In this article, the author reports an action research project she conducted on the influence of technology on parent involvement and communication with their child's school. The author collected data using parent surveys, student interviews, e-mails, and checklists and observations. An analysis of the data collected revealed parents' appreciation…

Drawing on current research and best practices, this second part of the three-part resource, "Supporting Positive Behaviour in Alberta Schools," provides information and strategies for systematically teaching, supporting and reinforcing positive behaviour in the classroom. A proactive approach to classroom management is designed to…

Meeting a crucial need, this book provides clear recommendations for authentic developmental assessment of children from infancy to age 6, including those with developmental delays and disabilities. It describes principles and strategies for collecting information about children's everyday activities in the home, preschool, and community, which…

This study explores how teacher quality matters in improving early childhood performance in US kindergartens. We find that it is what teachers do rather than the credentials they hold that matters. Different from previous research on the effect of teacher quality on student achievement, this paper first rejected the common practice of using…

Partnerships that form to advance early childhood education are influenced by history and purpose. They are enacted in diverse social, cultural, economic, geographic and educational contexts. Using the theme of "strong and equal partnership" between family and school, and taking a theoretical standpoint that values social cohesion and…

This article draws from the experiences of a European American classroom teacher, her African American teacher educator, the classroom teacher's interactions with an African American family, and her conversations with her African American aide. It answers the call to speak to the everyday experiences of teachers who seek to acknowledge and address…

Effective communication between homes and schools can be essential in helping students experience success in the classroom. Unfortunately, the topic of establishing mechanisms for meaningful parent-teacher communication is often slighted during the preparation of teachers. New teachers entering classrooms need the opportunity to interact and…

This engaging, rich resource is designed for teachers, parents, and administrators in diverse schools or districts who know there is no quick fix for building lasting partnerships among families, schools, and communities. Going far beyond traditional "parent involvement programs," this essential volume offers ideas on how teachers and parents…

Based on the theoretical perspectives of socio-constructivism and language socialization, this study reports two Chinese Canadian first grader's experiences of language and literacy learning in and out of school in a unique sociocultural setting where they were "the mainstream." The article examines the students' reading and writing…

Victims of bullying need assistance in developing better strategies for effectively responding to bullies. Utilizing a new intervention strategy, problem-based learning (PBL), school counselors can incorporate problem-solving and literature-based lessons. This strategy provides the possibility of increasing awareness and knowledge of bullying,…

Since the Coleman Report (1966), educational researchers have tried to identify school properties that make a difference in student achievement and overcome the negative influence of low socioeconomic status. We theorized that academic optimism was a latent construct that enhanced student achievement and that enabling school structure provided a…

In order to meet the goals of No Child Left Behind, standardized testing is preeminent as the sole indicator determining whether states all across America demonstrate adequate yearly progress regarding the improvement of student achievement in literacy education. This book will help teachers and parents raise children's scores on standardized…

This article reports the findings of a collective case study of 2 low-performing, predominantly minority urban schools. The research shows that principals were able to improve the quality of parent-teacher relationships using multidimensional strategies that addressed the needs of teachers and parents. The findings suggest that strategies to…

Children learn to communicate in the context of their home culture. Beginning at birth, children use their home language and culturally accepted communication styles to connect with others in a meaningful way, forming secure relationships that are intrinsic to healthy development. For the early childhood teacher, it is important to establish…

Background: Differential responses in terms of gender and antisocial behaviour in emotional reactivity to affective pictures using the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) have been demonstrated in adult and adolescent samples. Moreover, a quadratic relationship between the arousal (intensity) and valence (degree of unpleasantness) has…