Animal Assisted Interventions (AAI) have been shown to positively affect students' academic abilities as well as their overall behaviour and social skills. In typically developing students, dog-assisted reading programmes have improved reading skills and attitudes towards reading in addition to general behaviour. AAI programmes for special…

In this study, we explored Pre-K through 3rd-grade children's home learning environments and caregivers' perceptions, strategies, and attitudes regarding home learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants included 10 caregivers and their Pre-K through 3rd-grade children. Data were collected via caregiver and child interviews, and a caregiver…

This is an important time to catalyze hope about the environment instead of fear and despair. One such opportunity for hope lies in school garden programs. Most of the scant studies on these settings investigate the health/nutritional impacts, science learning potential, or emotional dispositions of students. However, few studies examine the…

We use the framework of institutional pluralism to provide new insights into a controversial process of market-based reform-school closures. School closure is a shock that highlights the dynamics and definitions of failure and surfaces values and meanings that might otherwise be hidden from consideration. Using qualitative data from a closing…

"Can we do math instead of watching the movie?"--Kindergartener. A student did ask that question. A whole class enthusiastically did math instead of watching the movie (Cardinale, 2019). Where? In a public school in Lodi, New Jersey, where kindergarteners learned how to think like mathematicians: in numbers, symbols, and patterns (DiLeo…

Recently, schools nationwide have expressed a renewed interest in school gardens, viewing them as innovative educational tools. Most of the scant studies on these settings investigate the health/nutritional impacts, science learning potential, or emotional dispositions of students. However, few studies examine the shifts in attitudes that occur…

Background: High volumes of school-based sedentary time may impact academic achievement and executive function negatively. This study evaluated a multimodal classroom program's (POWER) effect on fifth graders' physical activity (PA) and executive function. Methods: Six 5th grade classes (3 = intervention [POW]; 3 = waitlist control [CONT]) in 2…

The problem of bullying in schools cannot be overstated. Researchers have examined the problem of bullying in schools from a variety of perspectives and have found that bullying has serious short-and long-term effects not just for the victim but for the bully as well. A variety of interventions have been implemented, and research shows that the…

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…

This paper argues that narratives, specifically literature and memoir, offer a way to build empathy and understanding by moving readers to deeper levels of text interpretation and critique. The paper examines a new literacy framework, Life Histories, that uses talk, collaboration, writing, and performance to understand the complex relationships…

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA) of 2010 sets new nutrition standards for schools, requiring them to serve a greater variety and quantity of fruits and vegetables. Extension educators in New Jersey partnered with school nutrition professionals to implement a school wellness initiative that included taste-testing activities to support…

This article describes two research studies conducted on the linguistic modification of test items from K-12 content assessments. In the first study, 120 linguistically modified test items in mathematics and science taken by fourth and sixth graders were found to have a wide range of outcomes for English language learners (ELLs) and non-ELLs, with…

Purpose/Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of coordinated in-classroom education and taste-testing activities on fruit and vegetable acceptance in a state-wide sample of third through sixth grade children. Methods: Two taste-testing sessions were a part of six nutrition lessons that were implemented in nine elementary…

This study focused on students' responses toward an experimental instructional program called Flex-time that was offered in grades three through five in a Southeast NJ school district. The study aimed to determine: (1) if the Flex program motivated and/or engaged students to have a love for learning and (2) if characteristics, such as grade level,…

For any curriculum area that entails writing, digital storytelling could transform students' perceptions of and their actual abilities to express themselves through the written word. The use of two Web sites has helped the students of one school go from staring apprehensively at blank pages to eagerly publishing stories.