Source was obtained through a keyword search in UCLA Library.

This study examines how education policy reform in Portugal has evolved, particularly in relation to inclusion and teacher education. Alves explores the role of educators in implementing inclusive education practices and the broader political and social context that has shaped these reforms. The article provides an in-depth look at how Portugal’s educational policies have responded to shifting social needs, making it an essential resource for understanding the historical and contemporary educational landscape. For my research, this source is useful in providing context on how structural and policy-level changes impact student outcomes, especially in relation to socioeconomic and social integration factors.

Source was obtained through a keyword search in Jstor.

The study by Borland and Howsen argues that student academic performance in highly rural and highly urban areas is lower than students in moderately populated areas. The resource used for this argument was analyzing standardized test scores and incorporating factors such as cognitive skills, educational market competition, and socioeconomic conditions. This study is important because it answers the question of whether rural or urban is a better environment for student performance. Specifically, this resource provides evidence for my thesis that location factors influence academic performance.

Source was obtained through a keyword search in Jstor.

The study argues that immigrant students in the U.S. experience both school and housing segregation, which negatively impacts their educational and socioeconomic outcomes. The resource uses data from the American Community Survey, the Common Core of Data, the Educational Longitudinal Survey, and U.S. Census data to analyze immigrant segregation patterns and their effects. This study is important because it highlights how school poverty rates, language barriers, and racial composition influence immigrant students’ academic performance. For my thesis, this source provides quantitative evidence on how students’ housing conditions impact their education.

Source was obtained through a keyword search in Jstor.

In this article, Bowen argues that parental involvement affects children’s academic performance. The resource uses data that consists of 538 middle and high school students from schools that participated in a pilot program called School Success Profile (SSP) in North Carolina and Florida. The resource is important because it demonstrates how parenting styles and home culture influence students’ academic performance. For example, if the parents view education as valuable and meaningful, their children are more likely to put more meaning and effort into their homework–eventually leading to academic success. The resource reveals one of the factors that impact students’ academic performance, which helps us to understand and select one of the factors to analyze for our thesis.

Source was obtained through keyword search in Google Scholar.

This paper argues that students based in rural localities with broadband Internet access are more engaged in academic endeavors and are less likely to leave homework incomplete. The authors come to this conclusion through analyzing the correlation between internet access, homework completion, and interest in school-related activities in a self-reported survey of 3258 students in rural school districts in the State of Michigan. This resource is important as access to and use of digital media has often been deemed both essential and detrimental to the human capital of students. These findings are particularly applicable for our study’s research questions relating to internet access and educational performance, especially given that variables in our dataset (ie. internet, studytime, and final grade variables) are similar. It acts as a baseline to either corroborate or refute our research findings.

Source was obtained with a keyword search using Google Scholar.

This journal article is about a study that goes over how internet literacy, internet addiction symptoms, and internet activities impact academic performance among adolescents in Hong Kong and argues that internet usage can be either beneficial or harmful to student performance depending on how it is used. The authors conducted face to face surveys with 718 children and adolescents aged 9–19, using regression analysis to examine the relationships between different internet behaviors and academic outcomes. This resource is important because it showcases how internet usage allows access to tools which are beneficial to student performance, but internet addiction and excessive leisure based internet activities are correlated with worsened academic performance in the students. In relation to our thesis, this expanded the way the variable of internet access should be viewed, as it may have mixed effects instead of just being positive. 

Source was obtained through keyword search in Google Scholar.

This paper argues that students who receive private tutoring are more competitive relative to other students, though tutoring presents a financial burden to families. What the resource uses for evidence: These results were obtained through a questionnaire sent to students in their final year of a Portuguese high school that asks their personal characteristics, family characteristics, relationship with the school, teaching and learning process, and perspectives on higher education. This resource carries an important conclusion as it studies the role of private tutoring on student and family outcomes. Private tutoring, a private and paid service offered by teachers outside school, has emerged as a common phenomenon amidst the ‘public school crisis’ and financial pressures to make education learning more competitive. These findings are applicable for our research purposes, not only due to similarities in research variables (ie. paid: extra paid classes within the course subject and final grade variables) but also in answering questions regarding the different variables that may grant students certain competitive advantages over others.

Source was obtained through keyword search in Google Scholar.

This journal article is about a study that looked at how student attendance and mobility (which is how frequently a student changes schools) within an urban school district impact mathematics achievement, and argues that low student attendance and high student mobility both have a negative impact on student achievement in mathematics. The authors analyzed data from a large urban school in a northeastern district in the United States, looking at district records for attendance, mobility, and standardized test scores in mathematics (PSSA) to assess how these factors impact academic performance. This resource is important because it highlights attendance and mobility as critical factors affecting student achievement, reinforcing the need for targeted interventions to support academic success. For the thesis on factors influencing student performance, this study is valuable as it emphasizes attendance and mobility as key predictors of academic success. The findings suggest that interventions targeting student retention and consistent school attendance could significantly improve educational outcomes.

Source was obtained through a keyword search in UCLA Library.

This article explores the historical and contemporary challenges of race and education in both Brazil and Portugal, discussing how colonial legacies and systemic inequalities shape access to quality education. Pereira and Araújo argue that Portugal’s education system has long reflected racial and social hierarchies, which continue to affect marginalized groups. The study draws on historical accounts and policy analysis to highlight disparities in educational representation and curriculum development. This source is relevant to my research because it provides a critical historical framework for understanding how systemic factors influence educational outcomes in Portugal. By contextualizing modern academic disparities within a broader historical narrative, the study supports discussions on how social background and institutional structures shape student success.

Source was obtained through a keyword search in Jstor.

The study investigates whether mandatory attendance policies improve student performance. The evidence was used by analyzing attendance and grade data from an introductory agricultural economics course. They found that while attendance is positively correlated with grades, mandatory attendance policies do not mean an increase in student performance. This study is important because it challenges the assumption that making attendance mandatory means better performance, instead, it suggests attendance should be based on students’ will. Specifically, for my thesis, this source provides quantitative evidence on how class participation impacts academic achievement.

Source was obtained through a keyword search in Jstor.

In this journal article, Shulruf argues that extracurricular activities have a positive effect on academic performance. The resource uses systematic reviews of literature for evidence. Various academic databases, including JSTOR, ERIC, and PsycInfo were used to select 29 studies for further analysis. The resource is important because it focuses on evaluating school-sponsored extracurricular activities that positively affect academic achievement, raising the question of whether non-school sponsored extracurricular activities will have the same outcome. This is also significant for my thesis because Weir, the author of “FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH EDUCATIONAL DISADVANTAGE IN RURAL AND URBAN AREAS,” argues that students who participate in extracurricular activities spend less time with their families–negatively impacting their academic performance. This contrast suggests that I should further explore how extracurricular activities influence academic performance.

Source was obtained through keyword search in Google Scholar.

This study argues that lower socioeconomic status is associated with higher school absenteeism, contributing to long-term educational disparities. The authors systematically review 55 journal articles from 1998 to 2019, analyzing socioeconomic status factors such as family income, parental education, and neighborhood characteristics. This resource is important because it highlights the critical role of socioeconomic status in shaping school attendance patterns, suggesting that absenteeism may exacerbate socioeconomic achievement gaps leading to a continuous negative cycle. It relates to the thesis because it provides empirical evidence linking financial and social disparities to school attendance. This shows how different variables might impact school attendance and thus also how they impact student performance, as attendance itself may be linked to academic performance in students.

Source was obtained through keyword search in UCLA online library.

The article “International Students in Higher Education: Extracurricular Activities and Social Interactions as Predictors of University Belonging” argues that participation in extracurricular activities and social interactions significantly contribute to international students’ sense of belonging at their universities. The authors emphasize that social integration through these activities enhances students’ academic engagement and overall well-being, highlighting the need for institutions to foster inclusive environments that support international students beyond academics. The resource uses empirical data from surveys and statistical analyses that measure students’ participation in extracurricular activities and their self-reported levels of belonging. This resource is important because it introduces an essential factor—social integration—that is missing from the Student Performance Dataset from Kaggle. While the dataset captures demographic and academic-related variables such as school type, parental education, and family status, it does not account for the role of extracurricular activities and peer interactions in shaping academic success. Specifically, for the thesis, the article strengthens the argument that student performance should not be evaluated solely through numerical indicators like grades, attendance, and parental background. 

Source was obtained through a keyword search in Jstor.

In this journal article, Weir argues that students living in rural areas perform better academically than students living in urban areas. For evidence, they collected data from 380 schools that participated in a survey by the Educational Research Centre called School Support Programme (SSP). Different methods such as The Drumcondra Sentence Reading Test (DSRT), The Drumcondra Primary Mathematics Test (DPMT-R), Parent Questionnaire, Student Questionnaire, and Student Rating Form were used for evaluation. The resource is important because the results of the study challenge the biased belief that students in urban areas are more likely to achieve academic success. Weir highlights that students who live in urban areas participate in afterschool programs more than students who live in rural areas. Ironically, due to this, in rural areas, students tend to spend more time at home–allowing them to engage more with their parents. Similarly to Bowen’s argument, Weir also suggests that by spending more time with their parents, students are more likely to view school in a positive light. I think that this broadened my perspective in relation to our thesis since schools in rural areas that have less access to many things compared to urban areas performed better. 

Source was obtained through keyword search in Google Scholar

In this paper, Woessmann argues that in the US and parts of Western Europe, family background has statistically relevant effects on student performance. These findings are derived from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study database (conducted in 1995 by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement), which includes student and family background characteristics drawn from questionnaires, as well as test scores for math and science subjects. This resource is important as it relates to the topic of equality in educational opportunities; given these findings, there is a strong relationship between intergenerational mobility in educational outcomes, which affects earnings later in life. Woessmann’s research is applicable for our thesis, as it relates to research questions regarding parental background and family relationship and its relationship on student academic performance.