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…

This study examined the effects of sound-field amplification (SFA) use for children who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) with additional diagnosed conditions enrolled in preschool and first and second grades in a rural district. Four focus children who are DHH with additional diagnoses were matched with hearing peers and observed for attending…

Social-behavioral functioning during early childhood is associated with children's academic and social success concurrently and over time. This study explored how concurrent, year-to-year, and sustained parent--teacher and student--teacher relationships predicted children's social skills and problem behaviors across the preschool to Grade 1…

There are many factors influencing the learning environment in public school settings. As such, the recognition of developing a multidimensional approach incorporating a variety of "tools" for a teacher's toolbox can prove to be very effective. Research indicates that movement is one such tool that can increase the capacity for students…

Challenging behavior problems are common in early childhood and, if left untreated, may escalate into more severe and intractable problems in adolescence and early adulthood. This trajectory is of particular importance in rural schools, where disruptive behaviors are more prominent than in urban and suburban schools. Conjoint behavioral…

Many children with behavior problems perform poorly academically and can disrupt regular classroom instruction. Although good classroom management strategies can benefit children with behavior problems, it is not clear whether these students need consistently good classroom management across the early elementary school years to improve their…

The purpose of this paper is to describe the implementation of an evidence-based treatment, the Incredible Years® (IY) Small Group Dina Dinosaur Treatment program, as delivered in elementary schools to address the needs of children in kindergarten through second grade with self-regulation difficulties. Adaptations for school-based delivery of 17…

This study reports the results of a randomized controlled trial examining the effect of Conjoint Behavioral Consultation (CBC), a family-school partnership intervention, on children's behaviors, parents' skills, and parent-teacher relationships in rural community and town settings. Participants were 267 children, 267 parents, and 152 teachers in…

The overall purpose of this IES-funded Goal 3 study, now entering its third year, is to evaluate the efficacy of Incredible Years Teacher program (IYT) for improving K-2 students' academic achievement, attention, and social-emotional competence. The authors will also examine the extent to which classroom behavior mediates the relationship between…

The present observational study used hierarchical linear modeling to examine predictors of children's social and self-regulatory outcomes in first-grade classrooms. Specifically, goals were the following: (1) to explore relations between emotionally supportive teacher-child interactions and children's social behaviors (aggression with peers,…

The authors compared the characteristics of early elementary age students educated in either rural or suburban schools who were identified as showing soft signs of emotional or behavioral disorders according to systematic screening procedures. The authors followed 134 kindergarten, first grade, and second grade students identified by these…

In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with kindergarten and first-grade general education teachers to determine their perceptions of student behavior. This study describes the teachers' perspectives of and approaches to behavior management and intervention strategies (e.g., use of praise, rewards, implementation of classroom management,…

Families in rural communities are often poorly connected to schools due to challenges associated with geographic isolation, poverty, inexperienced staff, inadequate resources, scheduling challenges, and low parental education. This creates problems with the access, availability, and acceptability of services. Teachers in rural schools often have…

The purpose of this study was to replicate previous research about teachers' perceived benefits of home visits to determine if they remained stable. Furthermore, the investigation sought to find out whether home visits impacted variables often associated with improved school success (i.e., school attendance, academic performance, parent…

We examined gender differences in the first-grade transition, exploring child and classroom contributions to self-control and achievement in a rural sample. Teachers (n = 36) reported on children's (n = 172) initial adjustment difficulty and end-of-year self-control. Observed classroom organization and teacher-reported classroom chaos measured…