Education Commons^™

Using Self-Regulation To Predict Preschoolers' Symptomology Of Disruptive Behavior Disorders, Andrew White

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The use of brief rating forms completed by caregivers to identify children at-risk for developing behavioral disorders is common (Lane et al., 2009). However, identifying a behavioral measure assessing child-level variables (i.e., temperamental traits) which predict later behavioral concerns has potential to improve universal screening practices in the context of a multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) framework. Self-regulation (Rothbart & Bates, 2006) is a trait that is related to externalizing problem behaviors (e.g., Espy et al., 2011), and may be useful as a means to predict young children at risk for developing behavioral disorders. The purpose of this study is …

Preschool Parent Training For Traumatic Brain Injury Prevention And Response, Susan C. Davies, Allie E. Hundley, Shauna M. Adams

Counselor Education and Human Services Faculty Publications

This study evaluated a training procedure designed to increase low-income parents’ awareness of traumatic brain injury (TBI), knowledge of what to do for a suspected head injury, and confidence related to TBI response. Participants included 40 parents from low-income households who attended one of six identical 1-hour training sessions about preschool injury and TBI. The training utilized direct instruction, videos, discussion of scenarios, and an in-person helmet fitting. Results of a pre- and post-test indicated that the training significantly increased parent awareness, knowledge, and confidence related to TBI. Suggestions are provided for how educators and mental health professionals can structure …

You're Getting It!: How Preschool Teachers And Students Experience Literacy Tabletop Games In The Classroom, Katherine Sydik

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this qualitative instrumental case study was to examine affordances of literacy tabletop games in a preschool classroom environment as well as the experiences of young children between the ages of 3 and 6 and teachers playing the games. The following themes emerged from the research: “That’s How Games Are” relating to views about games and play, “How The Teacher Does It”, relating to developmentally appropriate educational practice for playing games with preschool children, “A Way to Keep Them More Engaged”, relating to preschool children’s motivation while playing literacy games, “Things Kids Need to Know for Kindergarten”, relating …

Perceptions Of The Role Physical Activity Plays In Early Childhood Education, Martha Swirzinski

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to describe the perceptions early childhood educators who intentionally implement physical activity into their class day in Eastern Virginia have with regards to using physical activity with preschoolers ages three to five. The theory guiding this study was the social constructivist theory by Lev Vygotsky (1978) which maintains that each individual has a different perspective about any given experience based on their prior experiences and all experiences build upon themselves to create knowledge. The constructivist theory suggests learners must interact with their environments to gain new knowledge (Ogunnaike, 2015). The basic …

Total Communication Methods For Preschool Children With Autism: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study Of Parent And Professional Perceptions, Leigh Beesley

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental, phenomenological study was to explore experiences of using a total communication system with preschoolers diagnosed with autism as explained by their parents and teachers. The research focused on the experience specifically relating to functional communication and social interactions. Determining resources that parents and teachers need that may have made the employment of the strategies more successful, was of importance to this study in order to determine implications, or future needed research. The participants in this study, determined by purposive sampling, included parents, teachers, paraprofessionals, and speech therapist located in an elementary school setting. The study …

Improving Head Start Teachers' Concept Development: Long Term Follow-Up Of A Training Program And Differences In Program Impact, Amanda Kr Lipp

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Children from a low socioeconomic status (SES) home environment are typically exposed to less vocabulary during the first few years of life and experience higher rates of poor school readiness, particularly in emergent literacy skills, when compared to middle-class peers (Bowey, 1995; Hart & Risley, 2003; Whitehurst, 1997). Early childhood education programs designed to expose this group to cognitively challenging utterances have found that low SES children tend to make greater gains in vocabulary development compared to middle-class peers (Justice, Meier, & Walpole, 2005).

Teachers' Perceptions Of Their Interactions With Shy Preschool Children: A Phenomenological Inquiry, Sara Swenson

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study explored preschool teachers’ perceptions of their interactions with shy children in the classroom. A qualitative phenomenology was chosen to capture the experiences of the teachers and gain an understanding of the phenomena they experience in the classroom.

Shyness refers to an individual’s feelings of uneasiness or hesitation when faced with a novel or unfamiliar situation (Coplan and Armer, 2007). With about 40% of children being shy (Caspi, Edler, & Bem, 1988; Lazarus, 1982; Zimbardo, 1977) and with increasing numbers of children enrolling in preschool, looking at how shy children are perceived is key to beginning to understand how …

Predicting Future Special Education Eligibility From Developmental Assessment Of Young Children (Dayc) Scores, Helen E. Shaw Tripp

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative non-experimental correlational study used logistic regression and archival data to examine the relationship between scores obtained by children at age three on the Developmental Assessment of Young Children (DAYC) rating scale and later special education eligibility status. The purpose of this study was to determine if DAYC scores can predict future special education eligibility as defined by the criteria of the State of Tennessee Department of Education and thereby provide a tactic for early identification and intervention. The 74 participants were students from a small, rural, high-poverty school district who were initially evaluated at age three using the …

Finding Childcare For The Disabled Child: The Process And Decisions Through The Primary Caregiver’S Lens, Misty Dawn Torres

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

In this qualitative, Grounded Theory study, the researcher examined the process that primary caregivers go through when selecting a childcare placement for children who have special needs. Data were collected through participant interviews with primary caregivers (n=10) who responded to recruitment notices posted on (1) listservs by organizations directly affiliated with early intervention and child care services; (2) local Internet classified sites; and (3) through word of mouth. The research demonstrated that caregivers who learned of their child’s disability in a prenatal diagnosis or prior to an adoption identified with having a greater sense of choice and control over their …

A Comparative Study Of The Teaching Methods Of Christian And Secular Preschools, Lloyd Mcdaniel

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation is a comparative study of the teaching methods of Christian preschools and secular preschool. I used two Christian and two secular preschools for the study. The study included interviews of the teachers and preschool directors and observations of actions in the classroom. Many children enter kindergarten not fully prepared for a classroom environment. Some of these children have never been outside the home without a parent and to be placed in a strange setting with strange people and answering to adults that are not parents, can be quite stressful. They are expected to become adjusted and start learning …