High-stakes testing may potentially influence young children's attitudes toward school and learning. This study describes the development and evaluation of child and teacher versions of a measure called Children's Attitudes Toward School (CATS). Exploratory factor analyses of responses by 335 first graders and 130 first-grade teachers each…

Good teachers and good teaching have been shown by numerous research studies to be the critical elements which make the difference in effective early years education programs. Becoming a good teacher is a process that begins with initial teacher preparation and progresses through a series of stages from novice through to expert status. It is…

In recent years, there has been increasing academic debate concerning both the need for more male primary schoolteachers and the reasons for their minority status, numerically. Yet there has been relatively little heard from the men themselves. In this study the author used focus group discussions to investigate the views and experiences of…

In England, since 2000, teachers of children aged three to five (the Foundation Stage) have been bound by the Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage produced by central government. Initially, we were interested to learn of the responses of early years teachers to that document. We found that teachers welcomed the Curriculum Guidance, not…

This paper begins by outlining and discussing the fundamental elements of the process, child-centred model of curriculum, which has informed the two most recent Irish primary school curricula "Curaclam na Bunscoile" (1971 to 1999) and the "Primary School Curriculum" (1999 to date). The specific ways in which both Irish…

A partnership project was developed in which parents volunteered to support teachers in training years 1-3 children in computer skills at a primary school in a small, low socio-economic community. This article identifies the ways teachers and the "tutors" (as the volunteers were called) understood the value of the project. "Being a…

Evaluations, tied to specific programmes, need to be complemented by research that is more sensitive to context at the classroom level. A comparative approach may be used as a platform to move into a two-way conversation with the perspectives of practitioners in 'developing' countries and hence scrutinize internationally dominant notions of good…

In this article, the author examines the role the literacy coach at her school has played in supporting the kindergarten through second grade teachers. Using a theoretical framework for classroom communities (Pintaone-Hernandez, 2002), she reflects on how the literacy coach has helped teachers maintain a professional learning community in the wake…

Background: To date, few studies have been conducted to investigate the preparedness of health educators in Canadian school systems. Purpose: This study assessed practicing and pre-service teachers' self-perceptions of preparedness to teach health education in British Columbia K-12 classrooms. It also investigated factors related to their…

This article reports findings from a survey of the values and perceived practices of 1212 members of staff in 32 schools in England participating in the "Learning How to Learn" (LHTL) project in relation to teachers' professional learning. Through factor analysis four underlying dimensions of teachers' learning practices were developed.…

The purpose of this study was to examine teachers' perceptions of the benefits of home visitation in relation to children's success in school from kindergarten to second grade. The participants were 26 early elementary (K-2) teachers in a rural, Midwestern school district. Participants completed a survey after a home visit at the beginning of…

This study reports the measurement of certain aspects of the social interplay of human beings. More specifically, the relations between children and teachers have been investigated by means of an observational study of the behavior of children and teachers in the classroom. (Shortened by ProQuest.) [The dissertation citations contained here are…

In this study, we examine to what extent psychosocial student outcomes in primary school children vary between classes, and whether elements of teaching can explain some of this variation. Starting with a sample of 379 kindergarten children out of 24 classes, academic achievement and behaviour problems were assessed in 2 consecutive years.…

The introduction of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Greek primary education appears to be carried out in the midst of a general uncertainty, mainly on the part of the teachers, who will have to cope with a new teaching tool and a new teaching philosophy that very few of them have learned to apply. The aim of this study was to…

This article draws on a Norwegian project--in one primary and one lower secondary school--that had the aim of creating a shared understanding of classroom management and that resulted in a handbook on classroom management at each of these schools. Teacher reflection and teacher sharing were vital in this project initiated from the outside yet…