This paper is based on my recent experiences as a classroom teacher in Coconut Island State School on Poruma (Coconut Island), a Torres Strait primary school, and discusses best practice in explicitly instructing Islander students in Standard Australian English grammar. I argue for a variety of approaches, informed by a careful consideration of…

Argues that limited English speaking minority students can succeed in a classroom where only English is spoken. Presents strategies for effective culturally based instruction designed to reduce the effects of culture conflict and improve opportunities for academic success. (FMW)

Analysis of the problems of French-speaking Ontarian minority students suggests that they are able to build on the different communicative resources they bring to the task to jointly or variably address multiple embedded discourse and task and social functions, thereby extending their use and awareness of language. (Author/BJV)

First-language acquisition of Turkish 4- to 8-year-olds in a Dutch submersion environment in the Netherlands was studied. Investigation of the development of lexical, morphosyntactic, and pragmatic abilities and comparison with children in Turkey suggested that the acquisition of first-language skills by Turkish children in the Netherlands is…

Oklahoma is one of three states to offer a free prekindergarten (pre-K) program to all students in participating school districts on a voluntary basis. Fortuitous circumstances in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the state's largest school district, permitted an unusually rigorous evaluation of the pre-K program in Tulsa. Because 4-year-olds beginning pre-K and…

Although there has been great concern about the incidence of bullying in American schools, there has only recently been research conducted in American schools on this problem. This volume considers the difficulties involved in various definitions of bullying, theoretical perspectives on bullying, current clinical research findings on the dynamics…

The paper analyzes the dialogical interaction between a group of third graders and their teacher in one classroom episode. The semiotic and cognitive activity of the dialogical interaction is considered to be an "interpreting game". The episode exemplifies how in dialogical interaction the back-and-forth loops of interpretation, intention, and…

This action research project implemented and evaluated an intervention for increasing student engagement in learning to improve academic success. The targeted population consisted of students in four separate schools: pre-kindergarten and eighth graders in a large metropolitan area and fifth and eighth graders in a rural community. The lack of…

A study evaluated the Early Literacy program that served 2,021 underachieving pupils in grades 1 (1600) and 2 (421) in the Columbus, Ohio, public schools. The purpose of the Early Literacy program was to provide early intervention to underachieving first- and second-grade pupils who appeared unlikely to learn to read successfully without reading…

A study evaluated the Title I Early Literacy program that served 1,503 underachieving pupils in grades 1 (1,169) and 2 (334) in the Columbus, Ohio, public schools. The purpose of the Early Literacy program was to provide early intervention to underachieving first- and second-grade pupils who appeared unlikely to learn to read successfully without…

This study surveyed 847 fourth- through eighth-graders and 134 teachers in 10 Toronto elementary schools to determine their attitudes toward school climate and conflict resolution. It found that most questionnaire items regarding self perception, teacher-student relationships, students' general behaviors, the schools' conflict resolution programs,…

This study explores two linguistically alternative options--English and Japanese--available to children from bilingual homes, some of which are immigrant families. To measure each child's bilingual verbal ability, the Bilingual Verbal Ability Tests (BVAT) were administered. Interviews with bilingual children's mothers were conducted. The results…

This book highlights one school district's attempt to desegregate its schools according to socioeconomic status, focusing on a study of 10 fourth-grade classrooms. The study uncovered the ways that teachers' leadership styles, tasks, and reward structures affected students' peer relations. The 9 chapters focus on: (1) "Socioeconomic Desegregation…

This paper describes the collaborative activities among preservice and inservice personnel at a Professional Development School (PDS). Data was gathered from approximately 250 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students to assess measures of depression, attitude toward school, social functioning, and attributions. Relationships among these variables were…

This study investigated the relationship of language learning strategies use and self-efficacy of French, Japanese, and Spanish elementary immersion students. Previous and concurrent research conducted by the National Capital Language Resource Center (NCLRC) indicated that secondary level language students show positive correlations between the…