Pre-Elementary, Early Childhood, Kindergarten Teacher Education Commons^™

Case Study Of Teen Mother Perceptions Of Their Influence On Preschoolers' Language Development, Mary Schmidt Duncan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Children born to teen mothers tend to score lower on language development assessments and to have school readiness delays. To support teen mothers and their children in improving language development, educators need information about mothers' daily interactions with their children and how they contribute to their children's language development. The purpose of this descriptive case study was to understand mothers'perceptions of how they influenced their children's language development through play, routines, and other informal interactions. Flavell, Vygotsky, and Bruner's views on how learners' construct knowledge informed the study. Research questions were focused on the mothers' perceptions regarding interactions during routines …

Pre-Service Teachers And Climate Change: A Stalemate?, Helen J. Boon

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Findings from the second phase of a study of pre-service teachers’ attitudes to environmental education and knowledge of climate change are reported in this paper. A sample of 87 pre-service teachers participated in a survey study in the last year of their Bachelor of Education degree to examine developments to their attitudes to environmental education and their knowledge of climate change as a result of training. Results showed their attitudes towards environmental education were consistently favourable, but their climate change science knowledge had not changed as a result of their participation in their degree. Data on preservice teachers’ sources of …

The Common Core: An Enhancement Or Hindrance For The Youth Of America?, Haley L. Alderete, Haley L. Alderete

CMC Senior Theses

Education in America differs from other nations and may benefit from modeling some of these foreign practices. Although there are many improvements that the country could make, curriculum could be one of the sources of inadequacy in the education system and is often what receives the most attention. Therefore, the subsequent sections will explore the United States’ major attempt in improving education through creating consistency through the Common Core curriculum. In all, if the United States seeks to maintain its power in various sectors, it must strengthen its education system to ensure success.

Predicting Pre-Kindergarteners’ Executive Function Skills: The Role Of The Classroom, Caitlin Daly

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Examining Early Childhood Gender Socialization Through Children’S Picture Books, Kendra Leigh Pospisil

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This analysis examines gender representations found in children’s picture books through a symbolic interactionist perspective, employing conceptual ideas produced by West and Zimmerman (1987) and West and Fenstermaker 1995). Through a qualitative content analysis of 20 picture books from the past 15 years, I examine how gender is portrayed through both human and animal characters. I find that children’s picture books reflect our patriarchal society as they are male-centered, male-dominated, and male-identified (Johnson 2014). Children’s picture books depict patriarchal gender portrayals and provide children with examples of gender performances that satisfy patriarchal gender norms. This research has implications beyond books; …

Utilizing Local Project Experts To Provide Professional Development For Early Childhood Educators : A Professional Development Project, Dawn Janette Johnson

Graduate Research Papers

This project consists of a series of professional development sessions designed to support early childhood educators in implementing Project Approach in their classrooms. The project utilizes local project experts of the Southeast Iowa Project Group. In addition, the project addresses the need of early childhood educators in rural southeast Iowa to have opportunities to attend professional development locally.

Research indicates that professional development is enhanced when educators are given opportunities to learn in authentic contexts, engage in problem-solving, practice new skills, and participate in extending learning experiences. Additionally, professional development greatly affects educators' abilities to provide children with high quality …

Military Child Care Providers And Challenging Behaviors Of Early Childhood Students, Donna J. Blackburn

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Job satisfaction of early childhood teachers in military programs and satisfaction changes as teachers deal with challenging behaviors in the workplace was the focus of this study. The goal of The National Association for the Education of Young Children is to ensure quality programming that promotes positive child development experiences. Child development experiences are impacted by teaching staff, partnerships, administration, and the children's' environment. This case study examined the specific environment and behaviors that military childcare providers experience at a small military installation and explored how working with children with challenging behaviors impacts the job satisfaction of early childhood teachers. …

Professional Development Of Head Start Teachers In Emotional And Instructional Support, Marilyn Mcleod Harris

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the southwest region of Tennessee, a local Head Start program classroom assessment scoring system's (CLASS) scores fell in the lowest 10% among national Head Start programs in emotional and instructional support. Since 2012, the Office of Head Start has released reports showing that the average Head Start program has low performance CLASS emotional and instructional support scores. The purpose of this exploratory case study was to investigate the professional development of local Head Start teachers with low CLASS scores in emotional and instructional support. Knowles's adult learning theory of andragogy was the overall conceptual framework and the concentrated theory …

Learning The Language Of Nature: Young Children As Mathematical Thinkers, Carolyn P. Edwards, Courtney Boise

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Math Early On, funded by the Buffett Early Childhood Fund, involves a partnership between the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) and the Educares of Nebraska, part of a national network of highquality child care centers for low-income children from birth to age 5. Th e goal of the Math Early On project is to off er professional development opportunities that build on the past successful professional development efforts of UNL’s NebraskaMATH and its Primarily Math initiative. The Primarily Math curriculum for primary teachers was adapted and redesigned to create new experiences for the purpose of enriching preschool teachers’ mathematical knowledge for …

Nutrition Education Resources In North Carolina–Based Head Start Preschool Programs: Administrator And Teacher Perceptions Of Availability And Use, Sarah Lisson, L. Suzanne Goodell, Dipti A. Dev, Kristi Wilkerson,, Archana V. Hegde, Virginia C. Stage

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Objective: The purpose of this study was to provide new insight into common barriers to the availability and use of nutrition education (NE) resources in Head Start preschool programs based on administrator and teacher perceptions.

Methods: In-depth, semistructured phone interviews (n = 63) were conducted with administrators (n = 31) and teachers (n = 32) from North Carolina–based Head Start programs. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed qualitatively using content analysis to identify common themes.

Results: Five emergent themes were identified within the areas of NE resource availability and use and barriers to NE resource availability and …

Teacher Perspectives On Increasing Fourth-Grade Reading Behaviors, Theresa Evans Hunter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Elementary students in the United States are expected to read proficiently in order to be successful on high-stakes assessments. Researchers have found that many elementary students lack the motivation to become frequent readers. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the reading motivational techniques used at a local district to encourage elementary students to become frequent readers. Framed by Skinner's operant conditioning theory and the focus on motivators and their effects on learning outcomes, the research questions explored teachers' perceptions of the motivators that increase student reading in the elementary grades. Data for the study were collected …

A Comparative Analysis Of Meals Offered At Child Care Centers By Participation In A Child And Adult Care Food Program, Melissa Lynn Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nearly 70% of preschool children in the United States are enrolled in child care facilities. This means that they eat many meals away from their homes. Despite government support for childhood nutrition through the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), research that measures the nutritional value of meals served in child care facilities has been lacking. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if there are differences in the calories and nutritional value of lunch meals offered to preschool children in facilities that participate in CACFP and in facilities that do not participate in CACFP. Ajzen's theory …

The Impact Of Voluntary Prekindergarten On Kindergarten Reading Readiness In A Large Suburban School District In 2012-2014, Brandon Hanshaw

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the effects of participation in the Florida Voluntary Prekindergarten Program are sustained in kindergarten reading readiness for those who participated in the research school district VPK, those who participated in another provider VPK, and compared to those who did not participate in VPK. Select stakeholder perceptions were also gathered and analyzed, to include research school district parents of VPK participants, research school district VPK instructors, and research school district administrators. Academic effects were analyzed for VPK participants and non-VPK participants in 2012-2013 within their kindergarten 2013-2014 school year using the FAIR-K …

Young Children's Fine Motor Ipad Gestures When Performed Alone And In Dyads, Lap Nguyen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since the release of the first iPad in 2010, over 200 million have been sold worldwide. In the short time since the iPad's release, the devices have become popular in classrooms. The purpose of this study was twofold: 1) to document the fine motor iPad gestures of 2 , 3-, and 4-year-old children who used iPads by themselves and in dyads and 2) to conduct international comparisons regarding such observed fine motor iPad gestures. In this study, I examined seven iPad gestures: (a) tap, (b) drag/slide, (c) free rotate, (d) drag and drop, (e) pinch, (f) spread, and (g) flick. …

Preparing Early Learners For Kindergarten Success, Deidre Stewart

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many early childhood learners enter kindergarten not academically and social-emotionally prepared. This qualitative study explored teachers' perceptions of what constitutes high-quality learning concerning kindergarten readiness and parents' understanding and support of kindergarten readiness. The conceptual framework is based on recent studies by early childhood researchers on how and what early learners should experience during their pre-k years. The research questions focused on teachers' understanding of structural quality and process quality, kindergarten readiness, and age- appropriate curriculum. In addition, parents' understanding of kindergarten readiness and what types of learning opportunities they offer their children were examined. Through purposeful sampling, 16 teachers …

Catering For Eal/D Students’ Language Needs In Mainstream Classes: Early Childhood Teachers’ Perspectives And Practices In One Australian Setting., Toni J. Dobinson, Sylvia Buchori

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This article aims to highlight the complexity of English language related experiences and interactions of a small group of teachers in an Australian, Early Childhood (EC), mainstream setting with children four to eight years old. It draws on data collected from a qualitative case study which investigated four teachers’ perspectives and anxieties when it comes to 1) achieving a balance between use of home languages and the use of Standard Australian English in classrooms 2) mainstream teacher knowledge of, and confidence in, using appropriate practices to enhance English language learning experiences for EAL/D students in mainstream classes. Through data collected …

The Teaching Discipline Doesn’T Matter? An Assessment Of Preservice Teachers’ Perception Of The Value Of Professional Experience In Attaining Teacher Competencies., Peter Howley, Ruth Reynolds, Erica Southgate

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper is one in a series of papers interrogating some of the fundamental bases of what is seen as good professional experience in initial teacher education (ITE). This paper uses the case study of Health/Physical Education (HPE) students’ perceptions of their professional experience, compared to other teaching disciplines, in one regional university to examine the seemingly taken-for–granted view that professional experience in all teaching disciplines can be assessed according to generic professional standards. In this case when HPE students were surveyed on their views of their ability to satisfy the NSW Institute of Teachers’ Professional Teaching Standards during practical …

The Relationship Between Program Quality Indicators And Student Achievement In A Braided Prekindergarten Program, Susan L. Flemmons

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between prekindergarten classroom quality indicators and student achievement at the prekindergarten level. Pre-existing data on prekindergarten classroom quality measures and student achievement was utilized. Quality indicators were assessed using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) (Pianta, La Paro, & Hamre, 2008) and student achievement was measured by the end of year results on the Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS) (Invernizzi, Meier, Swank, & Juel, 2004) and the Bracken School Readiness Assessment end of year results (Bracken, 2007).

A quantitative ex post facto correlational research design was employed to identify relationships …

Nigerian Policy On Child Labor: An Evaluation Of The Education Sector Preparedness For Effective Policy Implementation, Samuel Effiong Ekong

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A number of studies have been conducted about policy failures in Nigeria; however, little is known about the state of stakeholders' readiness to implement any government policy. Using the functionalist theory of Durkheim and the infrastructure theory of Frischmann, the purpose of this exploratory case study was to evaluate the level of preparedness of the education sector to implement the Nigerian policy on child labor, which was adopted on September 11, 2013, by the federal executive council of Nigeria. Preparedness in this study was conceptualized as the ability of the education sector to absorb children of school-going-age who quit all …

Teacher Perceptions Of The Effectiveness Of Inclusion In Elementary Classroom Settings, Delicia Peacock Peacock

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Inclusion classrooms were introduced in the United States in 1990 when the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act required that special education students be instructed in a general education setting. Ensuing changes in instructional formats have caused role confusion for special and general education teachers, resulted in mixed attitudes toward teacher responsibilities, and lowered teachers' sense of efficacy about being able to teach their students. Guided by Deci and Ryan's self-determination theory, this bounded case study design in a rural elementary school in a southeastern state was used to understand the perceptions of general and special educators regarding their work in …