Higher education in the United States has been a source of pride but also the target of continuous debates, criticisms, and calls for reform. In the first decade of this century, concerns were focused on the effectiveness of educational practices and the quality of student learning, as well as access and escalating costs. As a consequence, there…

Many early childhood educators encounter children who exhibit sexual behavior and are not sure how to respond. Although they have had training in childhood development, sexual development is rarely given the attention it deserves. At the same time, early childhood education personnel often get training in child abuse and in their responsibilities…

How young children's and older students' knowledge of words develops--their structure, their meanings, how they work in context--is reflected in the Common Core English Language Arts expectations. Meeting these expectations for each learner requires that we teach in a developmentally-responsive manner. This includes our being familiar with the…

Adverse parenting practices, including child maltreatment, interfere with children's adjustment and life outcomes. In this article, Ronald Prinz describes the Triple P--Positive Parenting Program, designed to improve parenting population-wide. Prinz offers four main reasons to take a population approach. First, official records grossly…

This study investigated the perceived beliefs and reported practices of fourth-grade English teachers in primary (elementary) public schools in Turkey. Significantly, it aimed to examine the participating K-4 English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers' beliefs about the developmentally appropriate and inappropriate practices, discover the…

Effectively educating the large English learner population requires policymakers to ensure developmentally appropriate settings and services throughout the time students are learning English, as well as during their transition to fluent English proficient status--a process termed "reclassification." Using longitudinal student-level data…

The current study investigates the influence of situational context on perceptions of playful aggression. Using an online data collection instrument embedded with video vignettes showing young boys engaged in aggressive play behaviour, 36 situational profiles that are defined by the unique combinations of variables believed to influence attitudes…

Background: Early childhood teachers' child-centered beliefs, defined as teachers' attitudes about how children learn, have been associated with teachers' developmentally appropriate practices and positive child outcomes. The predictors of teachers' child-centered beliefs, however, are less frequently explored. Objective: This study tested whether…

This article features a conversation between Usha Mukunda, who identifies herself as a librarian, and Vivek Vellanki, who is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in education. Mukunda has been successful in challenging the stereotypical image of the librarian as being serious, angry, and detached. Shortly after meeting her, one would likely be…

Many early learning settings are more culturally diverse than ever before. Due to widespread migration, early learning classrooms now include students from a rich variety of racial, ethnic, and cultural groups. One classroom may contain students from a dozen countries and even more cultural experiences. To produce conscientious and creative global…

Today's children need learning opportunities from cradle to career that build the knowledge and skills necessary to thrive in our interconnected and constantly changing world. This means putting 21st century skills, including creativity, innovation, critical thinking, and problem solving, at the center of learning, both in and out of school. As…

The Convention on the Rights of the Child calls for children to be treated as human beings with a distinct set of rights, instead of as passive objects of care. They can and should be agents in their own lives. Child-initiated pedagogy recognizes this by respecting children's individual and collective views, interests, and motivations.…

Many early childhood assessment practices involve table top testing that requires young children to behave like an adult (e.g., follow adult directives, attend to task, and answer questions). Research and professional policy standards have identified and mandated alternatives. Authentic assessment is the alternative to conventional testing…

Swimming is considered by many to be a significant form of physical activity with many health benefits. Few opportunities exist for African American youth to participate in programs focused on providing developmentally appropriate swim instruction, due in part to a lack of aquatic facilities and programs in urban schools and communities. In an…

With this study, it was aimed at drawing attention to the troubles and problems encountered by the teachers in the presence of various variables regarding the teaching of the history topics in the 7th grade social studies course. At the same time, in order to offer solution suggestions for teaching history topics effectively, we have tried to…