This descriptive case study examined how teaching practices were evidenced in Grade 1 classrooms in two different cultural and educational contexts, Finland and Japan. Teachers' teaching practices were video-recorded in 53 classrooms in Finland and six classrooms in Japan and rated with the Early Childhood Classroom Observation Measure by trained…

This article is a critical ethnographic study that examines rural Chinese girls' literacy practices in sanctioned and unsanctioned spaces, and their negotiations with the articulated and delivered literacy program. In particular, this study focuses on a group of 1st-grade girls, who I call the "Spy Girls," engaged in the celebration of…

Providing spaces for children's culture becomes an issue when it conflicts with or threatens to reverse the notion of 'legitimate' culture. Here, legitimate culture refers to the dominant values of the official curriculum and teachers' cultural values. This article, which stems from an ethnographically oriented pilot study, explores the experience…

Theory is an important element of literacy research. Research designs are informed by theories that explain what literacy is, how it develops, and how it should be taught and evaluated. Sociocultural theories emphasize the socially situated nature of literacies engagement and practices, whereas cognitive theories emphasize the underlying skills…

Early childhood can be a time of rich discovery, a period when educators have an opportunity to harness their students' fascination to create unique learning opportunities. Some teachers engage with their students' ideas in ways that make learning collaborative--but not all students have access to these kinds of learning environments. In…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how kindergarten through third--grade public school educators in diverse classrooms described the influence and challenges of multicultural teaching strategies, with a focus on content integration and knowledge construction, on learners' English language acquisition in Arizona. Two…

Research has consistently shown that difficulties in facial emotion recognition (FER) are associated with peer problems and internalizing symptoms during middle childhood. However, no longitudinal research has investigated the direction of effects, that is, how these constructs influence each other across time. In this preregistered three-wave…

Extensive literature highlights positive outcomes experienced by students whose parents and teachers have strong relationships, but less is known about the factors that influence parent-teacher relationship strength. Using data from "The Impact of Grade Retention: A Developmental Approach," we identify parent-level predictors of the…

Drawing on translanguaging and raciolinguistics frameworks in an ethnographic case study, this article contextualizes how young Black American children engage in rich literacy practices to validate their cultural and linguistic identities in an elementary, two-way immersion bilingual program. Findings demonstrated that despite teachers' perceived…

This qualitative study examined the interplay between teacher facilitation, children's uptake of vocabulary and reasoning strategies, and the roles children assumed as learners as they experienced instruction grounded in Connected Teaching and Learning ([CTL] an interdisciplinary instructional framework that leverages key practices from culturally…

This study examines the development of literacy and identity for young Indigenous Taiwanese children using ethnographic methods and the theories of multiple literacies, Indigenous knowledge, and identity construction, and it provides insights into the incorporation of Indigenous knowledge and literacies to create hybrid literacy spaces.…

Success for All, a multi-tiered school reform program, has its origins in the US and has recently expanded to the Netherlands. Using a multiple case study approach, we investigated similarities and differences in the way struggling readers are supported at two Success for All schools in the US and two in the Netherlands. First- and second-grade…

This semi-empirical research utilises a structured interview interview approach to explore Saudi children's ideas about living things and to examine the effects of iPad use based on a socio-cultural perspective involving group work and discussion. The sample comprised 40 grade 1 children; 20 were empirically taught using iPads according to a…

This article describes a research study using an ethnographic approach and sociocultural theory with a spatial perspective to explore the ways that two Latino children, with the mediation of their families, constructed literacy spaces in their homes and communities. The families lived in low-income neighborhoods, and their school district was…

Drawing from Chicana feminist perspectives and Pérez ("Living Chicana theory." Third Woman Press, Berkeley, pp 87-101, 1998) theories of "sitios y lenguas" (space and discourses) the authors reposition understandings of teaching and learning through a qualitative case study of a first grade Spanish/English bilingual classroom.…