For decades, researchers have been convinced that one stereotypic image of scientists existed among children worldwide (Chambers, 1983; Chiang & Guo, 1996; Fung, 2002; Maoldomhnaigh & Hunt, 1988; Newton & Newton, 1992, 1998; She, 1998; Song, Pak, & Jang, 1992). This study, however, moves beyond that stereotypic image and examines…

The majority of states in the U.S. have embraced the career clusters concept. But they face challenges in implementing and expanding the system. This article discusses career cluster initiatives and the challenges they face. The career cluster model has the potential to help meet a number of challenges--from integrating academic and technical…

Rates of problem behavior at urban elementary school playgrounds are of growing concern. The purpose of this study was to examine how the implementation of a recess intervention within the context of School-wide Positive Behavior Support (SwPBS), a systemwide, team-driven, data-based decision-making continuum of support, affected disruptive…

The author presents three fragments from the art work of a class of American elementary school children to illustrate the imaginative power of children's thought and language.

This document summarizes evaluation reports from afterschool science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs across the United States and identifies common trends and strengths that afterschool learning brings to STEM education. Like many programs nationwide, several of the programs highlighted in this paper were designed specifically to…

Cultural beliefs about disability and related systems of special education affect the experience of children with disabilities and their parents. This article reviews research on the perceptions and experiences of parents who have preschool or elementary school-age children with disabilities in the United States and Japan. Parents' experiences…

Established by Congress in 2000, the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) is a unique collaboration of academic and community-based service centers whose mission is to raise the standard of care and increase access to services for traumatized children and their families across the United States. Combining knowledge of child…

At the elementary school level, two studies (Eicher, Piersma, & Wood, 1975; Liu 2004) were conducted to investigate school children's knowledge, perceptions, and understanding about China. Findings from these studies implied that the U.S. children's knowledge of China was predominantly related to their exposure to Chinatown or Chinese…

Difficulties exist in identifying and providing services for children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD). As teacher referral is an essential link in service delivery this study investigated teachers' current perceptions of SEBD by examining characteristics of children nominated by their teachers as having SEBD. While the…

This study examined changes in the effect of socioeconomic status (SES) on reading achievement at individual and school levels between 1991 and 2001. Data from 9 countries that participated in both the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) Reading Literacy Study 1991 and the Trend Study in the Progress in…

The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) assesses the reading achievement of fourth-graders and collects data on their teachers' reading instruction practices and strategies. Presenting data from the United States and the 44 other jurisdictions that participated in PIRLS 2006, this Statistics in Brief describes international…

Each year, between 10 and 20 percent of schoolchildren in the United States are exposed to domestic violence. According to psychologists, such exposure can lead to aggressive behavior, decreased social competence, and diminished academic performance. A majority of parents and school officials believe that children who are troubled, whatever the…

This study investigated variation in students' behavioral engagement across mathematics classes in China and the United States. Student behavioral engagement was examined along with two aspects of the classroom (group size and teacher instructions given about classroom behavior). Video observational data were collected and coded over 1051 time…

Although homeschooling is growing in popularity in the United States, little systematic research has focused on this population. Grounded in the parental involvement literature, this study examines why parents decide to home-school. Parents of 136 homeschooled elementary children completed questionnaires assessing constructs derived from the…

This article reports on a study that aimed to explore general classroom music teaching and learning via video-conferencing between pre-service music teachers in the USA, and students at an elementary school for underprivileged children in Mexico. This study examines the challenges, progress and lessons learned as interactions within this…