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Early Childhood Education Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Early Childhood Education

Kindergarten Teachers’ Perspectives About Literacy And The Relevance Of Assessments: Impact On Students’ Success And First Grade Transition, Claudia T. Watts Jan 2024

Kindergarten Teachers’ Perspectives About Literacy And The Relevance Of Assessments: Impact On Students’ Success And First Grade Transition, Claudia T. Watts

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to investigate kindergarten teachers’ beliefs about literacy and the relevance of assessments at the kindergarten level, the literacy skills kindergarteners should possess, how these skills are acquired, to what extent their beliefs about literacy influenced their instructional methodology, and their perspectives on the role of parental involvement. This study was guided by six research questions. The participants consisted of twenty kindergarten teachers from various elementary public schools within a large and diverse school district in Virginia. The participants are from two ethnic backgrounds and had ranges of experience teaching kindergarten. Over a …


Decodable Deliberations In Early Reading Instruction: A Mixed-Methods Study Of First-Grade Teachers’ Perceptions, Selection, And Use Of Decodable Texts, Patricia Gallery Jan 2024

Decodable Deliberations In Early Reading Instruction: A Mixed-Methods Study Of First-Grade Teachers’ Perceptions, Selection, And Use Of Decodable Texts, Patricia Gallery

Theses and Dissertations

The fundamental significance of literacy achievement cannot be overstated. However, the 2022 National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP) divulges alarming findings, with a mere 33 percent of the nation’s fourth graders performing at or above proficiency in reading (NAEP, 2022). Exploring the nexus of research-informed pedagogy and practice is imperative to disrupt this deleterious trajectory. This mixed-method study will examine how first-grade teachers select and use texts for beginning reading instruction with a critical lens on teachers' perceptions of decodable text to fully understand the complex intersection of intentionality and attitude when choosing texts for early reading instruction. This study …


In Support Of A Read-Aloud Accommodation: A Meta Analysis Study, Sarah Elizabeth Ryan Jan 2024

In Support Of A Read-Aloud Accommodation: A Meta Analysis Study, Sarah Elizabeth Ryan

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the read-aloud accommodation benefits for students with disabilities (SWD) and students without disabilities (SWOD). In this study, researchers recommend ways in which to remove encumbrances faced by SWD in reading comprehension. In general, research has shown that both SWD and SWOD have met some degree of success from the read-aloud accommodations. Further, this meta-analysis will attempt to reveal important factors that influence the effects of read-aloud accommodations. For example, how the accommodation effect size influences the subject area of reading versus that of math. This study will also show that the effect of read-aloud accommodations is significantly …


Teacher Perceptions Of Their Preparedness To Teach Early Literacy Skills Using Developmentally Appropriate Practices In Universal Prekindergarten Programs, Tara A. Sokol Jan 2024

Teacher Perceptions Of Their Preparedness To Teach Early Literacy Skills Using Developmentally Appropriate Practices In Universal Prekindergarten Programs, Tara A. Sokol

Theses and Dissertations

Early childhood education is a dynamic field, constantly evolving with the introduction of new curriculums, initiatives and programs. The classroom teacher is the constant, providing essential early literacy instruction amidst all of these changes. Universal Pre-Kindergarten is a vital program that provides access to quality early childhood education for New York City residents. According to the Office of Early Childhood Education, there were nearly 68,000 students enrolled in these free, full-day, high-quality programs in the 2018-2019 school year (2022). Universal Pre-Kindergarten is described as using Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) as the basis for its teachings. Educators are responsible for using …


Mandingo Parent Experiences And Language Use: A Phenomenological Study, Annet Asio Romain Jan 2023

Mandingo Parent Experiences And Language Use: A Phenomenological Study, Annet Asio Romain

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined first-generation Mandingo parents’ lived experiences in maintaining their native language with children 3–7 years old. A review of previous studies showed parents of dual language learner students had a positive attitude toward maintaining their native languages (M. Lee et al., 2015) and supporting bilingual programs in elementary school (Morgan, 2015). A phenomenological analysis method was used to gain an understanding of the participants’ lived experiences concerning language use with children ages 3–7 years inside and outside the home. The participants were selected using three criteria: they had to be first-generation Mandingo-speaking immigrants, they had to be willing …


Second Grade Language And Literacy Development Through Analysis Of Receptive And Productive Skills On The Nyseslat, Jasmin Varela Jan 2023

Second Grade Language And Literacy Development Through Analysis Of Receptive And Productive Skills On The Nyseslat, Jasmin Varela

Theses and Dissertations

The future success of today’s students and our nation depends on how well prepared our students are to contribute to the globalized world of the 21st century. The population of English Language Learners (ELLs) is exploding in the United States. If students are not given the appropriate language scaffolds to learn English, ELLs will struggle academically, finding themselves ill-prepared for success in the workplace and their roles as active civic participants. This quantitative study focused on three cohorts (n = 25 each) of randomly selected second grade students enrolled in Dual Language Program, Transitional Bilingual Education Program, or English as …


Social Emotional Learning: Narrative Growth, Christine Alexandra Biskup Jan 2022

Social Emotional Learning: Narrative Growth, Christine Alexandra Biskup

Theses and Dissertations

From an early age, we engage in building our narrative language through social interactions. These narrative language skills influence academic success. Many educational establishments focus solely on academic achievement. A focus on supporting emotional intelligence that can support narrative language development is imperative. In this ethnography study, students were taught feeling words lessons from RULER, a social-emotional learning curriculum. Using observations and interviews, I sought to understand how early childhood students apply emotional feeling words into their narrative language. By using inductive analysis and conducting interviews with the students, I coded data to narrate my research question to assist with …


Maternal Literacy Practices And Beliefs Impact Infant Development, Deirdre Cruz Jan 2022

Maternal Literacy Practices And Beliefs Impact Infant Development, Deirdre Cruz

Theses and Dissertations

Infancy is a pivotal time in the development of a human’s cognitive ability. There is a lack of research in this area, specifically on mothers and their beliefs about literacy practices and the home learning environment. By utilizing Bronfenbrenner’s ecological framework, this study explores the beliefs of mothers and how they impact the infants’ preliteracy skills and knowledge, which are paramount to success in kindergarten and beyond. Using a phenomenological study, the researcher interviewed mothers on their views of literacy, their infant’s home learning environment, and how they perceive their culture and mothering style impact their infants.


Quality Analysis Of Early Childhood Education Programs In New York City, Earlene Warren-Fernandez Jan 2022

Quality Analysis Of Early Childhood Education Programs In New York City, Earlene Warren-Fernandez

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the quality of pre-K educational programs in New York City. I identified how program quality relates to student and teacher variables. The study used NYC Department of Education public ECERS-R data to measure program quality. I examined and analyzed to determine their influence on program quality. The independent variables are the percentage value of student’s racial composition, classroom interaction quality, program leadership quality, program type, teacher collaboration, and program community ties. The study addressed several research questions. Is program quality associated with the racial composition of students in the programs? Is there a difference in program quality …


Reading Builds Empathy: Piloting A Literacy Tool To Measure Reading's Impact On Kids' Empathy Development, Valerie Lorene Williams-Sanchez Jan 2021

Reading Builds Empathy: Piloting A Literacy Tool To Measure Reading's Impact On Kids' Empathy Development, Valerie Lorene Williams-Sanchez

Theses and Dissertations

Culturally Relevant Pedagogical (CRP; Ladson-Billings, 1995) and textual strategic approaches to reading development are gaining acceptance and broader usage among students of all ages and walks of life. With this shift, quantitative measures of efficacy can confirm, bolster, and source new policies and strategies for implementation in new and existing learning frontiers that engage at-home reading and family literacy practices. To this end, the Reading Builds Empathy literacy study seeks to develop and pilot a new instrument to be used in future intervention studies. Focusing on the active ingredient of culturally relevant pedagogy, empathy, and its three dimensions (affective, cognitive, …