Over the years, teachers have looked for the best way to teach their students to read. There are those who believe that teaching sight words is the best way to teach while others believe that a foundation in phonics instruction is a must. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect that phonics instruction has on the oral reading fluency…

This mixed methods study examined an association between cognitive types of teachers' mathematical content knowledge and students' performance in lower secondary schools (grades 5 through 9). Teachers (N = 90) completed the Teacher Content Knowledge Survey (TCKS), which consisted of items measuring different cognitive types of teacher knowledge.…

In this study, methodology and theory were linked to explicate the nature of education practice within schools facing exceptionally challenging circumstances (SFECC) in Trinidad and Tobago. The research design was an iterative quan>QUAL-quan>qual multi-method research programme, consisting of 3 independent projects linked together by overall…

Continuity and change in children's involvement in bullying was examined across the transition to middle school in relation to externalizing and internalizing behavior problems in fifth grade and peer affiliations in fifth and sixth grades. The sample consisted of 533 students (223 boys, 310 girls) with 72% European American, 25% African American,…

As part of state transitions to college- and career-ready (CCR) standards, including the Common Core State Standards in more than 40 states (NGA & CCSSO, 2010), states are for the first time administering new summative assessments aligned to those standards and aiming for a higher bar in assessment quality. For a majority of states, this means…

Though research has validated a link between principal leadership and student achievement, questions remain regarding the specific relationship between the principal and high-achieving learners. This association facilitates understanding about forming curricular decisions for high ability learners. The study was conducted to examine the perceived…

School reform programs focus on making educational changes; however, research on interventions past the funded implementation phase to determine what was sustained is rarely done (Beery, Senter, Cheadle, Greenwald, Pearson, et al., 2005). This study adds to the research on sustainability by determining what instructional practices, if any, of the…

Teachers have the responsibility to educate a diverse group of students in heterogeneous classes. One way in which teachers meet this challenge is to differentiate the curriculum to meet the needs, interests, and abilities of each student. One particular group of students in need of a differentiated curriculum to maximize learning potential is the…

"The Right Trajectory" brings to the forefront an often-overlooked voice in the debate about new state assessments developed in consortia: that of the best teachers in the country. This research suggests, despite challenges still to overcome, that these front-line experts believe that the new consortia tests are an improvement on the…

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to describe the perceptions of elementary teachers from an urban school district in Southern California regarding their inquiry-based science instructional practices, assessment methods and professional development. The district's inquiry professional development called the California Mathematics and…

The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers' and administrators' perceptions of the implementation and effectiveness of Response to Intervention (RTI) strategies in their schools. The study used a mixed-methods research design. Data were collected through multiple-choice and open-ended surveys administered to elementary English language…