Digital Commons Network^™

Meeting The Professional Development Needs Of Early Childhood Teachers With Child Development Associate Training, Mary J. Heisner

Communication Sciences and Disorders Dissertations

This study examined the impact of Child Development Associate (CDA) training on the beliefs and self-reported practices of early childhood teachers (N = 126) using a pre-post mixed-methods research design. Preschool teachers who were enrolled in CDA classes (n=76) and a comparison group of teachers (n = 50) completed two surveys of beliefs and self-reported practices: the Teacher Beliefs and Practices Survey: 3- to 5-Year-Olds (TBPS) (Burts, Buchanan, & Benedict, 2001) and the Early Childhood Survey of Beliefs and Practices (ECSBP) (Marcon, 1988, 1999). Repeated measures Multiple Analyses of Variance indicated teachers who had completed CDA training became significantly more …

Investigation Of The Association Between Attendance In Preschool Programs And Achievement Of Elementary School Students In Greeneville, Tennessee., Anita Marie Conner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if a difference in achievement test scores exists between students who attended preschool and those who did not as measured by standardized achievement test scores of students in the 3rd and 4th grades. The variables of grade level and gender were also considered. The population consisted of students who attended 4th and 5th grades during the 2007-2008 school year in the Greeneville City Schools. Data gathered were from Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program achievement test scores obtained from the 2006-2007 school year. Analysis of variance was used to identify any relationship between variables. …

Supporting Teachers And Children During In-Class Transitions: The Power Of Prevention, Sarah M. Mele

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In early childhood classrooms, transitions are often targeted as times of the day during which teachers encounter problems with deficiencies in child engagement, as well as frequent occurrences of challenging behavior. Studies to date on improving child behavior during in-class transitions have focused on providing supports for individual children, as well as on reducing transition duration. The present study evaluated the effects of systematic transition strategies, as applied to three Head Start preschool classrooms during targeted in-class transitions. Strategies encompassed an accumulation of antecedent and consequent manipulations and were selected on the basis of environmental fit with individual classroom environments. …

A Comparison Of Social Skills Training Approaches On Preschool Teacher And Child Behaviors, Keith J Hyatt

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The first purpose of this study was to determine whether instruction to teachers resulted in differences in their performance. The second purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of two social skill training methods, a proactive approach and a reactive approach, on increasing the "positive initiations" and/or "positive responses" of preschool children toward their peers during small group art activities. The proactive approach consisted of the teacher providing children with 5 minutes of instruction in specific social skills prior to the art activities, while the reactive approach consisted of the teacher providing verbal praise for "positive initiations" and …

Exploring Preschoolers' Personal Epistemologies Using Focus Groups, Denise Lynne Winsor

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This is a qualitative study designed to use focus groups as a means of identifying the personal epistemologies of preschool children in an authentic learning environment. Personal epistemology is generally defined as the theory about the nature of knowledge and the process of knowing. Investigations of young children are scarce in this field, and little is known about the early onset of epistemological development. However, recent research suggests a possible connection between epistemic development and theory of mind; This study explores very young children and how their cognitive ability and interactions with peers may reveal information regarding epistemological development. The …

Efficacy Of A Direct Instruction Approach To Promote Early Learning, Jennifer Lee Salaway

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the effectiveness of Direct Instruction (DI) as an enhancement to a Developmentally Appropriate Preschool (DAP) curriculum in the form of increased pre-academic, language, and early literacy competencies for high-risk preschool children. Sixty-one preschool children were randomly assigned to either a DI-Add-On group or DAP-Only group. The children were administered the Kaufman Survey of Early Academic and Language Skills (K-SEALS; Kaufman and Kaufman, 1993) and Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS; Good and Kaminski, 2002) prior to receiving the intervention and upon completion of the study. All of the children were also administered the DIBELS throughout …

Early Childhood Classroom Quality And Preschool Learning Behaviors, Steven Placid Kachmar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The intelligence quotient (IQ) continues to dominate educational decision-making although it lacks descriptive quality indicative of how children learn best and precisely what contributes to learning differences among children. Researchers have advocated for the use of alternative assessment methods to describe differences in children's learning. Limited research has been conducted in this area yet is supportive of learning behavior as an influential factor associated with scholastic achievement. Unfortunately, little research has been conducted on preschool learning behaviors, despite their link to positive child outcomes. Early childhood environments have similarly been linked to children's scholastic success and positive outcomes.

This study …

Recommended Practice In Preschool Instruction: Increasing Child Attention During Whole Group, Mauree Elizabeth Harris

LSU Master's Theses

In a teacher-directed activity, such as whole group, children can learn new skills by following the teacher’s directions and/or model the teacher’s behaviors. The National Association for the Education of Young Children Developmentally Appropriate Practices provides several recommended practices for creating a community of learners. When teachers follow these strategies they are providing multiple opportunities to engage children (Bredekamp & Copple, 1997). When used appropriately, whole group instruction can be very effective when teaching and can be used at various times of the day. Whole group instruction builds a sense of community among the classroom. The purpose of this study …

The Abc's Of The Future : For The Community Members Of Red Bluff, April R. Havens

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The Western community of Red Bluff needs a preschool. In 1917 a one-roomed school house, also known as the Little Red School House, was built to educate children. From 1965 until 2003 it was used as a preschool. When it closed, the community lost a historical building as well as the resources to empower preschoolers for its future generations. Ten Surveys were delivered to the community members of the West side of Red Bluff inquiring about their concerns regarding the closure. From the surveys three apparent themes emerged. From those three themes an action was put into place. A letter …

The Impact Of The 101s: A Guide To Positive Discipline Training On Teacher Interaction Practices, Attitudes, And Prosocial Skill Outcomes In Preschool Classrooms, Marie Louise Talayco Masterson

Theses and Dissertations in Early Childhood Education

This study investigated the impact of The 101s: A Guide to Positive Discipline on teachers of preschool Title 1 children. Current research supports the impact of responsive social emotional support and positive teacher-child interactions on both short and long term social and academic outcomes, with specific remediating benefits for children most at risk of school failure. The 101s training and materials evaluated in this study included ten principles/skills to support respectful, responsive interactions hypothesized to support positive prosocial skill responding. Training was provided to 34 teachers with control and experimental groups. Analysis of quantitative pre and post observation data found …

Understanding Children's Mathematical Learning: The Relationship To Instruction In Preschool Classrooms, Renee B. Whelan

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

.