School choice policies seek to increase access to educational opportunities and stimulate innovations in schooling. This study examines the early stages of one such innovation--school-wide curricular specialization--in three Catholic elementary schools adopting a STEM focus and uses interviews to consider how and why different levels of support…

Today's society has begun to focus on promoting positive student outcomes beyond academic proficiencies. In recent years, Social Emotional Learning (SEL) has gradually gained a positive reputation in the educational community which has led many schools to implement SEL programs. Though adopting an SEL program seems like the answer to promoting…

Although nature-based learning (NBL) contributes to the development of students, its inclusion in elementary schools is inconsistent. Researchers have established the benefits of nature to learning and child development, yet there is a gap in the literature on elementary administrators' perspectives of and experiences with NBL. The purpose of this…

The study presented here examines the determinants of primary school dropout while highlighting the role of household characteristics in Cameroon. Data were drawn from the fourth Cameroonian household survey conducted in 2014 (ECAM 4). The author uses an extended production function to estimate a "logit" model that puts forward the…

It is investigated if the mental computation strategies in the research literature are enough to satisfactorily categorize the mental computation strategy use by preservice elementary teachers in multiplication on one- and two-digit natural numbers. The preservice elementary teachers use of mental computation strategies is measured operationally…

Digital technology is used in elementary classrooms; however, there is a gap in practice regarding elementary school teachers' perceptions of integration of digital technology into the instructional curriculum in the study district. The problem that was addressed through this study was elementary school teachers are reporting challenges with the…

In this paper, we explore the following research questions: How do first-grade students define even and odd numbers? What types of justifications do they use to support their generalizations using these definitions? We report the ways in which first-grade students define even and odd numbers and how they justify generalizations that use their…

Outdoor adventure learning not only meets National Physical Education Standards but also has received accolades for its ability to cognitively engage students of all ages. The inclusion of outdoor pursuits and recreational activities has been shown to benefit students physically, socially and emotionally. Yet, few resources exist for physical…

Vocabulary knowledge plays a critical role in supporting text comprehension and broader learning across the school day. While school offers opportunities to build vocabulary knowledge, studies have shown that very little time is devoted to vocabulary instruction at the elementary level. This may be, in part, because educators commonly report being…

One strategy for developing science literacy and scientific literacy in young children is through published trade books. To better understand how science literacy and scientific literacy may be represented in elementary classrooms, we investigated children's books that explore science concepts. Specifically, we examined high-quality science trade…

This article aims to share part of some middle-term research focused on Argentinian school bathrooms. Bathrooms in Argentina emerged around 1850 and have been present - with nuances - in public and domestic buildings since the last third of the nineteenth century. Particularly, primary-school bathroom history is marked by two facts. First, these…

Educational robotics, as emerging technologies, have been widely applied in the field of STEM education to enhance the instructional and learning quality. Although previous research has highlighted potentials of applying educational robotics in STEM education, there is a lack of empirical evidence to investigate and understand the overall effects…

Science teacher education literature has emphasized the importance of prospective teachers' prior knowledge of their K-12 experiences as a key factor influencing their professional development as future science teachers. The purpose of the study was to identify the teaching practices in prospective teachers' prior knowledge of science instruction…

Existing research on the education of refugee children has been conducted in countries with a longstanding tradition of refugee integration. The aim of this study was to gain insight into the integration process of refugee children in Croatian schools. Croatia is a small EU country with limited experience in refugee integration. The…

This transcendental phenomenological dissertation is a study that examined culturally responsive teaching perceptions and self-efficacy among elementary school teachers and whether or not teacher race impacted those individual perceptions and beliefs of self-efficacy. Data were gathered through a qualitative approach with the use of one-to-one…