This study examined an intervention program designed to enhance reading comprehension among struggling readers from low socioeconomic backgrounds by improving their understanding of word structure and meaning. Delivered by college education students, the program targeted second-grade students. Change scores in morphological awareness (MA),…

The use of mobile applications (apps) is popular among parents and teachers due to their cost-effectiveness and ease of implementation, and the number of apps with the specific aim to increase eye contact for children with autism is growing rapidly. However, research is limited to assess the efficiency of the majority of the apps available for…

Student problem behaviors in early elementary school have been associated with increased teacher burnout, negative emotions, and stress, along with negative student outcomes, including increased risk of emotional and behavioral disorders (EBDs). This study examined the impact of BEST in CLASS--Elementary (BEST in CLASS-E), a teacher-delivered Tier…

The aim of this research was to examine if a set of three science and technology workshops would promote first-grade pupils' science-related competence beliefs. The first workshop dealt with electric circuits and related handicraft tasks. The second workshop involved programming with Lego Mindstorms robots. The third workshop was related to…

The recruitment and retention of women in STEM have historically been a struggle. Several causes, such as social factors, stereotypes, and classroom environments, all play a role (Blackburn, 2017). Recruitment efforts are often focused on middle school students. Nevertheless, research shows that children as young as kindergarten already have a…

The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the preliminary effects of a curriculum resource on elementary school children's social and emotional skills. In total, 98 Grade 3 children were randomly allocated to either a control or experimental group and evaluated before and after a 3-month implementation period. Experimental group showed…

Physical activity may benefit mental health, yet the potentially protective role of elementary school physical education (PE) on childhood mental health is unknown. The aim of the current study was to determine the effect of a specialist-taught PE program on indicators of childhood mental health. In this cluster-randomized controlled trial,…

Recently, researchers have begun to employ rigorous statistical methods and developmentally-informed theories to evaluate outcomes for students retained in non-kindergarten early elementary school. However, the majority of this research focuses on academic outcomes. Gaps remain regarding retention's effects on psychosocial outcomes important to…

This action research study explores how strategic conversations and Retrospective Miscue Analysis (RMA) influences beliefs, attitudes, and perceptions about reading, as well as reading proficiencies and strategies of my "readers in trouble." Creating a Reading Detective Club (Goodman, D. 1999) in my own classroom provided opportunities…

The Assessment of Afterschool Program Practices Tool ("APT"), developed by the National Institute of Out-of-School Time (NIOST), is an observational instrument designed to measure the aspects of afterschool program quality that research suggests contribute to the 21st century skills, attitudes, and behaviors youth need to be successful…

This paper is based on a randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluation of a reading programme delivered by older adult volunteers for at-risk early readers. Wizards of Words (WoW) was targeted at socially disadvantaged children in first and second grade experiencing delays in reading but who were not eligible for formal literacy supports. The…

Background: Gifted children learn differently compared to their peers in several ways. However, their educational needs are often not met in regular schools, which may result in underachievement and social-emotional and behavioral problems. A pullout program, the "Day a Week School" (DWS), was offered to gifted children in 25 elementary…

The purpose of this study was to identify the impact the Girls on the Run (GOTR) program had on the New Castle County, Delaware, third, fourth, and fifth grade girls who participated in the spring 2011 season. Specifically, this study examined short-term changes in the participants as they related to self-esteem, body image, physical activity…

Background: Recent interest in the teaching of thinking skills within education has led to an increase in thinking skills packages available to schools. However many of these are not based on scientific evaluation (DfEE, 1999). This paper endeavours to examine the effectiveness of one approach, that of infusion, to teaching thinking. Aims: To…