This study examined the direct and indirect relationships between playfulness (social and cognitive spontaneity), executive functions, convergent thinking, divergent thinking, and academic skills in Hong Kong Chinese kindergarten children. Participants were 181 second-year (4 to 5 years) kindergarten children (45.9% boys) and their parents.…

Introduction: Further inquiry into constructs such as creativity, intelligence and scholastic abilities, and understanding how they relate to each other, can promote better understanding of the variables involved in academic achievement. Consequently, the objective of the present study was to examine the predictive value of creativity and multiple…

Because of the importance of teaching reading comprehension to struggling young readers and the infrequency with which it has been implemented and evaluated, we designed a comprehensive first-grade reading comprehension program. We conducted a component analysis of the program's decoding/fluency and reading comprehension dimensions (DF and COMP),…

This study investigated whether parents have gendered constructs related to mathematics. Parents and their kindergarten-aged children from three primary schools in Sydney were interviewed to see what their understandings of boys' and girls' interests and abilities in mathematics were. Parents completed the Who and Mathematics questionnaire and…

This integrative text spotlights what educators need to know about children's cognitive development across grade levels (PreK-12) and content areas. The book provides a concise introduction to developmental neuroscience and theories of learning. Chapters on general cognitive abilities probe such crucial questions as what children are capable of…

This study was conducted to determine if differentiated instruction improved student growth. The overall effectiveness was studied as well as that of gender and the aptitude of average and above average students. The study was that of a quasi-experimental design using student subjects in the classrooms of three second-grade teachers. The school in…

This dissertation tests a dynamic assessment-based cognitive hierarchy model and attempts to identify mathematical concepts that predict student learning potential on more advanced mathematical concepts using the units from ST Math, a self-paced curriculum, for third, fourth, and fifth grade students. The quantitative analyses compared a…