This study explored leadership perceptions around grade configuration and student achievement. Grade configuration is the grade level present within a school. The metric used to determine student achievement is ninth-grade GPA. This multi-method study began to determine if grade configuration had a significant impact on student achievement for the…

For decades, differentiated instruction (DI) has been utilized as a generalist teaching approach and an inclusive practice in order to enhance the participation of all learners in the mainstream classroom, including learners with special educational needs. The extensive use of differentiation in mainstream classrooms as the gateway to inclusive…

Separating students into homogeneous groups is a common instructional practice used by elementary teachers during reading instruction. Although researchers have been studying the effects of homogeneous grouping for many decades, there is little consensus on whether grouping is an effective or equitable instructional practice. The central challenge…

The educational transition between early childhood education and primary education is a complex moment of change with repercussions throughout the academic life of the students. For this reason, it is important to seek continuity between both educational stages. A successful transition produces for the social, cognitive and emotional well-being of…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the effects of grade-span configuration on student achievement and sense of belonging. The quantitative data for this study was collected from Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE), specifically the Future Ready PA Index site and Eidex. Additional quantitative data was collected through…

This book brings together a collection of work from around the world in order to consider effective STEM, robotics, mobile apps education from a range of perspectives. It presents valuable perspectives--both practical and theoretical--that enrich the current STEM, robotics, mobile apps education agenda. As such, the book makes a substantial…

Students learn to read and write best when their teachers balance literacy instruction. But how do you strike the "right" balance of skills and knowledge, reading and writing, small and whole group instruction, and direct and dialogic instruction, so that all students can learn to their maximum potential? The answer lies in the…

Gifted education programs are diverse with respect to their structure and foci. This diversity is reflective of the field itself. With this large, multi-state study, we surveyed practices employed in elementary schools (N = 1,548). Differences were observed in the implementation mechanics of English and mathematics curriculum. Interrelationships…

The purpose of this study is twofold: to determine the instructional variables of the inclusive classrooms in Turkey and to investigate to what extent the student behaviors change according to eco-behavioral characteristics of inclusive classrooms. The study group consisted of 44 students between the ages of six and 12 with mild disabilities who…

Background and purpose: Research in formative assessment often pays close attention to the strategies which can be used by teachers. However, less emphasis in the literature seems to have been paid to study the application of formative assessment designs in practice. In this paper, we argue that a formative assessment design that we call…

These proven, practical early childhood teaching strategies help teachers identify young gifted children, differentiate curriculum, assess and document students' development, and build partnerships with parents. Chapters focus on early identification, curriculum compacting, social studies, language arts, math and science, cluster grouping,…

The present study identifies reading instructional practices used in upper elementary classrooms during the age of high-stakes test accountability and compares reading practices among schools of varying accreditation status and socio-economic status (SES). The current study partially replicates and extends a study conducted by Baumann, Hoffman,…

There has been research on grouping pupils by ability for most of the twentieth century since Whipple carried out a study of the effects of special class placement on a group of high aptitude 5th and 6th graders in the USA in 1919. Since then hundreds of studies have been undertaken and there have been many literature reviews and syntheses of…

The purpose of this study was to determine if grade level configuration and student achievement in science, specifically fifth grade Science TAKS scores are related. This study utilized a causal comparative (ex post facto) design to determine if a consistent relationship existed between fifth grade students' success on the science TAKS at the…

This article considers the attitudes of pupils aged 9-11 years in Scotland towards their learning of a foreign language in primary school. It also considers their perception of difficulty, what they tell us causes them difficulty, their language preferences and the reasons for these. The article identifies any significant differences between boys…