The aim of this study was to find out what attitudes students of English at Upper Secondary School have to the classroom teaching, in relation to the grade they are expecting in the current course. Furthermore, the question was whether the high achievers, also referred to as “top grade” students, felt more motivated than the low achievers, also referred to as “lower grade” students. In order to answer the research questions, the phenomenon motivation first had to be examined by studying findings by different scholars. The study was carried out with a questionnaire as the instrument. It was filled in by 86 students at a freeform Upper Secondary school in the middle of Sweden. The questionnaire asked questions about the difficulty of the course, the students’ motivation for the tasks given and also what impact the teacher had on the students’ progress. 19 high achievers were identified in the study, and 8 low achievers. The results showed that the high achievers show more positive results on attitudes and motivation in all areas. They expect higher grades and they express an interest in more areas than the low achievers do. On the other hand, no difference was found between the groups when it comes to the way they rate their interest in learning English. Similarly, students in both groups understand the need for English in their future life and careers. The results suggest that both groups are driven by instrumental motivation. The results of the present study correspond to those found in earlier studies by different scholars.

Positive adaptations experienced in spite of challenges faced is known as resilience. Comparatively little research has focused on in-depth descriptions regarding how resilience is manifested in children. The purpose of this study was to add to previous research in the identification of characteristics of resilience in students, and to determine the extent to which band membership has aided their resilience in other domains. Data was collected from a random sample of band seniors from the class of 2011 (n = 3) who attended a large high school in the South. Specific research questions were: (1) What characteristics of resilience are present in the talk of participants in a high school instrumental music program? (2) To what extent has this population perceived that membership in band aided their resilience in other domains? A descriptive study design was chosen that used qualitative data. Following data analysis that included category matrices, prominent themes emerged from the participants’ responses. These included self-improvement, forward thinking, optimism, inner drive, increased achievement, determination, development of relationships to peers and adult mentors, and development of connectedness to the school. The findings of this study complemented previous research on characteristics of resilient students, and suggested that the participants derived positive benefits from group membership and from positively contributing to the school. Recommendations based on these findings for researchers included the need for resilience to be studied across other subject areas in school, and across different populations of students. Recommendations for teachers and administrators included varied opportunities for extra-curricular and co-curricular student engagement.

SANTRAUKA Šio tiriamojo darbo tikslas buvo aprašyti 6-8 klasių aukštų akademinių pasiekimų mokinių intelekto struktūrą. Tyrime dalyvavo 45 mokiniai -32 mergaitės ir 13 berniukų – besimokantys bendrojo lavinimo mokyklų 6-8 klasėse. Mokinių amžiaus diapazonas – 12-15 metų. Pagal pažangumo rodiklius atrinktos trys grupės vaikų: kuriems sekasi kalbos, kuriems sekasi matematika, ir kuriems sekasi ir kalbos, ir matematika (šių dalykų pusmečio ir metiniai įvertinimai – 10 (puikiai) ir 9 (labai gerai) Mokiniai buvo testuoti dviem metodikomis - Wechslerio intelekto skale vaikams-trečias leidimas (WISC-III) ir Bender-Gestalt vizualiniu-motoriniu testu II. Nustatyta, kad aukštų akademinių pasiekimų mokinių verbaliniai gebėjimai yra labai aukšti, neverbaliniai – aukšti. Aukštų akademinių pasiekimų mokiniai WISC-III subtestus atlieka geriau nei jų bendraamžiai iš bendrosios populiacijos. Aukštų akademinių pasiekimų vaikų gebėjimų profilis panašus į gabių vaikų profilį. Šių mokinių intelektinių gebėjimų struktūroje galime išskirti spartaus neverbalinės informacijos apdorojimo ir organizavimo gebėjimą. Tarp trijų tiriamųjų grupių nustatyti Atsparumo trukdžiams ir Apdorojimo greičio faktorių skirtumai. Vaikų, kurių kalbų pasiekimai aukštesni nei kitų dalykų, atsparumas trukdžiams, trumpalaikė atmintis mažesni nei psichomotorinis greitis. Vaikų, kurių matematikos pasiekimai aukštesni nei kitų dalykų, atsparumas trukdžiams ir psichomotorinis greitis funkcionuoja vienodame lygmenyje. Vaikų... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / SUMMARY This research aimed on describing the structure of Intelligence of high-achievers of 6th to 8th formers. There were 45 students, namely 32 girls and 13 boys, students of secondary schools, who we participated in the research. Age range of students varied from 12 to 15 years old. Based on performance indicators, the following three groups of children were distinguished: those who showed good performance in languages; those who were goods at mathematics and those who were good at both languages and mathematics (with semestrial and annual evaluation grade 10 (excellent) and 9 (very good) of givens subjects. Students have been tested according to two methods: Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-III) and Bender-Gestalt Visual Motor Test II. It was found that verbal abilities of school high-achievers are very high and nonverbal abilities are high. School high-achievers perform WISC-III subtests better than theirs peers from general population. Relevant differences in performing verbal subtests were determined in three groups of students. For children, who are good at languages, is characteristic abstract logical reasoning involving when involving words and school aptitude. Students, who are good at mathematics, have better computation and abstract reasoning involving digits abilities. Children, who are good at all subjects, possess best long-term memory, ability to accumulate information. The cognitive profile of high-achievers is similar to profile of gifted... [to full text]

This is a report of an investigation of children’s beliefs about the nature of mathematics, the nature of learning and helping factors for learning mathematics. The study aimed to investigate whether beliefs held by eight learners of eight to nine years of age could be articulated and portrayed. It aimed also to develop procedures to facilitate this process, to portray children’s beliefs from their responses to the research procedures, to provide insights into possible complexities and subtleties of young learners’ beliefs, to reflect upon the significance for the mathematics classroom of the insights gained, and to reflect upon the value of the procedures developed for the study. The research took the form of individual case studies of four girls and four boys of eight to nine years of age from two schools in suburban Melbourne. Four children were teacher-perceived low achievers in mathematics and four were teacher-perceived high achievers in mathematics. The children were each interviewed on ten occasions over a five-month period using thirty semi-structured, creative interviewing procedures that were developed or adapted for the study that included drawing, writing, discussing scenarios presented through photographs, video snippets and other children’s drawings, ordering of descriptors, and responding to questionnaires presented verbally. The interview data consisted of transcripts and artefacts. Some class administered tasks, lesson observations and interviews with the mathematics teachers provided background information. Analysis of interview responses was undertaken through a criss-cross examination in which themes were drawn from each child’s data. Responses were not judged for correctness or for a match to any predetermined categories and the researcher sought to take a stance of neutrality to the phenomena under study. The research suggests that teachers and others involved in the education of young learners of mathematics should know that: it is possible to gain insights into children’s beliefs about maths (the term used most commonly by the children), learning, and helping factors for learning maths; to gain insights into young children’s beliefs, it is important to have dialogue with the children to avoid making assumptions about their interpretations or meanings; the creative interviewing procedures developed for the present research are helpful as they can stimulate reflection and prompt conversation; young children’s beliefs can be complex, subtle, broad and deep; young children’s beliefs are individually constructed and differ from child to child; children may not see mathematics concepts in the same ways as their teachers and other adults; beliefs are sufficiently diverse and significant to affect the way children see the mathematics learning situation; although the beliefs of children of eight to nine years of age may, on the surface, appear simplistic and naïve, they are not necessarily so. Young learners are able to reflect on their own and others’ experiences and often construct complex beliefs. There is a lot happening in the minds of these children. The research suggests also that it is important that educators do not to make assumptions about: what children see as maths (or mathematics); what children see as learning; and what children see as helping factors for learning maths. A key factor facilitating children’s reflection and expression was the range of visual, verbal, and text-based creative interviewing strategies developed for the present study. The individual procedures provided suitable prompts to allow young children to articulate or represent their beliefs. The semi-structured procedures, through which ideas were explored on multiple occasions, followed by theme-based, criss-cross analysis of interview transcripts and artefacts, resulted in rich and trustworthy portrayals of beliefs, increasing the validity of the findings. The research provides the education community with insights into young children’s beliefs that are unlikely to emerge within the day to day activity of the classroom and, through the availability of the research procedures, facilitates further gaining of insights into beliefs either by classroom teachers or other researchers.

Denna litteraturstudie undersöker hur datorbaserad inlärning påverkar lågpresterande elever i matematik. Syftet med denna studie är att göra en sammanställning av befintlig forskning, för att bidra med kunskap om hur datorbaserad inlärning kan förbättra förståelsen av matematik för elever med matematiska inlärningssvårigheter. Vidare jämförde och undersöktes effekterna datorbaserad inlärning beroende på om det används i form av spel eller instruerande undervisning. Resultaten visar att elever som använder datorer i undervisningen visade signifikant bättre resultat på eftertesten som gjordes i studierna. Den generella slutsatsen från denna studie är att det behövs mer forskning på området. Konsekvenser för framtida matematiska studier diskuteras. / This literature review has an interest to investigate how computer based learning affects low-performing students in mathematics. The purpose of this study is to make a compilation of existing research to contribute knowledge on how computer based learning can improve understanding of mathematics for students with mathematic difficulties. This also leads to an interest of comparing and investigate the effects of computer based learning depending on whether it is games or instructional teaching. Results show that students who use computers in their learning showed significantly better results on the posttests. Conclusions made in this study are that more research is needed. Implications for future mathematic studies were discussed.

<p>Syftet med den här studien var att se vilka uppfattningar lärare har om att eleverna i en klass befinner sig på olika kunskapsnivåer kopplat till matematik. Studien bygger på kvalitativa intervjuer med lärare som arbetar i årskurs 6. </p><p>Litteraturen tydliggör vikten av att alla elever får möjligheter att utvecklas utifrån sina egna förutsättningar och behov. Hur undervisningen läggs upp och hur grupperna ser ut varierar, men dialogen mellan lärare och elev samt en varierande pedagogik är två betydelsefulla inslag som lyfts fram. </p><p>Resultatet visar att lärarna ser stora fördelar med att ha elever som är på en jämn kunskapsnivå, men de vänder också skillnaderna till något positivt och utnyttjar det i undervisningen. Lärarna har en önskan om att variera undervisningen mer för att ge alla elever möjlighet att lära sig matematik utifrån sina egna förutsättningar. </p><p>Min slutsats är att lärarna trots stora skillnader i klasserna anstränger sig för att kunna möta varje elev på elevens egen nivå och att de skapar sitt eget arbetssätt för att uppnå detta. Dock finns tendensen att de högpresterande eleverna ofta inte får chansen att utvecklas utifrån sina egna förutsättningar, eftersom lärarna lägger mycket kraft och tid på att hjälpa de lågpresterande eleverna.</p>

Syftet med den här studien var att se vilka uppfattningar lärare har om att eleverna i en klass befinner sig på olika kunskapsnivåer kopplat till matematik. Studien bygger på kvalitativa intervjuer med lärare som arbetar i årskurs 6. Litteraturen tydliggör vikten av att alla elever får möjligheter att utvecklas utifrån sina egna förutsättningar och behov. Hur undervisningen läggs upp och hur grupperna ser ut varierar, men dialogen mellan lärare och elev samt en varierande pedagogik är två betydelsefulla inslag som lyfts fram. Resultatet visar att lärarna ser stora fördelar med att ha elever som är på en jämn kunskapsnivå, men de vänder också skillnaderna till något positivt och utnyttjar det i undervisningen. Lärarna har en önskan om att variera undervisningen mer för att ge alla elever möjlighet att lära sig matematik utifrån sina egna förutsättningar. Min slutsats är att lärarna trots stora skillnader i klasserna anstränger sig för att kunna möta varje elev på elevens egen nivå och att de skapar sitt eget arbetssätt för att uppnå detta. Dock finns tendensen att de högpresterande eleverna ofta inte får chansen att utvecklas utifrån sina egna förutsättningar, eftersom lärarna lägger mycket kraft och tid på att hjälpa de lågpresterande eleverna.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / Reissued 5 May 2017 to correct misspelled Second Reader’s name on title page. / The number of disconnected youth, those ages 16 to 24 who are not in school and are not employed, has reached significant levels in the United States and Western Europe. This trend is coupled with the fact that more and more foreign fighters are joining Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Iraq and Syria. In particular, Western youth have been the target of radicalization by ISIS and other terrorist groups, and the appeal and lure of such groups seem unlikely to subside. A similar trend is also evident among youth in Muslim countries where the number of foreign fighters to terrorist groups seems unlikely to decrease. According to recent estimates, over 28,000 foreign fighters have joined ISIS in Syria and Iraq since 2011. The fact that so many youth have been radicalized to join terrorist groups is a cause for concern that requires closer scrutiny, understanding, and action by Western and other governments. The explanations and motivations as to why youth join terrorist groups abound; these include lack of education, poverty, religion discrimination, family background, and political and economic marginalization, among others. This research seeks to answer the question, are the youth in the United States, who are disconnected, more likely to become radicalized to terrorism? To answer this, various theoretical frameworks were researched and examined, such as relative deprivation, social movement theory, and psychological perspectives, to shed light on understanding this issue. / Director, Personnel Support Services and Benefits, Transportation Security Administration

This study examines the influence of family background and structure on academic achievement. The research focuses on the 11th- and 12th-grade population in the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science (TAMS) at the University of North Texas, Denton. The study examines the variables in family background and family structure that contribute to the students' high academic achievement. Twelve hypotheses related to parents, home environment, family structure and interaction, family roles, and family values are proposed. The multivariate analysis shows that the variables being read to, reading independently, fathers' education, mothers' education, and ethnicity are significant in impacting academic achievement. The study underlines the fact that multiple factors in family structure and background have an influence on academic achievement.

Många som arbetar i skolan är överens om att barn bör ha möjlighet att lära sig på olika sätt. En teori som utgår från detta är Gardners teori om multipla intelligenser. Vi har valt att undersöka hur fyra lärare verksamma i låg- och mellanstadiet i en stad i Mellansverige arbetar med en enligt många forskare missunnad elevgrupp, de begåvade. Denna studie syftar till att undersöka hur fyra lärare talar om sitt arbete med matematikbegåvade elever. Hur definierar de intervjuade lärarna elever med en matematisk begåvning och hur förhåller de sig till dessa? Vad säger sig de intervjuade lärarna göra för att utmana dessa elever? Anser de intervjuade lärarna att det finns det något samband mellan högpresterande elever och begåvning, på vilka sätt yttrar sig dessa? För att få svar på dessa frågor användes en kvalitativ metod i form av intervjuer. Enligt skollagen har alla elever rätt att utvecklas så långt som möjligt, även om man lätt når kunskapskraven. Tidigare forskning visar på risker med att elever stoppas upp i sin utveckling. Begåvade elever som inte utmanas i skolan löper risk för att bli understimulerade och inte använda hela sin kapacitet. Matematikämnet har visat sig vara det ämne som i störst utsträckning består av individuellt arbete. Det är dessutom ett ämne där svenska skolelevers resultat har sjunkit de senaste åren. Studien visar att de intervjuade lärarna främst definierar matematikbegåvade elever genom en förmåga att tänka abstrakt och samtala om matematik. Intervjuerna påvisade vilken tillgång matematiskt begåvade elever kan vara i ett klassrum. Lärarna uttryckte att de begåvade eleverna i matematik kan vara en ögonöppnare eller en motor för sina klasskamrater, utan att de blir utnyttjade som hjälplärare. Studien påvisar också vissa svårigheter, de intervjuade lärarna upplever tidsbrist samt svårigheter i att finna bra material för att ge eleverna den utbildning de har rätt till.