Early Childhood Education Commons^™

Outreach Efforts Between Teachers, Parents, And Administrators As Children Transition From Pre-Kindergarten To Kindergarten, Mariah C. Mccoy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem addressed was the gap in research on practice regarding outreach effortsbetween teachers, parents, and administrators during the transition to kindergarten. The purpose and research questions for this basic qualitative study involved how individuals representing these groups described their outreach efforts when transitioning children from pre-K to kindergarten and their perspectives regarding the influence of outreach efforts on parental involvement. Two administrators and four teachers were recruited through a public database. Four parents were recruited through the study site’s Facebook page and through purposeful snowball sampling. Criteria for participation was 3 or more years of experience with the district …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Literacy Instruction With Autistic Students During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Heather Ann Marzenski

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Families and educators have voiced concerns about the literacy skills of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and the COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the situation. Pandemic era studies have demonstrated the ramifications that students with ASD have faced, including regression of literacy skills, lower grades, lack of support services, and subpar instruction. Teachers' perceptions remained unexamined in the pandemic era studies. The purpose of this basic qualitative dissertation was to examine teachers’ perceptions about the materials and strategies used to deliver literacy instruction during the pandemic for students with ASD. The conceptual frameworks that underpinned this study were self-determination theory …

Educators' And Parents' Perceptions Of Family Engagement In A Head Start Program, Sondeania Marie Johnson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Family engagement benefits children’s development and contributes to student academic success. However, educators feel that they are unprepared to engage families in the educational process, although they are encouraged to do so. The purpose of this basic qualitative study with interviews was to explore educators’ and parents’ perceptions of family engagement. The conceptual framework for this study was supported by Epstein’s ecological framework. A basic qualitative study and purposeful sampling were used to conduct semistructured interviews with 10 educators who were currently employed as teachers and with five parents who had a child enrolled in the Head Start program who …

The Significance Of Parental Involvement In The Development In Infancy, Yanhui Liu, Mona F. Sulaimani, John E. Henning

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

The earliest years’ experiences of children can ensure their future success, and parenting is noted to be an influential factor (Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Lamb et al., 2002). Many researchers theorized that parental involvement could encourage children to actively engage and improve their academic achievement in schools (Epstein, 2018). However, less attention was paid to the significance of parental involvement in infants’ development. This paper explores the role of parental involvement in infants’ development by reviewing and discussing abundant relevant studies. This study recommends that parental involvement should be considered as an affluent resource and a useful tool because it could provide …

Discipline Policies And Preschool Special Education Students' Personal-Social Skills, Amanda L. Tamagni, Andrea M. Wilson

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Preschool special education students’ lack of personal–social skills is affecting their kindergarten readiness and placing them at risk for exposure to school discipline in a large school district in the Southeastern United States. The purpose of this quantitative investigation was to examine the relationship between the quality of school discipline policies and personal–social skills of preschool special education students within the focus district. Data collection included archived personal–social skills scores, as measured by the Battelle Developmental Inventory–2 (BDI-2), of 354 preschool special education students. Four trained educators rated the effectiveness of the schools’ discipline policies using the Teaching and Guidance …

Creating Positive Learning Environments In Early Childhood Using Teacher-Generated Prosocial Lessons, Callum B. Johnston, Teresa K. Herzog, Crystal R. Hill-Chapman, Caitlin Siney, Ashley Fergusson

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

A primary motivation for people to behave as they do is the need to belong socially to a group and to have relevance. A positive learning environment for young students is created when students are recognized and accepted by their peers and their teachers, and studies reveal that in such environments, students perform better academically and tend to have fewer behavioral issues. These environments may also act as a buffer against school dropout rates. This study examined whether teaching prosocial lessons to first-grade students in the southeastern United States would create positive learning environments for children who otherwise may not …

Science-Literacy Integration: Equity And Learning In First-Grade, Urban Instructional Contexts, Angela J. Stefanski, Nicole M. Martin, Melinda A. Zurcher

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Previous research demonstrates that integration of science and literacy instruction in primary grades has positive outcomes for students’ science and literacy development. However, variations in how science and literacy are enacted suggest integration may not be sufficient to meet the literacy and science needs of all students in an equitable manner. The purpose of this study was to examine two first-grade teachers’ science integration during literacy instruction in one high- and one low-income school context within one urban district. Analysis of field notes, transcripts of lessons, and interviews revealed that expectations to integrate science during time set aside for literacy …

Metacognitive Reading Strategy And Emerging Reading Comprehension In Students With Intellectual Disabilities, Natasha Cox-Magno, Peter Ross, Kathleen Dimino, Andrea Wilson

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

This article ventures to address the gap in special education practices by providing a metacognitive reading strategy to support the emerging reading comprehension skills of kindergarten students with intellectual disabilities. Historically, students with intellectual disabilities have low reading comprehension skills that can impede their overall academic success. There is a gap in practice regarding the identification and effective use of evidence-based reading comprehension instructional strategies for students with intellectual disabilities. Guided by Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s constructivist theories, the purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of a metacognitive reading strategy on the emerging reading comprehension (ERC) skills of …

The Kindergarten Environment: Finding Alternatives To Reduce Overcrowded Classrooms, Jay Rodriguez

Walden Faculty and Staff Publications

This study will address the difficulties young children have when are placed in overcrowded kindergarten classrooms. Creating an effective and constructive learning environment for the early childhood years must be in a positive learning climate in a school for young children. Motivation, skills and communication amongst teachers, students and parents is a place where children receive guidance and encouragement, security and trust from the responsible adults around them.

A major element that establishes a child’s learning and guides their success is the physical environment where he/she is. When teachers cannot engage their young students in learning activities, then the teaching-learning …

Professional Development As A Process Of Cultural Brokering: Positioning Coaches As Cultural Brokers, Tasha R. Wyatt, E. Brook Chapman De Sousa, Sarah C. Mendenhall

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Teachers who serve diverse students must navigate two “worlds.” One world is that of standardized curricula and pedagogy and the other is culturally relevant education. To effectively navigate these worlds, teachers need assistance from “cultural brokers” who can help make sense of the tension that emerges when these two educational worlds interact. This study analyzes the work of two Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence coaches who worked as cultural brokers to help teachers integrate multiple pedagogical models. The results indicate the coaches shifted their strategies depending on teacher preferences, and helped teachers overcome constraints within their classrooms …

Community College Developmental Education Services: Perspectives Of Spanish-Speaking Latino Early Childhood Educators, John Edward Eberly

2010-2016 Archived Posters

The purpose of this single case study was to understand the perceptions of Latino Spanish-speaking English learners on the efficacy of developmental education services at a western United States community college. Research questions focused on how the developmental education services contributed to the successful completion of the child development practicum for Latino Spanish-speaking English learners. The primary data collection method was in-depth individual interviews of a purposeful sample of nine successful students. Findings indicated that participants relied on Spanish instruction for comprehensible context, but needed consistent education support services and information from a culturally responsive institution in a language they …