This study examined the influence of tableau on the expressive language skills of three students with language-based learning disabilities in inclusive urban fourth-grade English language arts (ELA) classroom settings. Data were collected on linguistic productivity, specificity, and narrative cohesion through analysis of students' responses to…

Although students' motivational frameworks (entity vs. incremental) have been linked to academic achievement, little is known about how early this link emerges and how motivational frameworks develop in the first place. In a year-long study (student N = 424, Teacher N = 58), we found that, as early as 1st and 2nd grade, children who endorsed an…

This study examined parental involvement as a mediator of the academic performance of middle school students with special needs. The study built on the different types of parental involvement theorized by Epstein and colleagues (2002) and studied empirically by Fan and Chen (2001). Using a specially developed questionnaire, a sample of 82 parents…

The purpose of this phenomenological, qualitative study was to illuminate the lived, shared experiences of parents of gifted children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Thirteen parents were interviewed and the interviews were transcribed and qualitatively analyzed. This article specifically examines the parents' experiences navigating the…

Developed in 2003 by the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Canton with a grant from the Kellogg Foundation, "Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids" ("SPARK Ohio") is a family-centered kindergarten readiness program that works with families, schools, and the community. From its initial sites in Stark County, "SPARK…

The current study investigates associations among marital satisfaction, family emotional expressiveness, the home learning environment, and preschool-aged children's emergent literacy skills among 385 Midwestern mothers and their children. Path analyses examined how marital satisfaction related to emotional expressiveness in the home and whether…

Reading comprehension--the ability to understand the meaning of text--is a foundational ability that enables children to learn in school and throughout life. Children who struggle with reading comprehension in the third or fourth grade are at high risk for dropping out of school, with detrimental effects on their future employment, income, and…

This study is the first randomized study of the impacts of the vocabulary instruction program Kindergarten PAVEd for Success (K-PAVE) (Hamilton and Schwanenflugel 2011) on low-income students in kindergarten and grade 1. The study has two components. The first component is a test of the impacts of one year of the K-PAVE vocabulary instruction in…