Early Childhood Education Commons^™

Arts Integration Experiences Of Elementary Educators, Amy E. Jefferson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine how elementary teachers applied their professional learning to integrate arts in the classroom. The research questions guiding the study included: (1) What content, skills, and understandings do teachers transfer from professional learning to practice? and (2) How do teachers navigate the implementation of arts integration? Knowles' (1978) Adult Learning Theory was used to examine how meeting the needs of teachers as adult learners during professional learning influenced the implementation experience.

A case study design employing qualitative data collection methods such as focus groups, individual interviews, and the sharing of artifacts from practice …

Love And Learn: Creating Space For Authentic Caring In Family Child Care, Katherine Kelly Hart Meehan

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Children benefit from engagement in early education and care (ECE) programs that support their learning and development while also providing a point of connection to critical resources for their families. For children from economically disadvantaged families, the lack of access to high-quality ECE results in a persistent achievement and opportunity gap (García & Weiss, 2015). A significant portion of ECE occurs in home-based early learning environments, also known as family child care (FCC) programs, which play a critical role in supporting children from low-income and immigrant families (Layzer et al., 2007; Porter et al., 2010). Unfortunately, this sector of ECE …

Using Online Training Modules To Enhance Parents' Early Literacy Training Skills And Understanding, Ayodele Sanni

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Parental involvement is considered a crucial factor in developing children’s early literacy and reading skills, especially for children not yet in school. The present study aims to determine whether an online literacy module can increase early literacy knowledge in parents who may not have the training to promote their child’s learning. Additionally, the study examines parent perspectives of online video training and the practicality of the video’s content. To test the hypothesis that parent knowledge will increase after exposure to the online video, 29 Canadian parents (27 mothers, two fathers) with children aged 3 to 5 were provided with supervised …

Leading Early Childhood Education In Iowa Schools, Alaina T. Daters

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Over the last 15 years, Iowa’s Statewide Voluntary Preschool Programs (SWVPP) have undergone significant growth. By the end of the 2021-2022 school year, 323 out of 327 (99%) of Iowa public school districts offered preschool (Iowa Department of Education, 2022c). As a result, well over 450 Iowa administrators are potentially responsible for leading their district’s preschool program.

The purpose of this mixed methods research study was to gain an understanding of the experiences, knowledge, and pedagogical needs of licensed Iowa administrators that are responsible for their district’s SWVPP. Data was collected through a survey and analyzed using descriptive statistical analysis …

Gameplays Versus Playstyles: The Social Construction Of Transmediated Communities Among Filipino Children Gamers In Minecraft And Roblox, Cheeno Marlo Sayuno

ASEAN Journal of Community Engagement

The children of today’s generation are considered as digital natives, which means that they have the capacity to navigate technological terrains to the best of their abilities and create online communities in new storyworlds. Minecraft and Roblox, two sandbox open-world mobile games, are manifestations of such ability to create worlds, survive in difficult gaming situations, face opponents in combat, and interact with players within a community. Even more so, such transmedia engagements allow the child participants, as evidenced in this study, to transact with players and the app itself to introduce new playstyle strategies that complement or subvert the gameplays …

Professionalism In Early Childhood Education, Kimberly R. Thai

Master's Theses

This grounded theory analysis uses participant interviews and document analysis to further understand the lived experiences of teachers and leaders in Early Child Education. The thesis was set out to explore the following research questions: How do ECE leaders and teachers understand teacher professionalism? What is the role of whiteness and gender in teacher professionalism? and What is the relationship between the ideas of professionalism and the local context in ECE? The study finds that insiders have strong notions of professional conduct but that exploring professionalism was a site of contention for the participants. Two responses to issues of professionalism …

An Examination Of Positive Behavioral Interventions And Supports (Pbis) And Conscious Discipline As An Intervention To Challenging Behaviors In The Preschool Classroom, Jennifer Nelson

Graduate Teacher Education

In the field of early childhood education, there has been a growing concern over the number of challenging behaviors being displayed. To decrease the display of challenging behaviors, educators have been looking for positive strategies and supports to help manage the display of challenging behaviors such as Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) (Carter, Van Norman, & Tredwell, 2011), and Conscious Discipline (Bailey, 2014). When managing the display of challenging behaviors, a shift has occurred from using negative discipline practices to implementing positive guidance approaches in early childhood (EC) classrooms (Carter et al., 2011). When educators teach the children what …

Exploring The Therapeutic Effect Of Children's Picture Books, Yunfan Chen

Theses - ALL

This thesis discusses the phenomenon of left-behind children in China amid the country's urbanization, revealing the psychological state of these children in the countryside.

In this thesis, some psychological research sources have proven how picture books relieve children's emotions and attain therapeutic effects on children's psychology. Then, this thesis analyzes two examples of children's books depicting how picture books help children to manage their negative feelings and having a therapeutic effect on the child.

This thesis claims that bibliotherapy through children's independent reading of books can effectively alleviate left-behind children's negative emotions.

Differences In At-Risk Children's Preschool Assessment By Educators' Levels Of Education, Folashade Z. Olayinka-Bello, Donna Brackin

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

We determined that significant differences existed between assessment scores of at-risk children taught by assistant teachers with different levels of education using standardized assessments (Teaching Strategies GOLD [TSG] and Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening [PALS]). A 1-way MANOVA indicated that assistant teachers’ level of education was statistically significant at p = .012. Archived pretest and posttest data were collected from TSG and PALS assessment scores of 142 at-risk Prekindergarten 4 children taught by 18 different Prekindergarten 4 lead and assistant teachers at a local Head Start site. We found that irrespective of teachers’ levels of education, the role of assistant teachers …

Best Practice And Strategies To Effectively Support Dual Language Learners, Sydney Richardson

Graduate Teacher Education

According to Winsler et al. (2014), the fastest growing population of students entering preschool classrooms are considered Dual Language Learners (DLLs). Teachers are expected to teach these young learners, yet most of them feel unprepared to do so (Kibler, 2013). Many early childhood educators are unaware of the best practices and strategies to effectively support Dual Language Learners (DLLs) while preserving home language and culture (Hardin et al., 2010). In this review of literature, peer reviewed studies were examined for best practices teachers can utilize when working with children whose home language is not English. Results suggest that having children …

Strategies For Supporting Professional Growth In Early Childhood Team Members, Kristin Goetz

Graduate Teacher Education

Early childhood education (ECE) teachers, including pre-service and in-service workers, have reported the need for ongoing professional development support (Boyer, 2004; Buettner, Hye Hur, Jeon & Andrews, 2016; Brown, Cheddie, Horry, & Monk, 2017). Specific targeted support for professionalism was addressed as a retention strategy for the future of ECE (Boyer, 2004). The lack of consistent minimum qualifications for ECE teachers has contributed to a number of teachers in the field having little understanding regarding professionalism as a whole when teacher careers commence. The quality of learning and teaching in the classroom has been said to be largely determined by …

Mindfulness In Early Childhood Education, Madalyn L. Coss

Honors Projects

The following work identifies the need for mindfulness in early childhood education. It explains what mindfulness is, what the benefits of it are, and how it can be used in early childhood classrooms. A podcast episode is included with the intent of it being used to inform educators on the subject.

Computational Thinking For Teachers, Susan Imberman

Open Educational Resources

This is a syllabus for a course in computational thinking. The course described introduces preservice and inservice teachers to the fundamental concepts of computer science, including web design, coding, ethics, computational thinking, course resources, etc.

The Effect Of Direct Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Instruction And Small Group Literacy Interventions On Kindergarten Students’ Reading Growth, Brianna Elizabeth Wierschke

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This study focuses on the impact of the implementation of Heggerty Phonemic Awareness and Literacy Footprints guided reading system curriculum in a kindergarten classroom. Adding these interventions are to determine if a focus on phonemic awareness skills is essential for students to learn when beginning to learn how to read. Students were tested at the beginning of the school year for a base score, then tracked at every month, and then a final benchmarking in December. The study took place in a North Dakota elementary school, 23 kindergarten students was monitored for data purposes. The data and results demonstrate a …

Building Confidence Of Academic Library Staff In The Selection Of Culturally Authentic Native American Picture Books, Cassondra Leeport

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This study aimed to explore the confidence and ability of library staff to select and identify culturally authentic Native American picture books. The researcher, a self-identified Native American, developed a tool designed to assist in library staff in identifying key elements of a picture book that lend themselves to a work being culturally authentic. Assisting patrons in selecting materials is a key element in the library profession. The setting of this research is a university with a large Professional Education Program as well as a documented dedication to serving Native students and surrounding tribal communities and the participants of the …

Preschool Whole Group Circle Time: Does More Comfortable Seating Give Rise To Preschooler Engagement?, Roberta Kopel

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Flexible and alternative seating in the classroom has been a topic of research and implementation in the classroom in recent years. At this time, much of the research discovered looked at inflatable cushions, therapy balls, or even low tables using pillows as seats. It has been observed in practice by this researcher that many times what is sometimes labeled as flexible seating is just something that is “cute” and not a regular chair with a back and legs or flexible seating as noted in research findings such as a therapy ball. Thus far, it has been difficult to determine the …

Yoga As A Positive Behavior Intervention, Kristen Kadrie

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This study explored teaching preschool age students how to use yoga strategies to calm their bodies, reducing the number of times a student demonstrates negative behavior. The fifteen participants were three through five year olds from one of the preschool classrooms at the Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) Early Learning Center. Baseline data was collected for five days, resulting in a determination that four of the students would be considered the subjects for the study, one who received special education services. Additional baseline data was collected for these students for ten days. All fifteen participants and the classroom teachers were …

Stimming Expresses Empathy, Not To Be Masked Or Persecuted: A Scoping Review And Case Study Of The “Double-Empathy Problem” Solved By Recognizing The Autism Language, Kathryn Haas

Student Capstone Papers

This article critically examines autism and autistic stimming through the lenses of neurotypicals and autistics, evaluates confines currently imposed upon autistics by neurotypical society, and synthesizes what autistic leaders have expressed about their experiences striving for inclusion (Gernsbacher, 2017; Milton, 2012). Autistic-led studies are now at the forefront of the neurodiversity movement and are growing in fervor. The following themes were identified: (a) prevalence of autism, (b) the interpretation and measurement of empathy, (c) discovery of genetic factors transformed autistics’ identity, (d) publication of non-genetic factors such as vaccines undermined the legitimacy of the autism language, (e) the problem with …

Newsgirl, Chapters 1-8, Jennifer Starch

Diverse Families Bookshelf Lesson Plans and Activities

No abstract provided.

Dachy's Deaf, Hadassa Jean-Louis

Diverse Families Bookshelf Lesson Plans and Activities

The student will be able to retell a text using story elements (characters, setting, beginning, middle and end) to enhance comprehension. ● The student will be able to identify ways people can make positive contributions in their community through kindness.