The international "FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL): Challenge" is a popular educational robotics and STEM competition designed to promote primary and early high school students' STEM interests and careers, and twenty-first century skill development. The "FLL Challenge" currently involves over 318,000 students (aged 9-16 years) in…

This article explores how complex globalization processes play out in early childhood education (ECE) in Denmark. The article builds on two concepts of globalization: First, we understand globalization as the ways in which transnational educational policy discourses characterized by neoliberal pedagogical values affect national and local policies.…

Our work aims to substantiate and extend earlier findings on the effects of student-teacher race matching on academic achievement using longitudinal data for students in Grades 3 through 8 in Tennessee. We examine heterogenous effects not only by racial subgroup and student preparedness, as explored in prior literature, but also by levels of…

This study used covariate adjusted regression techniques to compare the third-grade outcomes of low-income Latinx children who attended Montessori pre-K programs (n = 161) with those who graduated from more conventional programs (n = 4975) in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Children who experienced one year of Montessori education demonstrated…

The problem addressed in this study is that the low reading proficiency levels of marginalized elementary students significantly affect their future academic achievement and life outcomes. The purpose of this quantitative comparative study was to investigate the differences in the reading proficiency levels of marginalized Grade 3-5 students in a…

Background/Context: Early childhood education research has consistently found evidence of immediate, positive effects on developmental outcomes. Despite these strong initial benefits, follow-up analyses often reveal that these effects fadeout in the years following participation (e.g., Bailey et al., 2017, Clements et al., 2013; Lipsey et al.…

Purpose: While educational shifts in response to COVID-19 at the state, district and school-level may have been grounded in the best of intentions, these decisions may not fully respond to the everyday realities of teachers, parents, caregivers and students living within historically marginalized communities. In addition to evidence-based and…

This study measures the impact of 95 Percent Group's Phonological Awareness Lessons (PA Lessons), an intervention program designed for kindergartners for Tier 2 or 3. The study is a replication of a study conducted in the same medium-sized school district in California during 2021-2022. Students Below or Well Below Benchmark in Fall 2022 were…

This research uses the implementation of a school suspension ban in Maryland to test whether a top-down state-initiated ban on suspensions in early primary grades can influence school behavior regarding school discipline. Beginning in the fall of 2017, the State of Maryland banned the use of out-of-school suspensions for grades PK-2, unless a…

Background: Socioeconomic gaps in children's academic and social skills are large upon Kindergarten entry (von Hippel, Workman, and Downey 2018; Reardon 2011; Reardon and Portilla 2016). Preschool programs may yield particularly large benefits to low-income students and racially minoritized groups and may be promising for reducing inequalities…

Background/Context: The importance of vision care begins at an early age, with doctors recommending screenings at multiple stages prior to reaching school age and throughout adolescence (Mathers et al., 2010; Solebo et al., 2015). Addressing unaddressed vision needs at an early age is particularly important due to the strong connection between…

The purpose of this study is to solicit teachers' perceptions of helping minority parents in educating their children. When teachers have a positive perception of minority parent involvement, they are more willing to take initiative toward helping the minority parents. A quantitative approach was taken in this study with the use of a researcher…

The Massachusetts 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Grade 4 reading results showed that nearly one quarter of students scored below basic. Only 45% of students scored proficient or higher on the reading assessment. Moreover, the 2019 scores represent a decline in the percentages of students reading at basic, proficient, or…

The problem was the low reading level and language arts performance of Hispanic American and African American elementary school students, compared to European American students. The problem was addressed because it affects students' academic achievement and overall education as they progress further in school. Teachers, administrators, and…

Research Findings: The present study examined the transition practices reported by 59 pre-kindergarten (pre-k) and 186 kindergarten teachers in the rural Southeastern United States, and asked if transition practices related to skills at the beginning and end of kindergarten for 387 children. Analyses indicated kindergarten teachers offered more…