Although the impact of non-cognitive factors, such as math anxiety, math test-taking anxiety, and attitudes toward mathematics, has been extensively studied, this area remains partially unexplored in the realm of national assessments. This research focuses on the analysis of the validity and reliability of an 11-item questionnaire introduced by…

The unprecedent times of the COVID-19 pandemic have had a relevant impact on schooling. In this context, identifying the features of effective and responsive teachers' professional development paths in the assessment domain has never been as critical as it is today. However, despite the widespread interest in teacher assessment literacy and…

Phonemic awareness refers to the ability to reflect on and process the sounds of spoken language and to conduct mental operations on the units that represent them, that is, phonemes. This study intended to examine the descriptive and psychometric properties of the phonemic awareness of schoolers test assessment (PASTA), a new tool that assesses…

The transition to distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic uncovered criticalities in the participation of students with special educational needs. The BESt-DaD project responded to these difficulties by developing a user-friendly online platform aimed at accommodating these students' neurocognitive profiles, ultimately promoting inclusion.…

Undergraduate teacher candidates participated in a faculty-led, short-term study abroad to Reggio Emilia in Italy to further their knowledge about the educational philosophy used within the school setting and for the purpose of examining how philosophy might be applied in school settings in the United States. The faculty-led, short-term study…

In this paper the results of a questionnaire about mathematics teachers' inclusion in their teaching of mathematical modelling and problem posing are presented. To make teachers able to choose a coherent teaching method for a mathematical topic, teachers' knowledge of valuable methods for the teaching of mathematics should be fostered. In this…

A major concern is how to tackle student smartphone addiction (SSA). First, however, analysis of the definition, causes, and consequences of SSA is necessary. There is a lack of consensus in this regard, and little research considers its multidisciplinary nature. This article first reviews the key literature across different disciplines. Based on…

Literature highlights how education in the twenty-first century begins to advocate multiple new concepts, such as new technology, new pedagogies, interdisciplinary curricula, open learning, etc. Among these concepts, the recognition and awareness about one's character strengths are demonstrated to improve emotional management and…

Introducing the distributivity property of multiplication over addition is a well-known challenge in mathematics education, especially in primary school. As a contribution, this paper presents the results of a cycle of design research that focuses on the design, implementation and evaluation of a modelling activity in which 2nd-grade students are…

The current study focuses on motor creativity in children by analyzing the factors related to teaching dance improvisation. A qualitative methodology is adopted to collect the expert dance instructors' conceptions of using dance improvisation in their teaching practice. Participants took part in semi-structured interviews that included questions…

It has been well documented that oral language skills are precursors of the development of written abilities, meaning that improving oral language skills, e.g. vocabulary, listening comprehension, could have positive effects reading comprehension. The main aim of the present study was to analyze the effect of a training program focused on four…

This paper focuses on difficulties that primary school students have in facing mathematical word problems. In particular, we are interested in exploring how they develop in the transition from grade 2 to grade 5. The research basis of the hypothesis is that some difficulties detected in grade 5 are already predictable in grade 2. Starting from the…

This paper investigates the validation of the computer-based listening subtest in the "Certificate of English for Primary Teachers" (CEPT), which is addressed to in-service primary teachers who work in state Italian schools. Since 2004, these teachers, specialists in other subjects, have been asked by the Italian Ministry of Education to…

The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) state of emergency has brought about a radical change in the way of teaching. In a questionnaire, we asked 120 teachers from Italian Primary, Middle and High Schools about the advantages and disadvantages of online teaching, the students' conduct during lessons and the methodologies applied to students with…

This study explores the main motives inspiring the choice of the teaching profession. To this end, a group of almost 400 Italian students enrolled in a training programme for pre-primary and primary school teachers was surveyed through questionnaires and discursive interviews on the main reasons for choosing a career as a teacher, and in…