This study examined the implementation of a biodanza program in a kindergarten for five-year-olds. The purpose of the project was to understand the contribution of biodanza to social-emotional learning (SEL) of kindergarten children. The exposure of children to biodanza made it possible to stimulate a social-emotional aspects of children's…

This study investigated how 15 kindergarten teachers from one school district implemented small-group Guided Reading (GR). Analysis of video recordings indicates substantial differences in how GR was conducted, with none of the teachers fully implementing GR as conceptualized by Fountas and Pinnell (2012). Consistency across teachers was limited…

This study assessed the effectiveness of the TRACK Rx program. Track Rx is a program for healthcare professionals to counsel and prescribe outdoor physical activity (PA) to children. The program was implemented by a school nurse to increase children's time spent outdoors, increase a child's nature-based PA, and increase parents' intention for…

In recent years, several states have expanded a new publicly funded learning option: Transitional Kindergarten (TK). TK bridges prekindergarten and kindergarten in its eligibility, requirements, and design. Using Michigan as a case study, we examine TK's fit in the early learning landscape. Broadly, we find TK in Michigan reduces some…

Effective transitions to kindergarten engage families and ease children into new environments. Countdown to Kindergarten (CTK), a program in a southeastern U.S. state that serves more than 1,000 children each year and is grounded in Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, partners kindergarten teachers and families to facilitate effective…

There is limited research about Tier 3 interventions provided during typical school Response to Intervention (RTI) implementation. As part of a larger RTI exploration study designed to focus on students with the most intensive reading needs, our goal was to contrast their Tier 1 core reading instruction with their Tier 3 intervention. Schools…

The strong association of early language skills to later reading ability suggests that supporting the development of these skills in children who enter preschool or kindergarten with below-average language abilities may lead to stronger reading skills. Despite this, few evidence-based supplemental language instructional programs exist for…

There is an apparent need to identify resource- and time-efficient approaches to supporting teacher implementers of behavioral interventions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a brief training and intermittent performance feedback coaching model on teacher implementation of a multicomponent behavioral intervention.…

Shared trauma can contribute to anxiety, fear, sadness, and lack of engagement among learners leading to poor school attendance and diminished positive relationships. Therefore, it is incumbent on schools to design a supportive learning environment during experiences of shared trauma. The descriptive study presented illustrates a supportive…

Purpose: Primary education (PE) forms the foundation of high-quality education systems, but it is often underestimated. This paper aims to develop and empirically validate a measurement instrument to study the current stage of total quality management (TQM) implementation in PE. Design/methodology/approach: This study developed a seven-dimensional…

Information about program implementation provides critical information for the interpretation of results from randomized trials. The present study provides an evaluation of the implementation of a Cognitively Guided Instruction mathematics teacher professional development as part of a large scale randomized controlled trial with teachers in first-…

Assessing implementation allows for a better understanding of an intervention's effects and the mechanisms that influence its impact. Two main areas of implementation are: (1) the quality with which an intervention is delivered; and (2) instructors' adherence to the programmed intervention. The current study used data from a kindergarten…

Background: School-based physical activity (PA) programs are an equitable, evidence-based approach to combat health and PA disparities. This study examined factors associated with implementation of BE Physically Active 2Day (BEPA 2.0), a K-5 school-based PA program, and examined how support from Cooperative Extension via Supplemental Nutrition…

This action research aimed to evaluate the impact of personalized reading plans on first-grade students' reading engagement and comprehension. Personalized reading plans were created for each student based on their interests and reading abilities within an e-book library. Qualitative and quantitative data were gathered from 10 first-grade students…

Research in cognitive development has highlighted that early numeracy skills are associated with later math achievement, suggesting that these skills should be targeted in early math education. Here we tested whether tools used by researchers to assess mathematical thinking could be useful in the classroom. This paper describes a collaborative…