This book presents a validated observation instrument to support and further develop the pedagogic expertise of teachers of English Learners in US schools. Based on sociocultural and second language teaching and learning theories, the Observation Protocol for Academic Literacies (OPAL) has a variety of uses across teacher preparation programs,…

This book provides an opportunity for researchers, professionals, and practitioners working directly with gifted individuals to engage with and examine the concept of underachievement of highly capable and talented individuals from different perspectives. Chapters written by experts in gifted education from diverse backgrounds explore…

Measuring kindergarten readiness is essential to identifying children who would benefit from additional supports, either in kindergarten or in the years before kindergarten entry. Several measures of kindergarten readiness are in use now by states and researchers. Most assess individual children at the time they enter kindergarten, using teachers…

This report provides an overview of kindergarten readiness of six Baltimore City Public Schools (City Schools) kindergarten cohorts from the 2016-17 to the 2021-22 school year. This report is accompanied by the Annual Digest of City Schools Kindergarten Statistics, 2022 Edition (Baltimore Education Research Consortium [BERC], 2022), which provides…

Educators increasingly recognize the importance of disciplinary literacy for student success, beginning as early as the primary grades. This cutting-edge volume examines ways to help K-12 students develop the literacy skills and inquiry practices needed for high-level work in different academic domains. Chapters interweave research, theory, and…

As South Africa transitioned from apartheid to democracy, changes in the political landscape, as well as educational agendas and discourse on both a national and international level, shaped successive waves of curriculum reform over a relatively short period of time. Using South Africa as a germane example of how curriculum and pedagogy can…

Entrepreneurship education has gained considerable interest in the last decade, both in the political and academic arenas, because it fosters innovation and plays a crucial role in developing the business landscape. However, instructors are faced with challenges related to creating successful learning objectives, suitable methodologies, and…

Engineering education in K-12 classrooms is a small but growing phenomenon that may have implications for engineering and also for the other STEM subjects--science, technology, and mathematics. Specifically, engineering education may improve student learning and achievement in science and mathematics, increase awareness of engineering and the work…

When it comes to teacher preparation, the support provided to new teachers, and ongoing professional development for working teachers, Grades K-12 and the field of early care and education (ECE) are two very different worlds. While both worlds assume that teachers' classroom skills and behavior can be influenced at multiple points in time (through…

The chapters in this book reflect the work of science and mathematics educators who have worked for many years at the international level. As members of the International Consortium for Research in Science and Mathematics Education, their work provides readers with issues, models, practices, and research results that have applicability and…

Research literature has long indicated that action research may stimulate practitioners themselves to actively evaluate the quality of their practice. This study is designed to report the use of action research for the development of early years professional practice by analyzing the pre-project and the post-project video-filmed teaching events.…

This study uses data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999 (ECLS-K) to examine how children's skills and knowledge at kindergarten entry predict their achievement in later grades. It extends previous research by examining longer-term achievement outcomes, namely test scores at the end of fifth grade, and…

Kindergarten has changed significantly in the last two decades: children now spend more time being taught and tested on literacy and math skills than they do learning through play and exploration, exercising their bodies, and using their imaginations. Many kindergartens use highly prescriptive curricula geared to new state standards and linked to…

In the early nineteenth century, governments began to develop specialized educational programs--kindergartens and infant or nursery schools--to give children a head start in life. These programs hinged on new visions of childhood that originated in England and Europe, but what happened when they were transported to the colonies? This book unwinds…

With the shift towards the knowledge society, the change of working conditions, and the high-speed evolution of information and communication technologies, peoples' knowledge and skills need continuous updating. Learning based on collaborative working, creativity, multidisciplinarity, adaptiveness, intercultural communication, and problem solving…