The Measuring Early Learning Quality and Outcomes (MELQO) initiative began in 2014 in anticipation of a new global emphasis on early childhood development (ECD). Led by UNESCO, the World Bank, the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution, and UNICEF, the initiative aims to promote feasible, accurate and useful measurement of…

Learning to read by the end of third grade is the gateway to lifelong success. When students are not able to read by the end of third grade, their risk of falling behind grows exponentially. In fact, research shows that nine out of ten high school dropouts were struggling readers in third grade. Students reading below grade level are almost six…

Seven final year cohorts of Finnish pre-service primary teachers (N = 384) were given an exit survey, which measured their estimated attainment of knowledge and experience in the 10 domains of professional activity considered critical for new teachers in the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) standards. The results…

Some electronic portfolios (EPs) developers are proposing that EPs are suitable for implementation in primary education (i.e. kindergarten to grade three). Yet, empirical research evaluating the implementation and efficacy of EPs used in primary school settings at both the teacher and the student level is scarce. In this research, the authors…

This study was presented at the American Educational Research Association 2012 conference in Vancouver, Canada. The study explored how action research of arts-based teaching (ABT) impacted at-risk students in three urban public schools in southern California, USA. ABT was defined as using arts, music, drama, and dance in teaching other subjects. A…

The Wallace Foundation is funding a multiyear demonstration project to determine whether voluntary, district summer learning programs can stem summer learning loss for low-income students. Six districts--Boston, Cincinnati, Dallas, Duval County (Florida), Pittsburgh, and Rochester, New York--were selected for the demonstration project and…

This study investigates caregivers' perceptions of the transition process for children transitioning from Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) to School Age Special Education services (SA). Interest in this topic developed during the researcher's 18 years of experience as an Itinerant Early Childhood Special Education Teacher during which she…

This study explored the relationships among the components of the Arizona Department of Education's new teacher evaluation model, with a particular focus on the extent to which ratings from the state model's teacher observation instrument differentiated higher and lower performance. The study used teacher-level evaluation data collected by the…

The purpose of this paper is to present data demonstrating the potential efficacy of Personal Learning Plans (PLPs) as an instructional tool in early childhood teacher preparation. One hundred and thirty-nine undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory course offered within a unified early childhood education program over a period of four…