With a change in access to information and a rising social and political consciousness for young people, elementary schools must start to think more about their role in shaping kids' understanding of social issues. While researchers certainly have not agreed upon a single definition of social justice education, Bell (2016) defines its aim as…

Teaching that supports children in scientific sensemaking emphasizes discourse that prioritizes children's ideas and supports children in engaging in disciplinary practices. However, supporting science talk requires skillful instruction, and without support, teachers may find it challenging to engage our youngest students in rich discussions. In…

Previous research has established long-term benefits for children's successful transition to kindergarten. Yet a majority of the research focuses on teacher and school practices that occur before the first day of school, and less is known about instructional practices teachers use to build community and establish procedures at the beginning of the…

This dissertation investigated the impact of two different coaching models on student achievement. The data collected was IREAD-3, Indiana's third-grade proficiency assessment tool, and Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) assessment data, a formative assessment measuring student growth over time. The study encompassed 13 elementary schools in…

Policy efforts in mathematics have focused on increasing teachers' mathematics content knowledge (MCK), with the goal of increasing teacher quality and in turn increasing student mathematics learning. An alternative approach to increasing student mathematics achievement is to investigate curricula that can be effectively used by teachers with a…

This study examined a professional development (PD) intervention that provided kindergarten-through third-grade teachers with drama-based pedagogy to improve student reading achievement. The PD consisted of collaboration between teaching artists and teachers to integrate drama into English language arts instruction for a school year. Twenty-six…

This mixed-method study examined the balance of narrative and informational text instruction in alignment with Common Core State Standards (CCSS), and teachers' professional learning opportunities in elementary classrooms. Surveys were sent to teachers in one midwestern state, and audio recordings of literacy instruction were collected in one…

An upward national trend in challenging behaviour amongst young children in Australian schools has prompted widespread concern and garnered frequent media scrutiny. Scholars have established that child-teacher relationships are central to understanding and mitigating challenging behaviour; however, exploration of teacher perceptions of children's…

Preservice elementary teachers are faced with the daunting task of learning enough about every subject to support their students' development of foundational ideas. Teacher preparation programs and professional development providers therefore have the challenge of supporting those preservice and in-service teachers by providing content and methods…

Background: Much has been made of whether the evidence supporting mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) is consistent or high-quality enough to merit their wide implementation, and numerous meta-analyses, reviews, and meta-analyses of meta-analyses have been conducted in pursuit of this question (e.g., Bockmann & Yu, 2023; Goldberg et al.,…

This qualitative study examined the inclusive strategies in language teaching that teachers (ties) employed to cater to the different linguistic backgrounds (tongues) of the primary learners in the Philippines. It also explored the effects of these inclusive strategies on the pupils' learning. Five teachers teaching in a classroom with…

Low mathematics achievement in the United States has led to a push to increase the quality of mathematics instruction. Policy efforts in mathematics have typically focused on increasing teachers' mathematical content knowledge (MCK), with the goal of increasing teacher quality, and in turn increasing student mathematics learning. While research…

Relating faith and learning is central to Christian education, but few large studies have examined how grade-school teachers understand this task. Witwer previously reported Likert-type data from 1059 teachers in Christian elementary and secondary schools. The present paper reports findings from 2356 open responses by 655 of those teachers.…

This dissertation explores strengths-based approaches to literacy development with social-emotional assets. A mixed-methods study was used to conceptualize, design, and investigate the practical need for an instrument kindergarten through second-grade teachers could use to identify students' social-emotional assets for literacy independence in…

Students succeed in school environments that support them in demonstrating prosocial and positive behavior. Student behaviors that disrupt or distract from classroom instruction can result in fewer learning opportunities for students and decreased likelihood of academic success. Behavioral interventions can help students engage in positive…