Prior research indicates that students enter school with high levels of reading motivation, but levels begin to decline as soon as second grade. However, most studies rely on predominately White samples. This exploratory study uses a large dataset to examine self-report reading motivation levels for students of varying racial/ethnic and immigrant…

Sound is a very omnipresent physical phenomenon that plays a crucial role in our daily lives. It is essential for verbal communication and helps us orient ourselves. Children are especially affected by sound and its presence in their daily lives. This circumstance, and the subject-specific interesting facets of the topic of sound, make this…

This article revisits the legacy of Ken Goodman, specifically his work on African American Language and reading. In this body of scholarship, Goodman and like-minded scholars entered a fray of competing interests, political agendas, and economic stakes, which continue to plague current debates about the teaching of reading. To make sense of…

Background: A well-developed proprioceptive system is essential for motor control, muscle tone and voluntary movements. Sound proprioceptive development of young children can positively influence their motor abilities, while adequate movement abilities consequently form a strong foundation for young children entering the formal school setting.…

Background: As school districts across the nation evaluate strategies and implement programs to reduce absenteeism, health-related interventions remain largely underutilized. This study provides the estimated cost of improving students' diet quality as a means to increase attendance. Then, it compares the costs and efficacy of improving diet…

The study presented here examines the determinants of primary school dropout while highlighting the role of household characteristics in Cameroon. Data were drawn from the fourth Cameroonian household survey conducted in 2014 (ECAM 4). The author uses an extended production function to estimate a "logit" model that puts forward the…

Critical thinking--evaluating and analyzing data to make informed judgments--is essential in both the classroom and everyday life. Teaching critical thinking skills in the elementary grades is often an afterthought--if it's a thought at all. Veteran primary teacher and instructional leader Erin Shadowens proposes that students of all ages benefit…

In this paper, we explore the following research questions: How do first-grade students define even and odd numbers? What types of justifications do they use to support their generalizations using these definitions? We report the ways in which first-grade students define even and odd numbers and how they justify generalizations that use their…

Outdoor adventure learning not only meets National Physical Education Standards but also has received accolades for its ability to cognitively engage students of all ages. The inclusion of outdoor pursuits and recreational activities has been shown to benefit students physically, socially and emotionally. Yet, few resources exist for physical…

In this paper we study the impact on student absenteeism of a large, school-based community crime monitoring program that employed local community members to monitor and report crime on designated city blocks during times when students traveled to and from school. We find that the program resulted in a 0.58 percentage point (8.5 percent) reduction…

The aim of this study is to analyse the process of gestation, development and scope of student participation as a movement for change and transformation in two participatory action research projects. Based on a common thematic axis, educational transitions, the construction process and the methodological development of participation are explored…

Everyone has been interacting with the outside world since birth, creating ideas about various objects or phenomena. The main aim of the research was to identify the concepts of primary school students about viruses. In addition to finding out the level of ideas, additional aims were to determine the effect of gender, the degree of education…

Youth participatory action research can turn your classroom into a site of meaningful, relevant civic learning, in which young people gain a sense of civic empowerment as they discuss, investigate, analyze, and speak with authority on issues that directly affect them and their communities. Through stories, examples, and the reflections of youth…

Although researchers have found strong relationships between first language (L1) skills and second language (L2) anxiety, less is known about how L1 skills in primary school impact L2 anxiety years after L1 has been acquired. Previous research lacked evidence for the mediating role of L2 aptitude and L2 achievement in the relationship. This study…

The Calm Cat Program was developed in response to the need for intervention approaches that target internalizing symptoms, are developmentally appropriate for early elementary students, and are feasible for school-based implementation by staff without specialized training. The Calm Cat Program is a brief Tier 2 intervention combining behavioral…