Early Childhood Education Commons^™

Discovery: A Visual Arts Elementary School, Cindy J. Perdomo

Theses and Dissertations

On average, school-age children spend more time in the classroom environment than they do at home. Why not provide environments that stimulate children’s curiosity to learn through visual arts? Including visual arts in educational programs can enhance students’ cognitive development, problem-solving abilities, cultural awareness, and critical thinking skills.

As someone who has attended various public schools in Florida, I’ve found that incorporating arts education into the curriculum can enhance students’ overall engagement with learning. Unfortunately, many students lack access to arts education due to a lack of funding and resources. Traditionally, the arts have been viewed as an opportunity for …

'Half Of It's Out The Window': Exploring Tensions, Hierarchies And Positionalities Amidst The Changing Knowledge Base Of Early Childhood Teacher Education Discourses, Lauren Armstrong

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Early childhood education is foregrounded in change. In Australia, this has encompassed the introduction, review and updates of national quality and curriculum frameworks from 2009, and changes to qualification requirements. Within the state of Victoria, further impacts have occurred due to the simultaneous introduction of a parallel curriculum framework. This paper draws on a qualitative study to examine how diverse teacher education discourses available to Victorian long day care educators have shaped their subject positions, discursive practices and reform engagement. Utilising Foucault’s concepts of discourse, knowledge and power, and Foucauldian Discourse Analysis [FDA], findings offer insight into how diverse teacher …

‘We Were All Green And Brand New’: Mentoring In Theories Of Child Development For Australian Early Career Preschool Teachers, Emma Ellis, Andrea Reupert, Marie Hammer

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Three Australian Government commissioned reports from 2011-2017 convey a longstanding child development theory-practice gap in early childhood education. This study explores what informs mentors’ discussions of theories of child development with early career preschool teachers. Grounded in Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, themes relate to the wide role of the early childhood teacher, variation in initial teacher education, developing teacher identity, emotional connections, and consolidation and extension of university learning of child development theories. Critical discussion of themes from a Freirean perspective illustrates how mentors conveyed experiences of oppression, marginalisation, and liberation. We offer that though the child development theory-practice gap is …

Digital Literacy: A Review Of Literature, Lennie Barblett, Raisa Akifeva, Leanne Lavina, Fiona Boylan

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This report describes the main themes of collected literature to examine and explain the information in relation to making best practice recommendations for using digital technologies with children, and their families using Better Beginnings programs. These themes include:

• definitions of literacy,
• digital literacy in the context of childhood and children’s rights,
• dimensions of children’s digital literacy,
• digital technology, children and families,
• digital divide and diversity,
• eSafety, privacy, protection,
• children’s digital literacy learning, and
• librarian staff as digital literacy mentors and advocates.

The early childhood phase of childhood (particularly birth to age five) is one of the most under - researched …

Transforming Transitions To School: Using Funds Of Knowledge And Identity, Lennie Barblett, Fiona Boylan, Amelia Ruscoe

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This resource describes a project where ten Western Australian Independent Schools embraced a way of viewing children and their family’s transition to school.

Participating teachers came together as a community of practice and engaged in different ways of thinking and investigating accepted practice.Transition practices were affirmed or challenged as teachers were mentored through design-based thinking. Transition ideas were explored focussing on children’s funds of knowledge and identity. This resource outlines why transitions are important, considers transitions through a funds of knowledge and identity lens, and describes each school’s journey as they re-imagined transitions in this project. Finally, the ideas and …

Discrimination Of Black People In Kansas City Metro Schools, Shelby A Cobb

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

In the United States, education has faced a great deal of scrutiny, particularly, in the last few years. While schools have been integrated, there is more segregation and inequality in education than there was prior to desegregation. Many laws have worked to promote quality education for all, but the majority of these laws have created more issues for people of color. Rather than addressing the issues of systemic racism, the modifications to education have misdirected public focus to specific schools rather than a system of inequality. This study addresses ways that schools could improve to create a level of equity …

The Effects Of Early Identification And Intervention On Reading Scores At The Kindergarten Level, Cara Milby

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Research indicates that reading fluently is the key to success: academically, economically, socially, as well as to a healthier lifestyle (Forrest, 2018; Wanzek et al., 2018). While research has shown that Response to Intervention (RTI) is a positive instructional program that will increase primary students’ academic abilities at grades 1 and 2 (Richards et al., 2007), there is a need for more research regarding RTI with kindergarten students. This quasi-experimental quantitative research study examined if early identification and intensive intervention through the addition of Response to Intervention (RTI) at the kindergarten level will lead to increased reading scores and better …

The Effects Of Positive Behavioral Interventions And Supports On Emotional Regulation In Preschool Children, Alyssa Richardson

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Practice Innovation Projects

Purpose: Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) is an evidence-based three-tiered framework that supports children and their behavioral needs including emotional behaviors. Emotional behavioral problems (EBP) seen at an early age have a major connection to their preschool setting and a significant effect on future long-term mental and physical health outcomes. 11
Methods: Preintervention, teachers completed PBIS and Teacher Observations of Classroom Adaptation-Checklist (TOCA-C) training. The teachers evaluated and assigned each student to a PBIS tier group using TOCA-C. Tier appropriate interventions were then implemented. TOCA-C was used 3 months post intervention to reevaluate each months post intervention to …

Assessing The Fidelity Of School-Level Professional Learning Community Implementation, William W. Thigpen Ii

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

ABSTRACT

As schools face increasing accountability, many have turned to professional learning communities (PLCs) as a possible solution. The challenge is that many schools are not implementing PLCs with fidelity. It is imperative that school leaders assess PLC practices to ensure that critical components are being implemented effectively. This research provides a framework for school leaders to assess school leader, teacher, and support staff perceptions of various PLC dimensions. Descriptive statistics were used to determine levels of agreement with statements related to six PLC dimensions. A one-way univariate analysis of variance tests (ANOVA) was used to analyze differences in mean …

Divorce, Susan Geffen Ph.D.

Sample module-themed coursework with Sesame Street examples

This module will provide an overview of parental divorce, as well as its impact on children and the family structure. Students will use topical readings and Sesame Street video clips to learn about the impact of divorce on children (e.g. academic, emotional, social), as well as factors that influence postdivorce outcomes (e.g., race/ethnicity, parenting styles, changes in family structure, availability of noncustodial parent).

Bullying And Victimization, Jill M. Swirsky Ph.D.

Sample module-themed coursework with Sesame Street examples

In this module, students will discuss concepts related to bullying and victimization. Using clips from Sesame Street, students will consider what it means to be a bully, victim, and bystander, as well as how teachers, parents, and educators can intervene. Additionally, this module will help students think critically about some of the potential impacts of bullying and victimization on development across the lifespan.

Where The Action Is: Positioning Matters In Interaction, Danielle M. Pillet-Shore

Faculty Publications

Position matters. As a conversation analyst examining any form of recorded synchronous human interaction – be it casual or institutional – I constantly monitor for, and organize my collections of target phenomena around structural position: Where on a transcript and when in an unfolding real-time encounter does a participant enact some form of conduct? Because conversation analysis (CA) is primarily focused upon action sequences, I use CA methods to examine the ways in which participants’ audible utterances and visible body-behaviors accomplish particular social actions due at least in part to their positioning within a sequence of interaction – …

Teacher Perceptions Of Preparedness To Teach A Diverse Group Of English Language Learners With Different Literacy Levels And Languages In The Mainstream Elementary Classroom, Jennifer Mehu

Theses and Dissertations

All across the United States, increased numbers of English language learners (ELL) are entering schools with limited formal education or proficiency in the English language at alarming rates. This new shift has affected school districts that are not prepared to address the needs of these ELL students due to the lack of preparation of mainstream teachers in their districts and schools. The problem addressed in this study was that many ELLs were not making adequate progress academically in mainstream classes. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore teachers’ perceived preparedness to teach ELLs in mainstream classes in the …

Assessing The Reliability Of The Five-In-20 Classroom Observation Tool, Danielle Buechlein

Masters Theses

Effective classroom management practices are crucial to fostering a positive learning environment, student achievement, and student social-emotional development, as well as teacher job satisfaction. The Five-in-20 Classroom Observation Tool (FCOT) was developed from the 21 evidence-based strategies identified by Simonsen and colleagues (2008) to assess and support teachers’ classroom management; however, its psychometric properties are unknown. The present study looks at the interobserver agreement of the FCOT, specifically at how consistent observers’ ratings are with each other and how consistent observers’ ratings are with a standard coded copy of the FCOT. Forty-four participants, using the FCOT, rated the same 20-minute …

The Passion For Eating Well, Samira Fallah, John Marsh, Wei Chen

Business

The Dr. Yum Project, founded by Dr. Nimali Fernando, is a non-profit organization committed to facilitating healthy eating for families. The idea was seeded when, working at pediatric clinics, Dr. Fernando witnessed the alarming rise of childhood obesity and observed children experiencing health issues linked to poor dietary habits. In pursuit of the Dr. Yum Project’s mission, numerous initiatives have been undertaken, with one of the most significant being the development of the Preschool Food Adventure curriculum. In recent years, this curriculum has achieved considerable success and has been actively promoted to various schools. Dr. Fernando holds an optimistic outlook, …

Leaving Kindergarten Well: First-Grade Readiness In Outdoor Waldorf Kindergartens, Garry H. Oak

Leadership for Sustainability Education Comprehensive Papers

This article proposes an intervention to address the complex needs of children in outdoor Waldorf kindergartens. The intervention suggests integrating cultural responsiveness practices, remedial education, and outdoor teacher training competency into existing teacher training programs. By adopting this comprehensive approach, new teachers can acquire the necessary tools to meet the diverse needs of their students and adapt to the challenges of modern education. Ongoing professional development programs are also recommended to enable teachers to continuously enhance their skills throughout their careers. This multi-pronged solution aims to establish a more equitable and effective educational system that considers various dimensions of children's …

Online Early Childhood Teacher Education Program: Practices And Future Possibilities, Yasmeen Mehboob, Silpa Aziz Karim

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

The study aimed to test the effectiveness and the feasibility of Zoom and Virtual Learning Environments (VLE) for early childhood teacher education (ECTE) at a university in Pakistan. The study addresses how a Community of Inquiry (COI) framework can be embedded within Zoom and VLE to make the online course meaningful, interactive and accessible. This is an exploratory case study with a mixed method approach. Data was gathered through survey, focus group discussion, reflective journals, observations and meeting notes. Pre- and post-online knowledge tests and assignments were used to assess changes in participant’s knowledge and understanding. Survey result indicated positive …

Helpful Entry Level Skills Checklist, Beth S. Rous

Educational Leadership Studies Faculty Publications

The Helpful Entry Level Skills Checklist is a practice-oriented tool designed to support early childhood transition planning by helping families, teachers, and program staff identify skills that may assist children as they enter or move across early childhood classroom settings. The checklist organizes entry-level skills across five domains: classroom rules, work skills, communication skills, social/behavioral skills, and self-management skills. The tool allows users to document whether a child demonstrates selected skills, identify target skills for instruction or support, and add comments across multiple dates. This fourth edition updates and preserves a resource originally developed through Project STEPS and subsequent outreach …

How Parents Perceive School Readiness, Jody Silvester

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The purpose of this study was to explore parents' perceptions of children entering kindergarten and their understanding of school readiness. In this collective case study, drawing on parent interviews and artifact sampling and guided by discourse analysis (Gee, 2015), I employed Saldaña's (2021) cycle coding methods to explore the themes of what parents perceive and co-construct as 'school readiness'. Data collected for this study includes video recorded interviews of four participants as well as artifacts of their child(ren)'s classroom assessments, parent-teacher conference forms and packets, and a checklist shared by the parents. The findings of the study showed parents' perception …

Score Equating Between Aeps-2 And Aeps-3 For 0-3 Year Olds, Yuyan Xia

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

Over the past two decades, the emphasis on educational equity in early childhood education (ECE) and early childhood special education (ECSE) has highlighted the importance of assessment through policies and regulations. Ensuring accurate assessment scores is a fundamental aspect of this trend. The release of the Assessment, Evaluation, and Programming System for Infants and Children, Third Edition (AEPS-3) in December 2021 led to a shift from the Second Edition (AEPS-2) in child development scoring. In order to harmonize the previous and updated assessment versions for children aged 0-3 across six developmental domains, a common item non-equivalent design, featuring fixed parameter …