Teachers hold the key to school reform. Professional learning communities--as well as other related strategies, including collaborative and distributive models of leadership--offer much that is promising. Yet, weaknesses documented in research require attention. We conducted a study of teachers in two elementary schools identified as exemplary…

To better understand key physical education program factors and policies that may affect Texas students' physical fitness, a 39-question survey, administered as part of the Texas Youth Fitness Study (TYFS), was sent to 5,651 Texas schools via e-mail. The survey consisted of five sections: (a) demographics, (b) physical education/recess frequency…

When institutional testing is done well, there are many potential benefits; however, it is not without its negatives. The Texas Youth Evaluation Project (TYEP) is an example of large scale institutional testing that yielded more than a few benefits. However, results reported some problems as well. Much has been learned from the TYEP, including…

External diagnosis is recommended when schools lack the capacity to assess their needs. This qualitative study of one Ontario district compared 33 elementary schools that conducted external diagnosis with 47 schools that used internal diagnosis. External diagnosis created pressure for change, helped schools develop a plan that included previously…

This study aims to examine the advantages and disadvantages of one type of TEFL materials, English language textbook "Spot On", used in state primary schools in Turkey. Sample of the research consists of 46 English teachers chosen randomly from state primary schools in Malatya and Adiyaman city centres. A five-likert type scale was used…

The purpose of this study is to develop and validate the structural validity and reliability of a student's behaviors' self-evaluation scale (SBSS) in the physical education class. The SBSS was created in order to evaluate the effect of a physical education program in the context of the multicultural composition of the student population in the…

The authors compared the characteristics of early elementary age students educated in either rural or suburban schools who were identified as showing soft signs of emotional or behavioral disorders according to systematic screening procedures. The authors followed 134 kindergarten, first grade, and second grade students identified by these…

Books have long been used by teachers to explore issues whose understanding is considered crucial to students' educational experience. Social studies teachers in middle and high school often rely on poignant stories to teach historical moments that are difficult for students to grasp. More recently, educators and medical health professionals have…

While it is important to nurture creativity in young children, it is popularly associated more with the arts than the sciences. This paper reports on a series of studies designed to explore teachers' conceptions of creative thinking in primary school science. Study #1 examines pre-service primary teachers' ideas of what constitutes creativity in…

The purpose of this study is to reveal the opinions of teachers on using the mind mapping technique in Life Science and Social Studies lessons. The participants of the study are 20 primary education teachers. In this study, a semi-structured interview technique was used. For content analysis, the themes and codes were defined, based on the views…

This study is considered to be significant in objectively analyzing the negative-positive effects of the program during the process of learning, teacher's acquaintance to the new program in a closer way and acquiring a positive perspective of the program. This study has been conducted in order to discover the effects of 2005-2006 academic year…

The purpose of this study is to measure the effect of project-based learning that is used in visual arts course on students' academic success and permanence. The research was applied to students of Hasan Ali Yucel Primary School in the city of Trabzon during the fall semester of 2007-2008 academic year. Among the sample that had been selected…

Perceived social support and organizational trust have gained importance in organizational life along with the human relationship among organizations. While social support concept has been accepted as the support obtained from individual's surroundings, organizational trust is defined as the result of consistent behaviors based on mutual respect…

Fluent oral reading is essential for success in elementary school. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of enhanced reading fluency instruction for struggling readers. In a response-to-intervention context, the effort represented a primary intervention available to all students but provided only to those judged likely to need…

Many authors regard education as a way of increasing civility in society, and some have implemented interventions to improve civility in schools. However, very little empirical data exist on the extent and nature of students' civil behavior. The present study systematically gathered data from 251 school professionals regarding their perceptions of…