This study presents a novel standardized rating instrument for observing and measuring effective classroom management (ECM) as part of the teaching and learning environments in primary school. The instrument comprises eight high-inferent items on organizational aspects (lack of disruptions/discipline problems, withitness, effective time use, clear…

Research Findings: Children differ in their ability to adapt to elementary school. Yet, the family factors that foster a successful transition to elementary school are less well understood. Family cohesion as an indicator of a positive emotional climate within families may play an important role for children's ability to adapt to school. Thus,…

The aim of the present study was to investigate the associations between parental and teacher support and elementary students' academic skills during the COVID-19 pandemic. Building on data of an ongoing longitudinal study, we studied the roles of children's (N = 63) academic skills before the first COVID-19 lockdown in Germany (March-June 2020)…

The "summer learning effect" (SLE) is described as a stall or drop in achievement over summer, especially in schools serving poor or "minority" communities. There has been little research in Europe on the effect, and research internationally has primarily focused on the effect in reading, with minimal focus on writing. This…

This study investigates whether children's preschool experiences are associated with later achievement via enhanced learning behaviors using data from a German longitudinal study following children (N = 554) from age 3 in preschool to age 8 in second grade. There were two main findings. First, results suggest that more positive learning behaviors…

In most general education classrooms in Germany, students with and without special educational needs are taught together. To support teachers in adapting instruction to these heterogeneous classrooms, we have developed learning progress assessment (LPA) and reading instructional materials, the "Reading Sportsman" (RS), in line with the…

Supporting students with difficulties in learning mathematics is a challenge for teachers and educational administrators. Formative assessment is considered to play a successful role in supporting at-risk students as well as students without difficulties in mathematics. There is a need for intervention programs, including formative assessment…

The present paper was written under the auspices of the interdisciplinary research group "Educational Processes, Competence Development, and Selection Decisions at Preschool and Primary School Age (BiKS)" (FOR 543), funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). The surveys were conceptualised and supervised as part of the developmental…

Learning academic vocabulary is a crucial task for all students, but especially challenging for students with speech, language, and communication needs (SLCN) and those who are multilingual. Following a participatory research strategy, we analyze whether iconic gestures can be integrated in teaching routines in an inclusive elementary school and…

Learning strategies can be powerful learning tools. Some studies show that even primary school students use them. However, hardly any studies have investigated the use of learning strategies of students with special needs, especially for those with emotional and behavioural disorders, in primary schools. Thus, in the present study we examined…

We examined a web-based mathematics progress monitoring tool for second graders. The tool monitors the learning progress of two competences, number sense and computation. A total of 414 students from 19 classrooms in Germany were checked every 3 weeks from fall to spring. Correlational analyses indicate that alternate-form reliability was adequate…

At the beginning of primary school, young children need to adapt academically, socially, and emotionally to their new school environment. Enjoying going to school and becoming socially integrated are important preconditions for successful learning. However, children from disadvantaged families have fewer resources and receive less support, and…

Based on a theoretical model of instructional quality this study investigates the influence of different dimensions of instructional quality in the school entrance phase on students' language development taking into account child and family background factors as well as structural characteristics of the classroom and teacher's educational beliefs.…

Research has shown that a profound place value understanding is crucial for success in learning mathematics. At the same time, a substantial number of students struggles with developing a sustainable place value understanding. In this regard, two aspects of the place value system appear especially relevant: First, the knowledge of the decimal…

Current research has established that inclusive schooling alone cannot ensure the social participation of all children -- a central goal of inclusive education. Therefore, this study examines whether the participation of students is dependant on the type of difficulty they experience (learning vs. behavioural) and the degree of class cohesion.…