Education Commons^™

Understanding Children's Museums' Approaches To Diversity: A Critical And Socio-Cultural Investigation, Amber Nicole Smith

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Children begin to develop self-awareness and awareness of others at an early age (Marion, 2011). Before they reach kindergarten, children begin to make distinctions about race by noticing similarities and differences between themselves and others (Winkler, 2009). Exposing young children to diversity can help each child embrace their identity, accept and celebrate differences, and be accepting of themselves and others (Cole & Verwayne, 2018).

The purpose of this study is to explore how children’s museums support diversity through their programs and planning. The research of this study focuses on four children’s museums located in the United States. There are many …

Using Mindfulness Practices To Increase Self-Regulation In Pre-Kindergarten And Kindergarten-Aged Children, Ellyn E. Culotta

LSU Master's Theses

BACKGROUND: Self-regulation is identified in the literature as an early predictor of later life success and an important skill that develops over the course of a lifetime beginning in early childhood (Flook et al., 2015; Montroy et al., 2016; Murray et al., 2017). OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this research study was to assess whether direct instruction of Mindfulness Practices, such as guided meditation and yoga poses (Lee et al., 2020; Poehlmann-Tynan et al., 2016; Zelazo et al., 2012) would increase self-regulatory behaviors, such as impulse control, emotion regulation, and problem-solving in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten aged children. METHOD: Target children were …

Voices From Within: Teacher Sensitivity In An Early Childhood Elementary School, Anjenette Victoria Holmes

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Using a qualitative case study approach, grounded in an ecological systems theory framework, this project sought to understand how a teacher describes her journey of becoming sensitive and uncover what helps or hinders a teacher’s ability to sensitive. This study collected and examined data from multiple data sources, which included direct and participant observations, collected documents and artifacts, semi-formal and informal interviews with school members, along with a focus-group. Data was evaluated for common codes and relevant emerging themes are discussed. Six early childhood teachers at an early childhood elementary school participated in the study. Results suggest that there are …