The majority of U.S fourth graders are not proficient in reading. With lawmakers in some U.S. states enacting "Read by Grade 3" laws, it is important for teachers to be well prepared to teach reading to their students. The purpose of this study was to explore novice kindergarten through second grade (K-2) teachers' perspectives of their…

School districts seek to increase teacher retention in response to nationwide teacher shortages. The problem is that teachers who have taught for 5 years or less have the highest attrition rates compared to other teachers, with more than 44% of new teachers leaving the profession within the first 5 years. The purpose of this qualitative case study…

In this mixed-methods explanatory sequential study, the researcher explored how primary teachers describe their experience with teacher autonomy and self-efficacy and examined how those two constructs relate to job satisfaction and to each other. Specifically, this study used K-2 novice and veteran teachers in public rural elementary schools in…

The first year of teaching has and continues to be fraught with challenges for early educators in public school contexts across the United States. A persistent problem that has been documented across the globe is the ability of novice teachers to engage in developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) with their students. We examine this issue…

The problem addressed in this study is that novice early childhood educators (ECEs, Grades kindergarten through 3) underestimate the challenges of teaching. Researchers have shown that although over three million teachers are employed in public schools yearly, on average 23% and up to 50% of newly inducted teachers leave the profession within 5…

This paper explores the emotional experiences of three first-year Latinx teachers in Dual Language Bilingual Education (DLBE) programs. Drawing on interviews completed over the course of a year-long critical ethnography with collaborative elements, I created a series of transcription poems highlighting salient emotions. Applying feminist theories…

This study examined the effectiveness of pre-service education in Cyprus, in preparing primary teachers to teach English in primary state schools. A survey and follow up interviews were employed to investigate the following: a) Novice teachers' perceptions of their preparedness to teach English after completing a 4-year Teacher Education program,…

Although teachers are expected to teach mathematics ambitiously, it is challenging for them to do so. Given that the first year represents a critical juncture between teacher preparation and inservice teaching, it may be particularly challenging to teach ambitiously. Understanding the nuanced characteristics in lessons taught by first-year…

Although teachers' use of quality teacher-student interactions is important for the academic and social development of their students, these types of interactions are not used consistently by teachers in early childhood classrooms. This study was used to explore the education of the classroom teacher as a potential reason for this inconsistency.…

Despite empirical evidence in support of the effectiveness of using tasks in young learners' classrooms, task implementation has been repeatedly reported as a thorny problem. An essential but under-researched issue is how in-service teacher education programme can be conducted to facilitate teachers' implementing tasks in their classrooms. This…

This study reports on an early career Year 2 teacher's reflections of enacting specifically structured resource materials and her practice change when participating in a mathematics professional learning project. A qualitative case study was designed to examine the reflections of a teacher's pre-service and in-service teaching experiences. Data…

Children in kindergarten and first grade are missing more school than at any other point during the elementary years. Some research has examined schoolwide policies and practices that might help reduce absences, but limited research has focused on the role of teachers. This is the first known study to examine the role teacher preparation programs…

This study investigated the relationship between task-based teacher training and novice English language teachers' cognitions and implementations of tasks in Honduran bilingual schools. After participating in a four-week training program on task-based language teaching, teachers with little or no prior teaching experience designed task-based…

Elementary school children (ages 7-11) struggle to understand mathematical equivalence, a foundational prealgebraic concept. Some manipulations to the learning environment, including well-structured nontraditional arithmetic practice alone, have been shown to improve children's understanding; however, improvements have been modest. The goal of…

This paper examines the outcomes of a 4-year implementation of a mathematics program (Representations, oral language and engagement in Mathematics: RoleM) for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island students' learning of mathematics across the first 4 years of primary school (Foundation--Year 3). It specifically aims to determine how…