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Background: Adolescents who begin high school with a poor record of academic performance are often at risk for developing maladaptive academic behaviors, which can impede academic success in the long run. Objective: Guided by the substantial literature on the academic and motivational benefits of adolescents' conversations, this study examined the differential effects of having conversations with different socializers. This study aims to identify consolidated and generalizable effects of various sources of support in adolescent lives and contribute to educational practice for adolescent academic adaptation by examining multiple types of socializers using a large nationally representative sample. Methods: Adolescents' conversations about course-taking and personal issues with mothers, fathers, teachers, friends, and school counselors were examined for their potential buffering roles in the relationship between GPA and maladaptive academic behaviors. Data from 22,940 students (49.22% female, 9th through 11th-grade) in 690 U.S. schools from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09) were analyzed using multiple regression analyses that incorporated longitudinal sampling weights and adjusted for clustering within schools. Results: Conversations with friends about personal issues during the 9th-grade year predicted greater subsequent maladaptive academic behavior. Students with lower 9th-grade GPAs were more likely to utilize maladaptive academic behaviors during the 11th-grade. This association, however, was less strong when students had conversations about either course-taking or personal issues with their teachers. Conclusion: Adolescent-teacher conversations about academic and personal issues can buffer against the development of maladaptive academic behaviors during high school, particularly for students who are experiencing academic challenges.

We examine the relationships of executive functioning problems (EFP) to academic cheating in a sample of 855 adolescents. Participants completed assessments of inattention, hyperactivity, and depression using the BASC-2, as well as peer-reports of externalizing behavior. After controlling for known predictors of cheating (e.g., demographics and depression), multiple regression analyses indicated that inattention emerged as a predictor of greater cheating behaviors (R[superscript 2] = 0.20). We also found that the positive relation between inattention and cheating was mediated by hyperactivity.

Despite prior studies documenting learning difficulties among internationally adopted youth (IAY), none has explored academic motivation within this population. The current study addressed this gap by examining expectancies for success and task values in math and science among internationally adopted, domestically adopted, and nonadopted high-school students. Differences in students' math achievement and parents' beliefs about their ability were also explored. A subsample of 7,420 11th-grade students was selected from the "High School Longitudinal Study" data set (Ingels et al., 2011). After controlling for prior motivation, achievement, demographics, and clustering, analyses revealed that IAY held less adaptive motivational beliefs in math. Compared with their nonadopted peers, internationally adopted students reported lower expectancies for success, attainment value, and intrinsic value in math. Few differences in science motivation emerged, and no differences in math achievement were observed.

Sex education in middle and high school health classes is critically important because it frequently comprises the primary mechanism for conveying information about sexual health to adolescents. Deliver evidence-based information on HIV and pregnancy prevention practices and they will be less likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors, the theory goes. One must ultimately inquire, however, if these programs actually work. Do adolescents actually implement what they learn in health education classes? One way that helps adolescents learn, maintain and make better choices on their knowledge is by focusing on how sex education is taught and assessed. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)

In this article, we critically examine skills that are necessary for the effective learning of science in adolescent populations. We argue that a focus on twenty-first-century skills among adolescents within the context of science instruction must be considered in light of research on cognitive and social development. We first review adolescents' emerging abilities in terms of five domains identified by the National Research Council Board on Science Education: adaptability, complex communication/social skills, non-routine problem-solving skills, self-management/self-development and systems thinking. We next describe practices that science teachers can use to enhance the development and use of emerging cognitive abilities in adolescents. We conclude by providing seven research-based recommendations for adolescent science instruction.

Over 5,000 adolescents enrolled in required rural high school health courses reported their perceptions of mastery and extrinsic goal structures in their health classrooms. Data were collected from all students at three time points (prior to HIV and pregnancy instruction, 3 months after instruction, and 1 year after instruction). Results indicated that classroom goal structures were related to both proximal and distal knowledge, attitudes, intentions, and efficacy beliefs. Results in particular indicate that the perception of a mastery goal structure in health education classrooms fosters knowledge, improved attitudes, enhanced efficacy beliefs, and lower intentions to have sexual intercourse.

Examined current-events knowledge of high school students with and without access to daily television news in the classroom. Found that students with greater prior knowledge of current events had more interest in the news and sought external news sources. (Author/LBT)

Using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study and applying hierarchical linear modeling, this study found a strong gap in achievement in math and science between adolescents with and without learning disabilities (LD). The gap was reduced for LD adolescents who did not make a school transition until at least ninth grade. (DB)

Sexual health education should meet the needs of all students. One strategy educators can use to ensure instruction meets students' needs is to encourage the submission of anonymous questions, allowing students to gain information without fear of instructor or peer reactions. We investigated anonymous questions submitted by middle school (7th-grade, ages 12-13) students during a sexual health education curriculum in Ohio, USA. Questions (n=893) were organised into 12 categories: reproductive anatomy (n=186), LGBTQ+ topics (n=130), sexual behaviour (n=120), class-related questions (n=99), pregnancy (n=78), slang (n=52), STIs (n=44), protection/birth control (n=33), relationships (n=19), consent (n=14), health services (n=9), abstinence (n=1), and unrelated questions/comments (n=108). After categorising questions, we conducted thematic analysis with the three largest categories (reproductive anatomy, LGBTQ+ topics, sexual behaviour). Results revealed students wanted to know about the normality of the processes and functions of their bodies. Students also expressed concern and had internalised social norms about LGBTQ+ topics. Student questions about sexual behaviour suggested they wanted to learn more about the purposes and processes of sex, e.g., how people have intercourse. Findings underscore the need for inclusive, comprehensive and medically accurate sexual health education for early adolescents. We discuss implications for student health/well-being, educator development, and school staff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The disruption of in-person delivery of a sexual health education curriculum to students in 19 urban middle schools in the Midwestern United States was one of many complications in education due the COVID-19 pandemic. Given time constraints and need for program delivery, community partners collaborated to convert the curriculum for virtual delivery. A team of school health education experts, sexual health education professionals, educational psychologists, and an E-learning professional worked together in curriculum conversion, leveraging knowledge and expertise for production of a virtual sexual health education curriculum tool for educators to use for teaching middle school students learning in a virtual format and as an aid for future in-person delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using cluster analysis to combine specific adaptive measures related to mastery motivation (intrinsic motivation, self-adequacy, and locus of control), a total of 654 high school students were placed into distinct adaptive motivation groups. Mean scores on a variety of self-reported and peer-reported measures of interpersonal, intrapersonal, and academic functioning were compared across the groups. Results found that youth in the “high adaptive” motivation group reported significantly higher global and family satisfaction, self-esteem, interpersonal relations, grade-point average and school belonging, and significantly lower depression, anxiety and social stress than youth in the other two motivation groups. Peer-reported prosocial and academic behaviors were significantly related to higher levels of adaptive motivation. Collectively, these findings suggest a number of psychological, social, and academic benefits that are associated with incremental levels of adaptive motivation. The implications of these findings for research and practice conclude the paper. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]