Early Childhood Education Commons^™

Social Emotional Learning: Presence And Prevalence In Early Care And Education Programs And Effects On Teacher Self-Efficacy, Gabrielle Humble

Undergraduate Honors Theses

A large pool of reviewed literature and studies suggest that Social Emotional Learning (SEL) provides a multitude of developmental benefits to early childhood-aged children. The focus of this study was to assess whether SEL techniques were utilized within early care and education programs throughout the East Tennessee region and to investigate the relationship between SEL techniques and teacher self-efficacy. Sixteen early childhood teachers in the East Tennessee region completed a survey that gauged both their exposure and usage of SEL techniques in the classroom and their teacher self-efficacy. Findings showed that teachers primarily implemented self-studied SEL techniques in the classroom …

How Blended Learning Impacts Student Engagement In An Early Childhood Classroom, Natalie Kocour

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The purpose of this action research project was to determine if teaching with a blended learning approach increases student engagement in an early childhood classroom. Participants were three year-olds with individualized education plans and general education four and five year-olds in a half day preschool program. Students came from a wide variety of backgrounds and different socio-economic backgrounds. Quantitative data was collected through observation by recording which students were actively engaged, passively engaged, disengaged, or disruptive during a twenty –minute small group time for nine weeks. Qualitative data was collected through observations by the teacher and para-educator, interviews with students, …

Teaching Emotions In Early Childhood, Rocio Anaya

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Many preschoolers may not yet be able to identify how they feel and be able to regulate their emotions. These children can experience a hard time expressing their feelings and engage in emotional outbursts that are detrimental to their goals, which also challenge their caregivers. To address this problem among preschoolers, I have created a three-day lesson plan on emotion regulation for children at the Marina Child Development Center in Marina, California.

Power To Change: Math As A Social-Emotional Language In A Classroom Of 4 And 5 Year Olds, Elinor J. Albin, Gretchen Vice

Occasional Paper Series

Tells the story of how mathematics influenced a long term investigation around feeling powerful within an early childhood classroom. Written by Early Childhood Teacher, Elinor J. Albin, and Dean of Faculty, Gretchen Vice, this essay outlines the guiding questions by which teachers at The Advent School in Boston, MA connect mathematics to overarching themes and social-emotional learning. “Power to Change” concludes with observations about how and why mathematics provided a language for building social-emotional intelligence in four and five year olds.

Investigating Early Childhood Teachers’ Perceptions Of A Preschool Yoga Program, Kenya Wolff, Alicia Stapp

Faculty and Student Publications

© The Author(s) 2019. Yoga for young children has become a growing area of interest in early childhood settings across the United States. Evidence suggests that yoga has the ability to improve young children’s physical development, executive functioning, self-regulation, and can aid in decreasing stress and anxiety. While the scope of research on yoga for young children has primarily focused on the experiences and outcomes of the children who participate, far less is known about the experiences and perceptions of teachers who have engaged in such programs with their students. This study utilized a qualitative case study to investigate teachers’ …

Effects Of Practice-Based Coaching Intervention On Preschool Teachers’ Responses To Black Boys’ Negative Emotion Expression, Evandra Catherine

Theses and Dissertations

Current research indicates that caregivers’ responses and behaviors to young children’s emotion expressions communicate messages that teach young children how to understand, label, recognize and modify emotions in socially desirable ways. This process is referred to as emotion socialization. This topic is timely and relevant due to the large numbers of preschoolers suspended and expelled each year. Several reports indicate that 50,000 preschoolers are suspended each year and that Black boys are the largest recipients of such actions. Black boys comprise just 19% of preschool enrollment, but 45% of male suspensions. In addition, data show that preschool teachers expect challenging …

Sliding Into An Equitable Lesson, Kelley E. Buchheister 6872059, Christa Jackson, Cynthia E. Taylor

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

A kindergarten teacher uses Gutierrez's four dimensions of equity to design and facilitate geometry instruction.

Equitable instruction is reflected in how students are positioned in the classroom and how their identities evolve through purposeful interactions that value and recognize the intellectual capacity of each student (Gutiérrez 2013; Lemons-Smith 2008). These integral interactions occur when teachers and students exchange problem-solving strategies, discuss relations among various mathematical representations, and listen to the viewpoints of others (NCTM 2000; 2014).

A Promising Start For Early Childhood Development And The Law, Clare Huntington

Faculty Scholarship

Examining the role of the law in early childhood development is not new; several legal scholars have engaged in such an inquiry, including scholars at this symposium. But this engagement has not led to a sustained debate about how the legal system can foster early childhood development, nor has it yet led to the integration of legal scholars into the interdisciplinary research on, and policy debates about, early childhood. I have argued that the creation of a new subdiscipline in family law — early childhood development and the law — would achieve these goals, sparking debate within law, bringing a …

The Effect Of Ipad Instruction On Capital Letter Recognition Of Preschoolers, Jessica Adkins

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

The purpose of this study is to look at the effect of iPad instruction on capital letter recognition in preschool children between the ages of four and five. The study divided participants into two groups. One group received capital letter instruction with an iPad. The second group received capital letter instruction using letter manipulatives. Letter manipulatives were wooden puzzle letters. Baseline data was taken on capital letter recognition of all participants before this study began. At the end of the study, data was taken on capital letter recognition of all participants. Baseline and final data was compared to show growth. …

Play In Early Childhood, Keri Griswold

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This literature review looks at play in early childhood education and why play is important for early learners. The review looks at the history of play and the benefits that play has on brain development, as well as defining play. Adults play an important role in play, as does the early childhood learning environment. Early learners develop their critical thinking skills and their social and emotional skills through play. The curriculum that is offered to early learners should revolve around play but should ensure that they are being provided the opportunity to learn about the outdoors, math, reading, and all …

Promoting The Social Competence Of Each And Every Child In Inclusive Early Childhood Classrooms, Adam Kennedy

Education: School of Education Faculty Publications and Other Works

Social competence is part of a complex system that extends beyond the young child, necessitating prevention, assessment, and intervention. In this chapter, social competence in early childhood is examined considering existing research, developmental theory, and best practices and policies, many of which (on their own) address limited facets of a complex set of interactive competencies and outcomes. The potential and pitfalls of inclusive early childhood classroom structures relative to supporting interaction and social skill development are explored. Next, some of the most common social issues related to disabilities are described. These include deficits associated with specific developmental issues, such as …

Leadership Effectiveness In Curriculum Adoption For A Kindergarten, Bo Peng

All Theses And Dissertations

This study of leadership effectiveness focused on adoption, implementation, and evaluation of kindergarten curriculum. The researcher evaluated leadership effectiveness through the processes and outcomes of the team’s decision-making. Research questions were: How does the kindergarten leadership team make decisions about adoption of kindergarten curriculum? How does the kindergarten leadership team evaluate the quality of kindergarten curriculum? How does the kindergarten leadership team evaluate student learning in the three curriculum areas of Chinese language, English language and science? How does the curriculum they have adopted align with the CKEG national standards for kindergarten curriculum in China? The program evaluation, guided by …

Using Music And Movement To Enhance Cognitive Development, Bobbie Jo Pogue

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This literature review explores the research done in the use of music and movement in enhancing cognitive development, focusing mainly on the early childhood setting. The demand on preschool students has increased over the years and many even say preschool is the new kindergarten. For many years, young students have been taught through song, movement and actions, listening to music, and how to play an instrument. These are all interrelated to helping enhance a child’s cognitive development. Teachers tend to be so focused on just the academic part of teaching, even in preschool, that they forget the importance of music …

Effects Of Print In Early Childhood Programs, Marcie Lentsch

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This paper will discuss the effects of print on early childhood classrooms. The first goal was to determine if referencing print during read alouds would increase foundational literacy skills. The second goal, was to identify if implementing the Sit Together and Read (S.T.A.R.) framework would increase emergent literacy skills with three, four and five year olds students. Two early childhood classrooms from the same school district were included in the study. One classroom embedded print references and the S.T.A.R. framework during repeated read alouds. The other classroom continued with normal read aloud routines. Data was analyzed using the Early Literacy …

An Investigation On Gender And The Effects On Behavior In Early Childhood Classrooms, Chia Jung Yeh, Aspen Rae Yordy, Ajay Singh

Journal of Research Initiatives

Researchers who have studied children behavior in early childhood classrooms have found that classrooms are the first place where children learn about acceptable behavior and societal norms. Gender and behavior have been studied on children of later ages, i.e.; elementary, middle, high school, and higher education, but little has been researched regarding children of younger ages. Researchers of this study used quantitative methods to investigate, gender and the effects on children behavior in early childhood classrooms? The researchers recruited a total of 105 preschoolers from seven different classrooms in the Southwest Central region in the United States, to investigate, if …

No Room For Silence: The Impact Of The 2016 Presidential Race On A Second-Grade Dual-Language (Spanish-English) Classroom, Sandra L. Osorio

Occasional Paper Series

“¡Quiere sacar a todos los suramericanos! Quiere quedarse con solo los blancos,¹ shouted second grader Salvador² to his classmate Victor. They were supposed to be reading Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin, but somehow the conversation had turned to the then presidential candidate for the Republican Party, Donald Trump. That was how Trump and his rhetoric entered our dual language classroom.

Far too often, the voices of students of color, their experiences, and their lives are not validated in the classroom. When Salvador and Victor’s conversation about Trump erupted, the teacher and I—the teacher …

An Action Research Investigation Into An Early Childhood Digital, Storytelling-Based Solution, Jessica Smith

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

The development of literacy skills prior to the classroom has been established as essential for future school and life successes. However, the present achievement gap between lower-socioeconomic neighborhoods and their higher-income counterparts illustrate vast dissimilarities in early childhood provisions for quality reading materials and instructional aides. In an effort to bridge the educational breach, a collaborative, storytelling-based program entitled Kid Forward was introduced to five nationwide families as a means of assistance for early childhood literacy development. Through the use of demographic surveys, interviews completed before and after the program implementation, and exit surveys, the action research study examined early …

Teaching Towards A Culture Of Peace In Early Childhood Education Classrooms, Samantha Ferber

Master's Projects and Capstones

This curriculum guide was conceived keeping in mind the diverse educational settings of early childhood education in the United States. It is especially targeted for preschool classrooms of children aged two and a half to four years old. However, it can be modified for use in early elementary school where teachers hope to incorporate peace education into their classrooms. Early childhood educators are the primary audience for this guidebook, but any educator, parent, or caregiver can benefit from the concepts of peace education.

This curriculum guide should stem from a critical engagement between teachers and the communities within which they …

The Emergence Of Friendships And Social Groups In Kindergarten, Denae Shake

Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning

The school classroom is an inherently social setting where students interact with each other for seven hours, five days a week. The purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of how students select their friends and how social groups begin to form and emerge. The author collected data through student and teacher interviews, dictated drawings, a sociogram, and a parent survey. After analyzing the data by using the constant comparative method, the author found four major themes. The first was that each social clique came equipped with unique characteristics that the clique members embodied. Second, there were …

Engagement During Math Small Groups Using The Interactive White Board, Grace Diana Cozby

Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning

Interactive whiteboards are an integral part of many elementary classrooms. These boards are becoming increasingly common in the early childhood setting. This study looks at how the interactive whiteboard impacts engagement in a Head Start, pre-kindergarten classroom. This study was done by teaching math small groups, both with and without the use of the interactive whiteboard, and recording the results in regards to engagement. Interviews, surveys, checklists, tally sheets, and journaling were used to garner both teacher and student perceptions about the use of the interactive whiteboard. This study found that interactive whiteboards increased direct instruction engagement and were perceived …

Parental Involvement Among Low-Income Filipinos: A Phenomenological Inquiry, Aileen S. Garcia

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Parental involvement in children’s education is an integral component of young children’s academic achievement. In the Philippines, a developing country with high rates of poverty and input deficit in basic education, school dropout rates are high especially among the poor. Given that many children from disadvantaged backgrounds do not get enough support (PIDS, 2012) and many parents are not equipped with skills to support their children’s education, it is essential to investigate how Filipino parents can help and contribute to their children’s academic success. In response to the lack of parental involvement literature situated in the Philippine context, the present …

Pre-K In The Public Schools: Evidence From Within U.S. States, Timothy J. Bartik, Brad J. Hershbein

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

In the past 15 years, four-year-olds’ enrollment in state-funded pre-kindergarten in the United States has doubled, and advocates have pushed for further expansion. Although research has shown that pre-K programs can have important benefits, most existing studies have focused on small or state-specific programs that may not generalize to other areas or contexts. The uniqueness of our paper is its scope: our data cover the last two decades, span nearly all states, and allow for intrastate variation. For the average state program, we find no evidence of effects on the average student’s test scores, assignment to special education, or grade …

Let Our Children Play: The Importance Of Play In Early Childhood Education, Julie Kessel

University of Montana Journal of Early Childhood Scholarship and Innovative Practice

No abstract provided.

Critique Of The Owl Curriculum, Judi Guisti, Kathryn Hinkle, Gretchen Oldenburg, Heidi Paul, Jessica Vlasie, Beth Lincoln, Cindy Moulton

University of Montana Journal of Early Childhood Scholarship and Innovative Practice

No abstract provided.

Critique Of The Creative Curriculum For Preschool, Hannah Gullickson, Raelynn Cameron, Lucy Marose, Irene Tiefenthaler, Tasha Van Nice

University of Montana Journal of Early Childhood Scholarship and Innovative Practice

No abstract provided.

Pre-K Effectiveness At A Large Scale, Timothy J. Bartik, Brad J. Hershbein

Upjohn Institute Policy and Research Briefs

No abstract provided.

An Evaluation Of The Efficacy Of Preschool Participation Upon Kindergarten Readiness, Simone Sellers

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore whether children who attended a full day of preschool were better prepared for kindergarten than those who attended a part-time program or no program at all. Two levels of the independent variable, preschool participation, were utilized: (a) full-time participation and (b) part-time or no participation. Readiness rates among children who attended a public preschool in a large school district in Florida were examined using standardized academic achievement scores as dependent variables. When looking at kindergarten readiness, males who attended preschool scored higher academic levels than males who attended no preschool. However, …

Pre-K Effectiveness At A Large Scale, Timothy J. Bartik, Brad J. Hershbein

Employment Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Congruency Between Spoken Language And Guidance Beliefs In Early Childhood Programs, Jennifer Mager

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The language in a child’s environment either supports or weakens the growth of conflict resolution skills. A study using the language sampled from three early childhood educators, (two in family childcare homes and one in a childcare center) found that those in family child care programs reported stronger beliefs that children can solve problems, teachers support the development of problem solving skills, and conflict can create opportunities for learning than was recorded in practice. This was determined with a frequency count of unilateral strategies employed during perceived conflict. The third participant in a childcare center demonstrated congruency between questionnaire-reported positive …

Early Childhood Teachers’ Perspectives Of Growth Mindset: Developing Agency In Children, Fiona Boylan, Lennie Barblett, Marianne J. Knaus

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The integration of mindset theory into classrooms can assist children in optimizing academic achievement, increasing their agency for learning. The development of a growth mindset allows children to exercise autonomy over their learning, helping them to develop positive lifelong learning habits for the twenty-first century. This paper explores early childhood teachers’ perspectives of mindset and the role of a growth mindset in developing children’s agency for learning. Despite increasing research in this field, little is known about the perspectives that early childhood teachers have of mindset. This paper reports on the data from a study that describes teachers’ perspectives towards …