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"The current study investigated children's use of information about informants' cultural background and learning method to learn novel facts about an unfamiliar culture. Ninety-six 6- to 9-year-olds heard about an immersed informant (i.e., member of an unfamiliar out-group) and a non-immersed informant (i.e., member of the child's in-group) who each learned about a novel cultural practice differently (i.e., from a person vs. from a book). Children decided which informant executed the cultural practice better (i.e., correctness), which informant they would prefer to learn from (i.e., future learning preference), and how they would want to learn (i.e., learning method preference). Overall, children preferred to endorse immersed informants over non-immersed informants, but a synergistic effect emerged such that the immersed informants who learned from a person were seen as ideal for imparting information in this context. No significant age effects emerged. Relational vocabulary predicted children's performance on the correctness question. These findings are discussed in light of limitations of current selective social learning models and implications for how children learn during middle childhood."--Abstract from author supplied metadata

Primary school teachers' use of whole-class activity is a well-documented phenomenon. Typically, it is assumed that children's active participation in group tasks is important for their academic learning and for developing self-concept. However, previous studies have found that children's participation varies widely. The present research set out to investigate why individual children's participation differs within the peer group during whole-class activity. Teachers' pedagogy and children's social worlds intersect during classroom interactions; it is in this intersecting space that this research is situated. One specific whole-class activity was chosen as a focus, namely mat time. This is a practice whereby the teacher calls the entire class to the mat typically for the purposes of instruction, discussion, or other similar activity. To understand mat time from the perspectives of the people who experience it, two studies were undertaken using a mixed strategy approach for data gathering. The first study investigated teachers' perspectives (N=296) using a questionnaire. Participants were asked about a variety of themes relating to mat time including pedagogical uses, strategies, and outcomes. Principal components analyses confirmed the approximate uni-dimensionality of the data relating to each theme, which were then calibrated to a measurement variable using Samejima's (1969, as cited in DeMars, 2010) graded response model. Various correlations and comparisons were conducted pertaining to the pedagogical factors influencing children's participation, behaviour, and enjoyment. The second study used qualitative semi-structured interviews with children (n=49) from three year two classrooms situated in different schools.

The Responsive Classroom approach combines social and academic learning, allowing students to learn through social interactions and fostering a positive learning community where children feel safe. One elementary school implemented the Responsive Classroom approach to support the students' social and emotional development and to help create a positive school community. This study examined staff and student perceptions of an elementary school's climate after the first year of Responsive Classroom implementation. The study also examined the rate of disciplinary actions and bullying reports before and after the implementation of Responsive Classroom. Staff perceptions of school climate were generally more positive after the implementation of Responsive Classroom. Student perceptions of school climate were positive at both the beginning and end of the year although some changes were noted in student self perceptions. There was a notable decrease in the rate of detentions, suspensions, and bullying reports.