This study examined the impact of a virtual parenting intervention designed to support parents of incoming kindergartners (N = 45) by bolstering their parental self-efficacy during the summer of 2020, immediately following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, this group-based intervention provided parents with weekly psychoeducation…

The purpose of this study was to determine the factors that influence the self-efficacy of undergraduate kindergarten teachers and kindergarten teachers to teach science in kindergarten. The research questions were: (1) To what extent, if at all, does the research participants' self-efficacy to teach science change following their academic…

Teacher beliefs and practices related to them could provide varying opportunities for students to develop their agency related to learning math. The aim of the current paper is to explore how different math teacher beliefs (concerning the nature of mathematics, constructivist beliefs, and self-efficacy) relate to different dimensions of student…

Many kindergarten educators grapple with how best to teach reading in play-based kindergarten classrooms. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to ascertain the instructional strengths and needs of kindergarten educators as they teach reading in play-based programs. Fifteen kindergarten teachers participated in an online questionnaire and…

Professional literature suggests that many primary (K-3rd) teachers have a flawed understanding of the structure of the English language. However, the extent to which specific strategies can effectively address these misconceptions is not well known. This mixed methods study examined primary (K-3) educators' perceptions of the structure of the…

This article reports findings from a study to investigate the efficacy beliefs, experiences, and instructional practices of pre-kindergarten (pre-k) teachers from a high-need district who engaged in collaborative professional learning experiences provided by a partner university. The study also examined language and literacy instruction for…

Reading interventions that focus on metacognitive strategy instruction for elementary students reveal positive effects but also require extensive teacher training and significant oversight by the research team. In the current study, a more 'hands off' scalable approach to strategy instruction was tested, where initial teacher training and…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) camp program on rural students' self-efficacy and computational thinking skills. One hundred fifty-three third- and fourth-grade elementary school students from three different rural schools in China were recruited to participate. All…

This qualitative case study explored the influence that service-learning involvement has on undergraduate college students' cognitive, environmental, and behavioral factors related to nutrition. Utilizing the major constructs of the social cognitive theory, the research questions guided the investigation of how participants in a previously…

This study was conducted to determine the relationship between the reading habits and speaking self-efficacies of prospective teachers. Correlational survey method, which is one of the quantitative research models, was adopted for the study. A total of 114 prospective teachers attending the first grade of Classroom Teaching and Pre-school…

Many K-12 computer science (CS) education initiatives at the local, state, and federal levels have recently started to focus on engaging the young children. Although most CS education research has focused on the secondary level, only minimal research has explored how computer science (CS) and computational thinking (CT) can be taught in elementary…

Access to post-secondary education for first-generation college students (FGCS) has become even more important after COVID-19 brought to the forefront the most affected in the workforce: those who had a high school degree or less. College access programs play a vital role to move the needle in closing the educational achievement gap. These…

Computer Science (CS) is a rapidly growing field that impacts almost every aspect of students' lives. From media consumption to future careers in medicine, agriculture, security, finance, and other areas, understanding computer programming is essential for 21st-century society and careers. Over the next decade, employment opportunities in computer…

Using qualitative research methods, this phenomenological study examined the impact of instructional coaching on teachers' perceptions of teacher self-efficacy, stress and anxiety, and instruction. Kindergarten, first, and second grade classroom teachers from a small suburban school district who worked with an instructional coach in a coaching…

Kindergarten Teachers' (KTs') work is different from that of school teachers' because they juggle the role of being caregivers for young children and tending to their physical, emotional and educational needs, with the task of being 'managers' or 'leaders' of their kindergarten units (Guo et al. in Teach Teach Educ 27(5):961-968, 2011a; Aizenberg…