Young children bring rich social, cultural, and political knowledge to school, cultivated in their homes and communities. This knowledge, ranging from household skills to multilingual practices, is often marginalized in schools that value different norms. Drawing from ethnographic studies in Illinois and New York kindergarten classrooms, this…

Many powerful teaching techniques have not yet fully transitioned from face-to-face use to the new remote instructional paradigm forced on teacher educators and teacher candidates during the pandemic. Experiences by candidates and by instructors in this new environment need to be compiled and shared as we head forward into structures and…

Researchers have pinpointed recognition from others as one of the most important dimensions of students' science and engineering identity. Studies, however, have found gender biases in students' recognition of their peers, with inconsistent patterns across introductory science and engineering courses. Toward finding the source of this variation,…

Even in this "Age of Data," independent progressive schools have shown a remarkable persistence in offering an alternative educational model. As Traditional Public Schools (TPS) become even more committed to a testing model of achievement, there are schools that continue to operate on identified progressive educational principles. This…

The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that influence international students' sense of belonging. An in-depth review of existing research on sense of belonging helped me identify 18 factors closely connected to the sense of belonging of international students. I categorized these factors into four groups: (a) academic integration,…

This article highlights the Orbital Experience (OE), a unique experience that explores the affective domains of second language acquisition, including communication in the target language, making interdisciplinary connections, and fostering a community of learners. Through Orbitals, students serve as experts by researching a topic of interest,…

This paper presents a follow-up to a previously published paper "The Connection between Role Model Relationships and Self-Direction in Developmental Students" and is based on findings from the same study. The study used observations and interviews to explore the ways in which a cohort of developmental writing students described their…

This study examined how peer relationships contribute to young adolescents' adaptation in the face of exposure to community and family violence. It tested hypotheses about peers' role in processes relating exposure to behavioral and psychological outcomes, specifically, aggression and anxiety. Data were collected from 667 middle school students,…

Guidance counselors, sometimes underappreciated in difficult budgetary times, are feeling more respect in their quest to combat bullying. During the past decade, school counselors have become much more active in educating students, faculty, and staff about bullying and taking active steps to prevent it. The primary shift toward active prevention…

The present study of 150 adolescents ("M" age = 13.05 years) examined the associations between appearance-based rejection sensitivity (Appearance-RS) and psychological adjustment during early adolescence, and evaluated three types of other-gender peer experiences (other-gender friendship, peer acceptance, and romantic relationships) as…

Through my own experiences as a child and now as a teacher, I strongly believe in helping children of any age build positive relationships. In my childhood experiences, I did not witness the extent of bullying behavior that is going on today. I believe that bullying is getting worse and worse. My research explored the frequency of bullying in a…

Longitudinal, mixed method research on friendships, conducted over the past two decades with Black, Latino, Asian, and European American boys, reveals three themes: (1) the importance for boys of being able to share their secrets with their close friends; (2) the importance of close friendships for boys' mental health; and (3) the loss of but…

The present study examines the quality of peer relations as a mediator between exposure to IPV (intimate partner violence) and internalizing behaviors in a sample of 129 preadolescents and adolescents (ages 10-18), who were interviewed via telephone as part of a multigenerational, prospective, longitudinal study. Relational victimization is also…

This study explored students' perceptions of 3 dimensions of school climate (teacher support, student-student support, and opportunities for autonomy in the classroom) and the associations between these dimensions and adolescent psychological and academic adjustment in China and the United States. Data were drawn from 2 studies involving 706…

In this essay, the authors argue that only by sharing their mistakes and uncertainty can they fully reflect on their own process as teachers, only by understanding their process can they begin to identify the many factors that contribute to classroom messes in the first place, and only by acknowledging the perpetual messiness of their practice can…