Background: Interventions to promote health have been implemented in some urban settings. However, school-based health promotion interventions in at-risk urban schools have not been thoroughly investigated. Objective: This article investigates teachers' perceptions regarding health promotion interventions with the main goal of establishing social…

In early childhood classrooms, increased pressures to prioritize literacy acquisition skills have shifted learning environments from more open-ended and exploratory to regulatory in nature particularly in the field of literacy. Despite that research suggests the important role of exploratory and agentic literacy practices, the field is…

This qualitative study explored the functions of schools as described by parents of students whose second and third grade school year was disrupted by initial COVID-19 related school closures in the spring of 2020. Current literature expresses five overarching functions of schools--socialization, knowledge, future success, citizenship, and…

In the realm of elementary education, the influence of teacher empathy on Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) remains a critical yet nuanced aspect. This qualitative study explores the integral role of teacher empathy in shaping SEL environments in K-5 classrooms. Teacher empathy, defined as the capacity to perceive situations from students'…

In this report, a comprehensive description is given of how an Austin Independent School District (AISD) 2nd-grade teacher, Mrs. Theresa Wood, integrated a drama-based Creative Teaching strategy into her guided reading lesson. This Creative Teaching strategy, called hot seating, involves students interviewing characters from the story they have…

The goal of the current study was to gain insight into what elements encompass business-as-usual (BAU) reading instruction and to what extent BAU reading instruction includes elements that have been found to positively impact reading competence. In addition, we examined whether and how these evidence-based elements are incorporated and how they…

The goal of this longitudinal study was to examine developmental trajectories of emotional school engagement among Chinese elementary school children. In addition, we sought to explore the role of early peer relationships and academic achievement as predictors of these trajectories. Participants at the outset of the study were N =…

Responding to concerns that play is at risk in the early years of education, this article investigates teachers' current use of play in language and literacy instruction in Grade 1 and 2 Alberta classrooms. It addresses what teachers say they need to make play part of school-based language and literacy education. Survey findings show a recognition…

In an era of increasing demand for accessible, quality, and equitable education for all children and increased responsibilities for teachers and educators, inclusive education must be resourced adequately. This article reports on the qualitative findings from a multiple case study of support resources perceived to enhance teachers' efficacy in…

Analysis of assessment data from an initial pool of second-grade students (n = 4549) in low-income rural communities and a subgroup of students identified from that pool for gifted services (n = 524) provided evidence for the validity of a curricular-aligned process including universal screening and local norms for identifying rural students in…

The study uses data from five assessment points for reading and maths. It focuses on a constant sample of students, all of whom completed a Rising Stars assessment in 2019 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The study also administered three teacher surveys: the first focused on the initial period of lockdown, the second focused on the autumn 2020…

The purpose of this study was to explore the multifaceted leadership role an effective principal assumed in the deployment of evidence-based literacy practices in her school. We conducted a mixed methods case study integrating the lived experiences of 11 school staff (principal, learning support teacher, and classroom teachers) with the reading…

Purpose: We investigated the role of spoken language in the acquisition of literacy in the context of Arabic diglossia, where the written language, Standard Arabic, deviates substantially from the spoken language, Colloquial Arabic, children acquire naturally from birth. Method: The participants (N = 110; 40 girls) were Saudi Arabic--speaking…

This study investigates the potential of integrating social studies instruction with critical literacy practices to challenge and/or expand elementary students' perceptions of gender. Gender stereotypes develop early in childhood and are often reinforced throughout elementary education. Thus, this study examines the use of a framework for social…

The aim of this qualitative study was to examine home literacy environment (HLE) and how this environment affects the way parental responded to their children's oral miscues during shared reading. In addition, parental behavior-specifically corrective feedback as it relates to children's perceptions of reading in terms of their reading attitudes…