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2017

Early childhood

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Articles 1 - 30 of 57

Full-Text Articles in Education

Picturebooks And Gender : Making Informed Choices For Equitable Early Childhood Classrooms., Kathryn F. Whitmore, Christie Angleton, Emily L. Zuccaro Dec 2017

Picturebooks And Gender : Making Informed Choices For Equitable Early Childhood Classrooms., Kathryn F. Whitmore, Christie Angleton, Emily L. Zuccaro

Kathryn Whitmore

We examine picturebooks through a feminist lens, understanding that children’s literature and media can limit and expand how young children access gender representations. We describe four categories that increase teacher knowledge to select books with multiple and varied gender representations for children in their classrooms. These four categories are gender binaries, discourses of childhood innocence, intersectionality, and heteronormativity. We illustrate each category with two quality books that maintain and disrupt each theme. We hope teachers will find the categories useful for thoughtfully selecting books for classroom libraries, read aloud, and discussion.

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The Effects Of Collaboration On Teacher Empowerment, Brittany Kay Feinauer Dec 2017

The Effects Of Collaboration On Teacher Empowerment, Brittany Kay Feinauer

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

The purpose of this action research project was to measure the effects that collaborative curriculum planning had on three early childhood classrooms in a private Montessori school. The study population included six early childhood teachers who collectively designed a curriculum and helped collect data for the first seven weeks of the intervention. Each participant filled out a teacher feedback form which was based on Spreitzer’s (1995) psychological empowerment scale to measure changes in perceptions of four different aspects of empowerment: meaning, competence, self-determination, and impact. The primary researcher also analyzed data from individual teacher journals, notes from weekly discussions, and …

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Effects Of Social-Emotional Education On Pre-Kindergarten Student Academic Achievement, Lauren Pierce Starnes Dec 2017

Effects Of Social-Emotional Education On Pre-Kindergarten Student Academic Achievement, Lauren Pierce Starnes

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Social-emotional education is an ongoing area of interest to optimize student achievement and ameliorate problem behaviors. This study examines the systematic effects of social-emotional education on preschool students’ academic achievement testing. A sample of Pre-Kindergarten students from private, suburban preschools was examined for this study. The results of this study yielded strong positive academic achievement scores in the domains of Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, and Early Math for students exposed to a social-emotional education program compared to a matched sample not exposed to social-emotional education. The results add to the research on social-emotional education by studying a lesser-studied population of …

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Environmental Modification And Teacher Mediation: Impact On The Literacy Behaviors Of Preschoolers With Special Needs, Aaron R. Deris, Cynthia Dicarlo, Dana Wagner, Kellie Krick-Oborn Nov 2017

Environmental Modification And Teacher Mediation: Impact On The Literacy Behaviors Of Preschoolers With Special Needs, Aaron R. Deris, Cynthia Dicarlo, Dana Wagner, Kellie Krick-Oborn

Special Education Department Publications

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of modifications to the environment and a teacher mediated intervention in regard to the early literacy behaviors of preschoolers receiving early childhood special education services. There were three classrooms targeted. Out of the three classrooms, there was a focus on nine children with developmental delay. Step one was to complete a classroom assessment to identify the early literacy supports needed for each classroom. Step two was to collect baseline literacy behaviors during center time, a period when children are allowed to choose their activities. Step 3 was to implement the …

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Monday, September 17 And Urn [Poems], Rella Stuart-Hunt Nov 2017

Monday, September 17 And Urn [Poems], Rella Stuart-Hunt

Occasional Paper Series

Stuart-Hunt recounts the difference in play styles of a four-year-old girl before and after losing her mother in the September 11 attack. This is followed by a poem she has written titled "Urn".

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Picture Vocabulary Growth In Students With And Without Disabilities In An Early Childhood Program That Targets Poor Families, Alan B. Cobo-Lewis Nov 2017

Picture Vocabulary Growth In Students With And Without Disabilities In An Early Childhood Program That Targets Poor Families, Alan B. Cobo-Lewis

Poster Presentations

We compared growth in the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test between children with disabilities and children without disabilities in Educare Central Maine, a highly resourced data-driven Birth-5 early care and education program that targets children at risk of school failure because of socioeconomic factors. Children with disabilities made up 13% of enrollment. Children with disabilities tended to catch up with the typically developing children as they spent more time in Educare.

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Teaching My Child To Resist In Kindergarten, Christine Ferris Oct 2017

Teaching My Child To Resist In Kindergarten, Christine Ferris

Occasional Paper Series

Ferris describes how she taught her son to resist in his kindergarten classroom while drawing on her own experiences as an educator. Their experience draws attention to common teaching methods that do not promote socialization or free thinking. This also highlights the issues that can arise when the value system of a school does not align with a family's own beliefs - especially when alternative schools are not a viable option.

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The Power Of More Than One, Jane King Oct 2017

The Power Of More Than One, Jane King

Occasional Paper Series

Jane King reflects on her experiences as a preschool teacher eager to use methods outside of the norm. She resists activities that encourage homogeneity and strives to promote autonomy and free thinking in her students. After transitioning from teacher to parent, she still uses this philosophy to make small changes in her daughter's classroom and encourage her children to engage in acts of resistance and critical thinking both in and out of school.

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The Pleasure Of Resistance: Jouissance And Reconceiving "Misbehavior", Peter Taubman Oct 2017

The Pleasure Of Resistance: Jouissance And Reconceiving "Misbehavior", Peter Taubman

Occasional Paper Series

Taubman offers an alternative to resistance theory through Lacanian psychoanalysis and Lacan's concept of jouissance - a term associated with intense pleasure. Through this perspective, it is important to understand why children resist on an individual level. An appreciation of the jouissance in schools would work against the impulse to domesticate, to control or to appropriate the subjectivities of students and children.

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Everyday Tactics And The Carnavalesque: New Lenses For Viewing Resistance In Preschool, Joseph Tobin Oct 2017

Everyday Tactics And The Carnavalesque: New Lenses For Viewing Resistance In Preschool, Joseph Tobin

Occasional Paper Series

Tobin builds upon Steve Schultz's argument that young children’s resisting authority in preschool is a rehearsal or training ground for resisting authority later in life. Using this perspective, this article turns to theories of power and resistance to help us understand everyday events in preschools, and to suggest implications for the choices we make as adults who work with young children.

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From Resistance To Rebellion, And Rebellion To Revolution: Notes On Transformation In First Grade, Jenna Laslocky Oct 2017

From Resistance To Rebellion, And Rebellion To Revolution: Notes On Transformation In First Grade, Jenna Laslocky

Occasional Paper Series

Laslocky, a first grade teacher, reflects on her experiences with child rebellion and resistance throughout a school year and the methods she implemented to handle conflict. Through the rebellious actions of a new student, the dynamic of the classroom was tested. It was only when the children began appreciating differences and making genuine efforts to be kind that a true revolution occurred.

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Building Higher Than We Are Tall: The Power Of Narrative Inquiry In The Life Of A Teacher, Stephanie Bevacqua Oct 2017

Building Higher Than We Are Tall: The Power Of Narrative Inquiry In The Life Of A Teacher, Stephanie Bevacqua

Occasional Paper Series

Bevacqua offers two anecdotes from her teaching career that illustrate young children testing the limits of classroom rules and exploring their autonomy and agency. She reflects on her career as a progressive teacher who works to redefine traditional power relations in the classroom by supporting the children’s investigation of community rules and codes of appropriate behavior.

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Teaching Emergent Bilingual Learners With Disabilities And Challenging Behaviors In Preschool, Pamela Brillante, Karen N. Nemeth Oct 2017

Teaching Emergent Bilingual Learners With Disabilities And Challenging Behaviors In Preschool, Pamela Brillante, Karen N. Nemeth

Journal of Multilingual Education Research

Challenging behaviors in young children can result from a variety of factors that may interact to make it difficult for teachers to find effective instructional solutions. The authors of this article provide an overview of research that focuses on understanding challenging behavior in young children. It describes a research-based model, the Pyramid model, intended to support the development of social competence in young children. Classroom practice suggestions with some vignettes are provided to illustrate how teachers may implement this model with children that experience challenging behaviors and ways in which their practice could be transformed. The article concludes with recommendations …

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The Arizona Kith And Kin Project, Sarah Ocampo-Schlesinger, Vicki Mccarty Oct 2017

The Arizona Kith And Kin Project, Sarah Ocampo-Schlesinger, Vicki Mccarty

Occasional Paper Series

In 1999, soon after the federal welfare reform was enacted, many people in Pheonix, Arizona were transitioning off of welfare and into the workforce. When considering job development in any any community, the focus shifts to child care needs. A study of child care needs in the area revealed that most parents were relying on family, friends, and neighbors for care. The Association for Supportive Child Care (ASCC) became committed to reaching out to the underserved population of kith and kin caregivers in their communities to provide training and support.

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Ways Of Caring: How Relative Caregivers Support Children And Parents, Juliet Bromer Oct 2017

Ways Of Caring: How Relative Caregivers Support Children And Parents, Juliet Bromer

Occasional Paper Series

Reports on a subset of findings from a study that explored the support roles of African American child care providers in poor Chicago neighborhoods. Based on ten in-depth interviews with relative caregivers, Bromer discusses five themes: caregiver's adult-focused and child-focused motivations for caring, daily work with children, childrearing advice to parents, and caregiver-parent conflict. Caregivers’ motivations to provide child care and the meanings they ascribe to this daily work suggest new ways of defining a child-focused approach to caregiving.

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Family, Friend, And Neighbor Care: Crib Notes On A Complex Issue, Toni Porter, Shannon Kearns Oct 2017

Family, Friend, And Neighbor Care: Crib Notes On A Complex Issue, Toni Porter, Shannon Kearns

Occasional Paper Series

Before the 1996 federal welfare reform, home-based childcare was either overlooked or looked down upon. Since then, there has been a flurry of research investigating kith and kin childcare - which makes up approximately 73% of child care in the U.S. This essay provides insight into who provides home-based care and the quality of that care.

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Introduction: Perspectives On Family, Friend And Neighbor Child Care, Rena Rice Oct 2017

Introduction: Perspectives On Family, Friend And Neighbor Child Care, Rena Rice

Occasional Paper Series

Introduces a series of essays that explore family, friend, and neighbor child care. This form of child care has often been portrayed as "substandard, unregulated care" without any adequate research to support this claim. In 2005, the National Alliance for Family, Friend and Neighbor Child Care was formed. This series aims to encourage greater recognition of the role that kith and kin caregivers play in the child care continuum - offering a review of recent research, programs, and policy.

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Teachers Supporting Students Affected By Trauma, Madeleine Smyth Oct 2017

Teachers Supporting Students Affected By Trauma, Madeleine Smyth

Social Justice and Community Engagement

Although many people would like to think of childhood as a relatively peaceful and happy time, research has indicated that for many children this is far from the case. One study in the United States has estimated that 26% of children will witness or experience a trauma-causing event before they enter kindergarten. Trauma can have a serious impact on a child’s learning and overall classroom experience. Teachers and other school staff can play an important role in recognizing and responding to students presenting with symptoms of trauma in the classroom and mitigating possible adverse impacts on their education. A qualitative …

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The Importance Of Play In Early Childhood Education, Melissa Irvin Oct 2017

The Importance Of Play In Early Childhood Education, Melissa Irvin

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This literature review stresses the importance of play for all early learners. The review begins by discussing the history of play and its impact on the evolution of family dynamics over time. Studies have shown that playing provides a safe and necessary way for young learners to be able to practice and experience a variety of life skills, including problem solving within a peer group while gaining and enhancing language skills. Through daily play, young children gain valuable life experiences through a variety of roles that will support growth and ultimately translate into adulthood. According to research, play is an …

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Preparing Early Childhood Professionals For The Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Classrooms And Communities Of Illinois, Amy J. Heineke, Adam S. Kennedy, Anna Lees Sep 2017

Preparing Early Childhood Professionals For The Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Classrooms And Communities Of Illinois, Amy J. Heineke, Adam S. Kennedy, Anna Lees

Adam Kennedy

Recent Illinois state policies call for mandatory preparation of early childhood educators to address the needs of the large and growing population of young English language learners. University-based early childhood teacher preparation programs across Illinois have responded by integrating content related to cultural and linguistic diversity into existing programs. The authors discuss research and professional literature in support of teacher preparation programs that emphasize field-based experience, particularly clinical experience in culturally and linguistically diverse schools and community organizations. They describe the comprehensive field-based teacher education program at Loyola University of Chicago that was redesigned to address current Illinois policies related …

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Outcomes Of Community-Based Infant/ Toddler Teacher Preparation: Tiered Supports For Pre-Service Early Childhood Education Teachers In Early Head Start, Adam S. Kennedy, Anna Lees Sep 2017

Outcomes Of Community-Based Infant/ Toddler Teacher Preparation: Tiered Supports For Pre-Service Early Childhood Education Teachers In Early Head Start, Adam S. Kennedy, Anna Lees

Adam Kennedy

This study examined results associated with a field-based undergraduate early childhood teacher education program designed as a response to calls for enhanced field experiences and community-situated teacher education that narrows the preparation-to-practice gap. Specifically, classroom observations were used to assess undergraduates’ progress in developmentally appropriate adult-child interaction during a portion of a semester-long professional preparation sequence focused on infants and toddlers offered in an urban Early Head Start program serving low-income children. During the sequence, a model relying on guided apprenticeship with classroom teachers and continuous direct supervision from university faculty was employed. In addition, a tiered model including universal, …

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The Project Approach Meta-Project: Inquiry-Based Learning In Undergraduate Early Childhood Teacher Education, Adam S. Kennedy, Erin Horne, Kelcie Dolan, Cindy Herrera, Naomi Malutan, Kathleen Noetzel Sep 2017

The Project Approach Meta-Project: Inquiry-Based Learning In Undergraduate Early Childhood Teacher Education, Adam S. Kennedy, Erin Horne, Kelcie Dolan, Cindy Herrera, Naomi Malutan, Kathleen Noetzel

Adam Kennedy

This article describes a case study involving the planning, phases, and outcomes of an exploration of the Project Approach led by four teacher candidates as part of an undergraduate early childhood teacher preparation program. Four undergraduate junior-level teacher candidates investigated the phases of the Project Approach during their junior year; this work took place during a 26-week learning module comprised of a seminar and part-time student teaching placement in a preschool setting. The candidates aligned the stages of their investigation with the phases of the Project Approach, which provided a framework complementary to that of action research, within which the …

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Behavior Modification: Addressing The Challenging Behaviors Within An Early Childhood Program, Marie Gewiss Aug 2017

Behavior Modification: Addressing The Challenging Behaviors Within An Early Childhood Program, Marie Gewiss

Graduate Education Student Scholarship

Addressing challenging behaviors in our Early Childhood Programs will always be a topic of concern for the teachers as well as for the students. One solution in avoiding misbehavior is to find the antecedent before the behavior can begin to be a disruption. A discussion of the consequences are also important aspects for children and adults to understand when thinking about how to control an unwanted act of aggression. “Aggressive behavior usually follows an event that the patient perceives as provocative. Types of provocation include perceptions of disrespectful treatment; unfairness/injustice; frustration/interruption; annoying traits, and irritations” (Daffern & Tonkin, 2010, para. …

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Addressing Behavioral Deficits In Early Childhood Education: Promoting Positive Socio-Emotional Development Through Dramatic Play, Abbi Strobbe Aug 2017

Addressing Behavioral Deficits In Early Childhood Education: Promoting Positive Socio-Emotional Development Through Dramatic Play, Abbi Strobbe

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This paper investigates the detrimental effects behavior can have on a child’s social-emotional development and the vital role dramatic play opportunities have in overcoming these developmental deficits. A child’s trajectory for success in school begins in early childhood. Children experience meaningful connections to learning, as well as higher teacher and peer approval, when they are capable of maintaining positive interactions in the classroom. For this to occur, children must have a solid foundation in socio-emotional skills such as expression, understanding, and regulation. Behavioral deficits impede development and reduce the likelihood of academic achievement. However, application of early behavioral and social …

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Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder Using Evidence Based Practices, Michaela Creighton Aug 2017

Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder Using Evidence Based Practices, Michaela Creighton

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

Each child that has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is different. However, they have similar characteristics in that they lack communication, social, and adaptive skills. As well as reduced cognitive functioning and gross motor skills. This literature review will look at some of the evidence-based practices for teaching children who have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. It provides information on how to implement them in the early childhood classroom, and focuses on how each practice allows the teacher to adapt it to the student with ASD in one's classroom. It is important that trainings are offered for …

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Flexible Seating In The Early Childhood Classroom, Chasity L. Hardin Aug 2017

Flexible Seating In The Early Childhood Classroom, Chasity L. Hardin

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

Flexible seating has become a recent trend in education. As teachers try to reach the different needs of learners, flexible seating is another way to allow students to comfortably be engaged in learning. Flexible seating gives children the power to choose. Giving them the power of choice, gives students ownership over their participation and engagement in the classroom. Flexible seating can include a variety of options including scoop rockers, pillows, disc o’ sits, standing desks, therapy balls, and many more options. Some professionals are beginning to note that students are often more engaged in their learning when flexible seating options …

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Self-Monitoring: A Behavioral Intervention For Children Attending Head Start, Samantha Riggleman Aug 2017

Self-Monitoring: A Behavioral Intervention For Children Attending Head Start, Samantha Riggleman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Addressing the needs of preschoolers with behavioral problems is important, as these issues often have long-term impacts on the outcomes of students (Fox et al., 2002). Self- monitoring strategies and techniques have the potential to improve the outcomes of this population of children. Self-monitoring requires students to pay attention to a specific aspect of their behavior and record whether the behavior being monitored has occurred or not occurred (Amato-Zech et at., 2006). Although preschoolers are capable of self-monitoring (Otero & Haut, YEAR), it is not widely used in early childhood education settings for increasing compliance or appropriate behaviors. A component …

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A Qualitative Content Analysis Of Early Algebra Education Ios Apps For Primary Children, Lissa S. Ledbetter Jun 2017

A Qualitative Content Analysis Of Early Algebra Education Ios Apps For Primary Children, Lissa S. Ledbetter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Educational software applications (apps) on multi-touch, mobile devices provide a promising space to help learners work toward long-term educational goals, like learning with understanding (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000). Such goals are particularly relevant in supporting a learner’s efforts to become more mathematically literate. Yet, a number of current apps do not appear to be living up to this potential. As such, this study drew upon the theoretical framework of Learning Science and the conceptual framework of TPACK theory (Mishra & Koehler, 2006) to define curricular characteristics that ideally support primary children’s potential to learn early algebra concepts with understanding, …

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Early Childhood Education And Local Economic Development, Timothy J. Bartik Jun 2017

Early Childhood Education And Local Economic Development, Timothy J. Bartik

Presentations

No abstract provided.

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“It’S Like Breathing In Blue Skies And Breathing Out Stormy Clouds” Mindfulness Practices In Early Childhood, Elizabeth Erwin, Kimberly A. Robinson, Greg S. Mcgrath, Corrine J. Harney Jun 2017

“It’S Like Breathing In Blue Skies And Breathing Out Stormy Clouds” Mindfulness Practices In Early Childhood, Elizabeth Erwin, Kimberly A. Robinson, Greg S. Mcgrath, Corrine J. Harney

Department of Teaching and Learning Scholarship and Creative Works

No abstract provided.

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