Students drop out of schools for many reasons, and it has negative effects on the individual and society. This paper reports a study using data published in 2015 from the Educational Longitudinal Study conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics to analyze the influence of parental involvement on low-achieving U.S. students’ graduation rates from high school. Findings indicate that both students and parents share the same perspective on the need for parental involvement in their academic progress. For low-achieving high school students, parental involvement in academic work is a positive factor influencing students’ graduation from high school.

The purpose of this paper is to explore if the learning of biographical writing contributes to the positive views and attitudes towards others of different groups. The paper used the Research and Development approach by designing and implementing a learning model of biographical writing. The subjects of this study were 200 seventh-grade students having different ethnic and religious backgrounds from nine junior high schools. The data-collecting method was pretest-posttest. The results of the study demonstrated that the average scores of the aspects of student empathy, student positive attitudes towards ethnic differences, and student positive attitudes towards religious differences increased in all the schools investigated. The increase of average score in the aspect of student empathy, positive attitudes towards ethnic differences, and positive attitudes towards religious differences could be classified into three categories: high, medium, and low. Most of the schools under study experienced medium and low increases of average score in all aspects.

The worldwide pandemic Coronavirus disease, affected every aspect of people’s lives due to being locked at their homes, therefore many difficulties began to appear, especially in education. Scholars were the leading group that has been affected the most due to the online lessons that began from one day to another, without any kind of previous training specifically in these types of contexts at home. According to some national diagnostical studies, most of the students could not achieve the minimum educational objectives in mathematics and language, which are the essential subjects in Chilean education. In this study, in which qualitative phenomenology analysis was used, the aim was to reveal the current state of students after a whole year of online lessons in terms of personal technological use and personal perceptions about e-learning. In this study, in which the criterion sampling was used, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 adolescents from different sorts of schools who experienced online lessons using their previous personal knowledge in Information and Communication Technologies. The data were analyzed in Nvivo node tree, which revealed six main themes that define the experience and personal perception of the participants: adaptation to the new order, learning by their own, how to use better the technology, use of social media, new ways of personal knowledge sharing, importance of classmates. It is believed that the results obtained from this study will contribute to schools’ view of learning and teaching education in the 21st century and to improve students’ experiences in online lessons.

For biology students, the diversity, complexity, and abundance of content in this field yield a heavy study load. Hence, appropriate learning strategies are key in supporting learners’ academic success. In biology, the factors gender and interest hold a unique position within the natural sciences, as there is an academic imbalance to the disadvantage of male students. In the present study, we examined the influence of gender and interest as well as its interdependences on the students’ use of learning strategies for biology learning. A total of 180 seventh through tenth grade students (Mage=14.47; SD=1.35; 60% female) from four general-track secondary schools located in Germany participated in this study. Data on the students’ level of interest and the use of learning strategies in biology lessons were collected. We used multivariate analysis of covariance with the students’ age as the covariate to analyse our data. Results revealed a significant effect of gender on the students’ use of the learning strategies rehearsal, organisation, effort, and time management. With regard to elaboration and effort, the effects of interest were found to be significant. The gender gap regarding learning strategy use was narrower for students with high levels of interest. These findings might have implications for beneficial teacher behaviour in biology.

It should be noted that learning outcomes are not students’ only achievement; attitude is also the main output in learning. This research explores students’ attitudes toward science learning based on gender and the grade level of schools in Aceh, Indonesia. The participants are 1,023 students from the sixth grade of primary schools and the eighth grade of secondary schools. The total sample includes 16 schools spread across the province. The data have been collected using TOSRA. By using the Likert scale, this questionnaire is useful for obtaining descriptions of the students’ attitudes and assigning scores for a certain group of participants. Based on gender, the results show females reflect more positive attitudes toward science than male students do. According to the grade level of the schools, the data reflect the equality of students’ attitudes toward science between primary and secondary schools. Nevertheless, when primary school students enter secondary school, the majority of students enjoy learning science less. This fact is meaningful feedback for science teachers. This result supports the scholars seeking ways to avoid the gender gap in learning activities. Pedagogical implications are also discussed.

Most research has examined flipped learning within the context of face-to-face (F2F) instruction. However, previous research has not effectively explored the possibility of how online synchronous flipped learning influences pre-service teachers (PSTs) in teacher education programs during Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Recognizing the gap in the literature, this paper explored three aspects of online synchronous flipped learning by understanding 1) PSTs' learner engagement, 2) self-directed learning, and 3) learner satisfaction in a Korean university. The data was collected from Korean PST's interviews, reflection notes, and course evaluations. The thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative data sources. The study findings showed that PSTs favored a synchronous online FL because it encouraged them to engage in various collaborative activities through Zoom breakout sessions. Also, pre-class materials from online FL can positively enhance the PSTs' self-directed learning process. Based on these findings, this study provides suggestions on how to effectively implement online synchronous flipped learning in teacher education programs.

The positive effect of peer assessment and self-assessment strategies on learners' performance has been widely confirmed in experimental or quasi-experimental studies. However, whether peer and self-assessment within everyday mathematics teaching affect student learning and achievement, has rarely been studied. This study aimed to determine with what quality peer and self-assessment occur in everyday mathematics instruction and whether and which students benefit from it in terms of achievement and the learning process. Two lessons on division were video-recorded and rated to determine the quality of peer and self-assessment. Six hundred thirty-four students of fourth-grade primary school classes in German-speaking Switzerland participated in the study and completed a performance test on division. Multilevel analyses showed no general effect of the quality of peer or self-assessment on performance. However, high-quality self-assessment was beneficial for lower-performing students, who used a larger repertoire of calculation strategies, which helped them perform better. In conclusion, peer and self-assessment in real-life settings only have a small effect on the student performance in this Swiss study.

Research on instructional quality has been of great interest for several decades, leading to an immense and diverse body of literature. However, due to different definitions and operationalisations, the picture of what characteristics are important for instructional quality is not entirely clear. Therefore, in this paper, a scoping review was performed to provide an overview of existing evidence of both generic and subject-didactic characteristics with regard to student performance. More precisely, this paper aims to (a) identify both generic and subject-didactic characteristics affecting student performance in mathematics in secondary school, (b) cluster these characteristics into categories to show areas for quality teaching, and (c) analyse and assess the effects of these characteristics on student performance to rate the scientific evidence in the context of the articles considered. The results reveal that teaching characteristics, and not just the instruments for recording the quality of teaching as described in previous research, can be placed on a continuum ranging from generic to subject-didactic. Moreover, on account of the inconsistent definition of subject-didactic characteristics, the category of ‘subject-didactic specifics’ needs further development to establish it as a separate category in empirical research. Finally, this study represents a further step toward understanding the effects of teaching characteristics on student performance by providing an overview of teaching characteristics and their effects and evidence.

The study aims to find out the influence of Mistake-Handling Activities to determine mathematical definitions knowledge, which can be regarded as a component of mathematics content knowledge, of teachers on the development of teachers in providing mathematical definitions. Within this framework, Mistake-Handling Activities were carried out with five volunteer mathematics teachers. Written opinions and semi-structured face-to-face interviews were used as data collection tools. During the application, focus group interviews were carried out, and the application was enhanced with discussions. The data were analyzed using the document review method, and codes, categories, and themes were also determined. The results revealed that Mistake-Handling Activities yielded certain emotional advantages such as increasing teachers’ interest and curiosity, critical thinking, self-confidence, awareness, and offering different viewpoints as well as yielding cognitive advantages such as recognizing their shortcomings, acknowledging the importance of knowing the definition of a concept, and using the definition.

This study aims to explore the pattern of external representation of suspending objects in a static fluid. The study used a qualitative descriptive method involving 57 elementary, junior, senior school, and university students. Data collection implemented a 30-item test covering the dominant context of suspending and partially floating and sinking.  Some of phenomenographic steps were adapted in data analysis. Based on the data analysis, it can be concluded that there is a dominant external representation pattern, where there is a simplification of the depiction of suspending objects. Suspending position tends to be locked in a limited area, namely in the middle of the depth of the liquid. In the context of suspending objects' cuts, the cuts were generally represented by an upward shifting pattern. Factors that influence the pattern of representation are the involvement of intuition in conceptualizing the phenomena presented, and the conceptual aspect of density has not been integrated into the reasoning process for compiling external representations, both diagrams, and texts. Research limitation is presented in this article.

Cognitive processes are procedures for using existing knowledge to combine it with new knowledge and make decisions based on that knowledge. This study aims to identify the cognitive structure of students during information processing based on the level of algebraic reasoning ability. This type of research is qualitative with exploratory methods. The data collection technique used began by providing a valid and reliable test instrument for algebraic reasoning abilities for six mathematics education student programs at the Islamic University of Sultan Agung Indonesia. Subjects were selected based on the level of upper, middle, and lower algebraic reasoning abilities. The results showed that (1) students with the highest level of algebraic reasoning ability meet the logical structure of Logical Reasoning which shows that students at the upper level can find patterns and can generalize; (2) Students at the intermediate level understand the cognitive structure of Symbolic Representations, where students can make connections between knowledge and experience and look for patterns and relationships but have difficulty making rules and generalizations; (3) students at lower levels understand the cognitive structure of Comparative Thinking, where students are only able to make connections between prior knowledge and experience.

In this research, the influence of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on 9th grade students’ mathematics achievement is analyzed through quantitative and qualitative methods. A posttest only with control group design was used to compare the mathematics marks of 9th grade students from the previous school year (before the pandemic, control group) and the current school year (during the pandemic, experimental group). Seventy-three students from a public high school in Spain attending class on alternate days participated in the study. Three focus group sessions were held with students, and five semi-structured interviews were conducted—two with teachers and three with students’ families. Results show statistically significant differences in students’ mathematics achievement, with students enrolled in 9th grade the previous (pre-pandemic) year outscoring their peers currently enrolled in 9th grade (during the pandemic) by 22.17%. An overall negative effect size of Hedge’s g = -1.11 was reported. Although significant statistical differences between groups were reported for both male and female students, the effect was 42.31% larger for male students (Hedge’s g = -1.11) than for females (Hedge’s g = -0.78). The qualitative information supported the quantitative results. Changes in educational settings, students’ lack of motivation, monotony, and students’ level of responsibility were qualitatively reported as factors that may explain this phenomenon. The main conclusion of this study is that the COVID-19 pandemic may be significantly and negatively affecting 9th grade students’ mathematics achievement.

Many researchers have separately developed instruments to measure environmental characteristics such as attitudes, values, and knowledge. However, there is no instrument used to measure all these aspects in one comprehensive instrument. This study is meant to develop and validate a green character instrument which reveals student behavior and awareness of the environment. The instrument consists of 40 statement items consisting of 5 aspects, namely private pro-environmental behavior, public pro-environmental behavior, environmental knowledge, environmental values, and environmental attitudes. It was implemented on 1,398 students from 15 universities in Indonesia. The instrument content validation was analyzed by three experts using content validity index (CVI). The construct validity was analyzed using exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and RASCH analysis. The content validity results obtained CVI scores ranging between 0.8 and 0.9 with a good category, while item reliability was in a fairly good category with a high level of separation index. Construct validation resulted in 34 items (4 items were eliminated after Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis, and 2 items were eliminated after RASCH analysis) spread over five constructs, namely environmental behavior, environmental knowledge, environmental values, environmental attitudes, and environmental habits. The resulting instrument has a good level of item difficulty, with a well understood response set which can be understood easily by respondents, and without bias. Therefore, it can be used to measure the students’ green character on both male and female.

The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has caused an inevitable shift from face-to-face to distance learning, a phenomenon known as panic-gogy. Parents are the main students’ companions while studying at home. Although various studies show the constraints in this condition, few employ phenomenology that accurately describes people’s experience regarding a situation. Therefore, this study aimed to describe parents’ experience during distance learning mathematics using a phenomenology approach. The participants comprised 71 35-50-year-old parents of junior high school students. A Google form with open-ended questions was used as the main instrument in data collection. Data were analyzed using NVivo-12-assisted thematic analysis in coding, while source triangulation was used to strengthen the data trustworthiness. The results showed that students did not learn the content well due to poor explanations by the teacher. Furthermore, they did not study well at home due to signal constraints and quota limitations. This study recommends blended learning by combining limited face-to-face and online learning.

This study presents an inquiry-based teaching approach using a rich methodology involving STEM (science-technology-engineering and mathematics) projects, developed using a cooperative way to work between schools and research centres. We describe the teaching pattern scenario with students, teachers, and scientists. We also illustrate the learning process, conducted through two inquiry-based problems in Biochemistry, the mutagenesis process and the transgenesis effects caused by inoculation of bacteria. The teaching sequence, as well as the scientific knowledge and students’ competencies involved, are shown. We then analyse the students' and teachers' perceptions in this scenario regarding the development of students' STEM learning through their inquiry skills promoted and concerning predictors to vocational careers involved (students’ identities as potential scientists, scientific attitudes, social implications towards science or students´ agency). Finally, we add some conclusions and contributions to teaching STEM education, related to factors of the design teaching scenario that bring connections with the interests and motivations of students, such as the relevance of the projects to evoke understanding of processes or causal relationships of content or the teacher's professionalisation supported by a proper allocation between scientists and teachers.

This study examined the impact of modular distance learning on students' motivation, interest/attitude, anxiety and achievement in mathematics. This was done at the Gabaldon, Nueva Ecija, Philippines during the first and second grading of the academic year 2021-2022. The study included both a descriptive-comparative and descriptive-correlational research design. The 207 high school students were chosen using stratified sampling. According to the findings, students have a very satisfactory rating in mathematics. Students agree that they are motivated, enthusiastic, and have a positive attitude toward mathematics. They do, however, agree that mathematics causes them anxiety. When students are subdivided based on sex, their mathematics interest and anxiety differ significantly. However, there was no significant difference in interest/attitude and achievement. When students are divided into age groups, their mathematics motivation, interest/attitude, anxiety, and achievement differ significantly. Students' motivation, anxiety, and achievement differ significantly by year level. There was a positive relationship between and among mathematics motivation, interest/attitude, and achievement. However, there is a negative association between mathematics anxiety and mathematics motivation; mathematics anxiety and mathematical interest/attitude; and mathematics anxiety and mathematical performance. The study's theoretical and practical implications were also discussed, and recommendations for educators and researchers were given.

The study of character becomes a very important discussion in the 21st century. So that the integration of character values is very important both in the process and in educational assessment. The purpose of this study was to test the validity and reliability of the character assessment instrument for 21st-century high school students. The research approach used was quantitative with a sample of 200 high school students. Data analysis carried out includes validity and reliability tests. The test results of the instrument showed that the construct of the student character assessment instrument was declared valid and reliable. The content validity test shows the value of Aiken's > .80 in the high category. In the construct validation test with EFA, all variables have a loading factor > .5. In the CFA test, the model is declared fit with the estimated standard loading value of .40 and the t-count value > 1.96. Meanwhile, while in testing the reliability of the instrument obtained composite > .70 Cronbach's Alpha reliability > .70 which means reliable. So that this instrument is declared valid and reliable to measure the character of students in high school.

Modern technology is necessary and important for improving the quality of education. While machine learning algorithms to support students remain limited. Thus, it is necessary to inspire educational scholars and educational technologists. This research therefore has three main targets: to educate the holistic context of rural education management, to study the relationship of continuing education at the upper secondary level, and to construct an appropriate education program prediction model for high school students in a rural school. The data for research is the academic achievement data of 1,859 students from Manchasuksa School at Mancha Khiri District, Khon Kaen Province, Thailand, during the academic year 2015-2020. Research tools are separated into 2 sections. The first section is a basic statistical analysis step, it composes of frequency analysis, percentage analysis, mean analysis, and standard deviation analysis. Another section is the data mining analysis phase, which consists of discretization technique, XGBoost classification technique (Decision Tree, Gradient Boosted Trees, and Random Forest), confusion matrix performance analysis, and cross-validation performance analysis. At the end, the research results found that the reasonable distribution level of student achievement consisted of four clusters classified by academic achievement. All four clusters were modeled on predicting academic achievement for the next generation of students. In addition, there are four success models in this research. For future research, the researcher aims to develop an application to facilitate instruction for learners by integrating prediction models into the mobile application to promote the utilization of modern technology.

Teachers´ life-long learning and occupational well-being is significant in promoting educational goals and professional development. The aim of the study was to determine which factors contribute to teacher educators´ commitment to work and give them energy for work and self-development. The research data consisted of 24 teacher educators in Oulu University of Applied Sciences. The research method of this case study was a qualitative, thematic content analysis, the research approach phenomenography. The most important single factor seemed to be the community of teachers, students and the administrative staff which are included in dialogue and collaboration. Emotions, meaningfulness, and interaction play an important role, often via pedagogical fellowship. Committed teacher educators take responsibility for workplace culture and transformation of teaching. Positive attitudes, motivation, reflection, and dialogue seem to be connected to professional capability and the ethos of teacher educators´ work.

Teacher leadership theory has underlined the essence of teacher collaboration (TC) in helping students learn better. Also, many studies and theories have argued that TC can be an effective way to provide learning feedback. Thus, this mixed-method study aimed to experimentally examine the effect of teacher collaborative metacognitive feedback (TCMF) on educational management (EM) students’ metacognition, to see the different effects on EM students’ metacognition as affected by TCMF and by individual teaching metacognitive feedback (ITMF), and to qualitatively probe into students’ perceptions of teacher collaboration. The quantitative study conducted a quasi-experimental method by involving 44 EM students. A valid and reliable scale of metacognition adopted from a previous study was utilized as the instrument of data collection. The qualitative study conducted interviews with 8 students selected purposively, and the data were analyzed interactively to reach credible information. This study revealed that TCMF positively and significantly affected EM students’ metacognition. TCMF contributed to EM students’ metacognition better than ITMF did. The students perceived that TC developed their collaborative skills, continuously supporting their critical thinking skills, intercultural communicative competence, and problem-solving skills. Limitations, implications, and recommendations for further research are discussed.