a section of this study that focused on discussions about literature. The impact of this diverse school culture on teachers' literacy instruction and…

Investigated what kind of affective education experience would lead to maximum gain in self-concept. Contrasted facilitated and directed experiences. Found that seventh graders (N=30) in the facilitated group demonstrated the most positive self-concept change. (ABB)

A sample of 20 father-present and 20 father-absent middle school boys rated each other on peer adjustment and self-image. Results indicate that father-absent boys evidence a poorer sense of masculinity as well as poorer interpersonal relationships than do father-present boys. (JPS)

This article describes the establishment of a "women's issues" group with middle-school gifted girls. Ground rules for the group, selection of materials for discussion, issues discussed, and outcomes of the group are highlighted. Participants were found to like learning, like thinking about abstract issues, and have high academic goals. (CR)

The problem of school dropouts and at-risk students has many causes. No one cause can be seen clearly as the dominant factor in a child leaving school and the possibility of that student not finishing his high school career. This program addressed the problems of at-risk students with poor social and academic skills. The literature reviewed…

The goal of the study described in this paper was to examine the role of possible selves in perceptions of competence and in self-regulation. The study investigated whether possible selves, or individuals' perception of what they might be like in the future, exert their influence on self-efficacy and self relation via the dimensions associated…

A study examined multiple outcomes of relaxation training simultaneously in seventh grade classrooms. "Project Relaxation" measured cognitive (achievement) and affective (discipline, attendance, tardiness, and self-concept) changes with a program of relaxation training for 532 seventh grade students in 10 private and public middle schools in South…

The classroom environment that teachers provide for special needs students directly influences students' self-concept. To explore the scope of this relationship, students in homogeneous and heterogeneous classes, along with other environmental factors, were studied. Data was taken from special needs students in middle school, who either had been…

When students make the transition from elementary school to junior high school, they experience abrupt organizational changes in their school environment. The hypothesis that social comparison processes mediate the relation between ability grouping practices in mathematics and students' achievement expectancies was tested in a longitudinal sample…

Parent and student surveys were conducted in nine primarily rural West Virginia counties to gather baseline information on incoming seventh-grade students' and parents' awareness of and aspirations for postsecondary education. The surveys are administered each year as part of Fairmont State College's GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness…