Currently in the United States, 50 states, 5 territories, and the District of Columbia have established prekindergarten (pre-K) age 4 learning standards that are intended to outline skills and knowledge that set children on a path to success in kindergarten and upcoming grades. These standards are emphasized as a centralizing force in early…

Research relating to children's views on their childhood and everyday activities, as well as comparative studies around this topic, is still lacking. From this background, the current study hopes to contribute new knowledge to this field of research. This study is a comparative study exploring how children aged 6-7 years experience their everyday…

This multiple case study examines two New Jersey non-scholarship community college athletic programs and answers the questions why student-athletes choose to attend the community college and participate in athletics, what factors influence their decisions, and how administrators and student-athlete descriptions of the value and contribution of…

Because it is not clear that teachers will volunteer for good professional development if it is made available, this study used surveys--including social network analysis--and interviews to examine why teachers did and did not participate in one school's high-quality study group. While all teachers were motivated by intrinsic incentives, two…

This embedded case study explores the student-teacher relationship in a one-to-one technology environment. The actual change in relationship in a one-to-one classroom was examined. The study was guided by the self-system theory of motivation and its three characteristics of autonomy, relatedness, and competency as a theoretical framework. To…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the attitudes of university-level research scientists toward educational and outreach activities that aim to help the general public understand more about their scientific endeavors. Interviews, observations, and survey results from 12 university research scientists, their colleagues, students, and the…

The role of the parent in a child's reading development requires consistent communication with educators about the child's individual needs and progress. National concern for declining reading scores throughout the country begins in the early childhood educational setting. This study, designed as an action research, explored one-way and two-way…

The purpose of this explanatory sequential mixed methods study was to explore college students' use of social networking services (SNS); examining how and why they communicate about campus safety information. This study took place at Stockton University, a regional state institution in NJ. Undergraduate students took part in an online quantitative…

This eight-week action research project examined how art can be a possible intervention to memory loss. Five octogenarians with dementia participated in a qualitative phenomenological case study exploring the connections between memory and making art. Various methods of data collection were employed, including survey, interview, artifacts,…

Problem: Educators struggle with how to include the attacks of September 11th, 2001 in the nation's social studies classrooms. This study investigates how teachers engage in instruction about these events and the messages students take away from that instruction. Much of the research to date on the instruction of 9/11 focuses on resources and…

The most prevalent model of Catholic schools has always been and remains the parish elementary school. Catholic schools are not simply private schools but a faith based arm of a larger parish. The interconnected leadership of schools by pastors and principals is at the core of understanding the model and inseparable in long-term viability. The…

This study focused on students' responses toward an experimental instructional program called Flex-time that was offered in grades three through five in a Southeast NJ school district. The study aimed to determine: (1) if the Flex program motivated and/or engaged students to have a love for learning and (2) if characteristics, such as grade level,…

This article explores the use of art as a form of communication and meaning-making in participatory action research (PAR). The authors, researchers and educators, contemplate this concept through a pedagogical lens, and consider the role that visual and performing arts can play in social action. Based on the work of a youth-adult participatory…

This mixed-methods study analyzes the induction programs for alternate route beginning teachers in low socioeconomic, urban schools. The researcher surveyed 53 teachers at the end of their first year and conducted six in-depth follow-up interviews. The study found that half the teachers did not receive an induction program congruent with state…

The moving image plays a significant role in teaching and learning; faculty in a variety of disciplines consider it a crucial component of their coursework. Yet little has been written about how faculty identify, obtain, and use these resources and what role the library plays. This study, which engaged teaching faculty in a dialogue with library…