This study investigated the relationship of kindergarten teachers' ratings of their students' 21st century skills (college readiness skills) with students' behavioral and academic performance. Teachers rated the frequency that their students (n = 579) demonstrated persistence, curiosity, affective, and cognitive (e.g., critical thinking) behaviors…

Research to increase the early vocabulary development of urban students has emphasized the central role of teachers and the ways in which teachers use intervention curricula and strategies in their classroom contexts. This study explores teachers' fidelity to different components of a vocabulary intervention, specifically their use of prescribed…

This study used ECLS-K 1998-1999 data to evaluate whether specific kindergarten teaching practices predicted school-year learning gains differently, depending on children's ethnicity, SES, and fall test scores. Exploratory factor analyses guided the creation of four literacy and five math instruction composites from teachers' reports of their…

There is a dearth of research on Tier 1 instruction designed to improve the mathematics achievement of English learners. This study examined the impact of a core kindergarten mathematics curriculum on the mathematics achievement of Spanish-speaking English learners (SS-ELs). Secondary aims tested for differential response to the curriculum among…

There is a dearth of research on Tier 1 instruction designed to improve the mathematics achievement of English learners. This study examined the impact of a core kindergarten mathematics curriculum on the mathematics achievement of Spanish-speaking English learners (SS-ELs). Secondary aims tested for differential response to the curriculum among…

Based on a one-year longitudinal experimental study with 3,782 kindergarten school children across 15 countries, this article examines the association between prayer and happiness. Results show that the post-test scores on the faces scale were higher for the participant group who had taken the prayer lessons vis-à-vis the comparison group.…

Understanding differences in oral language abilities is vital, particularly for children from low-income homes and minority children who are at an increased risk for academic failure because of differences or deficits in language use or exposure before they enter school. The purpose of this study was to investigate oral language performance,…

Policymakers view parental involvement (PI) as a crucial component of school reform efforts, but evidence of its effect on student achievement is equivocal. Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort dataset, we examined the long-term impact on student- and school-level achievement of three types of school-based PI: PI to…

Recent federal investments in early childhood assessment systems are the result of a national need for developmentally appropriate, psychometrically sound instruments to monitor young children and evaluate the effectiveness of their learning programs. In this paper, we examined the association between teachers' perceptions of their students at the…

This study considers whether children who have kindergarten and first grade teachers with certification in early childhood education experience greater gains in reading and math achievement compared to children whose teachers have only elementary education certification. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K), the study…

Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Cohort of 1998 (ECLS-K, 98), a nationally representative sample of kindergarteners in the United States, we investigated the relationship between approaches to learning and spring reading achievement with particular emphasis on classroom and school-level differences. We employed…

Research Findings: It is widely acknowledged that consistent, high-quality teacher-student interactions promote optimal developmental outcomes for children. Previous research on the quality of teacher-student interactions provides empirical support for this premise. Little research has been conducted on the consistency of teacher-student…

Purpose: The authors of this study described developmental trajectories and predicted kindergarten performance of Spanish and English receptive vocabulary acquisition of young Latino/a English language learners (ELLs) from socioeconomically disadvantaged migrant families. In addition, the authors examined the extent to which gender and individual…

Dominance analysis (DA) is a method used to evaluate the relative importance of predictors that was originally proposed for linear regression models. This article proposes an extension of DA that allows researchers to determine the relative importance of predictors in hierarchical linear models (HLM). Commonly used measures of model adequacy in…

Experiential education is a child-centered educational framework that is popular in Flemish kindergartens. In this study, the impact of five experiential practices (autonomy support, stimulation, emotional support, time for choice activities, and interest-based activities) and the moderating influence of initial achievement (language and…