Employing social constructivist theories and the concept of abjection from gender studies, this article examines how and why a group of low-income, USA-born Dominican and Puerto Rican middle-school boys constructed masculine identities by invoking and repudiating homosexuality. Ethnographic data from a 2.5-year study indicate that the abjection of…

Educational robotics involves using robots as an educational tool to provide a long term, and progressive learning activity, to cater to different age group. The current concern is that, using robots in education should not be an instance of a one-off project for the sole purpose of participating in a competitive event. Instead, it should be a…

This study explored and documented students' responses to opportunities for collective knowledge building and collaboration in a problem-solving process within complex environmental challenges and pressing issues with various dimensions of knowledge and skills. Middle-school students ("n" =?16; age 14) and high-school students…

This research examines secondary mathematics teachers' use of textbook curriculum materials within "typical" cycles of planning and teaching in a school year. The curriculum use of four teachers from the western US was examined before and after engagement in a form of professional development focused on more purposeful and flexible…

Past research on parentification suggests that adopting adult responsibilities to the point at which the child plays a parental role places children at risk for poor mental and behavioral health outcomes. Since family relations are particularly important in Mexican culture, two hypotheses were posed to examine the indirect effects of…

Universal screening is a promising approach for identifying students at risk for behavioral and emotional problems. Due to the frequent adolescent onset of behavioral and emotional problems, middle school is an important time for early identification. This study explored the ability of the Behavioral and Emotional Screening System (BESS) to…

Childhood obesity is emerging as a considerable public health problem with no clear antidote. The school food environment is a potential intervention point for policy makers, with competitive food and beverage regulation as a possible policy lever. This research examines the link between competitive food and beverage availability in school and…

Project Lead The Way (PLTW), which aims to create a seamless pathway from secondary education to college and career success in STEM fields, was first implemented in the state of Iowa in 2005. As a part of a statewide, longitudinal research in PLTW, this study explores the effectiveness of PLTW in college persistence by analyzing multiple data…

Students with language-based learning disabilities demonstrate learning challenges that must be addressed to enable them to succeed academically. Some of these students have difficulty with the process of organizing their thoughts about information acquired and expressing them in the form of an explanation, both of which are critical to effective…

Children from the United States score poorly on international math tests compared to their cohorts in other countries. These gaps grow as students enter high school and develop a dislike and fear of mathematics, suggesting the need to improve mathematics education in middle school. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of reading…

This study examines the relationship between delivery models (the class size reduction model and the sheltered instruction model) and language development levels on the grade-level reading development of sixth-grade English learners (ELs) attending public middle schools in metro Atlanta, Georgia. The instrument used to measure grade-level mastery…

This qualitative case study examined how middle school science teachers conducted collaborative inquiry and reflection about students' conceptual understanding, and how individual teachers in the middle school science group acted and made reflections in response to their collaborative inquiry. It also examined external influences that affected the…

The purpose of this study is to report the lived experiences of seventh and eighth grade students experiencing Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) in middle school. Although there is increasing popularity in the use of the PBIS system in schools throughout the country, there is little known about students' perceptions of the…

No Child Left Behind legislation and high stakes testing have increased the pressure for public schools to ensure academic achievement for all students. Each year, a large number of students do not demonstrate adequate achievement and are retained to repeat the grade level. The large number of students retained is an indication that the system…

Social return on investment (SROI) offers a new strategy to measure and communicate the value of outcomes achieved by programs that provide social, health, and education services to children and their families. It can be a powerful tool for demonstrating the monetary value of programs and services and for communicating that value in a way that can…