This article explores how ethnography allows for an understanding of the way children are empowered through the use of popular culture during sociodramatic play. The study discussed was conducted in an inner-city Primary school in regional New South Wales, Australia. The participants were a composite fifth-to-sixth grade class, and the research…

Listeners ("N" = 543) in grades 4, 5, and 6 rated their preference for 10 instrumental and vocal selections from various styles, including four popular music selections with versions performed in English, Spanish, or an Asian language. Participants estimated their identification with Spanish/Hispanic/Latino and Asian cultures, the number…

Mathematics education is replete with activities that explore real-world problems. A variety of these problems are added to lessons in the belief that merely applying mathematics knowledge to everyday contexts will enhance the transfer of that knowledge to other settings. However, these contexts are hypothetical rather than authentic. This…

Action Potential Science Experience (APSE) is a five-day summer camp offering science opportunities for K-8 students. The focus of the APSE curriculum is to teach science concepts and methods while challenging the participants to solve an overarching problem from the popular-culture context. The participants in the APSE entitled Burger 'N Fries…

The messages students receive through popular media such as movies, television, the internet, and music videos have a powerful influence and can shape their thinking. A national survey of media use by 8- to 18-year-olds found the average adolescent spends over seven and a half hours daily with entertainment media (KFF 2010). Rather than viewing…

This is a pioneer study of Macau's music education focusing on music listening preference. Adopting models from Western cultures, the study, launched in 2006, aimed to explore the factors of age and gender in regard to music preference. The subjects ranged from fourth-graders to university students (N=2495) (15 missing). Participants rated their…

Upper-elementary students encounter a sometimes dizzying array of traditional and nontraditional texts both in and outside of the classroom. This practical handbook helps teachers in grades 4-6 harness the instructional potential of fiction, poetry, and plays; informational texts; graphic novels; digital storytelling; Web-based and multimodal…

This study explored alternative approaches to young people's concerts aimed at extending musical appreciations and cultural understandings while promoting interest in concert attendance among upper elementary students. The project, an artistic and cross-cultural collaboration grounded in a spirit of mutual respect, consisted of three components:…