Educationally-oriented measures of handwriting fluency--tasks such as written alphabet recall and sentence copying--conflate graphomotor skill and various higher-level abilities. Direct measurement of pen control when forming letters requires analysis of pen-tip velocity associated with the production of sub-letter features that, in a skilled…

This paper analyses how 8th graders build epistemic practices of evaluation of knowledge. Guided by Ethnography in Education, we followed a group in their science lessons through one year, using participant observation. Following Kelly's propositions concerning epistemic practices, we selected key events towards an analysis of discursive…

Active shooter drills are widely used in schools throughout the United States, with more than 92% of public schools having an active shooter plan. These drills can increase student stress and anxiety and can have a variety of negative effects, such as somatic complaints, anxiety, poor self-regulation of emotions and behaviors, risk for depression,…

Purpose: Production of complex syntax is a hallmark of later language development; however, most of the research examining age-related changes has focused on adolescents or analyzed narrative language samples. Research documenting age-related changes in the production of complex syntax in elementary school-aged children in conversational language…

Mounting evidence from intervention research suggests that physical activity (PA) may contribute to children's social and emotional learning (SEL), which is an essential factor in healthy development and well-being. However, there have been no systematic reviews or meta-analyses of PA interventions and their effects on children's SEL. Such…

Making inferences is essential to comprehending text. Teachers can ask inferential questions, model their thinking, and teach specific strategies to support upper elementary students in making inferences while reading.

Career development promotes the development of key life skills, allows students to discover opportunities, connects school to work, encourages collaboration, and is instrumental in preparing students for postsecondary success. Despite this, many elementary educators struggle to seamlessly integrate career development activities into curricula.…

Numerous studies in recent decades have shown that teacher feedback significantly influences the sociometric choices of students by their classmates. Most of these studies refer to social referencing theory, which suggests that the teacher's emotional communication expressing sympathy or antipathy toward the feedback-receiving student influences…

Prior research indicates that students enter school with high levels of reading motivation, but levels begin to decline as soon as second grade. However, most studies rely on predominately White samples. This exploratory study uses a large dataset to examine self-report reading motivation levels for students of varying racial/ethnic and immigrant…

In this paper we study the impact on student absenteeism of a large, school-based community crime monitoring program that employed local community members to monitor and report crime on designated city blocks during times when students traveled to and from school. We find that the program resulted in a 0.58 percentage point (8.5 percent) reduction…

Sound is a very omnipresent physical phenomenon that plays a crucial role in our daily lives. It is essential for verbal communication and helps us orient ourselves. Children are especially affected by sound and its presence in their daily lives. This circumstance, and the subject-specific interesting facets of the topic of sound, make this…

This article revisits the legacy of Ken Goodman, specifically his work on African American Language and reading. In this body of scholarship, Goodman and like-minded scholars entered a fray of competing interests, political agendas, and economic stakes, which continue to plague current debates about the teaching of reading. To make sense of…

Background: A well-developed proprioceptive system is essential for motor control, muscle tone and voluntary movements. Sound proprioceptive development of young children can positively influence their motor abilities, while adequate movement abilities consequently form a strong foundation for young children entering the formal school setting.…

Background: As school districts across the nation evaluate strategies and implement programs to reduce absenteeism, health-related interventions remain largely underutilized. This study provides the estimated cost of improving students' diet quality as a means to increase attendance. Then, it compares the costs and efficacy of improving diet…

The study presented here examines the determinants of primary school dropout while highlighting the role of household characteristics in Cameroon. Data were drawn from the fourth Cameroonian household survey conducted in 2014 (ECAM 4). The author uses an extended production function to estimate a "logit" model that puts forward the…