The current study examined the time spent in various types of science instruction with regard to teachers' awareness of instructional activities. The perceived effectiveness of instructional activities in relation to the allocation of time was also examined. A total of 30 4th grade teachers (17 female, 13 male), from seven different primary…

The purpose of this study was to examine and reflect on two teacher educators' approaches to developing preservice elementary teachers' mathematics assessment literacy. We explored the similarities and differences in preservice teachers' conceptions of good assessment practices and their critique of assessment items. We found that we, as course…

This manuscript focuses on fifth graders' understanding of science fiction. It is argued that it is necessary for students to understand both reading strategies and the key elements of a genre for comprehension. Students read "The Giver" within literature circles and conversation and written responses about the book were used for…

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professional development for K-5 teachers often includes engineering design as a focus. Because engineering applications provide perspective to both teachers and their students in terms of how mathematic and scientific principles are employed to solve real-world problems (Baine, 2004; Roden,…

Homework in the primary school is a subject much debated by teachers, parents and pupils. This paper offers a brief critique of key issues in the current homework debate with particular reference to research literature, theoretical perspectives, educational policy and other professional publications. Consequently, a discourse between homework in…

Positive and supportive bystander behaviors have been associated with decreases in the frequency and negative impact of bullying. This article addresses the design, implementation, evaluation, and continuation of a classroom-based intervention that promotes positive bystander behaviors. The Engaging Upstanders curriculum was piloted with two…

The different strategies and methodologies used by teachers in their day-to-day activity may have an impact on the academic performance of their students. Indexes constructed to summarize how teachers address different teaching tasks can be used to quantify the teaching activities' associations with academic results. In the IEA's Trends in…

In this article we report the findings of a two-phase action research study focused on the role of collaborative work in the development of elementary students' writing skills at a Colombian school. This was decided after having identified the students' difficulties in the English classes related to word transfer, literal translation, weak…

This paper presents primary school teachers' conceptions of "assessment for learning" in government schools in Brunei Darussalam. The Ministry of Education in Brunei introduced a 21st century education system (codenamed SPN21) in 2007 and one of the initiatives brought by SPN21 was the implementation of School Based Assessment for…

This article explores the power of student voice, in recognition of the child's right to be treated as a capable, competent social actor involved in the education process. In this study, student voice is considered in the light of improving students' engagement and personal and social development at the primary school level. It emphasizes the…

This study explored the role of student (e.g., age, language background, gender), home (e.g., parent/caregiver education), and school (e.g., school type, size) socio-demographic factors in students' school (e.g., in-school arts tuition, arts engagement), home (e.g., parent/caregiver-child arts interaction), and community (e.g., arts attendance,…

Guided by sociological perspectives that view (young) children as agents who are shaped by and shape the structures of social systems in which they live, we studied forms that agency of young children from historically marginalized groups may take in science class when offered opportunities to engage in science in a variety of ways, how curricular…

This research describes and evaluates the application of a child-led approach to scientific enquiry (the Community of Scientific Enquiry, CoSE) to children aged 8-11 (Key Stage 2) in Northern Ireland. Primary teachers were introduced to CoSE at a workshop and asked to evaluate its implementation with their class. Results from children (n = 364)…

This article analyses Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in chemistry by reviewing existing challenges and future possibilities on the levels of the teacher and the student. Pedagogical frameworks that are found eligible in practice are reviewed. Lesson themes that are suitable for implementing socioscientific issues (SSI) related to ESD…

Value-added models (VAMs) are used to measure changes in student achievement on large-scaled standardized test scores from year to year. When aggregated, VAM estimates are used to measure teacher effectiveness and hold teachers accountable for the value they purportedly add to or detract from student learning and achievement. In this study,…