Early Childhood Education Commons^™

What Factors Contribute To The Turnover Rate In The Field Of Early Childhood Education?, Paige Novey

Graduate Teacher Education

Approximately 27 percent of early childhood professionals leave positions or the field entirely on an annual basis (McMullen, Lee, McCormick, & Choi, 2020). Although the majority of early childhood educators report that the work is valuable and meaningful, other stressors are driving nearly a third of the field to seek other opportunities. These stressors include low compensation, lack of benefits, and poor work conditions. With nearly twelve million infants, toddlers, and preschoolers participating in early childhood programming, their experiences are impacted by this high turnover rate. In comparison, elementary educators experience an annual turnover rate of seven to eight percent …

How Can Teachers Support School Readiness Skills Through Social And Emotional Development For Male Students?, Tara Funseth

Graduate Teacher Education

Gender has an influence on how children learn. According to data, preschool males fell behind females in social and emotional development (Kent and Pitsia, 2018). Teachers support school readiness skills through social and emotional development for male students. To ensure male student learning styles are supported, teachers need to modify teaching methods. One challenge is educators are female dominant and expectations of children may have been designed for females. This paper synthesized peer reviewed journal articles and book research on why children needed social and emotional skills and how males and females differed in social and emotional development. The research …

How Can Play-Based Learning With Authentic Assessment Practices Support Healthy Development In Preschool Classrooms?, Megan Nelson

Graduate Teacher Education

Early childhood educators need to recognize the importance of implementing play-based learning as a developmentally appropriate practice to support young children’s development. Play provides children opportunities to demonstrate knowledge and understandings through materials in the environment, expand on prior experiences and learn alongside peers. Teachers can authentically gain valuable information from children’s play to plan appropriate lessons to foster development (NAEYC, 2009). Instead of using natural routines to assess and gather information about a child’s knowledge and behavior, educators use standardized methods to determine a child’s capabilities. This paper synthesized available research on qualitative and quantitative studies that analyzed the …

How Can Play-Based Learning In Primary Grades Be Used To Support Teaching Of State Standards?, Laura Smith

Graduate Teacher Education

Abstract

Although data supports the benefits of play and play-based learning as instructional tools for children birth to age eight, many teachers of children in grades kindergarten-second grade succumb to a narrow selection of tools chosen for academic teaching and learning. Lack of common play definitions, the pressure of accountability standards, high stakes testing, lack of training in play theory, and conflicted feelings about how to implement play-based learning all contribute to this. The research focus question for this paper was: How can play-based learning in the primary grades be used to support the teaching of state standards? This document, …

School-Family Partnerships And Teachers, Parents And Children, Anna L. H. Wieser

Graduate Teacher Education

Early childhood educators are bound by ethical duty and guided by developmentally appropriate practice to foster opportunities for meaningful parent involvement that contributes to building partnerships with families. However, misalignment of state standards and national expectations send mixed messages about how early childhood educators can effectively engage parents and families and cultivate school-family partnerships. This paper synthesized a collection of quantitative, qualitative, mixed method, meta-synthesis, and meta-analysis studies concerning the relationship between parent involvement, children’s learning and development, and school-family partnerships. The studies examined support the idea that parent involvement was a significant contributor to young children’s learning and development …

Social And Emotional Development To Foster Academic Growth In English Language Learning Preschoolers, Donna Mangone

Graduate Teacher Education

The fastest growing population of students entering preschool classrooms are English language learners (Winsler et al., 2014). Not only is the population of English language learners growing (Winsler et al., 2014), but there is a steady increase in the academic achievement gap. Further, the growth of ELL students corresponds with the gap. Related to both is social and emotional development. Social and emotional skills provide the apparatus for all learning. The early childhood educator is well-versed in teaching these skills. Therefore, an early childhood educator teaching social and emotional development to English language learners provides opportunities to remedy the academic …

In What Ways Can Phonemic Awareness Skills Be Targeted Strategically In Early Childhood Classrooms To Support Healthy Developmental Growth?, Karen Groth

Graduate Teacher Education

Phonemic awareness is a skill that is learned prior to learning phonics and reading. Phonological and phonemic awareness activities are taught through games, books, and activities. Exposure to phonological and phonemic activities begin as soon as birth and will continue through kindergarten. As curriculum and teachers moved away from explicit instruction in phonemic awareness activities and toward other standards, it has been important to continue to teach these skills. Children with strong phonemic awareness skills are more advanced readers and more advanced writers. Synthesizing the current research and information available included qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method studies in phonemic awareness …

Building Literacy Skills In Preschoolers Through Play, Tami Jahnke

Graduate Teacher Education

Abstract

Research in the field of Early Childhood Education supports that young children learn best through play. Many schools in America have taken away play in classrooms and replaced it with academic-based, sedentary learning. The removal of play has resulted in young children displaying more challenging behaviors such as aggression, running, and impulsivity. One challenge facing early childhood educators today is finding ways to incorporate play-based learning in an increasingly academic-based system. This paper synthesized current research on the effects of play-based learning on the development of preschoolers and incorporating play-based teaching methods into literacy instruction for preschoolers. The studies …

Challenges To The Implementation Of Developmentally Appropriate Practices In Early Childhood Education, Laura Ahonen

Graduate Teacher Education

Early childhood educators are faced with making many impactful decisions daily. The implementation of developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) in the learning environment is one of these many decisions. Developmentally appropriate practice in the early childhood learning setting refers to the framework that helps teachers to provide an environment, activities, and materials which intentionally meet children’s current level of development. While many early childhood educators believe in the concept of DAP, barriers are often encountered which prevent the implementation of DAP in the learning environment. In order to provide children with a DAP learning environment, teachers must first recognize and understand …

Practice-Based Coaching And Early Childhood Professional Standards In A Diverse Field, Julie Betthauser

Graduate Teacher Education

Abstract

The field of early childhood education has long relied on professional development strategies to support teachers with varying degrees of education who enter the field from a variety of disciplines. Research indicated educators needed intensive and individualized professional development efforts that were integrated into daily practice (Rodgers, Kennedy, VanUitert, & Myers, 2019). Practice-based coaching has been used as a professional development strategy in early childhood classrooms to develop educators’ knowledge and skills in best practices for young children. Thirty-two empirical studies conducted since 2011 on the process, effectiveness, and assessment of practice-based coaching were reviewed to identify coaching components, …

Intentional Strategies That Build Self-Regulation In Preschoolers, Melissa Martin

Graduate Teacher Education

As academic standards continue to increase, young children are often challenged to attend to structured and teacher-directed educational activities for developmentally inappropriate periods of time. In response, there is an increasing awareness of how academic achievement and self-regulation are affected by difficulties in sensory processing. Traditional interventions for children with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) have primarily been conducted by trained Occupational Therapists (OT) in clinical based settings. This capstone investigated research on possible collaborative interventions and environmental supports and adaptations within the classroom setting that would build self-regulation and attention in all preschool children. The studies reviewed indicated support for …

Influences Of Block Play On Academic Learning In Preschool, Kelsey Rasmuson

Graduate Teacher Education

Preschool classrooms often include free play time during the school day. Many studies have been conducted on the common sociodramatic play center, yet less research has observed the importance of block play. However, the block play center can be used to foster literacy and mathematics skills. Similar to other play centers, block play is a social phenomenon where students can develop language skills and vocabulary. Early math skills are supported as students count, sort, classify, and identify blocks. Students must also use spatial awareness and language to place blocks. Furthermore, preschoolers must problem solve and use logical and creative thinking …

The Impact Of Social-Emotional Development In Preschool, Gena Jadwin

Graduate Teacher Education

The development of children’s cognitive and social-emotional learning is of significant importance in education, specifically in early childhood education. Early childhood administrators, educators, and support staff have noticed an increase in the amount of students displaying underdeveloped or lacking social-skills within preschool classrooms. This paper will analyze and summarize research to explain the relationship between social-emotional skills and temperament, classroom environment, and educational outcomes in preschool aged students. It was found through research that a lack of social-emotional understanding and skills was impactful to a child’s future emotional responses and academic achievement. In order for leaders to best prepare teachers …

How Does Living In Poverty Affect Infant And Toddlers' Development?, Megan Aalgaard

Graduate Teacher Education

Research findings showed that significant development takes place during the infant and toddler years of children’s lives, however, children who lived in poverty were often faced with many challenges and life adversities that affected development (Brewer, 2007). Children’s language development, physical health, cognitive development, and social-emotional skills were often negatively impacted when children grew up and lived in poverty (Brito, 2017). Also, distress among parents from the exposure to poverty negatively affected the quality of parent and child interactions (Evans & Kim, 2013). This paper synthesized various available research on poverty’s negative effects on children’s development, as well as discussed …

Baby Sign's Developmental Benefits, Alaina Ramstad

Graduate Teacher Education

In the past few decades, the use of intentional gesture to communicate with infants, known as Infant Sign or Baby Sign, has jumped in popularity as a means to get infants communicating earlier in life (Barnes, 2010). Baby Sign has been adopted into many families, care centers, and schools with a strong focus on the potential language benefits to be found in its use (Seal & DePaolis, 2014; Kirk, Howlett, Pine & Fletcher, 2013). This paper sought to discover what, if any, other developmental benefits could be gained for infants through the use of Baby Sign. A synthesis of current …