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Kindergarten

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Articles 61 - 90 of 132

Full-Text Articles in Early Childhood Education

Examining The Longer-Term Impact Of A Home-Visiting Intervention Program On The School Readiness Skills Of English Language Learners In Kindergarten, Michelle Mccann Jan 2020

Examining The Longer-Term Impact Of A Home-Visiting Intervention Program On The School Readiness Skills Of English Language Learners In Kindergarten, Michelle Mccann

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Young English Language Learners (ELL) present with varied profiles in their language and literacy development with parental involvement promoting development. The Home Instruction for Parents and Preschool Youngsters Program (HIPPY) is a free home-visiting intervention designed to empower parents to be their child’s first teacher. The current study examined the effectiveness of the HIPPY program on language, reading, and social/emotional skills of kindergarten aged ELLs. The HIPPY group was compared to an English as a first language group (EL1) and a control group of ELL students who did not participate in HIPPY (ESL). Participants were assessed at two time points, …

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A Play Based Intervention To Develop Literacy: Using Foundations For Literacy To Help Students With A Developmental Delay Learn To Read, Brittany Coalwell Escobedo Dec 2019

A Play Based Intervention To Develop Literacy: Using Foundations For Literacy To Help Students With A Developmental Delay Learn To Read, Brittany Coalwell Escobedo

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Kindergarten students with a Developmental Delay need to learn in a way that is developmentally appropriate through play and experiences. This study investigated the use of Foundations for Literacy, a play based and experiential based literacy intervention, to allow Kindergarten students with a Developmental Delay learn to read in a developmentally appropriate way. Students were taught code based and meaning based literacy skills through play and experiences using Foundations for Literacy. The results prove that a short five-week intervention using Foundations for Literacy increased letter sound identification and phonemic awareness at a faster rate than a traditional guided …

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The Convergence Of Negotiated Imaginative Play, Literacy Learning And Kindergarten Common Core English Language Arts Standards, Grace Salinas-Casper Dec 2019

The Convergence Of Negotiated Imaginative Play, Literacy Learning And Kindergarten Common Core English Language Arts Standards, Grace Salinas-Casper

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The implementation of strict academic requirements is replacing play as a previously widely accepted developmentally appropriate practice in kindergarten classrooms around the United States, resulting in an imbalance in cultivating the whole child. Research focused on the importance of play in children’s cognitive, linguistic, physical, moral, creative, emotional and artistic development exists. Couched in Vygotsky’s social development theory and the Reggio Emilia principle this ethnographic case study investigates how kindergarteners demonstrate literacy learning, practice and mastery of Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CC.ELA) through imaginative play in a negotiated environment. Research outcomes suggested that negotiated play appears to provide …

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The Use Of Learning Centers In The Kindergarten Classroom, Debra J. Hamand Oct 2019

The Use Of Learning Centers In The Kindergarten Classroom, Debra J. Hamand

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This literature review discusses the necessity of learning centers in the kindergarten curriculum. The review first looks at pioneers in the field of education and how they feel children learn best. Learning centers is defined and tells why it should be in the kindergarten classroom and the benefits it offers. The review will discuss the legislation of why some people feel that play-based learning should be taken away from the school system and schools should only focus on academics. Today with high stakes testing and meeting state standards there is no time for learning centers. There are many challenges that …

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Improving Kindergartener’S Initiative To Problem Solve Through Integrated Stem, Jessica Walston Aug 2019

Improving Kindergartener’S Initiative To Problem Solve Through Integrated Stem, Jessica Walston

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Theses and Other Student Research

Many teachers are familiar with students who are scared to try to solve a problem and instead look to adults for specific answers. Students need to be prepared to solve problems independently and collaboratively. One of the necessary skills to solve a problem is to first try, or take initiative. The purpose of this action research was to identify Kindergarten students’ initial initiative to problem solve by formal evaluation of student learning-related skills, taken from the Cooper-Farran Behavioral Rating Scale (1991). In this study, students were provided opportunities to take the initiative to problem solve through a series of integrated …

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The Impact Of Early Math And Numeracy Skills On Academic Achievement In Elementary School, Payton Guhl Jul 2019

The Impact Of Early Math And Numeracy Skills On Academic Achievement In Elementary School, Payton Guhl

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The following literature review explores the impact of learning early math and numeracy skills prior to formal schooling on later academic success. Much of the current focus in early childhood is based around literacy. However, as this literature review shows, early math skills are a more powerful predictor of academic success through elementary school. Several studies have been performed to show the significance of these skills on future math success and were consulted for this review. Within this review is what early math and numeracy skills are, how they develop in young children, the importance of these skills, how they …

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Using Role Play To Teach Social Emotional Skills In The Early Childhood Classroom, Rebecca Havens Jul 2019

Using Role Play To Teach Social Emotional Skills In The Early Childhood Classroom, Rebecca Havens

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The purpose of this research was to determine if using role play in the classroom would be an effective teaching strategy to improve the social emotional skills of kindergarten students. With the focus of kindergarten shifting towards more academics, it remains important to teach social and emotional skills with an effective, efficient approach. Participants included 19 kindergarten students in a small elementary school in the Midwest. The research included using children’s literature to prompt discussions and role playing activities around social emotional skills. The role play activities included practicing what to say to a peer when a problem arises in …

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Benefits Of Play For The Social And Emotional Development Of Children In Kindergarten, Chelsea Andrade May 2019

Benefits Of Play For The Social And Emotional Development Of Children In Kindergarten, Chelsea Andrade

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

There is an increasing push to focus on academics at a young age and take play out of learning. Research shows that play is beneficial for the social and emotional development of children. Play helps children to learn self-control, emotion-regulation, communication, conflict resolution, and so much more. This senior capstone project explored how play is beneficial for the social and emotional development of children in kindergarten. Through a literature review and surveys conducted with fourteen kindergarten teachers in Monterey County, results showed how beneficial play is for kindergarten students. The results from surveys also revealed how teachers in Monterey County …

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School Entry Age And School Readiness., Robin Berry May 2019

School Entry Age And School Readiness., Robin Berry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, there was a change in School Entry Age (SEA) legislation. This dissertation analyzed the relationship between SEA and school readiness after the enactment of the new legislation. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to control for student demographics to ascertain the relationship between SEA and school readiness. Findings were as follows: older students scored significantly lower than younger students on the BRIGANCE Kindergarten Screen (BKS), students who had exposure to private child care outside of the home fared much better than students who were kept at home the year prior to kindergarten, and female students …

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Edifying The Spirit Of Love And Liberation In The Education Of Young Children: Lessons From Critical Pedagogy And Reggio Emilia Inspired Educators, Seyedeh Zahra Agha Seyed Yousef Apr 2019

Edifying The Spirit Of Love And Liberation In The Education Of Young Children: Lessons From Critical Pedagogy And Reggio Emilia Inspired Educators, Seyedeh Zahra Agha Seyed Yousef

LMU Theses and Dissertations

In an age of adultism in which children have been perceived as mere drains on society, schooling often has been viewed as a means to an end. Due to the fact that a capitalistic society requires future workers, children have been socialized in the necessary skills and knowledge required to fulfill their future job requirements. Consequently, schooling often has taken place in the form of the banking model in which students are treated as empty vessels to be filled up by the knowledgeable teachers, and then to regurgitate said knowledge on assessments to prove their understanding. I challenge this antiquated …

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Interaction Effects Of Socioeconomic Status On Emerging Literacy And Literacy Skills Among Pre-Kindergarten And Kindergarten Children: A Comparison Study, Kasey Thompson, Lydia P. Richardson, Heather Newman, Kathleen George Feb 2019

Interaction Effects Of Socioeconomic Status On Emerging Literacy And Literacy Skills Among Pre-Kindergarten And Kindergarten Children: A Comparison Study, Kasey Thompson, Lydia P. Richardson, Heather Newman, Kathleen George

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

Socioeconomic differences in children’s reading and educational outcomes have been thoroughly documented throughout literature. Bobalik, Scarber, and Toon (2017) examined the link between socioeconomic status (SES) and classroom instruction on emerging literacy skills in pre-kindergarten children. The results supported the theory that children identified as belonging to a low socioeconomic status enter school with lower emerging literacy skills and benefit most from academic instruction; these children’s literacy skills substantially increased throughout the academic year, growing closer to those of their peers who were identified with a high socioeconomic status. The aim of the present study was to expand our understanding …

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The Field Trip Project: Using Environmental Education To Bridge Science Learning Across Formal And Informal Kindergarten Settings, Meg Gravil Jan 2019

The Field Trip Project: Using Environmental Education To Bridge Science Learning Across Formal And Informal Kindergarten Settings, Meg Gravil

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

The Field Trip Study was conducted in direct response to the emergence of scientific thinking as it relates to children’s cognitive abilities. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effects of nature-based, experiential activities on children’s acquisition of science knowledge. A multiple treatments and controls with pretest research design was utilized to compare science knowledge acquisition between kindergarten children in four instructional conditions: 1) nature-based field trip plus extension activities from an environmental education curriculum, and corresponding book reading and activities, 2) nature-based field trips plus extension activities from an environmental education curriculum, 3) nature-based field trips plus …

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Engaging Extended Family And Friends In Young Children’S Education, William A. Parnell, Ellie Justice, Laure Pearson Patrick Sep 2018

Engaging Extended Family And Friends In Young Children’S Education, William A. Parnell, Ellie Justice, Laure Pearson Patrick

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

Currently in our Reggio-inspired lab school, we continue experimenting with ways to connect extended family and friends to the school’s everyday practices, curricula, and philosophy. One approach that has been particularly valuable is our annual Friends and Family Day. This opportunity for engagement is not simply a demonstration of what and how the children have been learning—it is an event in which we all learn together. Friends and Family Day includes hands-on curriculum-based events in which children’s relatives and friends join in theory building, experimentation, and learning at our school (Parnell 2011b). We see such events as a way for …

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Intentional Teaching In Kindergarten: Combining Academic Instruction And Developmentally Appropriate Practices, Amy Borkowski Aug 2018

Intentional Teaching In Kindergarten: Combining Academic Instruction And Developmentally Appropriate Practices, Amy Borkowski

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This literature review explores the perceived dichotomy in kindergarten between child-centered, developmentally appropriate practices and teacher-directed, academic instruction. Long-held beliefs about child development have dominated the field of early childhood education for well over a century, but new research, legislative mandates, and academic standards have dramatically changed the landscape of education in the kindergarten year. Literature from scholarly journals and academic texts will be examined, revealing how kindergarten has changed over time, the impact that various factors have had on driving that change, and what educators should consider as they strive to provide intentional instruction in kindergarten.

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Pre-Kindergarten And Kindergarten Teachers' Perceptions Of The Student Growth Portfolio Model In Tennessee, Amanda Pickens Aug 2018

Pre-Kindergarten And Kindergarten Teachers' Perceptions Of The Student Growth Portfolio Model In Tennessee, Amanda Pickens

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this quantitative study was to discover perceptions of pre-K and kindergarten teachers within public schools in Tennessee regarding the appropriateness of the student growth portfolio model. This study explored teachers’ perceptions of the appropriateness of the math standards, English language arts standards, and the scoring guide included within the SGPM. A quantitative survey was used to understand pre-K and kindergarten teachers’ perceptions of the appropriateness of the 2017-2018 student growth portfolio model. There were 16 pre-K teachers and 51 kindergarten teachers who participated in the survey. Single sample t-tests were used to analyze responses. Research indicated that …

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What Happens When The Seesaw App Is Used In A Kindergarten Classroom?, Alison Ryan May 2018

What Happens When The Seesaw App Is Used In A Kindergarten Classroom?, Alison Ryan

Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning

Parent-teacher relationships can make or break a student’s academic career. It is possible that taking advantage of parents’ media-connectedness to form positive relationships may be more effective than more traditional methods like hand-written notes, phone calls, or emails. In this study the researcher sought to understand what happens in a kindergarten classroom when one technology in particular was used facilitate communication: Seesaw (a digital portfolio app used to post pictures and videos of children as well as communicate with parents using its private messaging feature). Data was collected through parent surveys, observations, and interviews of parents, students, and teachers. Analysis …

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Teacher’S Use Of Technology In A Preschool/Kindergarten Setting, Maudi Mckell Sundrud, Jennifer Wimmer May 2018

Teacher’S Use Of Technology In A Preschool/Kindergarten Setting, Maudi Mckell Sundrud, Jennifer Wimmer

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Teacher’s Use of Technology in a Preschool/Kindergarten Setting Mentor: Jennifer Wimmer, Teacher Education As a response to the increase of technology in society, the education system has pushed for greater technology integration in schools. Schools across the nation have invested in technology intended to help students learn more effectively the skills and strategies they may need to be competitive members of this technological society. From this, the question emerges: while funds are being allocated for technology, how often and when do teachers use the technology in their classroom?

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Sun Prevention Fun (Spf): A Multicomponent Sun Prevention Program For Children In Kindergarten And First Grade, Sarah Gouker May 2018

Sun Prevention Fun (Spf): A Multicomponent Sun Prevention Program For Children In Kindergarten And First Grade, Sarah Gouker

Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports

Skin cancer is an important topic in the United States due to the recent increase in cost and mortality. The purpose of this evidence-based practice (EBP) project was to determine if the early implementation of a multicomponent sun prevention program positively impacted kindergarten and first grade students’ knowledge and behavioral intentions to practice safe sun techniques after a one week period. Kotter’s Model of Change and the ACE Star model were utilized to guide this EBP project. An exhaustive review of the literature yielded 12 articles which were used to develop best practices for education on sun safety. The quality …

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Using Wordless Picture Books To Develop Oral Language Skills With Kindergarten Students, Jennifer M. Natale Feb 2018

Using Wordless Picture Books To Develop Oral Language Skills With Kindergarten Students, Jennifer M. Natale

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to study the oral language development of the average kindergartner, through the use of wordless picture books, as he or she is provided with practice in which to build oral language. The specific aim is to implore whether the addition of oral language activities using wordless picture books, into the regular kindergarten program, will enable students to better express themselves orally through storytelling, as well as to transfer that skill into orally dictating a written story. This study is significant in that, as academic demands increase in the kindergarten classroom, it appears that students …

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The Impact Of Song And Movement On Kindergarten Sight Word Acquisition, Katy Martin Dec 2017

The Impact Of Song And Movement On Kindergarten Sight Word Acquisition, Katy Martin

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this naturalistic, qualitative study was to document the impact that song and movement had on kindergarten sight word acquisition. To investigate this, 18 kindergarten students were taught 20 new sight words using songs and movement over the course of four weeks. Data was systematically collected and analyzed to determine the specific benefits that song and movement had on kindergartner's sight word learning in regard to automaticity, motivation, and engagement. The kindergarten students were administered a pre-and post-sight word assessment along with a pre-and post-song and movement motivation and engagement student survey. Throughout the study, a qualitative journal …

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Conversations With Children About Death, Molly Sexton-Reade Oct 2017

Conversations With Children About Death, Molly Sexton-Reade

Occasional Paper Series

This paper emphasizes the need for conversations around death in the classroom. Today's children are exposed to information about death through a wide variety of media. Teachers have a responsibility to provide opportunities for children to process this information in ways that are developmentally appropriate - acknowledging children's "magical thinking" as well as experiences children may have surrounding death.

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Performing Gender In The Elementary Classroom, Gail Masuchika Boldt Oct 2017

Performing Gender In The Elementary Classroom, Gail Masuchika Boldt

Occasional Paper Series

This paper raises questions about teachers’ interventions into children’s exchanges around gender in elementary classrooms. Masuchika Boldt argues that gender is ever-present in the classroom and children are constantly making assertions about the meaning of gender and the authenticity of their own and others’ gender performances. She speaks to the question, “If a teacher does interpret this exchange as being at least in part about gender, what, if any, response is called for?”

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Teaching My Child To Resist In Kindergarten, Christine Ferris Oct 2017

Teaching My Child To Resist In Kindergarten, Christine Ferris

Occasional Paper Series

Ferris describes how she taught her son to resist in his kindergarten classroom while drawing on her own experiences as an educator. Their experience draws attention to common teaching methods that do not promote socialization or free thinking. This also highlights the issues that can arise when the value system of a school does not align with a family's own beliefs - especially when alternative schools are not a viable option.

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"When Do We Play?": Administrator, Teacher, And Parent Perceptions Of Play In A Catholic Kindergarten Classroom, Aimée Eva Ramirez Aug 2017

"When Do We Play?": Administrator, Teacher, And Parent Perceptions Of Play In A Catholic Kindergarten Classroom, Aimée Eva Ramirez

LMU Theses and Dissertations

Educational reforms have created a climate of accountability and high academic pressure that has resulted in a pushing down of the curriculum into early childhood education. Once a prominent pedagogical feature, play is disappearing from kindergarten. The following is a doctoral dissertation that studied administrator, teacher, and parent perceptions of play and its role within the kindergarten curriculum at a Catholic elementary school in the Los Angeles Archdiocese. Using a qualitative case study method, the study noted how play was utilized in transitional kindergarten and traditional kindergarten classrooms at the school site. Interviews, classroom observations, and document review of school …

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Are We Doing Kindergarten All Wrong?, Karen Barsness Jun 2017

Are We Doing Kindergarten All Wrong?, Karen Barsness

Empowering Research for Educators

Kindergarten within the American educational system little resembles the original ideals of its founder, Friedrich Froebel (Muelle, 2013). As our society embraces the “more is better” mantra, this ideal is seeping into our educational system, and most notably into our kindergarten classrooms. As academic kindergartens replace social-centered kindergartens, the teaching of mathematical and grammatical concepts has resulted in the loss of free play and exploration therefore changing the whole kindergarten landscape (Curwood, 2007). While the United States shifts to academic kindergartens, there is an equally notable shift in Finland that is revolutionizing kindergarten in its devotion to kindergartens’ original intentions: …

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Do Spellings Of Words And Phonemic Awareness Training Facilitate Vocabulary Learning In Preschoolers?, Robin O'Leary Jun 2017

Do Spellings Of Words And Phonemic Awareness Training Facilitate Vocabulary Learning In Preschoolers?, Robin O'Leary

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study was to examine the contribution of phoneme awareness training and orthography to the learning of new vocabulary words by partial alphabetic phase readers. We hypothesized that four and five year old children taught to segment words with letters would outperform those trained with shape markers and those that received no segmentation training on an invented spelling task. We also hypothesized that students seeing the spellings of new vocabulary words (names) would learn the words in fewer trials, remember the names and features better and would be able to better recognize letter labels when presented alone. …

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Interview And Focus Groups Analysis Of Decreased Composite Benchmark Scores On Dynamic Indicators Of Basic Early Literacy Skills Dibels From Kindergarten To First Grade Students, Loreen Flanary May 2017

Interview And Focus Groups Analysis Of Decreased Composite Benchmark Scores On Dynamic Indicators Of Basic Early Literacy Skills Dibels From Kindergarten To First Grade Students, Loreen Flanary

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

School districts in the state of Utah are required to use Dynamic Indicators of Basic Literacy Skills (DIBELS) as an assessment of reading ability for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. The Logan City School District (LCSD) kindergarten end of year (EOY) Composite DIBELS data have been strong over the past 5 years with over 90% of students scoring at benchmark. In comparison, in each of those 5 years, first grade beginning of year (BOY) data drops considerably. LCSD is concerned with this trend because it is larger than the state trend of 13-14%, the trend is increasing, and this …

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Kindergarten Teachers' Perceptions Of Student Readiness For School, James A. Wernke May 2017

Kindergarten Teachers' Perceptions Of Student Readiness For School, James A. Wernke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The design method for this study was non-experimental quantitative. The survey was distributed via email to Kindergarten teachers in two Northeastern Tennessee school districts. There were 69 Kindergarten teachers who responded to the survey. The study revealed that Kindergarten teachers perceive that gender, socioeconomic status, and preschool experience have a significant impact on student readiness for school. Chronological age was not perceived to have an impact on student readiness for school to a significant extent. Kindergarten teachers perceived that preschool experience has the greatest impact on student readiness for school when asked to rank the order of impact from greatest …

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The Unfolding Of Lucas’S Story In An Inclusive Classroom: Living, Playing, And Becoming In The Social World Of Kindergarten, Haeny S. Yoon, Carmen Llerena, Emma Brooks Feb 2017

The Unfolding Of Lucas’S Story In An Inclusive Classroom: Living, Playing, And Becoming In The Social World Of Kindergarten, Haeny S. Yoon, Carmen Llerena, Emma Brooks

Occasional Paper Series

Tells stories about a vibrant kindergartner named Lucas through the viewpoints of his mother (Emma), teacher (Carmen), and teacher-educator (Haeny). In this multi-voiced story, the narrative centers on Lucas and shifts outward toward those orbiting Lucas’s wondrously playful universe. The magic of Lucas’s unfolding story is in the ways it disrupts conventional discourses about labels, interventions, and imposed meanings of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

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An Examination Of Kindergarten Readiness Perceptions From Prekindergarten Teachers, Kindergarten Teachers, And Parents: A Quantitative Study Of Kindergarten Readiness Perceptions, Angela Cross Jan 2017

An Examination Of Kindergarten Readiness Perceptions From Prekindergarten Teachers, Kindergarten Teachers, And Parents: A Quantitative Study Of Kindergarten Readiness Perceptions, Angela Cross

Education Dissertations and Projects

This study examined the perceptions of kindergarten readiness for kindergarten teachers, public prekindergarten teachers in both public and private settings, and parents. Data were collected and analyzed through a quantitative method using an inferential approach. A Likert-style survey was distributed to current kindergarten teachers, prekindergarten teachers, and parents; and the data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The data collected from the surveys indicated differences in kindergarten readiness perceptions in the areas of social/emotional skills, literacy skills, and communication between kindergarten parents and teachers and between public and private prekindergarten participants. There were also differences in …

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