Education Commons^™

Development Of S.T.E.A.M. Daises In Formal And Informal Environments For Educating Primary I Learners, Frances Neville

Masters Theses

The federal government has made education a competition among ourselves. Learning is not a rivalry to be imposed on our physical and cognitive development as humans. Escalating beliefs recognize education is more encompassing than CCSS, assessments and the grade level time frames in which standards are to be taught. On the precipice of anti-intellect, low expectations, and what has been termed “The Dumbing of America” an investigation into what it would take to close the achievement gap and increase student learning is overdue.

The goal for my Michigan based project, S.T.E.A.M. Daises, was to develop a program focusing on the …

The Skin I’M In: A Critical Content Analysis Of Picture Books Written By Black Authors, Angela Latrece Justice

Dissertations

This study seeks to explore the experiences of Black male protagonists in picture books. The following question guided this study: How do Black authors demonstrate a commitment to social justice? The theoretical framework that guides this study is Critical Race Theory (CRT), which aids in understanding how Black authors use experiential knowledge to represent experiences that challenge dominant ideologies about Black males. The sample consists of 20 pictures books all written by Black authors and published within the United States from 2018 to 2021. The deductive and inductive approaches to critical content analysis is used as it is effective for …

Analysis Of The Issue Of New Mexico Black Male Educators’ Underrepresentation In Education Within New Mexico, Robert Sims Jr.

Dissertations

Increasing the educational profession's racial, gender, and ethnic diversification ensures the intentionality and equity of having more Black male educators serve as role models in U.S. schools. There is a need to understand better the journey and experiences of Black male educators, wherefore greater grassroots recruitment and retention efforts can be implemented to support Black men and young Black males who may aspire to become educators. Research that captures the experiences of Black male youth and educators as they navigate teaching and learning in predominately White educational systems may promote lines of inquiry for further research and intentional dialogue for …

Holistic Education: How And Why, Amanda Krebs

Honors Theses

Since standardized testing began in the early 2000s, teachers and administrators began to focus on grades and numbers due to pressure placed by these measures. Students are not numbers and therefore are not getting a holistic education that develops their whole being, only their academics. How do we incorporate methods into the classroom to develop the whole child, not just academics, and why is this important?

The most common way in the present day is through socio-emotional learning platforms or curriculums. These may be stand alone lessons or techniques on incorporation into lessons and school culture in general. Normally, whole …

The Effect Of Preschool And Kindergarten Participation On Later Achievement Of Language-Minority Student, Xin Li

Dissertations

Evidence has suggested that preschool and kindergarten experiences affect the cognitive and social-emotion development of language-minority students (LMS). This quantitative study aims to illustrate the LMS’ preschool and kindergarten experience by investigating the preschool and kindergarten experience, family environment, and school environment. Longitudinal data from the U.S. nationwide Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten (ECLS-K), was used to apply a hierarchical linear model (HLM). Due to a gap in the literature regarding how school and family environments influence the holistic development of LMS, this study explores whether and how preschool and kindergarten experiences are associated with LMS’ cognitive and socioemotional outcomes …

Providing Head Start Services Amid A Global Pandemic: A Mixed Methods Explanatory Study Of Capacity, Resources, And Support, Kelly L. Vigants

Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic altered education in dramatic ways including immediate building closures and the implementation of virtual instruction. In March of 2020, Michigan faced a statewide shutdown on all non-essential travel as Michiganders were ordered to “Stay Home. Stay Safe.” Head Start began to provide remote services to families and students. Head Start lead teachers were charged with using virtual methods to teach their students. With little direction in the beginning and many unknowns, Head Start lead teachers used innovative methods to promote family engagement.

This study used a mixed method, explanatory sequential design to evaluate the most effective methods …

Relationships Between Kindergarten Entrance Age And Attendance Rates In Kindergarten Through Second Grade, Julie A. Mcdonald

Dissertations

Education research over the last 50 years has found a significant relationship between academic achievement and kindergarten entrance age, with kindergarten students who enter school at the earliest ages tending to have lower academic achievement than their counterparts. Other studies have found that student achievement depends on factors such as class attendance rates and socioeconomic factors. Indeed, one issue consistently identified in education research as having a strong correlation to student achievement is student attendance, which makes intuitive sense because students must be present and engaged in school to learn. National research confirms that not only do attendance rates negatively …

An Exploration Of Preschool Choice With Low-Income Families: The Critical Role Of Positive Attitudes, Behavioral Norms And Control Beliefs, Laurel E. Schmitt

Dissertations

Since the 1960s preschool has been seen as a potential equalizer for children of poverty as they enter kindergarten and long term studies of state and federal preschools have documented positive impacts, especially for low-income students. What has yet to be deeply explored is guardians’ decision-making processes to explain the lack of enrollment even when the stated barriers are eliminated (Obi, 2011; Payne, 1994; Swartz, 1996).

The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe and interpret, through a phenomenological lens, how low income parents and guardians made decisions to enroll their child or dependent in a preschool program. I …

Parent And Guardian Perspectives Regarding Attendance: Evidence From A Governmental Early Childhood Education And Care Program, Rita L. Cruz Santelises

Dissertations

In 2013, the Dominican government began the implementation of a national plan called Quisqueya Empieza Contigo (QEC) (Exec. Order No. 102, 2013), aimed to fulfill the needs of children zero to five years old holistically. The National Institute of Comprehensive Care (INAIPI, acronym in Spanish) carries two of the most ambitious programs embedded in this national plan. Early Childhood is the governmental institution authorized to carry out this recent intervention. The intervention has increased coverage of early childhood services through two programs: Programmed Comprehensive Family Care centered on the community (Centro de Atención Familiar e Infancia, [CAFI]) and the Comprehensive …

Positive Discipline As A Part Of Effective Classroom Management, Allison Stevens

Honors Theses

This study was driven by the researcher’s interest in learning more about classroom management, and in particular, how experienced teachers thought about positive discipline as part of a management system. The researcher was a teaching intern in an elementary suburban school, where she interviewed 5 teachers and the building principal about classroom management and positive discipline. Interviews were transcribed, and patterns across responses were sought. Findings revealed common pieces of effective classroom management: 1) setting clear expectations and rules, 2) consistency in applying rules and expectations, and 3) having good parent communication. All teachers used tangible extrinsic rewards to motivate …

Impacts Of Representation On Increasing Flexibility In Understanding Number Composition, Abigail Carr

Honors Theses

Place value is a mathematical concept that young children struggle to understand. A common misconception for children is that the digits that make up multi-digit numbers represent the quantity of that number itself, instead of the number according to its place value (i.e. the 1 in 18 represents 1, instead of 10). The base-ten representation is an efficient way to represent numbers and quantities, but it is not easily learned. One reason children may struggle to fully understand place value is the English language does not make the value of the number known and has hidden base-ten meanings. To contrast, …

Application Of Response-To-Intervention In A Pre-Kindergarten Special Education Classroom, Justin J. Daigle

Dissertations

Lovaas (1987) applied behavior analysis to the treatment of autism and demonstrated a 47% “recovery” rate. He also reported that around 10% of the population that received his services made little-to-no improvement. The present study used a response-to-intervention framework to systematically identify and treat students in an early childhood, special-education classroom who were in danger of falling within that 10%. This study set out to identify, classify, and differentiate the treatment based on the student’s response to the standard classroom intervention. Improvements in multiple students’ rates of acquisition based on this system were recorded. This indicated a possibility of improved …

Early Childhood Program Director Leadership Characteristics And Program Quality, Barbara J. June

Dissertations

This phenomenological research study was conducted to explore and describe how the characteristics, traits, and styles of directors, as described and perceived by the teachers, reflect the factors that are currently addressed in the indicators forming the basis for evaluating program quality. Teacher participants from six sites participated in a survey, questionnaire, and interview to determine director and program profiles. The Program Quality Assessment score was used as a standardized data source.

The data were collected, coded, and analyzed to determine the director and program profiles for each of the sites. The director and program data for each site were …

Effects Of Adult Modeling On Literacy Behaviors Of Head Start Preschoolers, Stephanie L. Kerbel

Masters Theses

This project explored the uses of literacy artifacts in the dramatic play of preschool children from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds who live in poverty in Kalamazoo County. The purpose of this 9-week study was to determine the impact of adult modeling on the frequency and quality of use of literacy artifacts during the dramatic play of at-risk preschoolers. Two Head Start classrooms received different types of intervention: (a) a literacy-enriched dramatic play area with adult modeling for 5 minutes at the start of each play period ( once per week); and (b) a literacy-enriched dramatic play area without adult …

Analogical Processing Skills In Three Modalities In Fifth, Eighth, And Eleventh Graders, Amy Sirrae Cashen

Masters Theses

This study examined the ability of fifth, eighth, and eleventh graders to complete multiple modality analogy tasks. Three groups, for a total of 201 subjects--68 fifth graders, 66 eighth graders, and 77 eleventh graders--solved word, picture, and figure analogies. A significant difference was found in the performance of the three groups, indicating that analogical processing skills increase with age. No significant difference was found between males and females on the combined analogy tasks. A significant difference was found for modality, indicating that the three sets of analogies were different in difficulty. The grade-by-modality interaction also was found to be significant, …

The Effects Of Self-Evaluation Procedures On The Numbers And Accuracy Of Alphabet Letter Writing Behavior Of Preschool Children, Kevin R. Coleman

Masters Theses

This study assessed the effects of self-evaluation procedures on the rate and accuracy of alphabet letter writing. Three preschoolers served as subjects. During Phase I, students were given instructions, and the experimenter modeled accurate letter writing. During Phase II, instructions and modeling were again presented. Additionally, the students were given a rule statement that instructed them to use a stamper and a stamp pad to stamp their paper after first writing each of a row of four letters. The results indicated that the introduction of self-evaluation procedures was associated with immediate increases in frequency of attempts, but a decrease in …

The Effects Of Do-Say And Phase Sequencing On Correspondence Behaviors Of Preschool Children, Catherine M. Mcmanus

Masters Theses

This study assessed the effects of a do-say procedure and phase sequencing on the correspondence behaviors of seven preschoolers. Three subjects received correspondence-content (Group A) phase sequencing training and four subjects received content-correspondence (Group B) phase sequencing training. During the Content Phase, subjects received reinforcerrent (socials, stickers, snack, etc.) for verbalizations about engaging in a pre-determined non-preferred activity. During the Correspondence Phase, subjects received reinforcement for verbalizations about the non-preferred activity only when they had actually engaged in play with that specific non-preferred activity. The results indicated that in most instances, reinforcement of verbalizations alone results in increases in those …

Reduction Of Aggressive Behavior Of A Preschool Child Using Extinction And Teacher Attention Procedures, Greg Randle

Masters Theses

The subject was a 2 and a half-year-old male who engaged in a high rate of aggressive behavior that appeared to be maintained by teacher reprimands and physical contact. An extinction procedure in which all aggressive behavior directed toward peers was ignored was used in conjunction with teacher attention directed to the victim. Teacher attention was also used to positively reinforce the subject for interaction with peers. These procedures reduced the subject's aggressive behavior to a much lower rate. Although the subject's undesirable behavior was modified, a questionnaire responded to by the teachers indicated the need for open communication between …

Verbal And Non-Verbal Curricula For Teaching Color Names To Preschool Children, Cynthia A. Wagner

Masters Theses

This study examined the effects of curriculum type on the acquisition and retention of color names. Ten 2 to 3 year old subjects were divided into two experimental groups of five each; subjects were of both sexes and approximately equal language ability . In a modified multiple -baseline design, one experimental group received the verbal curriculum and the other experimental group received the non-verbal curriculum. Data were gathered through regular testing of all subjects. Results indicated that the curricula were equally efficient in teaching color names in their respective modalities; there was no significant difference in the mean number of …

A Study Of The Varying Degrees Of Creativity Manifested By Kindergarten Children From Open Or Traditional Classrooms, Susan Spelman Lewis

Masters Theses

Visual and verbal techniques derived from Wallach and Kogan’s test of creative thinking abilities (1965) were administered to fifty-seven Title I kindergarten children from four different kindergarten settings in an attempt to assess the impact of open versus non-open situations on children's creativity. Classroom populations were similar socioeconomically, racially, and with regard to the student-teacher ratio. Kindergartens were chosen in order to test young children not influenced by other school situations. The degree of classroom openness was determined using Evans' Classroom Rating Scale (1971).

Creativity scores varied positively with the degree of classroom openness. Differences among the mean scores of …

Teaching Self-Protective Behaviors To Preschool Children Using A Videotape Training Program, Paul James Yoder

Masters Theses

This study investigated the effectiveness of a videotape training program to teach self-protective skills to preschool children. Children were taught to say, "I have to ask my teacher/parent," and to run to their teacher/parent when presented with one of two lures commonly used by child molesters. The videotape incorporated the direct instructional techniques of active pupil responding; the model, lead, and test format; and use of minimally different stimuli to teach children to discriminate between correct and incorrect responses. The results showed that although none of the subjects showed any improvement in responding after only one viewing, five of the …

The Effects Of Two-Day Vs. Seven-Day Prompts On Attendance At A Preschool Screening, Susan Simonds Savage

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Structured Versus Unstructured Instruction On The Generalization Of Language Concepts In The Preschool Child, Cheryl A. Milford

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Prompting And Stimulus Novelty On The Frequency Of Play With Toys, Gloria J. Gasparotto

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Use Of Classroom And Home-Based Reinforcement To Increase Verbal Responses To Questions In Preschool Children, Katherine Anne Muir

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Relationship Of Chronological Age To Kindergarten Admission, Basil E. Johnson

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.