First, to examine the influence of teacher input characteristics and teacher perceptions of school culture on student absences. Second, to examine the influence of teacher input characteristics and teacher perceptions of school culture on out-of-school suspensions. Data was obtained for the 2006-2007 school year from 23 urban public elementary…

Children with significant behaviour problems are at risk for poor classroom adjustment and school failure. Given this likelihood for a poor developmental trajectory, there is a need to better understand environmental influences within classrooms that help to effectively socialize children to those settings. The current study evaluated the effects…

This study draws upon a qualitative case study to investigate the impact of the high-stakes test environment on an elementary teacher's identities and the influence of identity maintenance on science teaching. Drawing from social identity theory, I argue that we can gain deep insight into how and why urban elementary science teachers engage in…

Oral reading fluency, which includes the effortless and smooth oral production of text, is an essential part of deriving meaning from text. Fluency is a particularly important skill in upper elementary school grades when students are exposed to higher level reading materials. The authors evaluated the effects of a repeated readings intervention…

The purpose of this study was to comprehensively capture teachers' classroom experiences and establish what educational and psychological support would help them as they were trying to include learners from child-headed homes in their classrooms and schools. The sample of teachers from two different Gauteng districts included members from the…

The racial/ethnic populations in public schools have changed dramatically in recent years and will continue to shift to a majority non-White population. The National Center for Education Statistics (2010) reports 67.3% of the student population in urban districts is composed of students of color. Yet, the population of teachers in the United…

Studies of teacher satisfaction suggest that satisfaction is related to both the racial composition and the organizational structure of the schools in which teachers work. In this article, the authors draw from theories of race and organizations to examine simultaneously the effects of school type (traditional public vs. charter) and racial…

Literacy has been a crucial aspect of education as a human right for over 50 years, but this basic right remains unassured for at least 700 million adults worldwide. In 1999, UNESCO acknowledged that schools are not making the expected contribution to increasing national literacy rates or providing individuals with the literacy skills they need.…

Research about educational resilience provides a framework for understanding why some at risk children are successful in school, while others are not. It can inform and guide teachers as they strive to improve the odds of urban student achievement. This research, an instrumental multiple case study, gathered the experiences of three experienced…

The purpose of this mixed research design study was to examine how teachers in a large urban Midwestern district used Thinking Maps® with students in elementary school general education and special education classrooms. In addition, this study examined the use of Thinking Maps® with 30 urban elementary school males in two schools: one second…

Each year, the National Center for Educational Statistics, through the US Department of Education Institute of Educational Sciences, publishes information about the need for millions of new teachers in the USA. Many of these positions are in urban schools. What makes new teachers beat the odds and remain in challenging schools? This study…

This paper describes the results of a pilot study conducted in Ireland to examine the effectiveness of an online book review project. The project focused on the production of book reviews by primary school children in the form of digital video. The videos created were uploaded to a password protected website, which was available to the schools…

An Inquiry Learning Partnership (ILP) for professional development (PD) was formed between a university, science centre, and two urban school districts to offer 4-6th grade teachers specific science content and pedagogical techniques intended to integrate inquiry-based instruction in elementary classrooms. From pre/post content exams, PD surveys,…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the social studies teaching beliefs and the application of these beliefs into classroom practice of a group of elementary teachers who are part of a New York City alternative certification program. The teachers in this study are working in low performing New York City schools, are typically pursuing…

In this article, the author described the Poplar Street-Naledi pen pal project. The goals of this project were to provide elementary school students with a broader view of the world, to increase their social and cultural awareness, to develop content knowledge of where their pen pals live, and to determine the impact of this project on student…