The authors explored how classroom gender composition moderated the relationship between having classmates with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) and peers' academic achievement in both kindergarten and Grade 1 classrooms. Given the behavioral and social-cognitive styles of girls, it was hypothesized that classrooms with a higher…

The author empirically tests the conceptual model of academic socialization, which suggests that parental cognitions about schooling influence parenting practices and child outcomes during the transition to school (Taylor, Clayton, & Rowley, 2004). More specifically, the author examines associations among parents' conceptions of school…

Although parental involvement in children's literacy development has been recognized for its potential in helping children develop early literacy achievement, studies of the effectiveness and sustainability of school-based parent involvement programs are not numerous. This study examines the effectiveness and durability of a school-based…

The achievement gap has long been the focus of educational research, policy, and intervention. The authors took a new approach to examining the achievement gap by examining achievement trajectories within each racial group. To identify these trajectories they used the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort, which is a nationally…

The focus of our study is social status among first graders. In particular, we will consider the relationship between acceptance and rejection, and how these are connected to three social behavioral traits: bullying, victimization, and social withdrawal. The data set is from peer nominations of 748 children from 49 classrooms in the southwest of…

Despite the recent technical and theoretical advances in the investigation of children's social relations, the inherent complexity of these methods may prevent their easy integration into the classroom. A simple and effective tool can be valuable for teachers who wish to investigate students' social realities in the classroom. Therefore,…

Two ways of measuring change are presented and compared: A conventional "change score", defined as the difference between scores before and after an interim period, and a process-oriented approach focusing on detailed analysis of conceptually defined response patterns. The validity of the two approaches was investigated. Vocabulary…

The validity of the Student-Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS) was examined in a national sample of 863 Norwegian schoolchildren in grades 1-7 (aged 6-13). The original factor structure of the STRS was tested by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The CFA results did not support the original three-factor structure of the STRS. Subsequent CFA of the…

Studies of student risk of school dropout have shown that present predictors of at-risk status do not accurately identify a large percentage of students who eventually drop out. Through the analysis of the entire Grade 1-12 longitudinal cohort-based grading histories of the class of 2006 for two school districts in the United States, the author…

This randomized control trial study evaluated the effectiveness of the solution-focused approach in addressing academic, motivational, and socioemotional needs of 14 children with reading difficulties. The intervention group received five 40-min solution-focused sessions. The control group received academic homework support. Results showed…

The authors examined the cognitive benefits of physical manipulation. Participants were 76 kindergarten and first-grade students randomly assigned to 2 strategies: stories with pictures or manipulation. In the pictures strategy, participants listened to story content and viewed pictures. In the manipulation strategy, participants moved…

The authors examined the relation of school-year teaching practices to SES and race/ethnic score gaps in mathematics by fitting an individual growth model with a representative sample drawn from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Cohort data. There were mixed findings. Teaching practices had uniform effects for all students,…

The Matthew effect is often used as a metaphor to describe a widening gap between good and poor readers over time. In this study we examined the development of individual differences in reading and cognitive functioning in children with reading difficulties and normal readers from Grades 1 to 3. Matthew effects were observed for individual…

Controlled Drawing Observation (CDO) was developed by Tove Krogh and it has been used in Denmark, Finland and Estonia for assessing a child's readiness for school. CDO is a group test, it gives information about a child's functioning in an educational setting and it serves as a starting point for later individual assessment. The goal of the study…

We prospectively examined the role of physical activity involvement, weight status, and motor functioning capability in 1st grade for social status among other pupils in class in the 4th grade. Our sample included 80 Norwegian 1st grade pupils (Girls N = 44; Boys N = 36). 1st grade motor proficiency and objectively measured physical activity, but…