Mandates on reading and math achievement in elementary education in rural Georgia have led to a decline in writing proficiency as the subject becomes increasingly neglected. At the same time, schools strive to increase parental involvement programs. Consequently, there is a need for more research on the impact of parental involvement on student writing proficiency. Accordingly, this qualitative case study examined the impact of Family Message Journals (FMJ) and parent participation on teaching writing across the curriculum. Participants included 6 third-graders and their parents. Students wrote in journals 4 days per week across the 4 months of the study, and parents provided parallel responses each night. Student entries were examined and coded by academic subject and the 4 domains of the Georgia Writing Assessment Rubric to document students' growth in specific writing skills; parental responses were coded according to the type of response. Inductive analysis was used to analyze and interpret structured interview data to document emergent themes and search for patterns of meaning. All FMJ data were triangulated in a data source matrix with interviews of parents and students to explore linkages across sources. Findings revealed that (a) using FMJ increased students' writing ability, (b) teaching writing across the curriculum provided time for writing instruction, (c) comprehension was enhanced in subject content areas, and (d) parents felt more informed and appreciated. This study will prove beneficial for educators desiring to include writing without compromising time in currently mandated content areas, and also for parents who want to be informed, involved, and empowered. Teachers using FMJ can initiate social change by preparing more proficient students with a positive attitude for writing. Ideally, these attributes will build and follow these students into the workforce.

Motivation, which is based on experience, is crucial in promoting literacy acquisition; however, little research has explored what children experience during literacy activities such as poetry reading and writing. This phenomenological study explored what elementary students experienced during literacy activities focused on poetry. Educational reform inspired by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is based on a narrow range of quantitative research and does not consider the multifaceted nature of literacy and the experiences of the learner. Bruner's psychocultural theory and the belief that an individual's experiences are the core of existence were the philosophical and theoretical frameworks used to craft this research. This study was conducted to illuminate children's experience during literacy activities, including Poetry Break, which has been observed to be an eagerly anticipated part of daily classroom rituals at a culturally diverse Title I school. Interviews were held with 22 fifth through twelfth grade students from culturally diverse backgrounds. Fourteen were English-language learners. Students were asked to reflect upon and describe their experiences of poetry reading and writing when in the third or fourth grade. Data were analyzed by isolating thematic statements to glean the essence of the poetry experience. The experiences of fun, being center stage, working with friends, emotional outlet, expressing oneself, choice, creating community, improved reading, and writing were some of the themes that emerged. Implications for positive social change include the use of these findings by educational planners to create motivational and engaging literacy learning activities that can result in improved literacy.

Georgia Writing Assessment scores revealed that there were third grade students at an elementary school in rural Southeast Georgia struggling to meet the state standards. This pre-experimental, action research study examined the impact of collaborative analysis of student work on student achievement among third graders in the area of writing through a one-group pretest-posttest design. The pretest phase of this quantitative study was comprised of the collection of scored student writing samples followed by professional development training for teacher participants on collaborative analysis of student work. The posttest phase of the study included the collection of scored student writing samples. These student writing samples were scored by each teacher using a rubric developed by the state of Georgia as part of the Georgia Writing Assessment. Six third grade teachers and 50 third grade students participated in the study. A repeated measures t test was conducted to determine the impact of collaborative analysis of student work on student achievement. This comparative analysis between pretest and posttest scores indicated that the collaborative efforts of the teachers in this action research initiative positively impacted student achievement. Recommendations for further study include duplication of the study at another time during the school year, repetition of the study using a larger sample, and the collection of qualitative data from teachers and students through surveys, questionnaires, or focus group interviews. The social change implication of this study is that it informs the body of knowledge related to the impact of collaborative analysis of student work on student achievement in the area of writing at the elementary school level This may be beneficial to administrators and teachers in the planning of professional development activities and the teaching and learning of writing.

Research on students' voices and perspectives regarding homework is absent from the literature. This qualitative case study explored the perspectives of 5th and 6th grade students and ten teachers' perceptions regarding homework completion. The literature review revealed 3 trends in homework, including support homework, support against homework, and homework reform. However, most of this research considers the adults' perspective. The researcher administered 46 questionnaires and conducted 12 in depth interviews using a stratified purposive sample and extreme case sampling. The questionnaires and interviews educed the participants' perceptions and practices regarding homework. The students represented 4 distinct groups: English language learners, general education, gifted and talented, and special education. The teachers instruct 5th and 6th grade. The researcher analyzed the data using critical pedagogy framework, constant comparison method and a transcript based analysis. The findings of this study revealed that students do not complete their homework because they find it too hard, boring, or they do not understand it. The participants expressed liking research projects because they afford flexibility and creativity. The results also suggest no substantial difference in the students' responses from various groups. The teachers' responses revealed that 90% of the participants assign incomplete classwork as homework, disclosing a lack of training in designing homework. This study contributes to the existing literature and enhances social change initiatives by taking the students' perception into consideration and echoing their voice in the literature. Teachers and administrators can use the results of this study to develop homework practices that would increase homework completion and student learning.

With the demands of the No Child Left Behind legislation to utilize research-based instructional practices and teach all children to read by the end of third grade, teachers find themselves going beyond teachers' editions and curriculum guides to the research on best reading practices. The purpose of this quantitative nonexperimental cross-sectional correlational study was to examine the strength and direction of the relationship between motivation to read, oral reading fluency, and demographics for third-grade elementary students (N=112). An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to quantitatively analyze archival data to assess the relationship between motivation to read, oral reading fluency, and demographics. Motivation to read, which was reported as MRP scores, includes the dimensions of self-concept as a reader and value of reading, and was measured using the Motivation to Read Profile (MRP) Reading Survey. Oral reading fluency, which was reported as Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) rates, was measured using the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS). Results showed a significant relationship between motivation to read, oral reading fluency, and demographics for all three dimensions of motivation. Findings from the study may contribute to social change by influencing educators' uses of oral reading fluency data and interventions that employ improving motivation to read in an attempt to improve reading achievement for third-grade elementary students. Suggestions for further research include examining the relationship between motivation to read and oral reading fluency.

This study was an investigation of mathematics instruction and professional development at a rural elementary school. The Department of Education in a southern U.S. state implemented a new curriculum in 2007 that required major changes in mathematics instruction. The problems were that teachers engaged in different levels of training and many students experienced a decline in mathematics scores on the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT). The historical learning theories of Piaget and Vygotsky framed the study. The guiding questions focused on how to improve mathematics instruction through professional development for teachers. Nine elementary school educators served as purposefully selected participants. The research design was a case study that included triangulation of data from teacher interviews, a research journal, and documents such as lesson plans. Open coding and selective analysis generated 9 themes and 9 subthemes to answer the guiding questions. Findings showed that participants believed content and pedagogy should be addressed through professional development led by teachers themselves. Additional findings were that teachers valued collaboration, literature and research, observation, vertical alignment, engagement, relevance, and support. Results were used to guide the design of a mathematics professional development program (MPDP), a collection of relevant tasks, literature, and online resources geared toward improving teachers' content and pedagogical knowledge. The MPDP is immediately applicable in an elementary school setting. The implications for positive social change include better mathematics instruction that will prepare U.S. students to compete in the modern economy and world of mathematical and scientific advances.

Despite the current emphasis on differentiating instruction to accommodate individual student learning needs, most reading instruction is taught primarily in static small groups or whole group settings. However, the use of flexible reading groups for reading instruction allows students to be appropriately challenged and avoids labeling a student's reading readiness as stagnant. This study examines the relationship between flexible reading groups and reading achievement of 130 fifth grade students in one elementary school. The theoretical base for the research is grounded in the constructivist theory as supported by Vygotsky and Bruner. In this quasi-experimental quantitative research study, the effect of flexible reading groups on reading achievement was examined using a within-subject pretest and posttest single group design to compare gain scores using the Standardized Test of Achievement in Reading. The scores compared an eight week period of whole group instruction to an eight week period of flexible group instruction on the reading assessment. Data from the gain scores of the groups were statistically analyzed using a paired samples t test to determine whether or not the flexible reading groups had a positive effect on reading achievement. Statistical analysis yielded a statistically significant difference t(129) = 3.82, p < .05 which was interpreted to mean that flexible reading groups significantly enhanced student learning. This study will contribute to the most recent research on flexible grouping and reading instruction by focusing on the implementation of flexible reading groups and establishing data to support the research on flexible group instruction. This study contributes to social change by providing educators with knowledge on differentiated instruction through the implementation of flexible groups as it relates to reading achievement.

The percentage of male teachers is at its lowest number in 40 years. The problem is that fewer males are choosing elementary teaching as a career choice. As a result, many elementary students rarely see a male teacher during their formative education years. This issue is a concern for superintendents, college of education deans, recruiters, school administrators, and parents whose children are not being exposed to a diverse teacher workforce that includes male elementary teachers. The purpose of this study was to better define and understand the unique experiences of male elementary teachers in today's classroom. The conceptual framework for the study incorporated Levinson's adult male development theory, Palmer's teaching landscape, and Mezirow's transformative learning theory. This qualitative study investigated the experience of 6 male elementary teachers in 3 different school districts in a southeastern state. This study followed Moustakas's phenomenological method utilizing criterion sampling. Data were collected, analyzed, and coded for preliminary categories and themes. Four themes emerged: (1) male role modeling, (2) readying students, (3) establishing mentoring relationships, and (4) mattering. The findings show that male elementary teachers are a crucial voice for some students, and they fulfill a needed role in the elementary school. This study addresses positive social change by providing a voice for the male elementary teacher, a diminishing but important teaching population, while also illustrating how the male elementary teacher's presence in the classroom can serve as a positive role model, mentor, and diverse elementary learning experience for the children.

Limited data connect teacher training in arts integration (AI) to evidence that students benefit from arts integrated instruction. As teachers are challenged to facilitate instruction for a wide continuum of learning needs, and students are challenged to demonstrate learning through high-stakes testing, more data are needed on how teachers learn and transfer AI strategies to classroom practice. Teachers (N = 38) from five elementary schools learned multi-modal AI strategies via the Intensive Development through the Arts (IDEA) model. Interview data in this concurrent mixed methods study illustrated the IDEA experience as a positive influence on (a) the learning environment, (b) teacher practice, and (c) addressing student diversities. Classroom observations, with the use of an observation rubric, documented the transfer of AI strategies to classroom practice. A Likert-type survey assessed teacher beliefs of self-efficacy in the practice of AI strategies. Findings revealed that sustained collaboration with artist/educators and student modeling were significant components of the IDEA model, and that Acting Right (c) provided the foundation necessary for successfully implementing AI strategies. Results indicated no significant correlations between IDEA level, years teaching experience, and teacher beliefs of self-efficacy. The significance of this study is the connection of teacher AI training to teacher practice, and effective teacher practice to increased student achievement.

Science content integration, or the simultaneous teaching of science with other subjects during learning activities, has been explored by multiple studies. However, due to a lack of consensus on its definition, it was difficult for educators in a local school district to discuss and evaluate the effectiveness of this instructional technique. This qualitative collective case study, based on a constructivist theoretical foundation, centered on the questions of how teachers defined and used science content integration, and perceptions of impediments to its use. Participants were five teachers in a suburban elementary school. The sources of data for this study were interviews, audio recordings of lessons, and teacher documents in the form of lesson plans. Data analysis was conducted through multiple coding procedures, allowing the emergence of themes. Data analysis showed that participants' beliefs and practices differed according to age levels and developmental needs of their students. Implications for positive social change include building from this study to provide content integration-based professional development, common planning time, and suitable materials to improve teachers' capacity to integrate science content into instruction.