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Main, Mediated, And Moderated Effects Of Participating In An After-School Social And Emotional Learning Program On Young Children's Development Of Social-Emotional Skills, Amy L. Cordier

Dissertations and Theses

Young children's social and emotional skills (SE skills) are highly predictive of the ease with which they transition to kindergarten as well as their success in the K-12 school system and in life after graduation. Children from low socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds often enter kindergarten with less well-developed SE skills and lag their peers throughout their school careers. Studies of social-emotional learning (SEL) programs indicate that these programs are successful in teaching SE skills, both in school and in after-school programs. However, less is known about the mechanisms of changes through which SEL programs improve children's SE skills and for …

Early Intervention Referral Outcomes For Children At Increased Risk Of Experiencing Developmental Delays, Kristi Laurine Atkins

Dissertations and Theses

Research has shown that children born low birth weight (i.e., ≤2500 grams) and/or premature (i.e., birth prior to 37 weeks gestation) are at increased risk of experiencing developmental delays, as well as long-standing executive functioning and academic challenges. Despite these well-known risks, children born low birth weight are under-enrolled nationally in Part C Early Intervention (EI) services intended to support developmentally vulnerable children. Little is known regarding why EI enrollment is low in this high risk population, especially given children born LBW are readily identifiable as at increased risk of delays at birth. This study explored EI referral outcomes from …

The Interplay Between Early Childhood Education And Mental Health: How Students In An In-Service Early Childhood Teacher Education Program Experience Children With Mental Health And Behavioral Challenges In The Classroom, Katie Statman-Weil

Dissertations and Theses

All early childhood educators who work with children between birth and six years of age are likely to encounter young children who experience behavioral and mental health challenges throughout their careers. Research demonstrates that educators can play a vital role in children's mental health and behavioral development. However, often early childhood educators do not believe they have the knowledge or tools to accurately identify and successfully handle the unique challenges that arise when working with children with behavioral and mental health issues.

Using an Anti-Oppressive Framework, this research study explores, through a qualitative case study design, how students in an …

Sleep And Young Children's Development Of Self-Regulation And Academic Skills, Emily Michelle Weiss

Dissertations and Theses

School readiness incorporates children's academic abilities and their ability to self-regulate in the classroom. Prior research shows that sleep is related to children's development of these skills, although the mechanisms through which sleep affects school readiness are not well understood. Research also indicates that economically disadvantaged children and children of color may have poorer academic and regulatory skills at school entry and may sleep less and sleep less well on a regular basis.

The current study explores the role of sleep quantity and quality in young children's development of two skills critical for school success: self-regulation and academic abilities. This …

Profiles Of School Readiness And Implications For Children's Development Of Academic, Social, And Engagement Skills, Elizabeth Jane Tremaine

Dissertations and Theses

Academic achievement gaps across racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups are apparent as soon as children enter kindergarten: racial minorities, Hispanics, and poor children begin school at a distinct disadvantage compared to their White peers from middle- and high-income families (Chatterji, 2005; Fryer, Jr. & Levitt, 2004; Magnuson, Meyers, Ruhm, & Waldfogel, 2004; Magnuson & Waldfogel, 2005; Reardon, 2011). To understand these gaps at kindergarten entry, it is essential that researchers understand the skills with which children enter kindergarten.

Previous research on school readiness has been limited by variable-centered methods that separate components of school readiness (e.g., early academic skills, social …

The Role Of Emotional Support Consistency And Child Risk Factors In Predicting Pre-K Cognitive And Social-Emotional Development, Amy Lynn Cannell-Cordier

Dissertations and Theses

The quality of children's daily experiences in preschool classrooms is predictive of their school readiness and later achievement (Duncan et al., 2007; La Paro & Pianta, 2000). One particularly important aspect of these experiences is the quality of emotional support provided by teachers and peers in the classroom (Hamre & Pianta, 2005; Howes et al., 2008; Mashburn, 2008; National Center on Quality Teaching and Learning, 2012). Traditionally, emotional support quality has been calculated as the average of ratings taken across the school year and is meant to represent children's average daily experience, without regard to any variability which exists within …

The Origins Of Caring: A Study Of The Development Of Coding Categories For Prosocial Behaviors In Very Young Children, Mark W. Schuster

Dissertations and Theses

There has a great deal of research regarding the positive social (prosocial) behaviors of young children. Children have been observed performing a number of different prosocial behaviors, including helping, showing, sharing, and responding to the distress of another. However, most of the previous research was conducted in laboratory settings. In order to describe the first manifestations of prosocial behaviors more accurately, research needs to be conducted in a natural setting. The purpose of the current study was to observe the origins of the prosocial behaviors of young children in a child development center. To accomplish this goal, a research team …

An Investigation Of The Performance Of Black Children Age 3.6 To 6.0 On Three Subtests Of The Illinois Test Of Psycholinguistic Abilities, George Edward James

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to compare language performance on three subtests of the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities (ITPA) of a Black population of children ages three years six months through six years in Portland, Oregon, with the standardizing population of the ITPA. These subtests are Auditory Reception, Grammatic Closure, and Verbal Expression.

The null hypotheses tested were:

1. There is no difference in scores on the Auditory Reception subtest of the ITPA between the standardizing test population and that of Black children ages three years six months through six years in Portland, Oregon.
2. There is no difference in …

A Comparison Of Responses Between Two Different Socioeconomic Groups On The Boehm Test Of Basic Concepts, Teri Jones Geist

Dissertations and Theses

The primary purpose of the investigation was to compare the responses of white, lower-class kindergartners and first graders with white, middle-class kindergartners and first graders on the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts (BTBC) in order to determine if a statistically significant difference existed between socioeconomic level and the number of concepts correctly identified on the BTBC. A secondary purpose was to determine is a significant relationship existed between concept development as measure by the BTBC and intelligence from an assessment of receptive vocabulary by using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT).

One hundred white, lower …

Judging Development And Sexual Identity In Children's Art, Susan Lathrop Dietsche, Helen Lieberman Fenske, Robert A. Jones, Robert D. Loy, Robert L. Smith

Dissertations and Theses

This study identified selected characteristics of sexual identity and artistic development using 481 pictures from a collection of 1,008 pictures drawn by first through fourth grade males and females. The pictures were collected by the E. C. Brown Trust Foundation to study children’s concepts of reproduction. Three general hypotheses were developed: 1. Sex differences are observable in children's art; II. There are observable differences in artistic development as grade level changes; III. Observations by social workers of content in children's art are reliable. From a search of the literature, certain variables were identified, including content, use of color, and aspects …

Selected Factors In Assessment Of A Group Designated As School Malperformers, Janet E. Bullock, Ronald M. Marshall, E. Frank Oliver, Shizuko H. Sakai

Dissertations and Theses

This project was an exploratory study of malperformance among 60 children of the seventh grade of Creston Elementary School, Portland, Oregon. This class was described as an unusually disruptive group of students and was considered by the school as one of the most troublesome in the school's history. The study focused on the concept of malperformance itself and the reliability of its assessment. The major hypotheses were these: A. Teachers are consistent among themselves in how they define malperformance and in whom they designate as malperformers. B. Teachers' and students' estimation of the students' level of performance in the dimensions …

Using Eriksonian Concepts In Observing Developmental Levels In Two Groups Of Preschool Children, Roland J. Lindstrom, Ross A. Lurgio, Joyce H. Macfarlane, Leonard H. Seyfarth, Kay J. Stenberg, H. G. Wadsworth

Dissertations and Theses

In this study concepts from Erikson’s widely cited theory of child development were operationally defined and empirically tested. The purposes of the study were: (1) to ascertain whether a set of social workers with an understanding of Eriksonian theory could use it in a meaningful way to observe pre-school children; (2) to ascertain whether the theory could be used to differentiate between culturally advantaged, culturally deprived, and, as emerged in the analysis, handicapped children; (3) to ascertain whether the theory could be used diagnostically to obtain information about a child’s developmental level or problem area. In the fall of 1966 …