This study was designed to assess the (score) construct-related validity of an instrument called the School-Wide Cultural Competence Observation Checklist (SCCOC). The instrument was developed to use as a tool in conducting culture audits as a means of assessing school-wide cultural competence, or how well a school's programs, policies, and…

The purpose of this action research project is to motivate elementary students in writing, specifically in the areas of creativity, detail, and accuracy. The teacher researchers wanted to develop self-motivated and knowledgeable writers. This project was conducted from September 2nd, 2008 to January 30th, 2009. The targeted students enjoyed…

Two experienced teacher educators describe a framework for effective teaching that can be applied in any subject area and grade level. Their detailed review of the structures, processes, and content of effective practice provides you with lots of practical tips you can use right away, including: (1) How to teach both the depth and the breadth of…

Purpose: The initial purpose of this mixed methods study was to assess the instrument fidelity and construct-related validity of a 33-item instrument called the Schoolwide Cultural Competence Observation Checklist (SCCOC) by eliciting school leaders' views. The SCCOC was designed as one tool for use in conducting school culture audits, which…

Background: In Hong Kong, secondary school students face high levels of stress due to the examination oriented curricula. According to Sun (2006), some secondary school students cannot bear the pressure when facing the examinations, and some of them may exhibit destructive behaviors such as suicide and bullying. Therefore, cases of school bullying…

Research Findings: This study examined the stability of preschoolers' peer play behavior across the school year and the relations between emotion regulation, receptive vocabulary, and the trajectory of social competence deficits. Participants were 331 preschool children attending Head Start; they were primarily African American and from a low-SES…

How effective is a community's high school in educating its students? Drawing from the work of leading researchers and educators, the Alliance for Excellent Education has identified 10 key elements that every high school should have in place to ensure that all its students are successful. This checklist can help identify the strengths and…

This document includes the final data collection and scoring tools created by the "Scoop" project, a five-year project funded through the Center for Evaluation, Standards,and Student Testing (CRESST), to develop an alternative approach for characterizing classroom practice. The goal of the project was to use artifacts and related materials to…

This manual provides the essential information for persons wishing to conduct SENG Model parent support groups for parents of gifted children. Each week, parents in the group read a chapter of "A Parent's Guide to Gifted Children," and then discuss the concepts in the chapter, led by the group facilitator. Parents support one another in practicing…

Background: Pragmatic language impairment has recently been the subject of a number of studies that attempted to illuminate classification and diagnostic issues, and identify the profile of children with pragmatic language difficulties. Although much progress has been made, the nature of pragmatic difficulties remains unclear. Aims: To contrast…

Early identification of children experiencing difficulties in learning is essential for timely and effective intervention. The aim of this study was to develop a screening instrument for identifying students with learning difficulties at the end of the first term of Primary 1 in Hong Kong. This paper describes the development and validation of a…

Behavioral and related disorders are frequently reported in association with childhood epilepsy but the reasons for this are unclear. In a long-term prospective, community-based study of newly-diagnosed childhood epilepsy, behavioral assessments (Child Behavior Checklist) were performed in children 8 to 9 years after the initial diagnosis of…

Background: Effectively supporting individuals with intellectual disabilities who display challenging behaviours continues to be a priority for service providers. Person-focused training (PFT) is a model of service delivery which provides staff with skills in functional assessment and intervention development. Existing longitudinal data from a…

Objective: The problems children have upon entering foster care can potentially explain prior research findings that frequent placement changes are associated with poor outcomes. This study sought to disentangle this cascading relationship in order to identify the independent impact of placement stability on behavioral outcomes downstream.…

Substance abuse is one of the most problematic health risk behaviors among adolescents. Given that research consistently finds increased levels of substance use among adolescents with conduct problems as well as trauma-related symptoms, it is important that substance abuse be examined to better understand its role in Conduct Disorder (CD) and…