Punitive disciplinary approaches have been used for decades in primary grades with little improvement in behavior and negative impacts on classroom climate. This qualitative case study explored the perspectives of administrators and educators implementing restorative practice (RP) with fidelity in the primary grades of urban public elementary…

This study explored the influences that five minutes of daily mindfulness activities had on third-grade students in a math and science classroom, as well as both student and teacher perceptions of the mindfulness activities. The researcher implemented five minutes of a mindfulness activity daily during a three-week period. Data collection methods…

Studies show that despite many programs with intentions to create a positive and inclusive learning environment, bullying and exclusion is still a challenge. This article investigates the following: (a) What challenges are there in the psychosocial learning environment in primary school, from a student perspective, and (b) what strategies can…

Stability balls have become a common option for alternative seating in classrooms. While the social validity of stability ball classroom seating remains high among students and teachers, findings on the effectiveness of this alternative seating method are mixed. This is particularly true when the intent of the intervention is to increase student…

School-related sedentary behaviors are associated with adverse health outcomes and poor academic achievement of elementary students. Dynamic seats, where chairs allow movement, are an intervention that increases physical activity without interrupting academic instruction. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore teachers'…

The assumption that multi-grade learning enhances and sustains positive self-concept is widespread, although neither theory nor empirics have yet allowed for firm conclusions. This paper reports on a representative longitudinal study of multi-grade learning in grades 3 and 4 comparing the development of students' self-concept in reading in…

Elasticity, the capacity for students to explore or investigate their own questions of interest during or after teacher-directed events in the classroom, is highly beneficial for students in terms of their retention and deeper understanding of the content. An elastic environment is child-centered and inquiry-based. An inelastic environment…

The current study examined the effects the tootling intervention on classwide levels of academically engaged behavior (AEB) and disruptive behavior (DB) by comparing traditional tootling to a formalized tootling card intervention and an interdependent group contingency control condition. The intervention used an alternating treatment design within…

Purpose: The purpose of this project is to assess the acoustical conditions in which optimal intelligibility and low listening difficulty can be achieved in real classrooms for elementary students, taking into consideration the effects of dysphonic voice and typical classroom noise. Method: Speech intelligibility tests were performed in six…

Numerous studies have illustrated that participation in occupations--defined as meaningful life activities--is essential to wellness (AOTA, 2014). Social interaction is an important area of occupational participation for children in their roles as students (AOTA, 2014). Classroom design can impact student social participation; however, there is a…

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to investigate primary teachers' perspectives about whole-class read-alouds with diverse children's literature (DCL) and their practices for implementing and conducting them. This multiple and instrumental case study drew from critical sociocultural perspectives. Five primary teachers (grades K-3)…

Methods to transcribe and represent classroom video data are central to studying teaching and learning in classrooms. However, current methods focus on encoding and representing data over time, not space. In this paper, we demonstrate the value of a new methodological approach called interaction geography to transcribe and interactively visualize…

In the fall of 2020, many students and educators returned to school in person, despite the threat of the COVID-19 virus. Though safety measures such as masks and social distancing were put in place, educators remained concerned for their students' health, well-being, and academic attainment. The current study examined teacher concern for students'…

In this paper we identify, name, and operationalize six borders typically found in school settings that include dual language classrooms: bordered languages, knowledge, content areas, bodies, selves, and teachers. We identify these borders as a point of departure to show an example of how a two-way dual language classroom operated through a form…

Teacher self-efficacy (TSE) is assumed to affect classroom environment, although empirical evidence for this assumption is still elusive. This study examines the relationship between TSE in behaviour management and classroom behavioural climate using a two-level cross-lagged model. TSE in behaviour management was assessed with six-item subscale of…