Effective teaching and learning of Nature of Science (NOS) has been a curriculum goal for decades and its inclusion into the science education from K-12 is becoming commonplace worldwide, regardless of the differences in the adapted science curricula. However, less attention, if any, has been paid to the holistic representation of NOS at…

Around the world, on every continent, and in every country, children play. Though culturally contextualized, play is a global common childhood experience. There are cultural variations in children's play activities, and though play looks and sounds different across the world, there are also commonalities. Though scholars find it difficult to…

A growing, research-based consensus supports addressing our nation's literacy crisis through instruction aligned with the Science of Reading (SoR). We recognize, however, that the complexity of SoR content, alongside the multiplicity of instructional decisions and practices, and the unique features of each classroom and school, make simple…

Cognitive interviews play an important role in articulating the intended construct of educational assessments. This paper describes the iterative development of protocols for cognitive interviews with kindergarten through second-grade children to understand how their spatial reasoning skill development aligns with intended constructs. We describe…

Computer programming provides a framework for interdisciplinary learning in sciences, arts and languages. However, increasing integration of programming in K--12 shows that the block-based and text-based dichotomy of programming environments does not reflect the spectrum of their affordance. Hence, educators are confronted with a fundamental…

In this study, researchers examined the math-related expository books found in 23 first-grade classroom libraries to determine specific mathematical concepts related to counting and cardinality and operations and algebraic thinking addressed in each. In addition, they examined how these concepts aligned with the first-grade Common Core State…

Background: Since the 1990s, national standards have been developed in K-12 subject areas. National standards in health education were first released in 1995 with a second set released in 2007. A third edition, the "National Health Education Standards: Model Guidance for Curriculum" and Instruction was developed in 2022 under the…

This study extends prior research by manipulating both intervention and skill difficulty using a multiple baseline across participants design with changing phases in a virtual tutoring environment. Participants were four U.S. students from third and fifth grades for whom appropriate and challenging instructional targets were selected following…

This study presents a content analysis of Ghana's current standards-based curriculum, with a specific focus on its alignment with evidence-based reading instruction, against the backdrop of low reading achievement and learning outcomes of learners. The research uses content analysis methodology to examine the representation and emphasis of reading…

The ability to effectively identify students for advanced learning opportunities has been an ongoing issue within the field of gifted education. Common criteria to guide the design and evaluation of identification systems has been essentially non-existent. In this article we provide a practical guide for evaluating and reflecting on the…

Kindergarten teachers use art-based activities and practices because they are useful and functional in learning processes and they help learning in other subject areas. While teachers allocate great deal of classroom time for art practices, an art curriculum is not required or enforced at kindergarten level. The objective of this study was to…

The three articles in this dissertation explore how curriculum, instruction, and assessments should align with the vision for science learning outlined in the Framework for K-12 Science Education. Together, the papers demonstrate how curriculum, instruction, and assessment, when mutually supportive of each other, can foster a learning environment…

Although the importance of school leadership in student learning and staff retention has been well-documented by research, minimal research exists on the practices of effective Christian school leaders and how those contribute to school sustainability and fulfillment of mission. Steward leadership theory has been researched and applied to other…

This study described the features of writing instruction in widely used kindergarten English Language Arts programs and examined their alignment with evidence-based, best-practice guidelines. Three popular curricula were selected for analyses: Reading Wonders, Journeys, and Reading Street. Our coding of teacher manuals focused on instructional…

This paper presents empirical evidence on kindergarten admission preparation services in Hong Kong. Parents increasingly turn to tutoring companies for a range of services, such as social skills training, portfolio editing, mock interviews, and parental consultation. We used qualitative methods to capture the views of parents, teachers, tutors,…