Coherent curricula are needed to help students develop deep understanding of important ideas in science. Too often students experience curriculum that is piecemeal and lacks coordination and consistency across time, topics, and disciplines. Investigating and Questioning our World through Science and Technology (IQWST) is a middle school science…

The social and cultural norms children learn in schools can have a powerful effect on a variety of lifestyle decisions that will affect their physical and mental health. In this article we examine research on social issues in elementary school physical education. We provide an overview of how teachers' actions and behaviors affect what children…

The perspective of this article is that the purpose of the elementary physical education program is the development of a physically active lifestyle. We discuss the relative contribution of the development of motor skills, fitness, content related to encouraging participation, and the affective goals of the program to the development of a…

The purpose of this article is to review current models for curriculum and pedagogy used in elementary school physical education programs. Historically, physical educators have developed and used a multiactivity curriculum in order to educate students through physical movement. More recently, a variety of alternative curricular models have been…

This article offers a brief review of research that has examined the perceptions of physical education held by 2 groups: (1) adults (including parents, teachers, and school administrators), and (2) children and adolescents. Most surveys of adults reveal generally positive perceptions of physical education, as well as the corollary belief that the…

Physical inactivity is a serious public health problem that is associated with numerous preventable diseases. Public health concerns, particularly those related to the increased prevalence of overweight, obesity, and diabetes, call for schools to become proactive in the promotion of healthy, physically active lifestyles. This article begins by…

Recent attention to the childhood obesity and inactivity epidemics in the United States would seem to bode well for public school physical education. I argue that it is actually a mixed blessing. Its effect is mixed because it presents physical activity as an obligation or duty. This stands in stark contrast to movement in the broader liberal arts…

Four principles are drawn from approximately 100 years of research in the area of motor development. The principles are (1) children are not miniature adults, (2) boys and girls (children) are more alike than different, (3) good things are earned, and (4) no body (nobody) is perfect. Five sections of this article introduce some of the major…

This article examines the incidence and quality of physical activity instruction during early childhood. Although the positive effect of physical activity on the cognitive, social, and physical development of young children is generally acknowledged, there is little emphasis nationally on ensuring appropriate physical educational experiences…

Elementary school physical education has repeatedly been shaped by the forces of history. Presently, concerns about the obesity epidemic and the low levels of physical activity in children are exerting a major influence on curriculum. Whereas building physical fitness has been a dominant influence during wartime, the focus today is on (a)…

The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of objective assessments of the short- and long-term outcomes of elementary school physical education programs. Evaluations have used a variety of designs, including longitudinal and tracking studies as well as correlational analyses. The short-term effect of physical education on health and…

We address issues of science curriculum for nonmainstream students--students of color, students learning English as a new language, and students from low-income families--who are often concentrated in urban schools. First, we describe a theoretical framework for equitable learning opportunities with nonmainstream students. Building on this…

This article evaluates 2 technology applications for teaching beginning reading. One, embedded multimedia, involves brief phonics and vocabulary videos threaded through teachers' lessons. The other, computer-assisted tutoring, helps tutors with planning, instruction, and assessment. An experiment in 2 high-poverty, high-minority Success for All…

This article examines the effectiveness of observable and quantifiable traits in and approaches of school principals in enhancing student achievement. Data were gathered on 2,048 fourth-grade students in 96 public primary schools in Leon, Mexico; Belo Horizonte, Brazil; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Santiago, Chile. The UNESCO/ORELAC (United…

Too often, African American elementary school students, including the gifted, disengage academically and underachieve in public schools. Increased research on the underachievement and low achievement of African American students in gifted education programs has suggested that an array of educational, personal/social, and familial factors (e.g.,…