This ethnographic study examines kindergarten teachers' perceptions and practices of "school readiness" in kindergartens in low-SES settings in northern Israel, with the aim of illuminating the ways in which global educational ideas are appropriated by teachers in their daily work. Data collection included participant observation,…

This article critically examines the prevalent belief within music education that "music is for all," highlighting the incongruence between educators' intentions and students' lived experiences. Drawing on personal positionality and scholarly orientation, the author explores how music teachers may unintentionally disaffirm students'…

The purpose of this qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of teachers in kindergarten through first grade utilizing digital technologies to engage elementary students during mathematics instruction. This phenomenological study was guided by the following research questions. (1) How do elementary…

Children learn language through participating in language-rich activities such as book reading. This longitudinal qualitative study explored the perception of 11 teachers and 78 kindergartners regarding children's participation in book-reading in order to understand how it is experienced by those most involved in this activity. Each participant…

Being continual and future-oriented in all its levels, the field of education is turning towards a student-centered approach. One of the trends to investigate in lifelong learners who keep pace with the fast and unpredictable changing world is enhancing self-directed learning which is considered to be one of the most prominent phenomena for the…

Tempe PRE was designed as a high-quality preschool program to create more opportunity for children in Tempe. In the 2021-2022 school year, NORC at the University of Chicago conducted an evaluation of Tempe PRE to understand how the program was being implemented and its effects on children and families. They also collected students' outcome data…

We present an exploratory study on the use of ontologies for student assessment during a focus group with teachers in student-centred learning environments. The work is framed by a theoretical argument about coherence between instructional values and assessment systems, and how this may be achieved through a "community of judgment" with…

This study aimed to explore the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of preschool teachers. This multiple case study was conducted with the participation of two preschool teachers. In this way, two preschool teachers' PCK about science teaching was examined, and it was attempted to determine the underlying causes of their pedagogical…

The English Language Learner (ELL) population continues to steadily grow. While most research focuses on preservice or novice teachers' perceptions of their preparedness to instruct ELLs, there have been very limited studies focusing on veteran elementary teachers. The purpose of this qualitative multicase study was to explore veteran elementary…

The present study aims to investigate perceptions of kindergarten administrators, preschool teachers, prospective preschool teachers and parents on the characteristics of a good preschool teacher. The phenomenology was used in the study as a qualitative research design. 11 kindergarten administrators working in kindergartens in a city center…

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on education. Science teaching, in particular, has faced specific challenges given the field's emphasis on high-quality instruction that has students "do" science collaboratively rather than just read about it or hear about it in a lecture. This brief provides: (1) a summary of data collected…

Personalized learning (PL) has been internationally promoted as a future direction of educational reform efforts. While there is growing evidence of PL enhancing learning outcomes, teachers reported having difficulty envisioning PL in practice. This national survey study investigated how PL is practiced in K-12 learner-centered schools in the U.S.…

This study investigates the impacts of a year-long professional development program on Kindergarten teachers' beliefs and practices and the association of these changes with student achievement in mathematics measured by curriculum-based instruments. Although teacher content knowledge was not statistically significantly different before and after…

This study examines the influence of a year-long mathematics professional development program on Kindergarten teachers' beliefs, content knowledge, instructional practices, and their students' achievement. The professional development program is grounded in the theoretical construct of learner-centered professional development and focuses on…

In 2010, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the Kindergarten Readiness Act into law. The law changed the kindergarten entry cutoff so that children must turn five by September 1 to enter kindergarten. The law also established a new grade level--Transitional Kindergarten (TK)--which is the first year of a two-year kindergarten experience for…