Education Commons^™

Universal Design For Learning (Udl) In Inclusive Preschool Science Classrooms, Marla J. Lohmann, Katrina A. Hovey, Ariane N. Gauvreau

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Science instruction is a critical aspect of early learning. Teachers can support young children’s learning about scientific concepts through the use of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework, which is a proactive approach to instructional planning that helps ensure success for all learners. This teaching techniques article offers preschool teachers practical solutions for implementing in the UDL framework for science instruction in their classrooms.

To What Extent Are At-Risk Preschoolers Effectively Prepared For Kindergarten?, Eliza Santos Lopez

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine to what extent Kinder Hearts School’s at-risk preschoolers are effectively prepared with readiness skills for kindergarten academic success. Based on schoolwide assessments, program mandates, and policy changes, an evaluation of this specific program in a Midwest school could determine whether the instructional model used was indeed effective. This study consisted of analyzing data from three student categories: children who attended private preschool programming, children who attended the school’s at-risk program, and children who had no schooling. The data collected was used to determine professional development needed, grant funding allocation, and program delivery …

Validation Of An Early Childhood Emotional And Social Competence Instrument Using A Rasch Partial Credit Model, Nan Li

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

The release of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) started a new chapter of education in the United States. The ESSA emphasizes the importance of preschool education; the act states that more resources will be devoted to preschool education, which lays the foundation for children’s school learning process. The goal of the act is to make sure children enter kindergarten education with equal preparatory. School, family, and researchers are paying more attention to developing preschool children’s social and emotional competency before entering Kindergarten. For understanding preschool children’s social and emotional skill development situation, instrument is the mostly widely adopted method …

Maintaining A Relational Classroom While Implementing Ts Gold, Leslie K. Gustafson

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

Teaching Strategies GOLD is an authentic assessment tool. It is used in many preschool classrooms to observe student development in their daily routine. Teaching Strategies GOLD is an effective means of assessing student development. One of the challenges when implementing Teaching Strategies GOLD is its comprehensiveness. The extensiveness of the assessment has been found to be very time consuming for educators to implement. This has raised the question, “How does an educator maintain a relational classroom while implementing Teaching Strategies GOLD?” The purpose of this paper to research the value of preschool and the use of authentic assessment. It will …

Preschool Assessment, Christy Faber

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

Assessments in early childhood are being addressed by educational leaders, administrators and teachers to meet the needs of preschoolers and ensure that these young children are school-ready. A school improvement plan was created using research-based methods. This school improvement plan looks at the need to create a developmentally appropriate preschool assessment report based on state standards with age appropriate objectives outlining specific benchmark skills to show teachers and parents an accurate picture of how children are progressing and growing. The focus of the literature review is based on the need for preschool assessments, types of assessments that are developmentally appropriate …

New York City Pre-K Leadership Study, Veronica Benavides, Faith Lamb-Parker, Sheila Smith

All Faculty and Staff Papers and Presentations

Presents key findings from a study of New York City pre-K leaders that evaluated how leaders support teachers and what factors help or hinder leaders’ efforts to positively impact learning for all children.

A Multi-Method Investigation Of Literacy And Language Practices In Mexican Early Childhood Programs, Laura M. Justice, Gloria Yeomans-Maldonado, Jorge Gonzalez, Alain Bengochea, Anita Mccormick

Educational & Clinical Studies Faculty Research

This study was designed to examine the literacy and language development processes and practices used in Mexican preschools. Participants were 18 early childhood teachers from three schools selected to represent the range of available programming. Research methods included focus groups, teacher questionnaires, and classroom observations. Results suggested that classrooms mostly had narrative books with few other genres, and that displaying the alphabet and children’s names were common practices. Teachers indicated a strong reliance on bottom-up instructional approaches and direct skill instruction. These findings contribute to our understanding of preschool literacy and language practices of Spanish-speaking children living in Mexico.

Inclusive Education For Preschool Learners With Autism: A Program Evaluation, Rachel C. Morgan

Dissertations

This is an exploration of the perceptions and perspectives of early childhood leaders and practitioners with regards to preschool learners with autism engaged in inclusive educational settings. At a time when inclusive education is acknowledged as best practice, there is still a concern that many preschool learners with disabilities are receiving most of their supports in a segregated setting. Additional concerns noted in the current research relate directly to the beliefs, values, and attitudes towards inclusive education for learners with disabilities. No distinct study has been done with regards to this age group, nor to pinpoint the perceptions and perspectives …

Is Pre-Kindergarten An Educational Panacea? A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis Of Scaled-Up Pre-Kindergarten In The United States, Corey A. Deangelis, Heidi Holmes Erickson, Gary W. Ritter

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

We synthesize the existing research and compute meta-analytic averages for the effects of scaled-up, publicly funded pre-kindergarten (pre-K) programs on student pre-kindergarten achievement in math and reading. Other systematic reviews of pre-K programs have focused on the effects for specific groups of students from various types of pre-K programs. We add to the literature by focusing on scaled-up pre-K often provided at the state level, which is of growing policy interest. Scaled-up programs are large state or district run programs that are available to a large portion of children before they enter kindergarten. We limit our analysis to state and …

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 …

Pathways To Kindergarten Readiness., Ashley T. Forrest, Stephanie Nutter, Deborah Rivera

College of Education & Human Development Capstone Projects

The purpose of this capstone was to explore pathways for increased kindergarten readiness by examining the relationship between kindergarten readiness as measured by the Brigance Kindergarten Screener (BKS) domains of cognitive/general knowledge and language/communication and each of the following variables: school funding, school location, school classification, teacher credentials, teacher years of experiences, music inclusion, and time allotted to music instruction. Participants included 174 preschool students from 17 classrooms in an urban school district. This capstone used preexisting data from the school district including demographic variables of race, socioeconomic status (SES), prior setting, attendance, and the school-level variable of climate. A …

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 …

Transition Strategies In Early Childhood Settings, Crystal P. Cunningham(Black)

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

The purpose of this research was to determine if daily lessons in yoga, mindfulness, and transition skills positively affect the transition from lunch to recess in a Montessori environment. The seven‐week study involved 17 children between two and a half to five years old. Data collection included a pre-and post‐assessment and observations which documented the type of disruptions, amount of disruptions, and the resolution to the disruptions. Results of the pre-and post‐assessments revealed that practice of the skills needed in a transition resulted in more independence. The mindfulness exercises resulted in less distractions while waiting in line during a transition. …

Fostering Self-Sufficiency Through Problem-Solving, Elizabeth G. Hamilton

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

“ What is this picture?” “This arrow is missing.” Montessori teachers hear these questions daily. These requests, while valid, often come at inopportune times, interrupting the adults work. This study aimed to see if children could gain independence through problem solving thus decreasing interruptions. 26 children and 4 adults were in this experiment. The intervention had two aspects. The first, a series of Grace and Courtesy lessons to help the children problem-solve common work related issues. The second was incorporation of a waiting necklace that the children would wear if they required an adult. Effectiveness was measured by evaluating the …

The Effects Of A Collaborative Team On Early Intervention In A Preschool, Tiffany L. James

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

Abstract The purpose of this project was to see what effects collaboration had on early intervention in a preschool. Fourteen guides at a Montessori preschool in Texas were asked to complete a beginning survey, attend weekly collaborative meetings for seven weeks, attend a focus group and complete an ending survey. Data showed that collaboration helped the teachers feel more valued and supported when helping all kinds of different learners. For the purpose of this study, different learners included children with behavioral concerns, learning disabilities and support needs. Interventions ranged from activities or exercises for individual children to lessons given to …

Enhanced Alphabet Knowledge In Preschool Children, Ana Paz

South Florida Education Research Conference

Providing a child the opportunity to succeed in school is a main worry of parents and teachers. When children are able to connect letters with their corresponding sounds allows for literacy to grow. Using Enhanced Alphabet Knowledge (EAK) instruction will allow children to evolve their literacy skills by connecting.

Assessing Vocabulary Of Children: Investigating The Evaluation And Instruction Of Basic Concepts, Rebecca Elizabeth Smith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Vocabulary knowledge of preschool children is a key factor in predicting literacy success in elementary school (Hammer, Farkas, & Maczuga, 2010). However, few deliberate attempts to teach basic concept vocabulary have been studied (Bowers & Schwarz, 2013; Wilson, 2004). The purpose of this research is to determine if large group explicit instruction with interactive activities of specific basic concept vocabulary will increase preschool children's understanding of basic concept terms when measured by a standardized basic concept assessment. This research will also assess the validity of a basic concept-curriculum based measure (BC-CBM) as an efficient tool to monitor a child's understanding …

Preschool Experience Vs. No Preschool Experience: Long Term Effects On Academic And Social Readiness Of Children, Dionne C. Estes

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Despite federal and state investments in early education intervention programs,achievement gaps continue to afflict the education system with children from low-income families having an increased need for high quality preschool education. When children from underprivileged families move through the education system, the chances of academic success becomes difficult as the education gap increases year after year, and they fall farther behind. By the time these students enter high school, they are behind academically and unable to meet grade level requirements. Many of them to give up and quit attending school, leading to an increase in the dropout rate.

Research indicates …

Enhance Alphabet Knowledge, Ana Paz

Ana Paz

Providing a child the opportunity to succeed in school is a main worry of parents and teachers. When children are able to connect letters with their corresponding sounds allows for literacy to grow. Using Enhanced Alphabet Knowledge (EAK) instruction will allow children to evolve their literacy skills by connecting. Connecting alphabet knowledge in four year old children can allow for pre-reading skills to emerge early. By focusing on daily enhanced alphabet knowledge lessons children will be able to connect upper case letters and lower case letters with their corresponding sounds. Children will also have the ability in identifying print-awareness.

Growth In Literacy And Numeracy In The Early Years, Marion Meiers, Kate Reid

Marion Meiers

Children’s literacy and numeracy skills in the year prior to school and the first year at school reveal wide variation. Marion Meiers and Kate Reid explain.

Case Study: The Impact Of Preschool On Kindergarten Developmental Reading Assessments, Sheila Moore

Dissertations

The focus of this comparative study was to examine the connection between attendance in preschool and kindergarten students’ literacy success as measured by the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA2+). Historical data were obtained from the DRA2+ scores of 1,080 kindergarten students in one Missouri school district for the 2010-2011, 2011-2012, 2012-2013 school years. The study was also used to determine the perceptions of kindergarten educators of the impact of preschool on their students. The following overarching question was: What difference exists when comparing the DRA2+ scores of kindergarten students who had a preschool experience and those who did not? Additionally, the …

Beyond The Pencil: Expanding The Occupational Therapists’ Role In Helping Young Children To Develop Writing Skills, Hope K. Gerde, Tricia D. Foster, Lori E. Skibbe

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapists (OTs) play an important role in early childhood classrooms as vital members of the educational team, particularly for young children’s writing development. Children’s emergent writing is a foundational literacy skill, which begins to develop well before they enter elementary school. However, early childhood classrooms are lacking in supports for early writing development. OTs are experts in guiding the development of early writing skills in young children and, therefore, should be considered as critical members of the early literacy curriculum team. This paper identifies the critical role emergent writing plays in early childhood literacy development and how to effectively …

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 …

Kidsmatter Early Childhood Evaluation Report, Phillip Slee, Rosalind Murray-Harvey, Katherine Dix, Grace Skrzypiec, Helen Askell-Williams, Michael Lawson, Susan Krieg

Dr Katherine Dix

The Reality Of The Greene County School System Preschool Program., Kathryn E. Crumm

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

State funded preschool programs are recent phenomena in the United States and the state of Tennessee. The intent of the researcher was to explore the implementation of the preschool program in the Greene County Schools system and to develop a better understanding of the effects of this process at the classroom level. This study may provide significant information for other pre-k programs in the state of Tennessee or nationwide programs in partnership with Head Start.

The preschool program in the Greene County Schools system consisted of 16 classes with nine of the classes in partnership with Head Start and one …

An Analysis Of Preschool Enrollment And Student Progress Measures Among Primary And Elementary Students., Charles David Freeman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if a difference in Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) scores exists between students who attended Tennessee's Voluntary Preschool for All program, Head Start, private preschool, or daycare and those who did not attend any type of preschool program for students in grades kindergarten through fifth. The sample consisted of students who attended kindergarten through fifth grade during the 2009-2010 school year in one east Tennessee school system. Data gathered were from Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) scores obtained during the 2009-2010 school year and a survey. …

Head Start: It Works For Indiana Children And Families!, Jennifer Dobbs-Oates, James Elicker, Volker Thomas

Center for Families Publications

This technical report summarizes new and existing data to address the question, “Does Head Start work for Indiana children, families, and communities?” Data sources consulted in this study include the state Head Start Program Information Report, local Indiana Head Start and Early Head Start Programs, existing national studies of Head Start and Early Head Start, and local and national data available on children’s development in early care and education programs for low-income families. This report concludes that Indiana’s Early Head Start and Head Start programs are indeed providing substantial benefits to children, families, and communities. The report summarizes the outcomes …

Preschool Connectedness: The Impact Of Attending A School District Affiliated Prekindergarten Program On Student Success In The Initial Elementary Years, Mandy Rose

Dissertations

Schools are seeking ways to address the achievement gap and yield increased performance for students to meet expectations outlined in NCLB. An examination of efficacy of pre-k program delivery models within a given community might assist districts in determining where to focus energy in an attempt to address the existing achievement gap. Many school districts overlook the years preceding kindergarten as a time to concentrate on needs of the student population. To determine if a relationship existed between the type of pre-k program attended and the level of academic success as well as social competency as measured by office discipline …

A Study Of Student Achievement In Missouri School Districts That Maintain A Preschool Program, Rebecca L. Bernard

Dissertations

The availability of pre-kindergarten education has increased over the last few years, but public schools often lack consistency in providing a preschool program. In this quantitative study, the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) scores of schools that offer an in-district preschool program were compared to those schools that do not offer an in-district preschool program. A Null Hypothesis was proposed: the presence of a preschool facility provided by a school district will not affect scores on standardized achievement tests. The percentage of those students who scored advanced or proficient on the MAP test in the areas of Math or Communication Arts …

Convergent Validity And Test-Retest Reliability Of The Preschool Behavioral And Emotional Behavior Rating Scale: Parents As Respondents, Philip D. Nordness, Michael H. Epstein, Lori Synhorst

Special Education and Communication Disorders Faculty Publications

A number of professional organizations have called on the need for valid and reliable assessments that measure young children’s strengths and competencies for the purpose of making decisions about teaching and learning, identifying areas of lesser strength, and for designing and evaluating interventions. The Preschool Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale (PreBERS; Epstein & Synhorst, in press) is a standardized test designed to assess the emotional and behavioral strengths and competencies of children 3 to 5 years of age. Two studies investigated the PreBERS with parents as the primary respondents. The first study investigated the convergent validity of the PreBERS by …