Seven dimensions of school disciplinary climate were identified based on a representative sample of grade 8 students in the United States. Within schools, students varied considerably in their perceptions and experiences about discipline. The variation was related mainly to students' socioeconomic status (SES), sex, and ethnicity. There was a…

This study examined the effect of chronological age on kindergarten children's reading readiness skills. Specifically, we ask whether chronological age should be considered when making decisions about academic redshirting: the practice of delaying younger children's entrance into kindergarten. We were concerned particularly with reading readiness,…

It is always ourselves we see on the stage.? we struggle to make human meaning and sense from what we see before us. (O'Neill, 1995, p. 76) Theatre is the enactment of possible worlds. It is performed in a middle space owned by neither author nor reader.? It is a space for negotiation. It is the middle place of the curriculum. (Grumet, 1998, p.…

The present study set out to develop a self-report instrument, the Depressive Symptoms Questionnaire (DSQ), for assessing depressed mood in school-aged children. Included were items based on research that reported symptoms of depressed mood in children, items related to negative psychosocial functioning, and items related to self-perceived…

This article examines some of the ways graduate students engage in interactive writing in online university courses as a means of discussion. In particular, I present data from course transcripts that suggest that discursive interaction in an asynchronous, text-based, online course may be uniquely suited to fostering higher-order thinking and…

Research indicates that a sound performance appraisal process for school administrators contains key mechanisms that manifest themselves through dimensions of effective planning, assessment, and evaluation; effective use of resources; and communicating clear expectations. This article documents the development of a contemporary model of…

In this article we lay Debbie's research on the positioning of parents in relation to the school landscape alongside Bill?s classroom work with Aboriginal parents. Our work challenges the view that parents are given place and voice in their children's schooling experiences. We question assumptions on which the term partnership is used with parents…

Government-imposed testing has been introduced in Canada to establish benchmarks, improve accountability, and measure achievement consistently. In this study 133 teachers from urban and rural Manitoba completed surveys (a response rate of 34%) to ascertain their attitudes toward mandated testing. Results indicated that most teachers expressed…

Although arguments in scholarly journals claim that leadership is critical in initiating and sustaining school improvement, ambiguity surrounds the sources and role of leadership. In addition, little research documents how educators involved in school improvement perceive who leads, how, why, and for what purposes leadership is important. This…

This study investigated the relationships between psychosocial factors and self-esteem for 1,672 Taiwanese senior high school students (779 boys, 893 girls). Students from Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, completed a Chinese version of the Secondary Student Questionnaire (SSQ), which measures self-esteem, depression, anxiety, stereotyped thinking,…

This report examines Canadian teacher candidates' perspectives on the multicultural education component of the preservice teacher education program they attend. The data we analyze were collected through a questionnaire that set out to explore whether teacher candidates were satisfied with the multicultural education preparation they received and…

This pilot study introduces a scale to assess structural knowledge in concept maps. The need to increase our understanding of structural knowledge through improved assessment is made evident in a review of research that indicates that its quality is related to problem-solving abilities. The new scale is derived from Biggs and Collis' (1982)…

This study examined teacher interns' and their classroom cooperating teachers' concerns about the extended practicum both before and after their completion of the 16-week program. Respondents completed pre- and post-internship surveys identifying their initial concerns about the internship and the subsequent alleviation of these concerns (or the…

This study addresses the differences between literature in children's trade books and the literature in commercial elementary language arts reading programs used in Canada. Although the nature of the literature included in language arts programs has received considerable scrutiny in the United States, there is no parallel body of research in the…

The contextual leadership theory provides a frame to investigate the leadership phenomenon in a childcare context. According to the contextual leadership theory, leadership is perceived of as a socially constructed, situational and interpretive phenomenon. The purpose of the study was to investigate leadership in a Finnish childcare context based…