The development of elementary-aged students' STEM and computer science (CS) literacy is critical in this evolving technological landscape, thus, promoting success for college, career, and STEM/CS professional paths. Research has suggested that elementary-aged students need developmentally appropriate STEM integrated opportunities in the classroom;…

In China, the "2001 Kindergarten Education Guidelines (Trial)", or "New Outline", delineates what constitutes high-quality, developmentally appropriate practices in all early childhood education curriculum domains, including mathematics. The "New Outline" is known for advocating a child-centered, play-based approach…

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…

The consequences of lack of reading and poor reading skills are problematic for all students, regardless of background; however, for middle grade striving readers with academic difficulties these problems can lead to lower self-efficacy and motivation to engage in literacy tasks. Using the perspectives of urban, middle grade special education…

This report documents the practices and outcomes of Alice Birney, a public K-8 Waldorf-Inspired School in Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD). This study highlights how such a school addresses students' academic, social, emotional, physical, and creative development. Birney students outperform similar students in SCUSD on several…

This study explored whether or not, and how, an on-site and research-teacher community of practice model for professional development addressed the challenges to classroom practices in a Head Start program. Data sources included interviews with teachers, videos of planning and teaching sessions, and the researchers' fieldwork log and reflective…

This article describes early childhood educators' responses to a professional development series aimed at helping them to understand and incorporate early learning standards for social studies. While the primary aim of the professional development was to focus on the social studies content standards, the secondary aim was to introduce early…

This report presents the main findings of the first phase of an ongoing study on improving the quality of children's early learning in England and Wales. The purpose of the project is to investigate the ways in which early learning in group settings can be improved by raising the quality of the practice of those professionals who work with young…

This ongoing study is designed to examine the quality of early childhood education in England and Wales, identifying key aspects of professional ability crucial to the quality of children's learning. It also seeks to generate criteria for promoting the development of these aspects of professional ability and to develop consequent criteria for…