Grade level, study time, and grade retention and their effects on motivation, self-regulated learning strategies, and mathematics achievement: a structural equation model

The present study complements previous research findings with new data to improve our understanding of the relationship between motivational variables and academic performance in math mediated by self-regulated learning (SRL). A structural equation model with predictor (i.e., grade retention, grade level, and study time), process (i.e., perceived usefulness of SRL strategies, self-efficacy for the use of SRL strategies, and reported use of SRL), and product variables (i.e., academic achievement in mathematics) is proposed. The model was analyzed in two samples of data (calibration and validation samples). The first sample served to fit and respecify the model, and the second one was used to analyze the consistency of the findings of the first sample. A sample of 756 middle school Portuguese students participated in the current study. The results indicate that SRL is positively and significantly related to academic achievement and that the latter is, in turn, powerfully determined by perceived usefulness and self-efficacy, although students’ reported use of SRL strategies decreases from 7th to 9th grades. Self-efficacy and perceived usefulness of SRL strategies were also found to decrease as grade retention increased. These results are discussed with regard to the relevance of self-efficacy and perceived usefulness of SRL strategies in increasing academic achievement.     

The Engagement of Older People in Civil Society Organizations

This article reviews recent international literature on the opportunities and restrictions experienced by older people to act as volunteers in civil society organizations. Our aim was to develop a conceptual framework applicable to the European ageing society. This aim was pursued through a computerized database search focused on studies analyzing the individual, organizational, and/or societal levels. Findings show that senior volunteers are characterized by “younger” age, good health, and a high level of both educational and socioeconomical status. Volunteers are involved mainly in religious organizations as well as in social and personal care, while main barriers are represented especially by ageist practices. The review shows that the debate on this topic has been barely developed in Europe, both from an individual and societal point of view. Therefore, European countries might take advantage from experiences made in other contexts, but the identification of how this can occur requires further and more specific cross-national research.     

The Teaching of English in Puerto Rico: One Hundred Years of Degrees of Bilingualism

The bilingual policies of the University of Puerto Rico are described in the context of bilingualism in Puerto Rico as a whole, given that the second language, English, was a relatively recent imposition coming after several centuries of thorough Hispanization. Although Puerto Rico is profoundly Hispanic in terms of both language and culture, its people understand the need to be proficient in English. Thus the University of Puerto Rico is taking many steps to make sure that its students become proficient in both Spanish and English. A number of programmes are described, and the results in terms of improved knowledge of English, in particular, are detailed.     

Curriculum-Integrated Information Literacy (CIIL) in a Community College Nursing Program: A Practical Model

This article describes a strategy to integrate information literacy into the curriculum of a nursing program in a community college. The model is articulated in four explained phases: preparatory, planning, implementation, and evaluation. It describes a collaborative process encouraging librarians to work with nursing faculty, driving students to acquire information literacy competencies, to use information resources as part of their learning process, and to be lifelong learners. The literature reviews the evolution of the concept of informatics in nursing practice and the different blueprints organized to attain information literacy competencies. It also describes studies that have included these competencies into nursing curriculum.     

Balance in Positive Emotional Expressivity Across School Contexts Relates to Kindergartners’ Adjustment

Positive emotional expressivity has been associated with increased social competence and decreased maladjustment in childhood. However, a few researchers have found null or even positive associations between positive emotional expressivity and maladjustment, which suggests that there may be nuanced associations of positive expressivity, perhaps as a function of the social context in which it is expressed. We examined whether observed positive emotional expressivity balance across peer-oriented/recreational and learning contexts predicted kindergarten children’s adjustment (N = 301). Research Findings: Higher positive expressivity during lunch/recess compared to positive expressivity in the classroom was associated with lower teacher–student conflict, externalizing behaviors, and depressive symptoms. In addition, overall positive emotional expressivity predicted lower externalizing behaviors as well as lower depressive and anxiety symptoms. Practice or Policy: The results suggest the importance of assessing observed positive emotional expressivity in context as a potential indicator of children’s maladjustment risk and the need for children to adapt their emotions to different contexts. Implications for assessing and supporting positive emotional expression balance and training emotional regulation in school are discussed.     

Undergraduate Research or Research-Based Courses: Which Is Most Beneficial for Science Students?

Research in Science Education - Over the last 25 years, both research literature and practice-oriented reports have claimed the need for improving the quality of undergraduate science...     

Countering plutocracies: increasing autonomy and accountability through culturally relevant leadership

In urban school districts across the USA there are mandates to implement zero tolerance policies. As this occurs, there is an increasing number of students, specifically students of colour, who are being jettisoned out of the educative process. When school principals have little autonomy regarding how they handle disciplinary infractions within their schools, it becomes relatively easy for them to opt out of making tough decision. The authors assert that Culturally Relevant Leadership is a framework that, if applied correctly, can help school leaders reduce the multiple school suspensions and expulsions that are occurring among students of colour.     

How Exactly Does Place Matter in Crime Analysis? Place,Space, and Spatial Heterogeneity

This article has four aims. First is to clarify the origins and different meanings of place, space, and other basic concepts in spatial analysis. The second aim is to reiterate the illogicality of the spatial homogeneity assumption in ordinary least squares (OLS) regression. An illustration of the comparison between traditional OLS and geographically weighted regression modeling is included for this purpose. The third aim is to explain that place matters in crime analysis not only when crime data are spatially clustered, but when relationships between correlates are found to be conditional upon place. The final aim is to convince criminology and criminal justice faculty to begin discussing the inclusion of spatial modeling as a compulsory topic in the curriculum.