For over a century, teacher preparation programs (TPPs) have experienced peaks and valleys in preparing preservice teachers to deliver technology and engineering (TE) experiences in elementary classrooms. Calls to integrate engineering concepts into elementary education (Katehi, Pearson, & Feder, 2009; Kimmel, Carpinelli, Curr-Alexander, &…

Research concerning men working in predominantly female environments has suggested that stereotyping can occur when gender norms are violated, such as men teaching at the elementary school level. The present study investigated the presence and perspectives of male elementary school music teachers in specific geographical regions of the…

This case study focuses on one primarily Latino public primary school in New Jersey that waived the state's bilingual education requirement and implemented a curricular alternative, comprised of bilingual and monolingual English classrooms. A corpus was generated from one-to-one interviews (N = 8) with administrators and teachers, as well as…

The most prevalent model of Catholic schools has always been and remains the parish elementary school. Catholic schools are not simply private schools but a faith based arm of a larger parish. The interconnected leadership of schools by pastors and principals is at the core of understanding the model and inseparable in long-term viability. The…

This study addressed the gap in practice of instructional literacy, as evidenced by below-proficient literacy status by subgroups of regular education students in Grades 3-5 in an affluent suburban New Jersey public school district. The purpose of this qualitative grounded theory investigation, approached from an interpretive constructivist…

This paper examines how pre-service teachers were able to explore their own beliefs and build meaningful relationships with elementary school students in an after-school context. After school programs provide an opportunity for teachers and students to get to know one another in a way that is not typically possible during the regular school day.…

In this paper, we report findings from the second year of a three-year research and professional development program designed to help elementary school teachers engage in dialogic teaching to support the development of students' argument literacy. We define argument literacy as the ability to comprehend and formulate arguments through speaking,…

While some African American students perform as well as or better than their White peers on standardized tests, African Americans as a group attain lower scores on standardized tests than their White peers. This phenomenon has been addressed extensively in educational research. However, not much empirical research has been conducted to investigate…

The authors examined the testimonials of 60 elementary school students about their experience during class discussions of assigned readings. They randomly assigned 12 classrooms to 2 treatments: Philosophy for Children (P4C) and Regular Instruction. P4C is an alternative educational environment that places dialogue at the center of its pedagogy.…

This study examined the success of five elementary schools in their implementation of the 2011 New Jersey Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying law (NJ HIB law). It also explored stakeholders' perceptions of school climate since the law went into effect. Fourth and fifth grade parents, students, teachers, and counselors in the district's five…

Purpose/Objectives: The U.S. Department of Agriculture provides funding to elementary schools for the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) to encourage healthy eating. The purpose of this study was to examine factors facilitating or challenging the program's successful implementation in one New Jersey school. Methods: Researchers conducted an…

The major focus of this paper is a gender-based analysis of school superintendent decision-making and problem-solving as well as an investigation of contemporary leadership dilemmas. The findings are based on responses from 258 superintendents of K-12 school districts in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania collected over a…

The dissertation examines the founding and first ten years of operation of Ridge and Valley Charter School, Blairstown, New Jersey, a kindergarten through eighth grade public charter school committed to ecological literacy and sustainability: "education for a hopeful sustainable future." Within the context of the establishment and…

The role of the parent in a child's reading development requires consistent communication with educators about the child's individual needs and progress. National concern for declining reading scores throughout the country begins in the early childhood educational setting. This study, designed as an action research, explored one-way and two-way…

Recent research in language education policy (LEP) refocuses attention from the role of governments to local stakeholders that shape LEP. However, little attention has been given to teacher agency in LEP implementation for early foreign language (FL) education in the United States. This pilot study considers the role of foreign language elementary…