This action research study in a North Dakota public school addresses the need for effective professional development (PD) to enhance instruction and academic outcomes for mathematically promising learners. Despite annual PD investments, concerns persist regarding the limited efficacy of short-term workshops (Knight & Skrtic, 2021; Kraft et…

The study explored teachers' perceptions of how district provided prekindergarten influences academic and social emotional school readiness for first grade students in a low socioeconomic school district in Southern Arkansas. Piaget's "Theory of Cognitive Development" and "Erikson's Theory of Psychosocial Development" were the…

This paper reports the results of a randomized controlled trial evaluating "We Have Skills," a brief curriculum designed to teach early elementary students academic and social skills as well as improve teacher efficacy in classroom management. Intervention efficacy was tested with 127 teachers, randomly assigned to condition, and 2,817…

Purpose: This study compares responses of children who are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) who use spoken language with responses of children who have typical hearing on a repeated word association task to evaluate lexical-semantic organization. Method: This study included 109 participants in early kindergarten or who had completed first grade. The…

This mixed-method study examined the balance of narrative and informational text instruction in alignment with Common Core State Standards (CCSS), and teachers' professional learning opportunities in elementary classrooms. Surveys were sent to teachers in one midwestern state, and audio recordings of literacy instruction were collected in one…

Given the hegemony of developmentalism in early childhood education and care, this article uses a poetic juxtapositional approach to bewilder Piaget's theory of cognitive development. Critical consideration of how the theory of cognitive development has contributed to the imagining of a universal, ahistorical child and childhood(s) are discussed…

This qualitative case study examined the contribution a year-long professional development in the science of reading had on 10 first-grade teachers' knowledge of how reading develops and their instructional practices. Data for this research study was collected through a longitudinal interview process, from pre- and post-knowledge inventory…

This study focused on associations between children's socioemotional development (prosocial behaviour, internalizing and externalizing problems) and parenting styles (affection, behavioural control, and psychological control), and the moderating role of children's social withdrawal (as a temperamental characteristic) in these associations.…

Longitudinal models typically emphasize between-person predictors of change but ignore how growth varies "within" persons because each person contributes only one data point at each time. In contrast, modeling growth with multi-item assessments allows evaluation of how relative item performance may shift over time. While traditionally…

"I think I can, I think I can' puffed "The Little Engine That Could." The American folktale taught the value of optimism and hard work reflecting a growth mindset belief about abilities. A growth mindset positively impacts academic achievement, motivation, and children's agency for learning. Few studies have explored how early…

Introduction: Children's social and emotional wellbeing is associated with subsequent academic achievement and behavioural outcomes, as well as functioning in later life. Nurturing approaches are one way of developing such wellbeing. Whole-school approaches to nurturing have been discussed in the literature, but no studies of any quality have…

In this study, it is aimed to determine the opinions of preschool teachers and classroom teachers about school readiness. As in the current situation, since this research is aimed to be a qualitative approach, the research is a case study of qualitative research type. In the study, interviews were conducted with a total of 25 teachers including 15…

Teachers have the ability to influence a child's sense of belonging and peer relationships in the classroom which are important for a child's social development. Currently, little is known about the ways in which they do this. Vygotsky's concept of the social situation of development and Hedegaard's model for learning and development were used to…

TOOLBOX is a school-based social and emotional learning (SEL) program to teach and reinforce 12 tools (e.g., Breathing Tool, Courage Tool) for healthy youth development. Although TOOLBOX has been broadly adopted, it remains largely untested. This quasi-experimental study aims to examine the relationship between TOOLBOX implementation and the…

Although social-emotional learning is associated with long-term success in school and careers, it is often a missing link in U.S. public education. The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the need for social-emotional supports for children. In this time of crisis, educators have also sought new ways to make connections and reimagined how students…