School-related sedentary behaviors are associated with adverse health outcomes and poor academic achievement of elementary students. Dynamic seats, where chairs allow movement, are an intervention that increases physical activity without interrupting academic instruction. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore teachers'…

With federal gender equity mandates in place, some may assume that schools are now havens were children are protected from discrimination based on failure to conform to stereotypical notions of masculinity and femininity. Yet, research suggests that the school literacy curriculum serves as a site that privileges gender performances consistent with…

Special education comprises specially designed instruction, at no cost to parents, to meet the unique needs of children with disabilities (IDEA, 2017, Sec. 300.39). IDEA further states that specially designed instruction can be implemented in the classroom, in the home, in hospitals and institutions, and in other settings. Placement decisions are…

Students who attend school possess their own "funds of knowledge" from their home life and prior experiences (Moll et al., 1992). Yet, learners from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds are not viewed from a strengths-based perspective but rather a deficit perspective. The deficit perspective perpetuates the oppression and…

This dissertation investigated teachers' practices in preschool science education between China and United States, especially focusing on the factors that affected teachers' instruction in early childhood science education, teachers' pedagogical practices in teaching children science, and teachers' classroom discourse methods used in teaching…

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to investigate primary teachers' perspectives about whole-class read-alouds with diverse children's literature (DCL) and their practices for implementing and conducting them. This multiple and instrumental case study drew from critical sociocultural perspectives. Five primary teachers (grades K-3)…

Punitive disciplinary approaches have been used for decades in primary grades with little improvement in behavior and negative impacts on classroom climate. This qualitative case study explored the perspectives of administrators and educators implementing restorative practice (RP) with fidelity in the primary grades of urban public elementary…

Teachers play a large role in determining whether or not the classroom climate experienced by students is positive, especially through their visible emotional behaviors (i.e., neutral, positive, and negative emotional expressions). Research suggests that teachers make specific contributions to the classroom emotional climate in actions such as…

Continuous improvement is about learning from mistakes and experiences to improve in the future. However, students' perceptions of how continuous improvement practices affect their social and emotional skills have not been considered. The literature that exists neglects to include the perception of elementary students' social and emotional skills…

This study examined parents' and teachers' social constructions of disability, school readiness, and the transition to kindergarten process for children with disabilities who participated in a self-contained preschool special education (SPED) class, called a special day class (SDC). The 12 participants included parents of children with…

This mixed methods study provides empirical evidence that applying the concept of positive psychology into classrooms enhanced students' academic and behavioral performance in an urban elementary school. In the First Phase, I analyzed the 3rd grade math scores in both positive psychology and traditional classrooms. The results showed that the…

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of flexible seating in southwest Missouri classrooms. Four research questions guided the study based on the conceptual framework of Eric Jensen. The work of Jensen (2005) was selected as the conceptual framework due to his focus on the use of movement and how it impacts the brain. The research…

The integration of technology in early childhood classrooms can be advantageous when used in meaningful ways. Early childhood teachers are utilizing technology in instruction; however, they are not always doing so effectively. There is a gap in practice regarding the factors that affect the choices of technology activities that early childhood…

Although teachers' use of quality teacher-student interactions is important for the academic and social development of their students, these types of interactions are not used consistently by teachers in early childhood classrooms. This study was used to explore the education of the classroom teacher as a potential reason for this inconsistency.…

It is a commonly held belief among educational practitioners that students in classrooms practicing Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) principles have greater academic growth throughout the school year. This study examined 174 unique classroom settings and correlated the results of 4146 third grade students' responses from a survey about the…