This paper reports on the results of several geotechnical engineering-related science activities conducted with elementary-school students. Activities presented include soil permeability, contact stress, soil stratigraphy, shallow and deep foundations, and erosion in rivers. The permeability activity employed the LEGO NXT platform for data…

The concept of "Home Learning Environment" (HLE) covers activities in a family providing intellectual stimulation for a child, such as reading to him or her or visiting libraries. Numerous studies have shown an association between HLE and children's cognitive development. In this longitudinal study, we focus on HLE as a predictor…

This study examined the development of school-related causality beliefs which are children's generalized perceptions of the utility or power of different categories of specific means in producing school outcomes. Based on the action theory perspective, we analyzed the developmental model of these beliefs as well as the trajectories of the…

The internal/external (I/E) frame of reference model (Marsh, "Am Educ Res J" 23:129-149, 1986) conceptualizes students' self-concepts as being formed by dimensional as well as social comparison processes. In the present study, the I/E model was tested and extended in a sample of elementary school children. Core academic skills of…

Evidence-based practice is highly appreciated and demanded in the field of education, especially in relation to extra support provided for children struggling with learning. Currently, there is a lack of intervention studies in the area of mathematics. This study aimed to investigate the effects of a short mathematics intervention programme on…

The Individualised Education Programme (IEP) is a fundamental document that describes all educational responses to the additional support needs of students, setting up the guideline for their learning and developmental experiences. Specifically, the IEP goals represent the personal destination translated into desirable behaviours and skills that…

This paper highlights the framework and discusses the results of an action research network which aimed to promote academic access in two general educational settings within which a pupil with blindness and a deaf pupil were educated respectively. The persons involved in this collaborative scheme were general teachers, a school counsellor,…

This paper examines the rhythm and the management of classroom interaction as an important constituent of a teaching-learning process. Twenty-three lessons in 12 classes (four 2nd grades, four 3rd grades and four 4th grades) of state primary schools spread all over Italy were observed and videotaped for a total of 15 hours. The descriptive…

Groups of mathematically strong and weak second-, fourth- and sixth-graders were individually confronted with numerosities smaller and larger than 100 embedded in one-, two- or three-dimensional realistic contexts. While one third of these contexts were totally unstructured (e.g., an irregular piece of land jumbled up with 72 cars), another third…

This study analysed the effects of the nonverbal behaviour of an examiner on low and high achievers' psychometric performances. The examiner, who was blind to children's achievement level, varied the nonverbal style she adopted when giving instructions. As expected, a warm style led children to score higher than a neutral one. Moreover, warmth…

The aim of the present study was to investigate the performance in arithmetic related to achievement levels in reading and mathematics. Basic arithmetical facts and multi-step calculations were examined. The participants were 941 pupils aged 8 (N = 415), 10 (N = 274) and 13 (N = 252) years. The pupils were divided into four groups by standardized…

This study was designed to elicit the views and preferences of primary education students with general learning difficulties concerning different service delivery modes. The main areas to be investigated were: (a) their current educational provision, (b) alternative modes of provision and (c) the most appropriate provider (mainstream or special…

In the research literature several positions concerning the role played by metacognition in adaptive strategy choice can be distinguished. While many authors adhere so-called metacognitive models of strategy choice and strategy change, others have questioned the extent to which metacognitive factors are associated with strategy choice and task…

This study was designed to examine whether there is a relationship between phonological memory and reading ability in Greek-speaking children aged between 6 and 9 years. An additional aim of the study was to investigate whether training of phonological memory during preschool years enhances reading achievement during early school years. In…

The effect of the self-monitoring training on reading accuracy and fluency of second-grade poor readers was examined. The participants were assigned in one experimental and three control groups. The experimental group was reinforced with token-economy for self-correction and fluent reading. One control group practiced reading without feedback, the…