The role of play in early elementary education (K-2) generates dichotomous opinions, and more research is required to support efficacious pedagogical decision-making. This pilot study explored the effects of pedagogical approaches on Title I kindergarten students' executive function (EF) to test the hypothesis that children, especially those from…

This study explored the effects of pedagogical approaches on Title I kindergarten students' executive function (EF) and academic achievement to test the hypothesis that children, especially those from low socioeconomic backgrounds, will benefit when purposeful play is incorporated into learning. Students in the play-based group generally had…

Montessori pedagogy is a century-old, whole-school system increasingly used in the public sector. In the United States, public Montessori schools are typically Title I schools that mostly serve children of color. The present secondary, exploratory data analysis examined outcomes of 134 children who entered a lottery for admission to public…

Montessori pedagogy is a century-old, whole-school system increasingly used in the public sector. In the United States, public Montessori schools are typically Title I schools that mostly serve children of color. The present secondary, exploratory data analysis examined outcomes of 134 children who entered a lottery for admission to public…

At the beginning of preschool (M = 46 months of age), 197 (94 boys) children were administered tasks that assessed a suite of nonsymbolic and symbolic quantitative competencies as well as their executive functions, verbal and nonverbal intelligence, preliteracy skills, and their parents' education level. The children's mathematics achievement was…