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Introduction A growing body of research has identified gender disparities in STEM education, but data are limited from studies directly comparing autonomy given to autonomy wanted by adolescents, as experienced in classrooms by gender and across course subjects. Methods With a sample of US adolescents (n = 540), aged 11–19 and 55% female, we assessed students’ perceived levels of autonomy given, and levels of autonomy wanted, by adapting an autonomy assessment specific to course subjects of math, science, and English. We then employed contrast models testing gender differences of autonomy levels across course subjects of math, science, and English, and controlled for age. Results Overall, all adolescents reported getting less autonomy than they want. Within gender, girls reported wanting the most autonomy from science. Between genders, girls reported wanting more autonomy from both math and science, compared to boys. In contrast, girls reported getting more autonomy in English, compared to boys. While we found no developmental differences for reported levels of autonomy given, we did find developmental differences with levels of autonomy wanted, showing significant variability of adolescents wanting more autonomy with age. Conclusions Our results suggest a general desire for more autonomy across adolescence, with a desire for more autonomy in STEM more common amongst girls. If adolescents' perceived levels of autonomy vary across STEM and by gender, these effects may extend more broadly to their pursuits of STEM careers. Students’ beliefs of autonomy and self-concept shape their career interests and academic engagement, a trajectory that warrants concern and further investigation.

Schooling traditionally affords students more experience in learning and practicing procedures than in identifying what a situation calls for. When asked to choose appropriate numerical data to support their causal claims, college students perform surprisingly poorly. In one case we describe, almost all chose limited, inconclusive data as sufficient evidence, despite having available the more comprehensive data needed to support their claim and despite their established competence to employ such data for this purpose. Our objective in highlighting this weakness is to make a case that choosing one’s evidence warrants the status of an important metacognitive intellectual skill and educational objective, one central to but that extends well beyond the domains of scientific and mathematical reasoning and hence warrants greater attention both in and beyond the science curriculum. People may choose evidence to justify their assertions in an ill-considered way, with potential adverse effects in both private and public communication.

The Spider’s Thread: Metaphor in Mind, Brain, and Poetry recently won an award by CHOICE as one of the year’s “Outstanding Academic Titles,” “awarding outstanding works for their excellence in pres...

Individual differences in self-regulation have been a topic of increased empirical research. However, few investigations have been conducted on how sub-components of self-regulation differentially predict education outcomes over time. We examined cognitive and behavior regulation as predictors of middle-school students’ (n = 127) long-term academic achievement. It has been previously reported that behavior regulation, not cognitive regulation, predicts state standardized test scores in the first year (Modrek et al. 2019). However, here we show that after two years, this pattern flips in that cognitive regulation, not behavior regulation, predicts state standardized test scores for both math and English. We analyzed the mediating role of learning using structural equation modeling, suggesting the differing roles of self-regulation in education where certain facets may or may not affect students’ long-term outcomes.

Although inquiry learning has increasingly been a topic of empirical research, there has been little investigation of individual differences in this regard. What makes some students more effective inquiry learners than others? We examined two kinds of self-regulation – cognitive regulation and behavior regulation – as possible predictors of individual differences in middle-school students’ inquiry learning performance. Across two studies, one involving middle-class students (n = 135) and one involving students from a lower socioeconomic status underachieving population (n = 21), results were consistent. Cognitive regulation, but not behavior regulation, was associated with more successful inquiry learning. We discuss implications for the role of regulatory processes in inquiry learning and, more broadly, for education.

Although students in affluent communities most often excel in academic performance, potential downsides of their achievement focus are an increasing concern. Common risk factors in the socio-emotional domain have been identified. Yet less explored is the possibility that such risk extends to intellectual dimensions. In a multi-method study, we administered two measures of self-regulation to middle-schoolers (n = 90) – an individually administered measure of cognitive regulation and an observational assessment of behavior regulation, in addition to a learning task in which students had to discover how multiple variables were related and apply this knowledge. In both an affluent and a middle-class sample, cognitive regulation, not behavior regulation, predicted learning. A comparison of the two samples showed the affluent group to be superior to the middle-class group in behavior regulation. However, middle-class students outperformed affluent students in learning and, even more strikingly, in cognitive regulation. These findings suggest that potential learning and cognitive development may be compromised in environments that put very high value on scholastic achievement.

Theory underscores the importance of parenting in sleep development, but few studies have examined whether links vary by temperament. To address this gap, we tested whether potential links between early maternal sensitivity and early adolescent sleep problems varied by child negative emotionality and delay of gratification. Using data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (N = 820), we found that high maternal sensitivity predicted fewer bedtime problems and longer sleep duration at 6th grade for toddlers with high negative emotionality, whereas low maternal sensitivity predicted the reverse. No differences were observed for low negative emotionality. Moreover, delay of gratification predicted fewer bedtime problems at 6th grade, but did not moderate associations between maternal sensitivity, negative emotionality, and sleep. Findings demonstrate that high, but not low, negative emotionality renders toddlers differentially susceptible and receptive to maternal sensitivity in relation to sleep.

Autonomy is associated with a variety of cognitive, educational, and motivational benefits, but relations between autonomy and reasoning skills are less well understood. We posit individuals afforded greater autonomy are more often put into situations of having to consider multiple options, or causes, and hence will likely reason about cause and effect differently. In a multi-level study, (n = 696) we examine associations between younger (11–13 years) and older (14–19 years) adolescents’ autonomy and their performance on a multivariable causal reasoning and prediction task. Across the sample, greater autonomy was associated with more effective reasoning, with some differences between young and older adolescents. Autonomy given predicted reasoning skills in younger adolescents, whereas more autonomy desired predicted reasoning skills in older adolescents. We highlight sociocultural, individual, and developmental factors in their differing relations to autonomy and its effects on causal reasoning.

Background Little is known about the specific factors related to whether or not Latino adolescents with suicide ideation (SI) will seek services. Utilizing Andersen's Behavior Model of Health Services Use (2008) the goal of this study is to identify the factors related to utilization of mental health services by Latino adolescents with SI to inform and improve suicide prevention efforts. Method Data from Wave 1 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health was examined. Predispositional (gender, age), enabling/disabling (income, lack of insurance, difficulty obtaining medical care), and need (depressed mood, suicide attempt, perceived health, impulsivity, mood fluctuations, difficulties with attention, etc.) variables were examined via logistic regression as potential correlates of mental health service utilization. Results Twenty-eight percent of the Latino adolescents with suicidal ideation (SI) in our sample received mental health services. Need factors such as daily mood fluctuations within the past 12 months (OR=4.78) and frequent difficulty focusing attention within the past week (OR=4.96), but not impulsivity, were associated with an increased likelihood of receiving mental health services. No additional associations were observed. Limitations The current study is based on cross-sectional data. Therefore, statements about causality cannot be made. Conclusions These findings suggest that emotion regulation (e.g., daily mood fluctuations) and neurocognitive factors (e.g., difficulty with focusing attention) may be important factors to consider in the clinical assessment of Latino adolescents with SI.

Sleep problems are associated with problematic adjustment in toddlers, but less is known regarding the direction of association between specific sleep problems and adjustment. To address this gap, we used data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (N = 1001) to examine reciprocal associations between sleep problems and behavior problems from 24- to 36-months. Results from cross-lagged path models suggested specificity of associations between type of sleep problem and behavior problem. Specifically, there were reciprocal associations between trouble getting to sleep and internalizing problems, and unidirectional links between externalizing problems and bedtime resistance from 24- to 36-months. Internalizing and externalizing problems at 24 months, however, predicted increases in bedtime resistance from 24- to 36-months for boys, but not girls. Findings highlight specific relations between sleep problems and internalizing and externalizing problems during toddlerhood, and the importance of examining sex differences.