Parents are generally less involved in their children's science education (as compared to reading and mathematics) due to low self-efficacy and a lack of home-school communication. This study examined parental interest and attitudes in science as well as the nature of parent-to-child questioning during an interactive home, school, and community…

Blending the arts into students' learning of science concepts through role-play and drama is unusual pedagogy in schools. For seven Australian Year Five students seeking extended learning, advanced scientific concepts were learned during the creative process of script writing and production of a science play called "Hectic Electric". A…

A teacher's identity is thought to evolve in a continuous, situated fashion, amidst dynamic interaction between cognitive, affective, social, cultural and political factors. However, the literature provides little insight into the impact on the ongoing identity construction of class teachers when they encounter a few students with English as an…

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the impact that a teacher-guided library selection program had on overall reading scores and how this program may or may not promote reading improvement of fourth-grade students at a small suburban school in western New York. Forty fourth graders were used as the sample population, which was…

Bandura's concept of self-efficacy has been the focus of numerous research studies related to teacher self-efficacy. Most studies have investigated Bandura's first three sources of self-efficacy beliefs: mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, and social persuasion--with much less emphasis placed on Bandura's fourth source, the role of…

The universal emphasis in mathematics education on teaching and learning for understanding can require substantial paradigmatic shifts for many elementary school teachers. Consequently, a pressing goal of teacher preparation programs should be the facilitation of these changes during program experiences. This longitudinal, mixed methods study…

Background: The literature places special focus on the quality of life (QoL) of individuals with disability and on their self-determination and social and work participation. The field of vocational guidance also considers the satisfaction these individuals experience concerning their future crucial to their QoL. At the same time, however, persons…

Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS) are a part of the school curricula, yet many Australian primary-age children are not mastering FMS. One reason may be a lack of perceived self-efficacy of primary teachers to teach FMS. This study investigated the level of perceived self-efficacy of primary school teachers to teach FMS in Victoria, Australia. A…

Parent involvement (PI) in education is associated with positive outcomes for students; however, little is known about how parents decide to be involved in children's education. On the basis of the K. V. Hoover-Dempsey and H. M. Sandler (1995, 1997) model of parent decision making, the authors examined the relationship among 4 parent variables…

Background: Little research has examined interactions between self-reported dispositional and experimentally manipulated situational group orientations in their effect on self-regulation. Aims: The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of dispositional and situational learning goal orientation on children's self-efficacy and engagement…

The purpose of the following article-style dissertation was to present the life histories of three exemplary physical educators, to give them voice, explore ways in which they experienced marginalization, and describe how they persevered in spite of difficulties they experienced in their careers. The participants included (a) Robin, a female…

In this study, 149 low-income, ethnically heterogeneous, fourth- and fifth-grade students completed self-report surveys in the fall and spring of 1 academic year. We examined classroom climate (satisfaction, cohesion, friction, task difficulty, and competition) and school belonging in relation to language arts and math and science self-efficacy,…

This study reports students' motivation changes after they were guided to compose. A total of 582 students in five primary schools responded to a set of pre- and post-activity questionnaires before and after participating in composing activities. A univariate ANOVA and a series of repeated measures ANOVAs were used to compare the mean scores…

School in the Park is a museum-based intervention intended to nurture the resilience of inner-city students in third grade to fifth grade. The academic resilience and personal development of participants were compared to those of nonparticipants for 2 years. Although the groups differed in academic resilience for the duration of the study, they…

Purpose: In light of the excessively broad conceptions and nonobservable terms generally characterizing discussions of organizational learning, this study explores the notion of organizational learning in schools through the conceptual framework of organizational learning mechanisms (OLM) and develops a measure of OLM at the elementary school…