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Possessing mathematical competence is a pre requisite for independently comprehending, understanding and applying all features of mathematical modelling in a particular setting. This research study thus explores the mathematical modelling competencies that Grade 10 learners exhibit while solving contextual problems in a mathematics learning and teaching context, with specific reference to using mathematical modelling. Since mathematical modelling is a fairly new teaching strategy used in mathematics teaching some teachers may be ignorant of the skills and competencies required for learners to solve problems efficiently. A mixed-methods approach to this study was decided upon and a case study design used within an interpretative paradigm in an effort to ascertain the levels of mathematical modelling competencies of a non-random sample of 20 Grade 10 learners. Participant learners who attended a Western Cape school were requested to solve a set of word problems involving the use of simultaneous equations. Task based activities and observations were used as a means to collect data, as well as semi-structured interviews to gauge participating learners' views and experiences. Qualitative content analysis methods were employed together with basic descriptive statistical methods.

The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting stay-at-home orders created a need for assessing elementary, middle, and high school students' experienced stressors associated with the coronavirus situation. In collaboration with a school district wanting information about their students' well-being during the pandemic school shut-down, the current study investigated students' reported types and levels of COVID-19 stressors. Data were collected from 2,738 students from fourth through 12th grade in a suburban Midwestern school district in the United States following school closure related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Data on stress associated with the COVID-19 pandemic were gathered from students via an online survey using Qualtrics. The students rated 20 items (e.g., not motivated to do schoolwork, not going to my school) on stress level. Stressor categories found included Social Isolation, Schoolwork Stress, Fear of COVID-19 Illness, and Missing Events. Middle and high school students reported higher schoolwork stress than did elementary students, and overall, females had higher reported stress on several stressors. The current study has implications for school psychologists including utilizing a tool to assess pandemic-related stressors, using prepandemic normative data in schools with caution, promoting education about COVID-19 to reduce fear, supporting teachers regarding addressing schoolwork stress experienced by students, and teaching students anxiety-reducing strategies such as mindfulness or coping strategies.

This article examined parenting styles and prosocial behaviors as longitudinal predictors of academic outcomes in U.S. Mexican youth. Adolescents (N = 462; Wave 1 Mage = 10.4 years; 48.1% girls), parents, and teachers completed parenting, prosocial behavior, and academic outcome measures at 5th, 10th, and 12th grades. Authoritative parents were more likely to have youth who exhibited high levels of prosocial behaviors than those who were moderately demanding and less involved. Fathers and mothers who were less involved and mothers who were moderately demanding were less likely than authoritative parents to have youth who exhibited high levels of prosocial behaviors. Prosocial behaviors were positively associated with academic outcomes. Discussion focuses on parenting, prosocial behaviors, and academic attitudes in understanding youth academic performance.

This case study aimed to enhance students' scientific argumentation through the Science-Technology-Society (STS) approach. There were two phases in this study: (a) Exploring the current situation of grade 10 students' scientific argumentation in real classrooms, and (b) Developing and implementing the STS learning unit to enhance students' scientific argumentation. In the first phase, the researchers observed two science classrooms located in urban and rural areas. The scientific argumentation-related interactions in those classrooms were analyzed by using the Toulmin's Argument Pattern (TAP) framework. The findings revealed that the students in observed classrooms could provide some claims; but they lacked an ability to link their claims with appropriate evidence and warrants. The researchers utilized the data from the first phase to develop one learning unit based on the STS approach for enhancing grade 10 students' scientific argumentation. The learning unit developed consisted of six lesson plans in the Work and Energy topic that covered seven teaching hours. The learning units was implemented in one grade 10 science classroom with 20 students in Khon Kaen province, Thailand. The STS learning unit could help the participating students generate better reasonable claims. However, some claims were not properly generated from the relevant evidences and lacked warrants with appropriate supporting theories. The implications for further development of STS learning unit to enhance students' scientific argumentation are also discussed.

A poem is presented.

A dynamic cascade model of development of serious adolescent violence was proposed and tested through prospective inquiry with 754 children (50% male; 43% African American) from 27 schools at 4 geographic sites followed annually from kindergarten through Grade 11 (ages 5 — 18). Self, parent, teacher, peer, observer, and administrative reports provided data. Partial least squares analyses revealed a cascade of prediction and mediation: An early social context of disadvantage predicts harsh — inconsistent parenting, which predicts social and cognitive deficits, which predicts conduct problem behavior, which predicts elementary school social and academic failure, which predicts parental withdrawal from supervision and monitoring, which predicts deviant peer associations, which ultimately predicts adolescent violence. Findings suggest targets for in-depth inquiry and preventive intervention.

This study examined the impact of formative assessment practices on grade 10 learners’ attitudes toward physical sciences, using self-determination theory (SDT) as a guiding theoretical framework. A quasi-experimental design with a mixed-methods approach was employed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the intervention’s effects. The sample consisted of 175 learners from five secondary schools in KwaZulu-Natal, divided into an experimental group (n = 118) and a control group (n = 57). The experimental group was exposed to a structured formative assessment intervention aimed at promoting autonomy, competence, and relatedness, core tenets of SDT, while the control group continued with conventional instructional methods. Data were collected through pre- and post-intervention attitude questionnaires to assess shifts in learners’ perceptions of physical sciences. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results revealed a significant improvement in attitudes among learners in the experimental group, while the control group showed minimal change. These findings suggest that formative assessment practices, when aligned with SDT, can enhance learner motivation, engagement, and overall attitude toward learning physical sciences.

The authors intended to (a) identify the association between gender or grade level and teachers' homework (HW) feedback and (b) examine the relationship between teachers' HW feedback, HW-related behaviors (e.g., amount of HW completed), and academic achievement. Four hundred fifty-four students (Grades 5-12) participated in this study. The results showed that (a) at higher grade levels, there is a lower perceived amount of teachers' HW feedback; (b) teachers' HW feedback as perceived by students is positively and significantly related to the amount of HW completed and to the perceived quality of HW time management but not to the amount of time spent on HW; (c) the amount of HW completed and the perceived quality of HW time management positively and significantly predict academic achievement; and (d) teachers' HW feedback as perceived by students has an indirect relationship with students' academic achievement by its effect on students' HW-related behaviors.

Parental involvement in education remains important for facilitating positive youth development. This study conceptualized parental involvement as a multidimensional construct—including school-based involvement, home-based involvement, and academic socialization—and examined the effects of different types of parental involvement in 10th grade on student achievement and depression in 11th grade (approximately ages 15–17 years). In addition, this study tested whether parental involvement influenced adolescent outcomes by increasing their academic engagement in school. A total of 1,056 adolescents participated in the study (51% males; 53% European American, 40% African American, and 7% other). Parental involvement was found to improve academic and emotional functioning among adolescents. In addition, parental involvement predicted adolescent academic success and mental health both directly and indirectly through behavioral and emotional engagement.