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Full-Text Articles in Education
Connection Between Early Childhood Teachers' Beliefs And Practices Regarding Play, Robin L. Ploof
Connection Between Early Childhood Teachers' Beliefs And Practices Regarding Play, Robin L. Ploof
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Research indicates play contributes to children's learning and development. The passage of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) changed early care and education by limiting time for play in early childhood classrooms. There is a gap in the literature concerning early childhood teachers' current beliefs about play and how those beliefs are connected to their practices. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the connections between early childhood teachers' beliefs regarding play and their practices in the early childhood classroom. Lave's situated learning theory formed the conceptual framework for this study recognizing the early childhood classroom …
Literacy Instruction In Three Preschool Programs: A Multiple Case Study, Cherrie Lovejoy
Literacy Instruction In Three Preschool Programs: A Multiple Case Study, Cherrie Lovejoy
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Many preschool students enter kindergarten without the oral language and phonetic awareness skills necessary for academic success. Qualitative research is also limited about the instructional practices preschool teachers use to improve the literacy skills of their students. The purpose of this study was to explore how teachers used developmentally appropriate instructional practices to improve the literacy skills of preschool students. The conceptual framework was based on the theories of Piaget and Vygotsky in relation to language development. A multiple case study research design was used. Participants included 6 teachers from 3 different preschool programs in an urban school district in …
The Effects Of Writer's Workshop On Writing Achievement In The Kindergarten Classroom, Mary Mester
The Effects Of Writer's Workshop On Writing Achievement In The Kindergarten Classroom, Mary Mester
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Only one quarter of American students in Grades 4, 8, and 12 were considered at or above the proficient level in writing in 2002 and 2007. The purpose of this quantitative study was to identify the effect of the instructional strategy known as writer's workshop on students' writing achievement. Writer's workshop is an instructional strategy involving daily writing and systematic lessons. The research question guiding this study examined the writing achievement of students taught through writer's workshop versus students taught through the county's writing curriculum which utilizes journal writing on a regular basis but does not involve systematic lessons or …
The Effects Of School Home Communication And Reading Fluency In Kindergarten Children, Farjana Khan
The Effects Of School Home Communication And Reading Fluency In Kindergarten Children, Farjana Khan
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Many researchers have documented that reading fluency scores continue to be a national concern for the United States and have suggested that early reading failure has long-term detrimental effects on society. However, much less is known regarding specific interventions that could reduce this concern. Investigators in other studies have suggested the development of early school-home partnerships to improve reading scores. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a systematic school-home intervention to improve reading fluency scores. Following the theoretical foundation of emergent literacy theory and Joyce Epstein's framework, the research question focuses on the association …
Parents' Impact On Their Young Children's Literacy Achievement, Christina A. Williams
Parents' Impact On Their Young Children's Literacy Achievement, Christina A. Williams
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Many children enter formal schooling with a propensity toward literacy success while others lack foundational skills that adequately support literacy achievement. Researchers acknowledge if certain skills are not present upon entrance into formal schooling, literacy success can be affected. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine first-grade students' home literacy experiences prior to receiving formal reading instruction in a one suburban public school. Bruner's theory of scaffolding, which suggests that parents and teachers support children in the learning process, and Vygotsky's concept of zone of proximal development provided the conceptual framework for this study. The research questions …
Preschoolers' Use Of Technology In The Classroom, Re, Darlene M. Estes-Del Re
Preschoolers' Use Of Technology In The Classroom, Re, Darlene M. Estes-Del Re
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Almost from birth, children are immersed in a technologically rich world yet they often enter preschools that offer little to no use of technology. Preschool learning is tied to more traditional forms of reading and writing; this may be inconsistent with the ways children are learning at home and will learn in elementary school. Despite growing interest in creating learning environments that better mirror the technological experiences of the home, there is a significant gap in current research about how learning is affected in preschool environments designed with multiple forms of technology. This qualitative single case study was designed to …
The Efficacy Of A Vocabulary Acquisition Program In Young English Language Learners, Renee Mimbs Powers
The Efficacy Of A Vocabulary Acquisition Program In Young English Language Learners, Renee Mimbs Powers
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Teachers know that many nonnative English language learners (ELLs) have problems with successful negotiation of academic English vocabulary. The purpose of this study, working from a behavioralist perspective as espoused by Thorndike, Skinner, and Bandura, was to determine if a vocabulary program influenced word acquisition in first grade ELLs. The research questions focused on the degree to which the program affected the learner's vocabulary and helped to alleviate word poverty from among the 34 participants in the study. In this quantitative pretest -- posttest design, ELL students were exposed to 9 weeks of intense instruction. The vocabulary acquisition of ELL …
The Perceptions Of Developmental Therapists About The Influence Of Inner-City Home Environments On Service Delivery, Tywanda Jiles
The Perceptions Of Developmental Therapists About The Influence Of Inner-City Home Environments On Service Delivery, Tywanda Jiles
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
The reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Act required that early intervention services for young children from birth to age 3 take place in their natural environment. However, limited research has been conducted on the impact of this requirement on the actual service providers who work within the home environments. Lewin's field theory on behavior, individual person, and the environment formed the theoretical framework for this descriptive case study, which examined the perceptions of developmental therapists on how their service is influenced by the inner-city home environment. Ten developmental therapists in a midwestern metropolitan city were interviewed about their beliefs …
Multiyear Student/Teacher Relationships And Language Development In Children Of Hawaiian Descent At Kamehameha Schools Community Based Early Childhood Education Program, Susan Collins
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Although numerous studies have documented the connection between early language and academic achievement, there is much less information available about the effects of teacher/student relationships on language development. Based on Vygotsky's theory that all learning takes place in the context of relationships, this quasi-experimental study examined language scores for students in an early education classroom who stayed with the same teacher for 2 years compared with those in a classroom with two different teachers for each of the 2 years. Pre- and posttest scores on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-III (PPVT-III) and language scores on the Developmental Indicators for the …
The Relationship Between Perceived Preparedness, Effiacy And Special Education Training, Leslie Haley Wasserman
The Relationship Between Perceived Preparedness, Effiacy And Special Education Training, Leslie Haley Wasserman
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Limited information exists on early childhood first year teachers' training for accommodations for diverse student abilities in classrooms. This mixed methods sequential explanatory study examined the self-efficacy of 28 first year early childhood teachers from Midwest urban schools. Vygotsky's social learning theory and Gardner's multiple intelligences were used as the conceptual framework. Email survey data were collected and analyzed using a t-test to answer the quantitative questions on the relationship between perceived efficacy and type of and amount of special education training provided in preservice programs. Qualitative questions on self-efficacy to instruct diverse students within the regular classroom were examined …
Preschool Environments, Relationships And Creative Skills: A Case Study, Petronella Anita Cameron
Preschool Environments, Relationships And Creative Skills: A Case Study, Petronella Anita Cameron
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Studies indicate the importance of supporting children's creative and social skills during the early years of their development, in part because children can develop low self-esteem when these skills are left unattended in preschool environments. However, as of yet research has not identified strategies preschool instructors used to prepare preschool environments to nurture the development of these skills. This qualitative case study examined how preschool environments nurture the development of preschool children's creative skills and relationships. Grounded in Vygotsky's sociocultural theory and Torrance's theory of guiding creative talent, the study used a purposeful sample of 9 prekindergarten and kindergarten teachers …
Changing The Negative Behavioral And Developmental Outcomes To A Toxic Prenatal Environment Through Parent Education, Angela Elieen Laughlin Lebedev
Changing The Negative Behavioral And Developmental Outcomes To A Toxic Prenatal Environment Through Parent Education, Angela Elieen Laughlin Lebedev
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of current education materials on changing maternal smoking attitudes. Children are affected by prenatal exposure to tobacco smoke. Although there are educational efforts to discourage pregnant women from smoking, the practice continues in a significant number of pregnancies. New materials, based on current research, were also evaluated for effectiveness. The theoretical framework for this study was adult learning theory presented by Knowles which makes the assumption that an individual is shaped by environmental systems, that adult learning is affected by previous knowledge they bring to the learning and that adults …
The Impact Of Daily Writing On Kindergarten Students' Phonemic Awareness., C. A. Snell
The Impact Of Daily Writing On Kindergarten Students' Phonemic Awareness., C. A. Snell
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine whether or not a significant relationship exists among daily writing and student growth in phonemic awareness. The study also considered the impact of writing on the phonemic awareness development of students at different literacy levels. Although studies exist on the importance of phonemic awareness development in reading acquisition, a deficit exists examining the correlation among daily writing and the phonemic awareness development of students representing different literacy levels. Forty students in an experimental group engaged in daily writing opportunities, while 37 students in the control group engaged in less frequent writing …