This study examines homeless student academic performance, types of temporary housing used among the homeless, degree of stability or instability for families with school-aged children, child needs for academic success, the importance of parental involvement in a child's academic growth, and other known factors in relations to child student academic performance, with a focus on grade level and racial differences. A multiple linear regression model is used to test the hypotheses while controlling confounding variables. Statistically significant relationships are reported between race and academic performance, and grade level and academic performance. Practical and policy implications are discussed, as well as limitations of the study and need for future research.

It is not uncommon for math difficulties and reading difficulties to occur simultaneously. Despite this, math and reading difficulties are thought to have different cognitive profiles where math difficulties are linked to number sense; an innate ability to understand, approximate and manipulate both quantities and numerical information, whereas reading difficulties are linked to phonological ability; an innate ability to understand, create representations of and manipulate phonological information. A possible link between the difficulties is that phonological abilities also could affect mathematical ability. Support for this comes from studies where comorbid math and reading difficulties are associated with more severe difficulties in arithmetic ability compared to those with isolated math difficulties. The purpose of this study is to examine whether isolated math difficulties, isolated reading difficulties and comorbid math and reading difficulties can be linked to deficits in number sense, phonological ability or both of these, and whether comorbid math and reading difficulties differ in performance in mathematical tasks compared to isolated math difficulties for children in second grade. The study was carried out by testing 161 second grade children in arithmetic performance, reading performance, number sense and phonological ability. Based on performance in arithmetic and reading participants were divided into four groups: math difficulties (MD), reading difficulties (LD), comorbid math and reading difficulties (MD/LD) and control group. Statistical comparisons between groups were calculated by use of ANCOVAs, with non-verbal intelligence as covariate, and by independent t-test. Results gave partial support for the proposed core deficits for math and reading difficulties respectively, mainly concerning math difficulties and number sense deficits. The MD group performed significantly poorer in the non-symbolic number sense test.The group LD did not perform significantly poorer in respect to any task. The group MD/LD performed significantly poorer regarding subtraction, symbolic number sense tests and phonological awareness. Based on these results it can be discussed whether a link between number sense deficits and phonological awareness deficits may cause difficulty with learning and manipulating symbolic digit number. / Det är inte ovanligt att matematiksvårigheter förekommer tillsammans med lässvårigheter. Däremot förefaller matematiksvårigheter och lässvårigheter ha skilda kognitiva profiler där matematiksvårigheter kopplas till bristande number sense; en medfödd förmåga för att förstå, approximera och manipulera kvantiteter och numerisk information, medan lässvårigheter kopplas till bristande fonologisk förmåga; en medfödd förmåga att förstå, skapa representationer för och manipulera fonologisk information. En möjlig länk mellan svårigheterna är att fonologisk förmåga även kan påverka den matematiska förmågan. Stöd för detta har framkommit i studier där komorbida matematik- och lässvårigheter kopplats till mer uttalade matematiksvårigheter i jämförelse med isolerade matematiksvårigheter. Syftet med föreliggande studie är att undersöka huruvida isolerade matematiksvårigheter, isolerade lässvårigheter samt komorbida matematik- och lässvårigheter kan kopplas till bristande number sense, bristande fonologisk förmåga eller båda samt huruvida komorbida matematik- och lässvårigheter skiljer sig gentemot isolerade matematiksvårigheter gällande matematiksvårigheternas omfattning hos barn i andra klass. För att besvara syftet testades 161 barn i andra klass gällande aritmetisk färdighet, läsfärdighet, number sense och fonologisk förmåga. Efter sin prestation i matematik och läsningdelades deltagarna in i fyra grupper; matematiksvårigheter (MS), lässvårigheter (LS), komorbida matematik- och lässvårigheter (MS/LS) samt kontrollgrupp. Statistiska jämförelser beräknades mellan grupperna genom kovariansanalyser (ANCOVA), med icke-verbal intelligens som kovariat, samt genom oberoende t-test. Resultatet gav delvis stöd för den tänkta kärnproblematiken för matematiksvårigheter respektive lässvårigheter, främst gällande matematiksvårigheter och bristande number sense. Gruppen MS var signifikant sämre på ett icke-symboliskt number sense-test. Gruppen LS var inte signifikant sämre gällande något test. Gruppen MS/LS var signifikant sämre gällande subtraktion och symboliska number sense-test samt gällande fonologisk medvetenhet. Utifrån resultatet diskuteras huruvida en länk mellan bristande number sense och bristande fonologisk medvetenhet kan orsaka svårigheter med inlärning och hantering av symboliska siffertal.

Teachers continue to experience an increased sense of responsibility as it relates to job performance while still being required to produce at the same level with relation to student performance. This can cause an increase in personal stress and result in lowered feelings of self- worth, having a negative impact on service delivery to children and overall job performance. Bandura (1997) defined self-efficacy as a judgment of one's ability to organize and execute given types of performances. Furthermore, he suggests that the outcomes people anticipate depend largely upon their judgments of how well they will be able to perform in given situations. The same can be said for teachers in relation to their beliefs and attitudes toward their students' overall performance. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine whether a relationship exists between teachers' feeling of self-efficacy and their students' overall achievement with respect to North Carolina Reading and Math End-Of-Grade tests. Surveys were administered to teachers in grades three through eight, in eight Pre-K through 8th grade schools. Data collected focused on teachers' feeling of self-efficacy. This study employed qualitative data gathered from participant surveys. Participating teachers in this study are in high performing schools as defined by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. Their students have good academic records, coupled with high parental involvement (North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, 2010). Six of the 14 comparisons within this study did not reveal a significant relationship between perceived teacher self-efficacy and North Carolina End-of-Grade reading and math test scores. However a relationship between perceived self-efficacy within gender did reveal that female participants tended to have higher perceived self-efficacy than that of the male participants. Male teacher participants tended to have higher North Carolina End-of-Grade reading test scores than those of female teacher participants. It was also discovered that each of the respondents, regardless of perceived self-efficacy score, had test results in both reading and math that were significantly higher than the state average. Finally it was also discovered that a relationship existed between teacher respondents with lower perceived self-efficacy scores and North Carolina math test scores.

No description available.