The internal/external frame of reference model (I/E model) posits that individuals’ achievement-related self-concepts are formed through social comparisons (e.g., self vs. peers) within academic domains and dimensional comparisons (e.g., math vs. verbal) between distinc...

Abstract Expansion of an educational system is often accompanied by differentiation. In the U.S., expansion of higher education included an increasing reliance on work. For a growing proportion of students, including those of traditional college-going age, going to coll...

Abstract Expanding the prevalent within-domain perspective, the present study investigated how students' domain-specific ability self-concepts relate to the value they attach to school. With a longitudinal design and a sample of N = 1592 lower secondary school students ...

The Bologna Process, recently implemented in Portugal, has brought many changes to higher education institutions. One of these changes refers to a law that enables mature students (23 years and older) to gain special access to higher education, taking into account their...

ABSTRACTEducational research emphasizes the advantages of multimethod designs. However, if the design comprises different perspectives, the question of construct validity emerges. We related this question to student and teacher ratings of student–student relations, whic...

This article examines the possible dependency of composite reliability on presentation format of the elements of a multi-item measuring instrument. Using empirical data and a recent method for interval estimation of group differences in reliability, we demonstrate that...

We present a study to comprehend if the support given by higher education institution (HEI) to international students coming from the Portuguese-Speaking African Countries meets their academic and social hindrances. Our starting point was a set of semi-structured interv...

Abstract The use of animals as bioindicators has been useful, especially in the evaluation of environmental impact of pollutant discharges in aquatic ecosystems. This study, aims to assess the fish Phalloceros caudimaculatus (known as Guaru) as a heavy metal sbioindicat...

Abstract The aim of this study is to link the science scale of the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) with the science scale of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). One requirement for a strong linking of test scores from different stud...

Solving test items might require abilities in test-takers other than the construct the test was designed to assess. Item and student characteristics such as item format or reading comprehension can impact the test result. This experiment is based on cognitive theories ...