In light of the changing ethnic, racial, and cultural demographics in U.S. schools, there is a growing need by scholars and practitioners for teaching practices that are informed by cultural knowledge possessed by students. This comes at a time when standardized testing of student achievement has been given a central role in efforts to improve…

Professional development (PD) programs often evaluate their impact on teachers' learning by assessing teachers either individually or in groups. The goal of this paper is to illustrate the variety of paths teachers might follow as a result of working in groups within online PD settings. Data are drawn from a PD program for grades 5-9…

Parental involvement in the form of "at-home" interest and support has a major influence on pupils' educational outcomes and attitudes. Many parents, however, feel uninformed about current educational practices and how they can be more involved with their child's learning. A number of initiatives have been implemented internationally to encourage…

Moving from primary school (Year 6) to the next stage in schooling (Year 7 intermediate or middle school) can provide challenges for students, teachers, and parents. A study was carried out to investigate these challenges with a focus on mathematics for 65 students from six different urban primary schools in New Zealand. Qualitative data were…

Students' cognitive performance on any mathematical concept is related with the respective self-beliefs on understanding it and on using strategies in order to overcome cognitive obstacles. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the role of various aspects of apprehension (perceptual, operative and discursive) in geometrical figure…