The changing landscape of early childhood education related to accountability-driven assessments is creating the need to understand how these changes effect engagement. Children's engagement in school is one of the leading predictors of learning (Carini et al. in Research in Higher Education 47(1):1-32, 2006; Fredricks et al. in Review of…

There is a movement to improve alignment between the early childhood and K-12 education sectors, which I term The Alignment Agenda. This qualitative study provides an in-depth description of this agenda through analysis of data from interviews with 25 elites (e.g., state director of early learning) associated with the agenda and associated…

Effective teaching and learning of Nature of Science (NOS) has been a curriculum goal for decades and its inclusion into the science education from K-12 is becoming commonplace worldwide, regardless of the differences in the adapted science curricula. However, less attention, if any, has been paid to the holistic representation of NOS at…

Based on an in-depth longitudinal study of two districts endeavoring to create continuity between preschool and elementary school we offer a framework for ensuring the long-term benefits of investment in preschool and improving student learning in the early grades.

Around the world, on every continent, and in every country, children play. Though culturally contextualized, play is a global common childhood experience. There are cultural variations in children's play activities, and though play looks and sounds different across the world, there are also commonalities. Though scholars find it difficult to…

A growing, research-based consensus supports addressing our nation's literacy crisis through instruction aligned with the Science of Reading (SoR). We recognize, however, that the complexity of SoR content, alongside the multiplicity of instructional decisions and practices, and the unique features of each classroom and school, make simple…

Cognitive interviews play an important role in articulating the intended construct of educational assessments. This paper describes the iterative development of protocols for cognitive interviews with kindergarten through second-grade children to understand how their spatial reasoning skill development aligns with intended constructs. We describe…

Inquiry-based project learning is an internationally recognised pedagogical approach where children work collaboratively to research and discover the answers to their questions through discussion, representation, and evaluation. This paper explores the findings from Phase One of a qualitative study examining how this approach has been interpreted…

Computer programming provides a framework for interdisciplinary learning in sciences, arts and languages. However, increasing integration of programming in K--12 shows that the block-based and text-based dichotomy of programming environments does not reflect the spectrum of their affordance. Hence, educators are confronted with a fundamental…

In this study, researchers examined the math-related expository books found in 23 first-grade classroom libraries to determine specific mathematical concepts related to counting and cardinality and operations and algebraic thinking addressed in each. In addition, they examined how these concepts aligned with the first-grade Common Core State…

Background: Since the 1990s, national standards have been developed in K-12 subject areas. National standards in health education were first released in 1995 with a second set released in 2007. A third edition, the "National Health Education Standards: Model Guidance for Curriculum" and Instruction was developed in 2022 under the…

There is an extensive history of collaboration with respect to policy initiatives between the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). In pursuit of promoting high quality inclusive education for all young children, DEC and NAEYC have…

This study extends prior research by manipulating both intervention and skill difficulty using a multiple baseline across participants design with changing phases in a virtual tutoring environment. Participants were four U.S. students from third and fifth grades for whom appropriate and challenging instructional targets were selected following…

This study presents a content analysis of Ghana's current standards-based curriculum, with a specific focus on its alignment with evidence-based reading instruction, against the backdrop of low reading achievement and learning outcomes of learners. The research uses content analysis methodology to examine the representation and emphasis of reading…

Ohio is committed to supporting an education system that prioritizes the language and literacy development of all learners, aligned with the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce's key priorities: literacy, accelerating learning, workforce readiness, and student wellness. In 2023, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine launched the ReadOhio initiative, a…