Previous research has demonstrated a link between spatial and math skills. However, little research has examined this relation longitudinally. The present study examines the development of and ...reciprocal relations between spatial and math skills in elementary school students. We administered two spatial tasks and a math task to 312 first- through third-grade students who were tested in the spring for three consecutive school years. Linear growth models showed increases for each skill across the three school years. A random intercepts cross-lagged panel analysis indicated that controlling for task-specific (i.e., autoregressive) growth, there was a relation between spatial visualization/mental rotation at Year 1 and math performance at Year 2. In addition, math scores in Year 2 predicted Year 3 spatial visualization/mental rotation skills as well as Year 3 spatial perception skills. Further, there were significant differences in task performance depending on grade in school, and there were gender differences in spatial perception and sometimes math performance. Thus, we find some evidence for reciprocal relations between spatial and math skills over development, but our results suggest that the particular type of spatial skill measured is important to consider in studying these relations.
Mounting evidence suggests teacher–child race/ethnicity matching and classroom diversity benefit Black and Latinx children's academic and socioemotional development. However, less is known about ...whether the effects of teacher–child matching differ across levels of classroom diversity. This study examined effects of matching on teacher‐reported child outcomes in a racially/ethnically diverse sample of teachers and children, and classroom diversity moderation using multilevel models. Data were drawn from a professional learning study involving 224 teachers (Mage = 41.5) and 5,200 children (Mage = 7.7) in 36 New York City elementary schools. Teacher–child race/ethnicity matching was associated with higher child engagement in learning, motivation, social skills, and fewer absences. Classroom diversity moderated matching such that teacher–child mismatch was related to lower engagement, motivation, social skills, math and reading scores in low‐diversity classrooms, but not in high‐diversity classrooms. Implications for practice and policy are discussed.
Objective: To examine effects of a teacher consultation and coaching program delivered by school and community mental health professionals on change in observed classroom interactions and child ...functioning across one school year. Method: Thirty-six classrooms within 5 urban elementary schools (87% Latino, 11% Black) were randomly assigned to intervention (training + consultation/coaching) and control (training only) conditions. Classroom and child outcomes (n = 364; 43% girls) were assessed in the fall and spring. Results: Random effects regression models showed main effects of intervention on teacher-student relationship closeness, academic self-concept, and peer victimization. Results of multiple regression models showed levels of observed teacher emotional support in the fall moderated intervention impact on emotional support at the end of the school year. Conclusions: Results suggest teacher consultation and coaching can be integrated within existing mental health activities in urban schools and impact classroom effectiveness and child adaptation across multiple domains.
Physically active learning (PAL) - integration of movement within delivery of academic content - is a core component of many whole-of-school physical activity approaches. Yet, PAL intervention ...methods and strategies vary and frequently are not sustained beyond formal programmes. To improve PAL training, a more comprehensive understanding of the behavioural and psychological processes that influence teachers' adoption and implementation of PAL is required. To address this, we conducted a meta-synthesis to synthesise key stakeholders' knowledge of facilitators and barriers to teachers' implementing PAL in schools to improve teacher-focussed PAL interventions in primary (elementary) schools.
We conducted a meta-synthesis using a five-stage thematic synthesis approach to; develop a research purpose and aim, identify relevant articles, appraise studies for quality, develop descriptive themes and interpret and synthesise the literature. In the final stage, 14 domains from the Theoretical Domain Framework (TDF) were then aligned to the final analytical themes and subthemes.
We identified seven themes and 31 sub-themes from 25 eligible papers. Four themes summarised teacher-level factors: PAL benefits, teachers' beliefs about own capabilities, PAL teacher training, PAL delivery. One theme encompassed teacher and school-level factors: resources. Two themes reflected school and external factors that influence teachers' PAL behaviour: whole-school approach, external factors. Ten (of 14) TDF domains aligned with main themes and sub-themes: Knowledge, Skills, Social/Professional Role and Identity, Beliefs about Capabilities, Beliefs about Consequences, Reinforcement, Goals, Environmental Context and Resources, Social influences and Emotion.
Our synthesis illustrates the inherent complexity required to change and sustain teachers' PAL behaviours. Initially, teachers must receive the training, resources and support to develop the capability to implement and adapt PAL. The PAL training programme should progress as teachers' build their experience and capability; content should be 'refreshed' and become more challenging over time. Subsequently, it is imperative to engage all levels of the school community for PAL to be fully integrated into a broader school system. Adequate resources, strong leadership and governance, an engaged activated community and political will are necessary to achieve this, and may not currently exist in most schools.
This meta-analysis examined which classroom management strategies and programs enhanced students' academic, behavioral, social-emotional, and motivational outcomes in primary education. The analysis ...included 54 random and nonrandom controlled intervention studies published in the past decade (2003–2013). Results showed small but significant effects (average g = 0.22) on all outcomes, except for motivational outcomes. Programs were coded for the presence/absence of four categories of strategies: focusing on the teacher, on student behavior, on students' social-emotional development, and on teacher–student relationships. Focusing on the students' social-emotional development appeared to have the largest contribution to the interventions' effectiveness, in particular on the social-emotional outcomes. Moreover, we found a tentative result that students' academic outcomes benefitted from teacher-focused programs.
Lifestyle choices made by children and adolescents can lead to a variety of health problems. It is therefore crucial to evaluate the state health-related lifestyles of primary school children’s and ...identify areas for improvement. The aim of this study was to investigate the experiences and perspectives of those involved in educating current generations of primary school children about their lifestyle and the associated health implications of their behavior. Four focus groups were formed, comprising parents, primary school teachers, health professionals, and leisure activity teachers, with five participants in each group. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with each group as part of the qualitative research paradigm of the study. The study revealed three central themes, emphasizing the need to promote health and educate children about healthy behaviors, environmental influences, and health literacy. Community nurses need to take a proactive role in promoting school health. Although adults, peers, and the environment exert a strong influence on children’s lifestyles, they often fail to live up to their responsibilities and allow harmful habits to form. To instill positive behaviors and an optimistic attitude towards a healthy lifestyle, all those involved in a child’s education need to collaborate. Health-related topics should be included or reinforced in primary school curricula, and parents and school staff should receive appropriate training.
A new parent‐report measure was used to examine parents' person and process responses to children's math performance. Twice over a year from 2017 to 2020, American parents (N = 546; 80% mothers, 20% ...other caregivers; 62% white, 21% Black, 17% other) reported their responses and math beliefs; their children's (Mage = 7.48 years; 50% girls, 50% boys) math adjustment was also assessed. Factor analyses indicated parents' person and process responses to children's math success and failure represent four distinct, albeit related, responses. Person (vs. process) responses were less common and less likely to accompany views of math ability as malleable and failure as constructive (|r|s = .16–.23). The more parents used person responses, the poorer children's later math adjustment (|β|s = .06–.16).
Background
A key feature of engineering design is collaborative, deliberate decision making that takes into account information about design options. K‐12 students need opportunities for this kind of ...decision making if they are to meet the learning standards for engineering set out in the Next Generation Science Standards.
Purpose
This qualitative study sought to propose and operationalize a definition of reflective decision‐making among elementary students. We investigated how urban elementary students enact reflective decision‐making in a formal engineering design curriculum.
Method
We used naturalistic inquiry methodology and video recorded seven Engineering is Elementary design challenges in four classrooms. Students worked in small teams, and we focused on their planning and redesign phases. Maximum variation sampling, constant comparative analysis, and microethnographic accounts demonstrated the diversity of resources students utilized in their decision making.
Results
In student discourse, we found evidence for six reflective decision‐making elements: articulating multiple solutions, evaluating pros and cons, intentionally selecting a solution, retelling the performance of a solution, analyzing a solution according to evidence, and purposefully choosing improvements. The discourse patterns used to enact these elements both supported and interfered with students' achievement of design goals.
Conclusions
Our results suggest that during engineering design tasks, young learners working in small teams can respond productively to opportunities to engage in sophisticated discourse. However, further work is needed on tools and strategies that support reflective decision‐making by all students during engineering design in elementary school.
The affective quality of teacher-student relationships (TSRs) has mostly been studied in Western contexts and little is known how findings generalize to Eastern contexts. Therefore, the present study ...examined measurement invariance, mean differences, and agreement in teachers' and students' perceptions of relationship quality between the Netherlands and China. The sample consisted of 789 primary school students (51% girls) and 35 teachers (80% female) from the Netherlands, and 587 primary school students (53% girls) and 14 teachers (93% female) from Zhejiang, China. Both teachers and students reported about the quality of their mutual relationships. Structural equation modeling showed that teachers' perceptions of closeness, conflict and dependency, as well as students' perceptions of closeness and conflict in the relationship, reached partially strong invariance. Chinese students perceived more closeness and less conflict with teachers than Dutch students. Chinese teachers also reported less conflict but comparable levels of closeness and dependency as Dutch teachers. Chinese teacher-student dyads had higher agreement on closeness but lower agreement on conflict than Dutch teacher-student dyads. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Background
Teaching and caring for pupils during the COVID‐19 pandemic has been a challenge for many teachers, and its impact on teachers’ mental health and well‐being (MHWB) should be of great ...national and international concern.
Aim and participants
This study examines 24 primary and secondary school teachers’ MHWB experiences across three time points (April, July, and November 2020) using longitudinal qualitative trajectory analysis.
Method
We used a mixture of inductive and deductive coding, based on the Job Demands–Resources Model, to identify the job demands (aspects of the job that can be physically or psychologically costly) and job resources (aspects of the job that can buffer the effects of job demands and promote achievement and growth) teachers reported experiencing across the three time points.
Results
Generally, teachers’ MHWB seemed to have declined throughout the pandemic, especially for primary school leaders. Six job demands contributed negatively to teachers’ MHWB (i.e., uncertainty, workload, negative perception of the profession, concern for others’ well‐being, health struggles, and multiple roles) and three job resources contributed positively to their MHWB (i.e., social support, work autonomy, and coping strategies).
Conclusions
Policymakers and practitioners can support teachers’ MHWB by engaging in more collaborative communication and ensuring greater accessibility to sources of social support. These discussions and provisions will be crucial in supporting teachers, and thereby the educational system, both during and after the pandemic.
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