Education Commons^™

Under Surveillance: Interrogating Linguistic Policing In Black Girlhood, Pamela Jones

Occasional Paper Series

Abstract

The youngest of Black girls are scrutinized for their language choices and surveilled on the basis of their ability to shift out of their vernacular and into Standard English (SE). In this essay, I revisit my own Black girlhood (Brown, 2013) to interrogate how those in schooled contexts compelled me to deny the “skin that (I) speak” (Delpit, 2002, p. xvii). Using intersectionality as my theoretical frame (Collins, 2000), I arrive at new understandings about resisting multiple oppressions and consider possible interventions at the school level.

Keywords: Black girlhood, intersectionality, African-American Language (AAL), identity, code-meshing.

The Rights Of The Learner: A Framework For Promoting Equity Through Formative Assessment In Mathematics Education, Crystal A. Kalinec-Craig

Democracy and Education

An elementary mathematics teacher once argued that she and her students held four Rights of the Learner in the classroom: (1) the right to be confused; (2) the right to claim a mistake; (3) the right to speak, listen and be heard; and (4) the right to write, do, and represent only what makes sense. Written as an emerging framework to promote equity in the mathematics classroom through divergent formative assessment, the RotL assumes that students can take more explicit ownership of their learning, both in writing and in oral communication. Foregrounded in the literature, this paper discusses how the …

Improving Reading Through Fine Motor Skill Development In First Grade, Tyler West-Higgins

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Children who struggle with learning to read in first grade, fall behind, and have difficulty catching up with their peers. Research has shown students who struggle to read in first grade, also struggle to read in later years. The purpose of this study was to determine if an intervention to enhance fine motor skills to a select group of students in one class room increased their reading abilities. This was a mixed methods research study which assessed the quantitative data from the running record assessments, and the qualitative data taken by teacher-aide during assessment process post fine motor intervention. This …

Intention, Questions, And Creative Expression: An Antidiscriminatory Diversity Statement, Hannah S. Bright

Scholarship and Engagement in Education

Supporting education that reflects diversity involves maintaining awareness of one’s personal positionality, creating safe and inclusive learning communities, and using creativity and choice to empower and honor student voice and individual development. When working in educational settings, teachers may involve students in selecting relevant materials, and follow their lead in creating critical dialogue about salient factors of identity.

Can A Three-Day Training Focusing On The Nature Of Science And Science Practices As They Relate To Mind In The Making Make A Difference In Preschool Teachers' Self-Efficacy Engaging In Science Education?, Colleen Meacham

Dissertations and Theses

As technology and our world understanding develop, we will need citizens who are able to ask and answer questions that have not been thought of yet. Currently, high school and college graduates entering the workforce demonstrate a gap in their ability to develop unique solutions and fill the current technology-driven jobs. To address this gap, science needs to be prioritized early in children's lives. The focus of this research was to analyze a science training program that would help pre-school teachers better understand Mind in the Making life skills, the nature of science, science practices, and improve their self-efficacy integrating …

Re-Reading, Re-Writing, And Re-Imagining Texts: Critical Literacy In A Kindergarten Classroom, Meredith Labadie

Dissertations

This qualitative action research study focuses on the integration of critical literacy practices in a kindergarten classroom. Critical literacy recognizes that no texts are neutral, and that authors position their readers in particular ways. Thus critical literacy practices are those concerned with positioning readers to inquire into issues of language and power, and to disrupt, critique, and challenge texts. In this study, critical literacy was brought to life through a curriculum of rereading and revisiting texts over time. The study took place in the researcher’s kindergarten classroom, and follows students’ discussion, written responses, and dramatizations around texts read aloud in …

Picture Vocabulary Growth In Students With And Without Disabilities In An Early Childhood Program That Targets Poor Families, Alan B. Cobo-Lewis

Poster Presentations

We compared growth in the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test between children with disabilities and children without disabilities in Educare Central Maine, a highly resourced data-driven Birth-5 early care and education program that targets children at risk of school failure because of socioeconomic factors. Children with disabilities made up 13% of enrollment. Children with disabilities tended to catch up with the typically developing children as they spent more time in Educare.

Housing Diversity In Children’S Literature, Carla Earhart

Charleston Library Conference

Previous studies have examined diversity in children’s literature: Gender diversity, racial diversity, religious diversity, and diversity in family composition. This project examines an often overlooked diversity issue in children’s literature: Housing diversity. In the stories they read and the accompanying images, children need to see a variety of housing environments and need to see the settings and the people portrayed in a positive manner.

Renting an apartment is an increasingly popular housing option for many families. However, many children’s books glamorize living in a traditional house. Using a rubric designed by the course instructor, students in a university immersive learning …

Through Support Of Mothers, Khush Funer Murtaza

Khush Funer

No abstract provided.

The Arizona Kith And Kin Project, Sarah Ocampo-Schlesinger, Vicki Mccarty

Occasional Paper Series

In 1999, soon after the federal welfare reform was enacted, many people in Pheonix, Arizona were transitioning off of welfare and into the workforce. When considering job development in any any community, the focus shifts to child care needs. A study of child care needs in the area revealed that most parents were relying on family, friends, and neighbors for care. The Association for Supportive Child Care (ASCC) became committed to reaching out to the underserved population of kith and kin caregivers in their communities to provide training and support.

Teachers Supporting Students Affected By Trauma, Madeleine Smyth

Social Justice and Community Engagement

Although many people would like to think of childhood as a relatively peaceful and happy time, research has indicated that for many children this is far from the case. One study in the United States has estimated that 26% of children will witness or experience a trauma-causing event before they enter kindergarten. Trauma can have a serious impact on a child’s learning and overall classroom experience. Teachers and other school staff can play an important role in recognizing and responding to students presenting with symptoms of trauma in the classroom and mitigating possible adverse impacts on their education. A qualitative …

Minding The Gap: Mentor And Pre-Service Teachers’ Ability Perceptions Of Content Area Literacy Instruction, Treavor Bogard, Mary-Kate Sableski, Jackie Marshall Arnold, Connie L. Bowman

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

This mixed method study compared how student teachers rated their ability in implementing components of content area literacy compared to their clinical educators’ perceptions of the student teachers’ actual performance. The researchers collaborated with K-12 clinical educators to develop a scaled survey to rate level of skill in four components of content literacy instruction. 112 clinical educators (CEs) and 183 student teachers (STs) representing five teacher licensure programs completed the survey. A two-way multivariate analysis of variance measured the effect of Role (CE and ST) and Teacher Licensure Program on ability perception. Results indicated that Role and Program each significantly …

Stem Storytelling: Using Picture Books To Integrate Mathematics - "Who Lives Here?", Lindsey Herlehy, Karen Togliatti

Publications & Research

This series of activities invites students to explore animals and their habitats, classify “animal” figures by habitat, sort, represent, and analyze data. In the first activity, the picture book Listen to Our World by Bill Martin, Jr. and Michael Sampson will be used to discuss eleven different animals and their habitats. Questioning strategies will focus on student comprehension and inferential reasoning skills related to why each animal lives in a particular type of habitat. This book is utilized at all grade levels to introduce the subsequent activity.

The grade-level activities that follow integrate students’ knowledge of animals and their habitats …

Workforce Well-Being: Personal And Workplace Contributions To Early Educators' Depression Across Settings, Amy M. Roberts, Kathleen C. Gallagher, Alexandra Daro, Iheoma Iruka, Susan Sarver

Buffet Early Childhood Institute Reports and Publications

Building on research demonstrating the importance of teachers' well-being, this study examined personal and contextual factors related to early childhood educators' (n =1640) depressive symptoms across licensed child care homes, centers, and schools. Aspects of teachers' beliefs, economic status, and work-related stress were explored, and components of each emerged as significant in an OLS regression. After controlling for demographics and setting, teachers with more adult-centered beliefs, lower wages, multiple jobs, no health insurance, more workplace demands, and fewer work-related resources, had more depressive symptoms. Adult-centered beliefs were more closely associated with depression for teachers working in home-based settings compared …

Quality Is Key In Early Childhood Education In Australia, Kate Torii, Stacey Fox, Dan Cloney

Early Childhood Education

Early education benefits all children, and can be transformative for the children with the greatest challenges. But not all children in Australia experience a high quality early education. Getting quality right is the key piece of the puzzle needed to deliver the promise of early education. Investing in early learning is a widely accepted approach, backed by extensive evidence, for governments and families to foster children’s development, lay the foundations for future learning and wellbeing, and reduce downstream expenditure on health, welfare and justice. While all children benefit from high quality early learning, research also shows that children experiencing higher …

08.01 New England Kindergarten Conference, 1962-2003, Marie Wasnock

Finding Aids

This collection contains New England Kindergarten Conference proceedings from 1962-1978. It also includes programs and pamphlets about the conference from 1980-2003.

The Good Behavior Game: Effects On And Maintenance Of Behavior In Middle-School Classrooms Using Class Dojo, Komila Dadakhodjaeva

Dissertations

Classroom management is one of the key components for successful instruction and affects both instructors and learners. Although most frequent discipline strategies in schools involve punitive actions, research suggests that using positive statements to teach and reinforce desirable behaviors is more appropriate and effective. A form of a group-oriented contingency that focuses on desirable behaviors is a positive variation of the Good Behavior Game (GBG). The GBG has been used widely in its original form, focusing on undesirable behaviors, and more research is needed on its positive version. Another strategy that can be used within classrooms is Class Dojo, a …

The Feasibility Of Assessing Parent And Child Letter Knowledge In At-Rrisk Families Within A Museum Enrichment Setting, Jeny Sara Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

THE FEASIBILITY OF ASSESSING PARENT AND CHILD LETTER KNOWLEDGE IN AT-RISK FAMILIES WITHIN A MUSEUM ENRICHMENT SETTING

by

Jeny Sara Thomas

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2017

Under the Supervision of Professor John Heilmann

Purpose. This study addressed alphabet knowledge with children/parents who may be at-risk using a museum environment. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the parent- and child-level assessments developed were appropriate to measure letter knowledge and children’s home literacy environment (HLE) from at-risk families and implement a museum enrichment program for the children/parents within a museum experience.

Methods. Fourteen parent-child dyads from the Family …

Facing Diversity In Early Childhood Education: Teachers’ Perceptions, Beliefs, And Teaching Practices Of Anti-Bias Education In Korea, Yerim Hong

MSU Graduate Theses

The changing composition of early childhood classrooms challenges teachers to be more responsive to the diverse needs of all children. This study explores the challenges and successes early childhood teachers experience with facing diversity in their classrooms. The purpose of this qualitative interview study was to investigate kindergarten teachers’ perceptions, beliefs, and teaching practices concerning anti-bias education in Seoul, South Korea. There were two groups of in-service kindergarten teachers, four teachers in each group, who participated in one-on-one interviews with structured and open-ended questions. The teachers in one group had more experience with teaching in diverse classroom settings than the …

Analysis Of A Stem Education Professional Development Conference For Pre-Service Educators, Keeta Holmes, Pamela Atkinson-Hamilton, Tiffanni Durham, Gloria Hardrict-Ewing, Deborah Heisler, Christina Hughes, Rosalinda Williams, Lane Walker, Christopher Young-El, Amy Dooley

Dissertations

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines are attracting increased attention in education. The iSTEM 2017 conference was a professional development program designed to acquaint pre-service teachers with interdisciplinary, research-based STEM instructional strategies that can transform traditional classroom instruction into dynamic learning environments.

The STEM Education Scholars (STEMES) is a Learning Community of Practice, housed in the College of Education, at a midsized mid-western public research university. The program of study focused on designing a professional development program for future Pre-K12 teachers. The iSTEM 2017 conference presented by the STEMES Community of Practice sought to inform pre-service teachers of STEM …

Latino Mothers’ Responsiveness And Bilingual Language Development In Young Children From 24 Months To 36 Months, Rica Ramirez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This longitudinal study examined the role maternal responsiveness had on shaping Spanish and English language development in bilingual two year-old children. Because children who are bilingual language learners are oftentimes coming from low socioeconomic families it is essential that we investigate the ways in which they develop language in order to better serve this population. Maternal responsiveness is one source in which we can examine early language development of young bilingual children. Eight Latino mother-child dyads were observed and assessed at three time points. Each observation was coded for maternal responsive behaviors. Regression and multilevel modeling was used in order …

A Qualitative Content Analysis Of Early Algebra Education Ios Apps For Primary Children, Lissa S. Ledbetter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Educational software applications (apps) on multi-touch, mobile devices provide a promising space to help learners work toward long-term educational goals, like learning with understanding (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000). Such goals are particularly relevant in supporting a learner’s efforts to become more mathematically literate. Yet, a number of current apps do not appear to be living up to this potential. As such, this study drew upon the theoretical framework of Learning Science and the conceptual framework of TPACK theory (Mishra & Koehler, 2006) to define curricular characteristics that ideally support primary children’s potential to learn early algebra concepts with understanding, …

The Role Of Teacher-Child Verbal And Nonverbal Prompts In Kindergarten Classrooms In Ghana, Aaron Osafo-Acquah

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While previous studies have examined the educational system in Ghana, there seemed to be very little or no studies that had explored participation and engagement through teacher-child interactions in early childhood education in Ghanaian classrooms (Twum-Danso, 2013). The purpose of this video-based multiple case studies qualitative study of three Kindergarten classrooms in Cape Coast in the Central Region of Ghana was to identify verbal and nonverbal prompts that related to children’s participation in Ghanaian Kindergarten classroom settings. The data for the study were secondary, having been collected by a team of researchers for the New Civics Grant Program in an …

Early Childhood Mathematics Through A Social Justice Lens: An Autoethnography, Jennifer Ward

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this autoethnography was to explore the experiences, both successes and challenges, as I worked to teach mathematics using a social justice framework in a summer enrichment camp with four and five-year-old children. Drawing from both critical approaches (Freire, 1968) and sociocultural approaches (Rogoff, 2008), this dissertation outlines critical perspectives within Early Childhood Education, as well as trends in teaching mathematics for social justice to frame the research study. Autoethnography was selected as a methodological approach in this study as I examined my own teaching experiences and journey engaging in teaching mathematics for social justice. Primary data sources …

Predictors Of Behavior Problems In The Context Of Peer Play Interactions: A Sample Of Low-Income Latino Preschoolers, Olivia Hernandez Gonzalez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Latinos are the fastest-growing minority group in the United States and have higher dropout rates compared to other groups. Moreover, problem behaviors are common in preschool classrooms, and the incidence of these problems is higher for children from low-income families. The purpose of this study was to understand Latino children's problem behaviors in the context of peer play interactions and identify those variables that influence such behavior. 265 five and six-year-old Spanish-speaking children (53.6% female) attending Head Start or kindergarten participated in the study. Additionally, 198 mothers and 78 pre-kindergarten and kindergarten lead teachers participated in the study. Child level …

Do Spellings Of Words And Phonemic Awareness Training Facilitate Vocabulary Learning In Preschoolers?, Robin O'Leary

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study was to examine the contribution of phoneme awareness training and orthography to the learning of new vocabulary words by partial alphabetic phase readers. We hypothesized that four and five year old children taught to segment words with letters would outperform those trained with shape markers and those that received no segmentation training on an invented spelling task. We also hypothesized that students seeing the spellings of new vocabulary words (names) would learn the words in fewer trials, remember the names and features better and would be able to better recognize letter labels when presented alone. …

Literacy Tutoring Strategies Of America Reads University-Level Tutors, Mauricio Cadavid

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore, study, outline and describe tutoring strategies applied by American Reads (AR) tutors and non-America Reads (nAR) tutors helping young tutees develop early literacy skills. There is limited research on the implementation of effective tutoring strategies during one-on-one tutoring with elementary school children in terms of early literacy development. Most of the literature is split between peer tutoring and program tutoring. This lack of research presents a particular challenge when it comes to identifying an effective tutor and effective tutoring methodologies. Using a qualitative approach, this study utilizes survey data, session recordings, and …

Music Education And Its Impact On Students With Special Needs, Sarah V. Foley

Scholarship and Engagement in Education

Using music in a setting that includes students with special needs can have an effect on student communication and socialization. A review of the literature indicates that little is known about the effect of music on student's academic performance and behavior. Overall the research indicates that using music in a classroom, particularly with children with special needs has a positive effect on communication and socialization. Additional studies are needed to document the effect of music on student learning.

Alone Centers: Privacy Retreats For Young Children To Manage Emotions And Seek Shelter From Overstimulating Environments, Clarke Mcgibben

University of Montana Journal of Early Childhood Scholarship and Innovative Practice

No abstract provided.

Minds Under Construction, Judi Guisti

University of Montana Journal of Early Childhood Scholarship and Innovative Practice

No abstract provided.