This issue highlights six distinct studies. The first study examines the inclusion of literacy props and teacher mediation on the literacy behaviors of young children. The second explores the relationship of amount of talk, diversity of talk, and complexity of talk on the language acquisition of young preschool children who are learning a second…

The Early ON School Readiness Project is an emerging community-based model aimed at promoting the school readiness of 3- to 5-year-old children in a metropolitan area with a predominantly Latino (Mexican-American) population. Using an ecological approach, the multi-component program seeks to enhance school readiness opportunities for children at…

Emergent literacy research states that young children learn about reading and writing through experiences with oral and written language. The purpose of this study was to examine the frequency with which individual preschool children voluntarily engaged in literacy behaviors during free choice in the classroom. The sample consisted of nine…

The quality of care in infant and toddler classrooms was compared across inclusive (n=64) and noninclusive classrooms (n=400). Quality was measured using the Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale-Revised (ITERS-R). An exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis revealed four distinct dimensions of quality within the ITERS-R. Inclusive…

In this ethnographic study, we examined the musicking behaviors of schoolchildren at one American elementary school. The aim was to gain an understanding of the nature and context of rhythmic and melodic expressions made and heard by children, emanating from other children, as well as adults within the school environment. Time, place, and function…

The purpose of this study was to explore the content of reflective dialogues between student teachers in music and their cooperating teachers, as well as to understand the effects of reflective dialogue on professional development. I was guided in this analysis of 49 transcriptions of interviews and reflective dialogues between student teachers…

We examined the effects of presentation modality and learning style preference on people's ability to learn and remember unfamiliar melodies and sentences. In Experiment 1, we gauged musicians' and nonmusicians' learning efficiency for meaningful and less meaningful melodies as well as sentences when presented visually or auditorily. In Experiment…

In the present study, we examined whether collective efficacy, group cohesion (task and social), and perceived motivational climate (task-involving and ego-involving orientations) in a music ensemble predict instrumentalists' perceived conductor support. Ninety-one (N = 91) skilled high school instrumentalists participated in the study. To assess…

The purpose of this study was to examine the professional contributions of Alice Carey Inskeep (1875-1942), who contributed significantly to music education through her "positive and effective teaching, supervising, community service, and leadership in music education". Inskeep was born, in Ottumwa, Iowa, and taught for five years in that city's…

We examined the content of the 2002 and 2004 National Biennial In-Service Conferences of MENC: The National Association for Music Education; the 2002 and 2004 Midwest Clinic: An International Band and Orchestra Conferences; the 2002 and 2004 Orff-Schulwerk Conferences; and the 2003 and 2005 American Choral Directors Association Conventions. Each…

The purpose of this study was to explore perceived concerns of preservice music education teachers across four different points in professional development. A 45-item Teacher Concerns Checklist (Borich, 2000), based upon Fuller and Bown's (1975) three-stage model of teacher development, identified respondents' levels of self-concerns, task…

The purpose of this research was to discover materials and methods used and examine influences on how and why sight-singing is taught in Florida middle-school choral programs. Members of the Florida Vocal Association completed an online or paper version of a questionnaire (N = 152). Data yielded several results that support previous research and…

The use of peer mentoring in a successful high school jazz band was explored during one academic year of instruction using ethnographic techniques. Participants included primary informants (student jazz band members, director, assistant director, adult mentors) and secondary informants (guidance counselor, principal, parents, non-jazz band member…

In this article, we deal with students' algebraic generalizations set in the context of elementary geometric-numeric patterns. Drawing from Vygotsky's psychology, Leont'ev's Activity Theory, and Husserl's phenomenology, we focus on the various semiotic resources mobilized by students in their passage from the particular to the general. Two small…

This ethnographic study investigated the mathematical disposition of engineers. Structural engineers in two firms were observed in everyday practice. Observation and interview data were analyzed to elucidate the role of mathematics in solving engineering problems and the engineers' perceptions of the status of mathematics relative to other…