Background: The behaviour of children raised in institutional care in their early years is typified by heightened levels of inattention and overactivity irrespective of the quality of the care. There is some evidence that this behaviour may be specifically associated with forms of attachment disorder behaviours, but to date studies have been…

Children of Mexican immigrant families represent the largest segment of immigrant children in the U.S. Achievement gaps of Mexican immigrant children compared to their peers present at the beginning of kindergarten persist throughout the K-12 years. These achievement differences are partly influenced by the level cultural and linguistic…

This paper explores how the critical learning dimension in an English for academic purposes (EAP) programme in a British university is developed in the context of one classroom task. The focus is on the speaking element of the activity which requires students in pairs to explore each other's personal language history (PLH), present the account to…

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 3rd and 4th editions (WISC-III n = 586 and WISC-IV n = 118), profiles were compared for children with ADHD and normal intelligence. Mean Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI) and Perceptual Organization/Perceptual Reasoning Index (POI/PRI) scores were significantly higher than Freedom From…

This article presents an action research conducted by a group of teachers comparing multiage with same-age interactions of children, especially among toddlers. The research involving 31 children ranging in age from two through five-and-a-half was conducted under optimal conditions, with small groups, low teacher-child ratios, and highly trained…

This article presents a case study of an elementary school situated within a prestigious school district that has undergone rapid demographic change in recent years. The authors explore how the school has accommodated growing numbers of linguistically and culturally diverse students while at the same time struggling to maintain district standards.…

This paper discusses the contribution of international studies on educational effectiveness in the light of 4 papers presented at the new ICSEI Methodology of Research and Effectiveness (MORE) Network in Barcelona in January 2005 and published in this issue of the journal. A brief historical overview is used to provide a context for these papers…

This paper reports on one aspect of a study examining activities, partners, and settings of 20 preschoolers ranging in age from 28 to 45 months. The children were drawn from two cultural communities (both white): in one community parents worked in professional occupations; in the second group, parents were in non-professional, working class…

As our knowledge of young children grows, so does our awareness of the importance of the first few years of life. This book is written for students of child care at the college level, for those who work with children in the first three years of their lives, and for anyone who wants to understand more about what researchers and theorists have to…

This study examined how children's experience of regulatable quality and teacher-child interaction differs between nonprofit and for-profit day care settings. Gender and age differences in children's day care experiences were also explored. Assessments of regulatable quality and teacher-child interaction were conducted in three for-profit and two…

In December 1989, the school district in Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) and Research for Better Schools, Inc., with the support of the Pennsylvania State Department of Education, initiated a collaborative 2-year study of the district's Chapter 1 schoolwide projects. This report presents findings from the study of Taylor Elementary School (currently…

How the use of the Primary Language Record (PLR), an authentic assessment of young children's literacy development, has influenced teaching and learning in one New York City public elementary school was studied. The study looked at classroom practices; professional development; student work; and the thoughts of teachers, administrators, students,…

This practicum examined the maintenance in eight emotionally disturbed children (ages 7-13) of three appropriate classroom behaviors taught during a 10-week inpatient psychiatric hospitalization. In the hospital school setting the focus was on: (1) appropriate interactions with teachers; (2) appropriate interactions with peers; and (3) appropriate…

This project developed a conceptualization of higher order thinking, dimensions of classroom thoughtfulness, and an assessment exercise applicable to diverse topics taught in more than 70 classes in 11 high schools. Generic qualities of classroom thoughtfulness were not generally associated with the persuasiveness of student writing on a…

Educational research conducted by classroom teachers can offer valuable insight into the experience of teaching and the nature of student learning. However, striving to be both a researcher and a teacher can present unique and serious challenges. An incident from the classroom experiences of a researcher/teacher is described that portrays much of…