Public elementary schools throughout the nation have hired increased numbers of support staff, including literacy tutors, through federal Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief (ESSER) grant funding. Prior research on volunteer tutors and preservice teachers highlights the potential impact of tutoring on student learning outcomes. Yet…

Black and Latinx students, along with those in special education programs, are suspended and expelled at rates higher than their peers. Exclusionary discipline can lead to poor academic performance, high dropout rates, and incarceration. Restorative practices (RP) promote a positive school culture, reduce punitive discipline, and build strong…

The purpose of this dissertation-in-practice was to examine the perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs of K-5 elementary school teachers in a suburban Central Texas school on their use of blended learning in the classroom. Before conducting the study, previous research on blended learning was reviewed in the areas of student achievement, student…

There is a demand for more STEM professionals. Early elementary students' conceptions about engineering can influence whether or not they explore STEM career paths and ultimately select an engineering career. This study examined the conceptions elementary students have regarding the work that engineers perform. The research questions were the…

Developing computational thinking (CT) skills at an early age can help develop literacy, science, and mathematics skills; however, CT instruction in grades K-2 remains limited. This study examined the perceptions of 45 K-2 teachers from 30 school districts before and after a CT professional development (PD) experience. The PD included two online…

We examined the associations of cognitive skills, math-related emotions and beliefs, and gender with responses to an arithmetic fluency intervention. Elementary school children with dysfluent arithmetic skills (N=69) participated in an arithmetic fluency intervention (with and without self-efficacy support) implemented in small groups in schools…

We investigated the specificity of reading self-efficacy among second- to fifth-grade children in Finland (N = 1,327). Bandura (1997) theorized that efficacy beliefs can be assessed at different levels of specificity; however, empirical support for this view is scarce among young children. Efficacy beliefs targeting reading-related activities were…

This study sought to assess Turkish parents' motivational beliefs, including their role activity and self-efficacy beliefs about their involvement in young children's education. The impact of demographic characteristics on these motivational beliefs was also explored. Parents' motivational beliefs about their involvement were measured by using the…

In this study, an instrument, Using Mathematics in Science Self-efficacy Scale (UMSSS), was developed in order to determine preservice science teachers' self-efficacy toward the use of mathematics in their lessons. Data gathered from 250 preservice science teachers were used for Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis…

This study examined factors that predict a general education teacher's efficacy beliefs for instructing students with learning and behavior problems and whether a teacher's perceived efficacy has a stronger direct effect on reported success than other variables. One hundred twenty-eight second grade teachers completed a survey instrument designed…