Education Commons^™

The Pre-School Teacher Experience Of Social Skills For Early Education Success, Cheryl Dorsey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

Pre-school is foundational to future academic success, and social skills have been recognized as a critical component of that foundation. How pre-school teachers facilitate social skills development is an area requiring further study. The purpose of this research was to describe the experience of social skills development from the perspective of early educators. Attachment and social learning theories were used as theoretical frameworks to explore how early education teachers describe the social skills for early education success in young children and how early education teachers facilitate the development of important social skills. This study used a generic, qualitative design …

Fostering Creative Thinking Skills In Young Children Using Design Thinking Challenges, Tom R. Gannon

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

For this master’s project I developed a set of resources (guidebook, videos, and presentation deck) which provide child development professionals with a framework and set of skills to facilitate design thinking challenges (open-ended problem-solving activities based on design thinking’s phases of: creating empathy, problem identification, ideation, prototyping, and idea testing) with preschool age children. The centerpiece of the project is the guide book titled Save the Gingerbread Man: Understanding & Supporting Creative Thinking Skills in Preschoolers. The videos are interviews with preschool age children in a series called From the Experts. The presentation deck incorporates can include the …

Exploring Young Children’S Digital Composing Practices, Megan D. Cross

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the many layers involved in young children’s meaning-making as they digitally compose. Utilizing a multimodal, social semiotics theoretical framework to analyze children’s digital compositions using a composing app, this study was designed around one research question: What is the nature of three and four-year-old children’s multimodal meaning making while using a composing app? The qualitative study involved four focal participants from a three- and four-year-old classroom, who attended an inquiry-based lab school in the southeastern United States.

The data were collected over a period of eight weeks, where the children were invited to tell their stories using …

Investigating The Use Of An Emotional Intelligence Intervention With Young Elementary Students Receiving Services In A Self-Contained Setting For Students With Emotional Disturbance, Kristin Lian Withey

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

While there is a longstanding call for all students to succeed, students receiving special education services under the label of emotional disturbance (ED) are at an increased risk for minimal school and life outcomes, ranging from poor classroom grades and increased expulsion to high rates of incarceration and drug use. Although there are extant interventions, these often rely on extrinsic motivation or are begun after research suggests behaviors have become habit. Because of this, there is a call for earlier intervention that teaches students requisite skills. One such developmentally appropriate practice that has yet to be explored with students receiving …

Wisconsin's Quality Improvement Initiative For Childcare Programs: A Case Study, Betty Jane Bohleber

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Wisconsin's Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) was implemented in 2010 to improve quality of care for young children enrolled in childcare programs. Due to the recent initiation of the state's QRIS, empirical evidence on the effectiveness of the initiative to improve quality care for young children is limited. This qualitative case study explores childcare stakeholders' perceptions on the effectiveness of Wisconsin's QRIS as a quality improvement program. Bronfenbrenner theorized that exosystems such as state governments impact early childhood environments and the development of young children through initiation of programs. The research questions address the efficiency of the state's QRIS …

Growing Ideas - Daily Transitions - Time For A Change, University Of Maine Center For Community Inclusion And Disability Studies

Early Childhood Resources

Young children with and without disabilities experience many changes during their day. Daily transitions in early care and education programs take place during an activity, or when children move from one activity to another or one location to another. Transitions include the following: Arriving at or departing from a program; Exchanging toys; Entering or leaving a play area during free choice time; Cleaning up after morning activities and starting a group circle time; Getting dressed to go outside to play; and Shifting from playing with friends to working with a teacher/therapist on a particular skill. Thoughtful planning is needed so …

Growing Ideas - Shocking Language! - Swearing, University Of Maine Center For Community Inclusion And Disability Studies

Early Childhood Resources

When children swear, it is important to understand the hidden meaning behind those troubling words. As with any behavior, it is important to learn as much as you can about a child and what may be causing this swearing behavior. Young children usually do not know what the swear words mean, so what is the swearing behavior communicating? Is a child saying..."I am angry!" "This word makes people pay attention!" "I want to be like my favorite TV character!" "I need a friend!" or " I feel sick or hurt."

Growing Ideas - Friends & Feelings: Social-Emotional Development In Young Children, University Of Maine Center For Community Inclusion And Disability Studies

Early Childhood Resources

Social-emotional development involves the ability to form close, secure relationships and to experience, regulate, and express emotions. Social-emotional growth is affected by a variety of factors, such as an individual’s unique biology and temperament, as well as life experiences. “Social” refers to how individuals interact with others. “Emotional” refers to how individuals feel about themselves, others, and the world.

Growing Ideas - Increase Access: Universal Design In Early Care & Education, University Of Maine Center For Community Inclusion And Disability Studies

Early Childhood Resources

According to Ron Mace of the Center for Universal Design, universal design is the philosophy of designing and creating products and environments to be accessible to the greatest extent possible, to the people who use them, without the need for adaptation (http://www.cast.org). The principles of Universal Design have been broadened beyond the creation of physical space and materials, to include the design of curriculum, teaching strategies, and assessment. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is based on the understanding that children learn in different ways. This framework focuses on planning from the start for the widest diversity of learners.

Young Children’S Decisions To Include Peers With Physical Disabilities In Play, Karen E. Diamond, Soo-Young Hong

Soo-Young Hong

The authors examined factors related to preschool children’s reasoning about including a hypothetical peer with a physical disability in different play activities. They hypothesized that children’s inclusion decisions would be influenced by features of the physical environment, attention to issues of fairness and equity, and individual child characteristics. Participants comprised 72 children enrolled in inclusive preschool classrooms. Children’s ideas about inclusion and their inclusion decisions were gathered in response to vignettes reflecting experiences that children are likely to encounter in preschool. The authors found that children were significantly more likely to say that they would include a child with a …

Learning Ideas - Universal Design In Pre-K And Early Elementary Classrooms, University Of Maine Center For Community Inclusion And Disability Studies

Family Resources

Universal design is an approach to designing environments and products so that the greatest number of people can use them. When applied to curriculum, teachers consider the potential barriers inherent in materials and activities, and plan many avenues to learning. This way, the greatest number of children can participate in the content and activities without adaptation.

Young Children’S Decisions To Include Peers With Physical Disabilities In Play, Karen E. Diamond, Soo-Young Hong

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

The authors examined factors related to preschool children’s reasoning about including a hypothetical peer with a physical disability in different play activities. They hypothesized that children’s inclusion decisions would be influenced by features of the physical environment, attention to issues of fairness and equity, and individual child characteristics. Participants comprised 72 children enrolled in inclusive preschool classrooms. Children’s ideas about inclusion and their inclusion decisions were gathered in response to vignettes reflecting experiences that children are likely to encounter in preschool. The authors found that children were significantly more likely to say that they would include a child with a …

Early Childhood Public School Teacher Licensure For The Fifty States And Washington, D.C.: An Inquiry To Ascertain Student Age Ranges For Public School Teacher Licensure May 2009, R. Caudle Jones, S. Martin, M. Crandall

Research Reports and Research Bulletins

There is a need for birth through kindergarten (B-K) public school licensure in the state of Arkansas. In Arkansas, licensure for teachers of young children is for pre-kindergarten through fourth grade (P-4). Teachers who receive P-4 licenses are often less prepared to work with children under age six than with older children. A more appropriate license would be a B-K license. A teacher with B-K licensure would be prepared to meet the emotional, social, physical, and cognitive needs of young children. This document is an inquiry to ascertain student age ranges for public school teacher licensure in the fifty states …