California's Kindergarten Readiness Act of 2010 established transitional kindergarten (TK), the first year of a two-year kindergarten program for students affected by the change in the birthdate cutoff for entry into kindergarten from December 2 to September 1. This brief, the sixth in a series highlighting findings from the "Study of…

In this year-long qualitative multi-site case study, researchers identified how eighth and ninth-grade teacher practices may support students' basic and developmental needs across the middle-to-high-school transition. Data were collected throughout 2009, including individual interviews, focus group interviews, observations, and artifact data of 23…

This qualitative case study analyzed how one large high school created a community of care for ninth-grade students. Data were collected during the 2006-2007 school year, including observations, individual interviews, and focus group interviews of 1 female teacher and 9 of her students. Findings suggest the Freshman Focus teachers and program…

Examined the effect of developmentally appropriate teaching practices on academic achievement of kindergarten and first-grade children participating in the Head Start/Public School Transition Project. Found that achievement was significantly higher in the more developmentally appropriate classrooms for letter/word identification and applied…

This report summarizes the conference proceedings of the fifth Head Start National Research Conference. The focus of the conference was on the relationship of environment and developmental changes. Keynote topics and speakers were: "How Can We Know Environment Really Matters?" (Michael Rutter); "Creating Developmentally Appropriate…