There is currently a lack of research into classroom climate as perceived by the students themselves. This article presents a new classroom climate evaluation instrument which is designed to gauge student perceptions of their own level of engagement in academic activities, their relationships with peers, and the level of support they feel from…

Chicago Public Schools initiated the Excellence in Teaching Project, a teacher evaluation program designed to increase student learning by improving classroom instruction through structured principal-teacher dialogue. The pilot began in forty-four elementary schools in 2008-09 (cohort 1) and scaled up to include an additional forty-eight…

This paper presents results from the evaluation of the Nurture thru Nature (NtN) programme, a natural science and environmental education intervention designed to help elementary school children from disadvantaged backgrounds increase their knowledge of science and strengthen overall academic performance. Using an experimental design the pilot NtN…

In science education research, there is a growing body of studies focusing on the role of multiple representations in pupils' learning. This study is based on a social semiotic perspective and in the analysis, there is a special focus on how the content is conveyed and how relations are created through interaction between teachers/pupils and the…

Encouraged by previous studies which recommended incorporating insights from Conversation Analysis (CA) into English conversation teaching to improve EFL students' oral proficiency, this paper reports on the findings from Phase I of a longitudinal study designed to investigate the impact of employing a CA-informed teaching (CA-T) model to improve…

This article reflects on various challenges encountered during a pilot action-based research "Integrating Multicultural Music Education into the Elementary School Curricula of Public Schools in Thailand." This project was set up to develop lesson plans, activities, teaching tools and evaluation methods for music teachers. As a…

The National Plan for Music (DfE (Department for Education). 2011. The "Importance of Music: a National Plan for Music Education." https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-importance-of-music-a-national-plan-for-music-education.) reflected the need for increasing the numbers of primary class teachers able to teach music and of…

This pilot study aimed to test the well-being effects of a locally developed mindfulness-based program tailored for New Zealand elementary school children in comparison with an active control condition. It was hypothesized that significantly greater well-being change scores would be observed for the mindfulness group. Students (n = 106) between 9…

With increasingly diverse formal education settings around the globe, teachers' ability to differentiate curriculum is essential to meet the needs of students with varied cultural, socioeconomic, racial, and linguistic backgrounds. Teachers' curricular autonomy is a prerequisite to diversify curriculum. Guided by sociocultural approaches to agency…

Background: This paper is a qualitative evaluation of a small-scale pilot study that attempted to generate parental involvement in children's learning. It used problem-solving mathematics homework in order to raise the children's self-efficacy, or, put another way, the child's belief that success lies in their own hands. Purpose: Homework is often…

The inspection criteria for schools with a religious character within the state-maintained system in England and Wales require the sponsoring body to report on aspects of the distinctiveness of the school ethos and on school worship. This article argues that taking into account the student voice in these areas could enhance the inspection process.…

This study describes the adaptation and validation of the American Institute for Research (AIR) Self-Determination Scale for use in Norwegian research and education. The study contributes to the field by enabling reliable assessment of self-determination of Norwegian students with intellectual disability. The operational equivalence of the…

Consideration of cultural and linguistic features is mandated by law and one of the most important contributors to the appropriate placement of diverse learners for special education services. This article describes the results of a pilot project designed to assist rural educators to deliver an equitable and unbiased assessment process for English…

The limited evidence regarding disaster-related environmental education programs for children indicates that these programs can increase disaster resilience and family preparedness activities, and reduce children's fear and anxiety. However, the literature lacks qualitative studies to provide insights into children's experiences of disaster…

This study explored parents' (N = 351) educational optimism in terms of their trust in the possibilities of school to develop children's intelligence. It was found that educational optimism could be depicted as a bipolar factor with optimism and pessimism on the opposing ends of the same dimension. Optimistic parents indicated more satisfaction…