Education Commons^™

Shifting Educators' Perspectives On The Purpose Of Play And Play-Based Learning, Emily Mueller

Culminating Experience Projects

Play is a research-based, developmentally appropriate practice for children, supporting both their social-emotional development and academic learning, but there exists differences between Early Childhood Education (ECE) teachers in how play is viewed and used. ECE teachers’ perspectives on the purpose of play affects the practices they implement in their classrooms. If educators have limited perspectives on the purpose of play, they are not likely to implement or advocate for certain, necessary types of play and play-based learning in their classrooms. This is especially pertinent when the pressure to teach standards through formal instruction is present in many ECE classrooms. This …

The Storytelling Study: Understanding Ourselves And Others Through Storytelling, Georgia Moses

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Study on oral storytelling in early childhood education is ample. Study on oral storytelling in the elementary grades, however, is limited. This is likely due to the connection between storytelling and dramatic play, a creative and imaginative exercise that loses value in many classrooms as children grow. The emergent themes across the developmental stages of seven, eight, and nine year olds illustrate the need for and power of storytelling in second and third grade classrooms. The Storytelling Study is an interdisciplinary, multimodal curriculum in which children foster deeper understandings of themselves and others through the exploration of oral storytelling. The …

The Choice Of Pre-K: An Examination Into Black Caregivers’ Early Childhood Care Decisions And How Early Childhood Care Predicts Black Children’S Educational Outcomes, Anna Grace Rollins

Dissertations

Despite the national push for increased Pre-K enrollment, findings on the effects of attending Pre-K are contradictory and inconsistent. Due to conflicting research and viewpoints on traditional education outcomes, many families are choosing not to send their children to Pre-K. This study focused on the often overlooked thoughts and experiences of Black parents and guardians when making decisions about early childhood education for their children, as well as the academic and behavioral effects of attending Pre-K for Black children in subsequent years. Through surveys and interviews, this study explored factors that influence Black parents’ decisions about enrolling their children in …

A Critical Policy Analysis Of Universal Preschool In Colorado: Its Roots, Intentions, And Development, Jamita Horton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

High-quality preschool experiences are essential for preparing four-year-old children for a successful transition to kindergarten, benefiting them academically, emotionally, socially, and physically. However, access to such preschools remains limited, particularly for children from marginalized communities. This qualitative critical policy analysis examines transitioning from the targeted Colorado Preschool Program (CPP) to a universal preschool approach through the 2022 Colorado House Bill 1295: Department of Early Childhood and Universal Preschool Program. Drawing on Young and Diem's (2017) framework for critical policy analysis, this study explores the roots, development, and potential implications of the universal preschool policy.

This study analyzes documents and audio …

An Examination Of Early Childhood Leadership In Public Elementary Schools: A Mixed Methods Study, Wesam Alshahrani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As state-funded Pre-K programs in elementary schools continue to grow, elementary principals are increasingly responsible for supporting, supervising, and leading these programs. Therefore, examining elementary principals' early childhood leadership competencies and the factors influencing them may help understand and improve their experiences as early childhood education (ECE) leaders. This explanatory sequential mixed methods study examined the ECE leadership of Tennessee public elementary school principals in two phases.

In the quantitative phase, statewide surveys were used to collect data from 67 principals. The survey comprised 51 items assessing nine ECE leadership competencies, synthesized from statements of leading ECE and elementary education …

Benefits Of Early Childhood Education On Later Adult Life, Chelsie N. Jones

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

It has been proven that the first five years of a child’s life are a critical development period, but there are currently no federal mandates requiring families to enroll their children in an Early Childhood Education program before entering kindergarten. There are many benefits for children attending a head start, preschool, or transitional kindergarten program, such as developing social skills and emotional competence, closing academic achievement gaps, and ensuring children are exposed to proper environmental enrichment that supports a range of early skills such as social, cognitive, and executive function skills. But how does early childhood education impact later adult …

Early Childhood Education In India And Traces Of Colonial Regimes: A Critical Discourse Analysis, Snigdha Rampal

Masters Theses

Globalization and postcolonialism, as fields of inquiry, are vast, interdisciplinary, and marked by a diversity of concepts. These domains, while distinct, exhibit significant overlap and complementarity (Gupta, 2020). It can be argued that colonialism catalyzes globalization, disseminating and influencing human existence through Eurocentric knowledge (Bhatia, 2020; Hanson et al., 2018). Within the expansive scopes of globalization and postcolonialism, this research centers on specific conceptual ideas with a particular emphasis on their relevance to early childhood education in India. As such, the research proposed here employs a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of various global ECE texts, government documents, and national standards …

Training And Supporting Early Childhood Providers In Inclusive Settings, Kimberly K. Bennett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Early childhood providers care for infants and toddlers with developmental delays and special needs in their programs and classrooms. This study addressed the problem that there is insufficient professional development (PD) training for early childhood providers working with infants and toddlers with special needs in inclusive settings. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to understand what training early childhood providers report they have had, and what training early childhood providers perceive that they need to support infants and toddlers with special needs in inclusive settings. Using the whole teacher approach as the conceptual framework, the research questions explored …

Three-Year-Old Agents Of Social Change: How Aeiotu Educators Build On Children’S Agency, Andrea Rodriguez

Honors Projects

aeioTU is a Colombian organization that works to enact social change through the field of early childhood education. In collaboration with the Colombian government, aeioTU oversees several public centers located in socioeconomically vulnerable municipalities in Colombia. This thesis analyzes the aeioTU curriculum and the practices of several aeioTU teachers through the theoretical lens of Freire’s critical pedagogy. This thesis argues that by fostering critical awareness of the world from an early age, as well as by collaborating closely with mothers and the communities at large, aeioTU teachers equip children with the tools to become social agents who can challenge and …

Examining Teachers' Perceptions Of Culturally Responsive Teaching Practices And The Impact On The Academic And Social-Emotional Success Of Black And Brown Boys In Voluntary Prekindergarten Classrooms: A Qualitative Study, Stephanie Gomez Jackson

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore voluntary pre-kindergarten (VPK) teachers’ perspectives regarding the theory of culturally responsive pedagogy. This study also sought to understand how teachers implement culturally responsive teaching practices in VPK classrooms and their perceptions of how culturally responsive teaching impacts the academic and social-emotional success of Black and Brown male students. The study was conducted using a qualitative, phenomenological methodology. Gay’s (2018) pillars of culturally responsive teaching were used as the conceptual framework to explore the cultural characteristics, experiences, and perspectives of voluntary prekindergarten (VPK) teachers. Data collection tools included (1) two recorded semi-structured interviews, …

Director Follow-Up Of Early Childhood Educator Professional Development, Katherine Jordan

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

Research has shown follow-up to be an important component for professional development (PD) to result in teacher behavior change. However, PD rarely includes follow-up support. This pilot study used multiple methods to determine the feasibility of Head Start (HS) directors providing teachers PD follow-up support. Two aspects of feasibility were examined. Practical feasibility was based on whether the directors could master the procedure for providing PD follow-up support and whether they had time to provide PD follow-up support. Social validity feasibility was measured as the acceptability of the procedures and the likelihood of directors continuing to use the protocol prescribed …

Mindfulness As An Emotional Well-Being Tool For Beginning Teachers, Brittany Crumley

All Dissertations

Today’s early educators are responsible for providing a stimulating learning environment to facilitate student academic outcomes, in addition to providing a positive emotional climate to support student social-emotional functioning. Early childhood educators engage with various physical and emotional stressors throughout the workday (e.g., disruptive behaviors, standardized assessment), and to be effective, they must be able to cope with their own emotional reactivity. Teacher experiences of work stress may lead to decreased performance, burnout, and poor student outcomes, creating serious concerns for the education environment. One transferable strategy to help teachers’ emotional well-being is mindfulness self-care (e.g., breathing practices), which can …

A Phenomenological Study Of The Perceptions Of Inclusive Preschool Education Through The Lens Of Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Educators., Brooke Noon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Young children with special needs have been educated in early childhood settings with typically developing peers for over 40 years. Successful educational inclusion in the least restrictive environment requires appropriate aids and supports (Individuals with Disabilities Act, 2004). Although researchers have studied many aspects of special education, little investigation has been conducted on the perspectives of dual certified interdisciplinary early childhood educator’s (IECE) perceptions on full inclusion in preschool. This study was designed to examine the connection between the perceptions of IECE teacher’s experiences as a dual certified educator in preschool. In total, 10 IECE teachers were interviewed and completed …

Characteristics Of Award-Winning Children’S Books About Agriculture: An Analysis Of Content, And The Perspectives Of Authors, Illustrators, And Publishers, Addison L. Beckham

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this two-article qualitative study was to characterize children's literature about agriculture and to describe the perceptions of authors and illustrators who are responsible for writing and designing these successful publications. This will result in the ability of organizations like Feeding Minds Press to provide writers, illustrators, and publishers with effective strategies and techniques to improve the accuracy and overall quality of children’s literature about agriculture. Few parameters exist for authors of children’s books about agriculture (Biser, 2007). These parameters are necessary to ensure the quality and accuracy of these educational efforts (Serafini, 2012). Though Feeding Minds Press …

An Exploration Of Leadership And Management Challenges Among Center-Based Early Childhood Education Directors, Yeni Portillo-Lemus

Doctor of Education Program Dissertations

Managing early childhood education (ECE) programs is intricate, with directors facing challenges in organizational leadership, business management, and meeting pedagogical standards. Early childhood education directors are vital as they play a crucial role in ensuring quality education and care. Despite the importance, research on leadership and management, especially through a gender lens, is limited. Therefore, the purpose of this qualitative narrative inquiry was to explore the leadership and management challenges Los Angeles County based, private-for-profit, single-center early childhood education directors experience in their leadership and management roles. Six participants who self-identified as ECE directors completed semi-structured interviews over Zoom. These …

Variations In Family Child Care: Providers' Experiences Crafting Spaces In-Between School And Home, Eleanor Luken

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Family child care, which takes place in the caregiver’s own home, is one of the most common arrangements for American working parents, yet it remains low paid and undervalued in the ecosystem of early childhood care and education (Uttal and Tuominen, 1999). Little is known about how family child care providers organize space within their homes and the repercussions the location of care has on their daily practices with children, relationships with family members, and design of their homes. Even less is known about the strategies used by providers operating in dense, urban neighborhoods with high housing costs. This investigation …

Considerations When Developing An Indigenous Early Learning And Child Care Outcomes Framework Within Canada: A Collaboration Between A White Settler And Ojibway/Oneida Knowledge Keeper, Bronwyn Johns

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This research contributes to the scholarship on evaluation and assessment within early learning and child care (ELCC) environments. The research was carried out in collaboration with the leaders of an Indigenous ELCC centre, an Ojibway/Oneida Knowledge Keeper, co-supervisors with the Faculty of Education at Western University, and funding partners Mitacs and a municipal funder. The collaboration took place within Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The dissertation is a diffractive analysis that involved reading texts multiple times, focusing on differences that matter while not ignoring relevant similarities. The methodology was also informed by the Ojibway/Oneida Knowledge Keeper who collaborated with the researcher by …

Identity, Access, And Equity: An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Study Of Mathematics Identity And Socialization In Pre-Service Teachers, Ashley Renaire Davis

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Teaching practices in early childhood through post-secondary learning settings continue to reproduce inequities in mathematics education despite recognition of math’s utility and its necessity for competitiveness in the global economy. For reform efforts to be successful, teachers must change the way mathematics is presented in classrooms where students often experience differences in exposure to mathematics content and time spent covering particular mathematics topics. Therefore, teachers represent a critical component in the cycle of reproduction of unequal access to mathematics. This mixed-methods study examined the processes of mathematics identity formation and mathematics socialization in a diverse sample of pre-service elementary and …

Exploring Attitudes Of Four Groups Of Stakeholders Toward Family Childcare And Recommending Best Practices To Promote Positive Experiences, Yvonne S. Williams

Dissertations

This research aimed to increase the awareness of licensed family childcare programs and use the viewpoints of four stakeholder groups to construct recommended best practices. These best practices are crucial for supporting effective business practices and providing high-quality services to their stakeholders. Online surveys and virtual interviews were used to acquire the stakeholders' perspectives. The collected data revealed three principal thematic codes: family childcare provider, family childcare business, and family childcare environment. Within these three codes, the family childcare program's areas of improvement, inconsistencies, and strengths were identified and evaluated to construct recommended professional and business best practices. Some of …

Balancing Free Play And Structured Learning Opportunities In Early Childhood Education Classrooms: Contrasting Perceptions Of Teachers And Researchers, Logan Mentzer

University Honors Theses

This study explored how early childhood education classrooms can provide a balance of learning opportunities that are both initiated by the child and facilitated by the teacher. Three transitional/preschool teachers were interviewed along with two researchers who study preschool/kindergarten classrooms. The results of this study found four strategies that are used in early childhood education classes that allow both child exploration and adult facilitation: 1) creating close teacher-child relationships; 2) creating close lead-assistant teacher relationships; 3) using both mental and physical planning; 4) using guided questions to teach. There were interesting differences in contrasting perspectives of early childhood education teachers …

Creative Common Worlding With Research Creation In Early Childhood Education, Sarah M. Hennessy

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Creative Common worlding with research-creation in early childhood education engages with provocations that disrupt dominant understandings of children and their relations with more-than-human and human others. Reconceptualizing alternatives through art, this dissertation contemplates the potent possibilities beyond human stewardship, underscores the influence of an uncommoning lens, and emphasizes the difficulties with humancentric notions of research. If, by disrupting how we understand ourselves and our role in place, we modify our actions and change our habits, then perhaps we can live differently and contribute differently to the planet. Through a common worlds framework together with research-creation, this dissertation considers climate education …

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, How Should We Read: Applying Principles Of Literacy Development To Shared Book-Reading Experiences, Kalika Melody Burnett Bridwell

Senior Theses

Literacy has long been recognized as critical to success in and out of the classroom (Duchouquette, 2014; Hernandez, 2011; National Center for Family Literacy, 2008), having significant impact on students’ ability to achieve positive outcomes in academic, professional, social, and personal domains. Research suggests that this correlation is established at an early age (Cunningham & Zibulsky, 2011, Storch & Whitehurst, 2002, National Center for Family Literacy, 2008), giving urgency to the provision of high-quality early literacy education and to the identification of best practices in this area. Outside of explicit teaching, one of the most popular of these practices is …

Teacher Perception Of A Brief Mindfulness-Based Curriculum And Its Impact On The Development Of Social Skills And Self-Regulation On A Preschool Classroom, Allison Poggendorf

Educational Specialist, 2020-current

Recent studies on mindfulness and its impact on children have found promising results, especially with social-emotional skill development. A majority of the research on mindfulness applied in educational setting tends to focus on elementary and high school students, and there is limited, but growing research that examines the impact of mindfulness among early childhood students. This current study explored the impact of a brief mindfulness-based curriculum on an intact preschool classroom. Specifically, this study examined if preschool teachers perceive mindfulness practices in the classroom to impact their students’ self-regulation skills and social skills and how likely they were to continue …

A Pedagogy Of Play: How Pre- And In-Service Early Childhood Teachers’ Perceptions Of Play Are Influenced As A Result Of Practicum Experience In A Play-Based Environment, E. B. Nygard

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

There is a growing body of research behind the play-based movement in education today – a topic that is somewhat controversial (Nicolopoulou et al., 2010; Overstreet, 2018). While some are steeped in a more classical approach to early education, advocating learning should be painful (Adler & Van Doren, 1988), others are paving the way for a more progressive approach, suggesting play to be the premier window into a child’s development (Paley, 1979-2014; Wohlwend & Peppler, 2015). The purpose of this study was to look at how the perceptions of pre- and in-service teachers changed regarding play and storytelling after participating …

Weaving Child-Plastic Relations In The Ecuadorian Andes, Alexandra M. Berry

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In the small Andean town of Racar, Ecuador, plastics are deeply woven into land and culture. Within postqualitative framings, this dissertation puts into conversation research-creation and curriculum-making to invent pedagogical responses to plastics with children and early childhood educators at a local school named Santana. This pedagogical project interferes with prevailing Euro-western visions of the human in education that separate children in the Ecuadorian Andes from their relations with place and plastics. Together we think with material/conceptual contradictions and possibilities proposed through Andean weaving techniques as minor, but important, entry points to figuring the child within increasingly synthetic worlds in …

Embracing The Reggio Emilia Approach To Early Childhood Education, Tarabeth Brumfield Heineman

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Each year, hundreds of early childhood educators from the many parts of the world travel to a small town in the northern part of Italy to study the arts-based, project focused, a child-initiated method known as the Reggio Emilia approach. This unique approach focuses on infant-toddler through preschool and primary education. While teachers are engaged in professional learning and growth, it is hard to determine how many early childhood programs and classrooms are truly influenced by the Reggio Emilia approach. The purpose of this study was to explore and examine the experiences of five teachers from West Virginia who have …

Developing Self-Efficacy In Mathematics Through Visual Art: An Observational Research Report On A Preschool Child With Exceptionalities, Ever Daw-Powers

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Self-efficacy is a skill that can inspire problem solving, high confidence, and critical thinking skills. As educators seek to create an enriching, inclusive, and engaging academic environment for students with disabilities, it is important to incorporate strategies for building self-efficacy throughout learning. I pose a potential solution to integrate self-efficacy building into mathematical concepts through visual art. The participant in this study is a four-year-old child diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), sensory input issues, and a developmental delay. Over a four-week period, I performed a pre-assessment, four lesson plans, and a post-assessment. I created the assessment to measure …

Outdoor Early Intervention Services: Current Practices And Future Directions, Tiffany Lee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Outdoor play is a crucial in supporting child development, resiliency, social skills, creative thinking, adaptability, family growth, and family engagement. Unfortunately, children are spending less time outside because of technology, parent fears, and other factors. Parents who have a child with a disability have even more challenges when it comes to playing outside. Thus, children with disabilities are spending even less time in outdoor environments. Early Intervention (EI) is a program that is designed for infants and toddlers between the ages of zero to three that have developmental delays and/or disabilities. EI uses a family-center approach in natural environments to …

Soundfullness In Early Childhood Education: An Ecological Sound Art Inquiry With Educators And Children, Malvika Agarwal

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Sounds exist everywhere, and early childhood classrooms are no exception. Sounds resonate with us, and sometimes they move us. However, engagement with sound has a limited trajectory. This thesis traces movements from a sound inquiry in an early childhood centre through three research questions: (a) How is sound consumed and produced in ECE? (b) What other ways of being might be enacted through sounds and ecological sound art in ECE? (c) How might sound become an agentic entity through pedagogical documentation and digital technology? The inquiry took a multimodal approach using text and sound, and embraced methods of ecological sound …

Establishing Trauma-Informed Practices Within The Early Learning Environment, Daria M. Castor

Selected Honors Theses

Nearly half of US children have experienced one or more types of serious trauma with rates continually increasing. Early childhood educators get a first-hand encounter with childhood trauma as it affects the learning and behavior of young students. Young children process their trauma differently whether that be through behavioral issues or a withdrawn demeanor. Building strong, positive relationships with students and creating a safe learning environment are practical methods used by educators when working with traumatized young learners, however there is much more to be done to best meet the needs of these students. This thesis emphasizes the detrimental effects …