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…

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'…

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…

This exploratory case study examined the kinds of activity that a 'deskless school" (i.e., flexible physical school spaces) engenders among pupils and teachers. We also considered the meaning and significance that pupils and teachers attach to various features of the school, as well as the associated action possibilities. The data were…

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)…

As teachers gain experience, their assessment knowledge base, personal beliefs, and the educational context come together to shape their identity as an assessor. This study sought to add to the body of research by highlighting and describing, through the lens of the teacher, how beliefs and context influence teachers' assessment literacy in…

The current evidence base for outdoor and nature-based education in a context of education for sustainability is limited and unrepresentative of the realities of small, urban schools, which tend to be characterised by small outdoor spaces devoid of nature. To address this research gap, we carried out two studies in Malta, as an example of a…

This study investigates the effectiveness of a digital game--GraphoLearn (GL)--in supporting second-grade students who have persistent difficulties with acquiring accurate and fluent reading skills. The participants (N = 37) were randomly assigned either to a 6-week intervention including sessions with GL, in addition to school-provided support,…

During the COVID-19 pandemic, K-5 teachers and students rapidly transitioned to an online learning modality. Both the swift conversion and lack of preexisting research left educators and families underprepared for fostering virtual interaction and learning. The purpose of this study was to examine the nature of K-5 online student collaboration,…

As the popularity of growth and fixed mindset in education grows, there is an increasing need to investigate how mindset is actually portrayed in the classroom, especially from the students' perspectives. This dissertation proposal aims to build upon the research conducted in the previous phase of the study. The research component study revealed a…

The problem addressed in the study is the significant numbers of elementary school students who fail to demonstrate proficiency in reading/language arts as determined by the Georgia Milestones English Language Arts Test. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to investigate teachers' perceptions of effective research-based parental…

In the realm of elementary education, the influence of teacher empathy on Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) remains a critical yet nuanced aspect. This qualitative study explores the integral role of teacher empathy in shaping SEL environments in K-5 classrooms. Teacher empathy, defined as the capacity to perceive situations from students'…

This quasi-experimental, mixed methods study explored student perceptions of class climate before and after implementation of a two-week social and emotional learning (SEL) intervention in elementary classrooms in Japan. The sample consisted of 131 second and third grade students. A one-time SEL lesson focusing on offering kind words to peers was…

Family separation policies' impacts on children's education are one of the critical issues of our time. In this article, I draw on ethnographic data collected over two years in one Northeastern town in the United States. More than fifty im/migrant children were observed inside kindergarten, first and second grade classrooms. For this article, I…

Although teachers' use of quality teacher-student interactions is important for the academic and social development of their students, these types of interactions are not used consistently by teachers in early childhood classrooms. This study was used to explore the education of the classroom teacher as a potential reason for this inconsistency.…