Education Commons^™

Teachers' Perceptions Of Their Interactions With Shy Preschool Children: A Phenomenological Inquiry, Sara Swenson

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study explored preschool teachers’ perceptions of their interactions with shy children in the classroom. A qualitative phenomenology was chosen to capture the experiences of the teachers and gain an understanding of the phenomena they experience in the classroom.

Shyness refers to an individual’s feelings of uneasiness or hesitation when faced with a novel or unfamiliar situation (Coplan and Armer, 2007). With about 40% of children being shy (Caspi, Edler, & Bem, 1988; Lazarus, 1982; Zimbardo, 1977) and with increasing numbers of children enrolling in preschool, looking at how shy children are perceived is key to beginning to understand how …

Predicting Future Special Education Eligibility From Developmental Assessment Of Young Children (Dayc) Scores, Helen E. Shaw Tripp

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative non-experimental correlational study used logistic regression and archival data to examine the relationship between scores obtained by children at age three on the Developmental Assessment of Young Children (DAYC) rating scale and later special education eligibility status. The purpose of this study was to determine if DAYC scores can predict future special education eligibility as defined by the criteria of the State of Tennessee Department of Education and thereby provide a tactic for early identification and intervention. The 74 participants were students from a small, rural, high-poverty school district who were initially evaluated at age three using the …

The Preschool Puzzle: Exploring Variations In Early Childhood Education Teacher Quality Across States, Alice Rockswold

Political Science Honors Projects

There is a growing consensus in the early childhood education community that it is necessary to raise the qualifications of preschool teachers. Yet, little is known about why rigorous degree and training standards have advanced further in some states than others. In this analysis, I explore various political and demographic factors that might account for the uneven support for such standards, with special attention to the role of Head Start as a driver of quality, given its presence and variation in strength across states. Using longitudinal data from the National Institute of Early Childhood Education, I find weak evidence that …

Leaping The Language Gap: Strategies For Preschool And Head Start Teachers, Carolyn D. Abel, Jannah Walters Nerren, Hope Elizabeth Wilson

Faculty Publications

Strategies that promote the development of language skills are recognized as important in early childhood education. For early childhood centers and care providers, there are also additional concerns that interventions which meet these developmental needs are both time and cost effective. This pilot study investigates the effect of indirect language stimulation (ILS) techniques on the receptive and expressive oral language of 4-year-olds, using techniques that can be easily taught to teachers and implemented in the classroom. Two preschool teachers in a southwest rural community in the United States were randomly assigned for instruction over a 6-month period on effective ways …

Effects Of Integrated Physical Exercises And Gestures On Preschool Children's Foreign Language Vocabulary Learning, Myrto F. Mavilidi, Anthony D. Okely, Paul A. Chandler, Dylan P. Cliff, Fred Paas

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Research suggests that integrating human movement into a cognitive learning task can be effective for learning due to its cognitive and physiological effects. In this study, the learning effects of enacting words through whole-body movements (i.e., physical exercise) and part-body movements (i.e., gestures) were investigated in a foreign language vocabulary task. Participants were 111 preschool children of 15 childcare centers, who were randomly assigned to one of four conditions. Participants had to learn 14 Italian words in a 4-week teaching program. They were tested on their memory for the words during, directly after, and 6 weeks after the program. In …

Preschool Children's Foreign Language Vocabulary Learning By Embodying Words Through Physical Activity And Gesturing, Konstantina Toumpaniari, Sofie M. M Loyens, Myrto F. Mavilidi, Fred Paas

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Research has demonstrated that physical activity involving gross motor activities can lead to better cognitive functioning and higher academic achievement scores. In addition, research within the theoretical framework of embodied cognition has shown that embodying knowledge through the use of more subtle motor activities, such as task-relevant gestures, has a positive effect on learning. In this study, we investigated whether combining both physical activities and gestures could improve learning even more in a 4-week intervention program on foreign language vocabulary learning in preschool children. The main hypothesis that learning by embodying words through task-relevant enactment gestures and physical activities would …

Vcu Professor Researches Early Intervention Programs For Preschools, Ties To Rtr Program, Sterling Giles

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

The Institute for Education Sciences, IES, a branch of the US Department of Education, awarded a grant to VCU professors Bryce McLeod, Ph.D and Kevin Sutherland, Ph.D to research behavioral problems in local preschool children. The four-year grant totaled up to $1.6 million.

Finding Childcare For The Disabled Child: The Process And Decisions Through The Primary Caregiver’S Lens, Misty Dawn Torres

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

In this qualitative, Grounded Theory study, the researcher examined the process that primary caregivers go through when selecting a childcare placement for children who have special needs. Data were collected through participant interviews with primary caregivers (n=10) who responded to recruitment notices posted on (1) listservs by organizations directly affiliated with early intervention and child care services; (2) local Internet classified sites; and (3) through word of mouth. The research demonstrated that caregivers who learned of their child’s disability in a prenatal diagnosis or prior to an adoption identified with having a greater sense of choice and control over their …