This study examined the association between students' classroom use of general ICT applications and computer and information literacy (CIL) across 35 education systems participating in ICILS 2023. Jurisdiction-specific weighted regression models were estimated using all five CIL plausible values and 75 jackknife replicate weights while adjusting for socioeconomic background, sex, and age. Jurisdiction-specific coefficients were synthesized using random-effects meta-analysis. Linear models indicated a modest positive association between classroom ICT use and CIL, but quadratic models consistently provided a better fit. The quadratic coefficient was negative in 34 of the 35 jurisdictions, yielding a pooled estimate of −5.66 (95% CI −6.58 to −4.74). Predicted CIL increased with classroom ICT use to approximately the midpoint of the international scale, after which gains diminished and CIL gradually declined. This nonlinear pattern was remarkably consistent across education systems and did not vary meaningfully by socioeconomic background. These findings suggest that the educational value of classroom ICT use depends not only on how often digital technologies are used, but also on how they are integrated into teaching and learning.

Large‐scale assessments such as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) provide valuable opportunities to examine factors associated with academic achievement across educational contexts. Using TIMSS 2023 data from Bosnia and Herzegovina, this study examined the association between teacher job satisfaction and students' mathematics achievement while controlling for socioeconomic status (SES) and gender. Data were analyzed using three‐level hierarchical linear modeling to account for the nested structure of students within classrooms and schools. Mathematics achievement was represented by the five TIMSS plausible values, and parameter estimates were pooled using Rubin's rules. Results showed that both individual and school‐level SES were strong positive predictors of mathematics achievement, while boys scored slightly higher than girls. School socioeconomic composition emerged as the strongest predictor in the models. Teacher job satisfaction showed a small but statistically significant positive association with achievement after controlling for socioeconomic factors and school climate indicators. In contrast, perceptions of safe and orderly schools and school emphasis on academic success were not significantly associated with achievement. These findings highlight the importance of socioeconomic context in shaping educational outcomes while suggesting that teacher job satisfaction may represent an additional factor associated with students' mathematics achievement.

This study aimed to identify distinct motivational profiles in mathematics based on students’ confidence and liking of mathematics and to examine their association with mathematics achievement. A person-centered approach was employed using latent profile analysis (LPA) on TIMSS 2023 data from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The sample comprised 2,795 fourth-grade students (1,449 girls; 1,346 boys). The analysis identified four distinct profiles characterized by different combinations of confidence and liking of mathematics. These profiles ranged from generally low levels on both constructs to profiles with high levels of confidence and liking, as well as mixed patterns reflecting discrepancies between the two. Students in the profile characterized by high confidence and high liking of mathematics significantly outperformed all other profiles, whereas no statistically significant differences were observed among the remaining profiles. Gender differences in profile membership were statistically significant but small in magnitude. No interaction effect between gender and profile membership on mathematics achievement was found, although boys demonstrated higher achievement overall. The findings highlight the importance of considering combined motivational patterns rather than isolated constructs, and fostering both confidence and positive attitudes toward mathematics may contribute to improved student achievement.

The open science paradigm, digitalisation, interdisciplinarity and internationalisation have significantly changed the research process, collaboration, dissemination and impact of scholarly work in the 21 st century. Research impact assessment should include new metrics based on Web 2.0 channels suffering from the following issues: data quality (i.e. accuracy, coverage, comprehensiveness), heterogeneity of data sources and APIs and potential manipulation (i.e. metrics gaming). Although the Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR) principles were designed for research data, they can also be applied to research impact metrics to increase their discoverability and reusability. The main aim of this European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action is to remove barriers for the wider adoption and reusability of metrics, based on Web 2.0 technologies, which are a significant and vital part of research ecosystems. These metrics can serve as the basis for enhanced research impact assessment and, thus, improve recognition of excellence and foster the further development of science and society. Although Scientometrics, based on Web 2.0, is a paradigm that is over 10 years old, it has not yet been widely adopted. Therefore, a plan or roadmap for transition to Scientometrics 2.0 is needed. This should include recommendations for overcoming the challenges associated with new research impact metrics, as well as frameworks for the evaluation of new metrics and data sources. These challenges include the heterogeneity and comprehensiveness of metrics data sources, the varying quality of metrics data, metrics data gaming etc. Due to the multifaceted nature of these challenges, the Action proposes to create synergies between all interested actors: researchers, research software engineers, librarians, representatives of metrics data providers and policy-makers. This article presents an edited version of the original funding proposal submitted to the COST Open Call 2021.

The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) provides internationally comparable data on students’ mathematics and science outcomes. The present study examines whether school bullying moderates gender differences in outcomes on the TIMSS mathematics test among fourth-grade students in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The sample consisted of 3,324 fourth-grade students (1,654 girls and 1,670 boys). Mathematics achievement was assessed using TIMSS plausible values, and analyses accounted for the complex survey design using the student sampling weights. Results showed a significant negative association between school bullying and mathematics achievement for both genders, as well as a significant gender × bullying interaction. Boys achieved higher scores at low and moderate levels of bullying, whereas girls outperformed boys under high bullying exposure. This pattern was consistent across all plausible mathematics values. The results suggest that efforts aimed at improving school social climate and reducing bullying may play an important role in promoting both students’ academic achievement and their well-being. Keywords: TIMSS, mathematics, gender, school bullying, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Aim: This study examined the associations between preschool attendance, socioeconomic status (SES), gender, and early academic skills, and fourth-grade mathematics achievement in Serbia using data from a nationally representative TIMSS 2023 sample. Method: Mathematics achievement was analyzed using plausible values, and regression models were estimated in the IEA International Database Analyzer while accounting for sampling weights. Predictors were entered in four successive regression models, with socioeconomic background entered first, followed by gender and preschool attendance, and finally early literacy and numeracy skills. Results: Socioeconomic background emerged as the strongest predictor of achievement, while gender and preschool attendance showed smaller but still statistically significant effects. Early literacy and numeracy did not account for additional variance once these factors were considered. Supplementary analyses indicated that longer preschool attendance was particularly beneficial for students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, whereas differences were minimal among high-SES students, suggesting a compensatory effect of early childhood education. Conclusion: The results suggest that, while longer preschool attendance can partially compensate for disadvantaged socioeconomic status and contribute to better mathematics achievement, it alone cannot fully offset the strong influence of socioeconomic background, highlighting the need for broader policies that enhance educational quality and reduce educational inequalities.

Early elementary education represents a critical period for the development of foundational reading and mathematics skills. This study investigated the relative contributions of teacher ratings, cognitive abilities, fine motor skills, and gender to academic achievement in a sample of 129 primary school students (Grades 2–5; M age = 9.1 years, SD = 1.2; 68 girls). Reading and mathematics performance were assessed using decoding and arithmetic tasks, respectively. Predictor variables included teacher ratings of academic performance, processing speed, visual-spatial working memory, fine motor speed, visuomotor integration, and gender. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that teacher ratings were the strongest predictors of reading achievement but were less predictive of mathematics outcomes. Processing speed significantly predicted both reading and mathematics performance. Working memory showed no significant effect on mathematics and a negative association with reading after motor skills were included in the model, suggesting a suppression effect. Fine motor skills emerged as unique contributors to reading, but not mathematics, highlighting their specific relevance for literacy acquisition. Gender differences were observed only in mathematics, where boys outperformed girls; no significant gender effect was found for reading. These findings highlight the importance of integrating teacher evaluations with cognitive and motor assessments to gain a better understanding of early academic achievement.

BACKGROUND Friendship quality is crucial for psychological well-being, yet is often lower in persons with intellectual disabilities compared to their peers. This study explores the predictors of friendship quality among adults with mild intellectual disability, focusing on age, gender, living setting, psychiatric traits, and social cognition. METHOD The sample comprised 62 adults with mild intellectual disability (32 males, 30 females; ages 19-53), and 30 with significant psychiatric traits. Tools included the Friendship Quality Scale, Edinburgh Social Cognition Test, MINI PAS-ADD scale, and a demographic questionnaire. RESULTS Social cognition and age were the strongest predictors of friendship quality, with higher social cognition scores and younger age correlating with better quality. Gender, living setting, and psychiatric traits had less impact. CONCLUSIONS Social cognition and age are primary determinants of friendship quality in adults with mild intellectual disability, suggesting that interventions to enhance social cognition may benefit this population's social well-being.

Providing an objective ranking of scientists based on their merit is a rather challenging task. Numerous factors complicate this endeavor, raising difficult questions about how such evaluations should be conducted. The goal of the present paper is to introduce a new measure for evaluating researchers’ performance, the Performance Impact Score (PIS), which combines both productivity and research impact. In this study, I compared the PIS with h-index scores for 108 researchers at the University of Sarajevo. More specifically, I examined the overlap between the top 20 researchers according to the PIS and the top 20 researchers according to Web of Science, Google Scholar, and SCOPUS h-indexes. The concordance rate was 65% for Google Scholar and Web of Science, and 55% for SCOPUS. The analysis highlights the importance of considering both productivity and impact when evaluating researchers’ rankings. It is also evident that the top 20 researchers vary across different metrics. The results further demonstrate that creating a fair and just ranking system requires going beyond the data available in bibliometric databases, particularly in cases where researchers rank highly by one metric but perform poorly when evaluated by another.