Early Childhood Education Commons^™

Story Boat (2020) By Kyo Maclear, Samantha Piede

Picture Books

When the protagonist in Kyo Maclear’s Story Boat (2020) opens the book with “Here we are,” it is unclear to readers where exactly “here” might be. When safety must take precedence over familiarity, one develops a fleeting relationship with place. It is tempting, in stories like these, to emphasize the pain of the refugee experience: the uncertainty, the loss of one’s ‘heres’. But Maclear takes a different tack, giving readers the tools to focus on hope and wonder. Teachers may prompt students, in light of the book, to reflect on what they think a ‘home’ or a ‘here’ feels like …

Silan’S Box [Το Κουτί Του Σιλάν] (2017) By Άλκηστη Χαλικιά [Alkistis Chalikia], Maria Papathanasiou

Picture Books

Silan is an eight-year-old boy who was forced to leave his country and live in a new homeland, in Greece. He lives in a refugee center where he goes to a new school but does not speak the same language as the other children. He carries a little box with him—so precious that he keeps it with him constantly and does not share its contents with anyone. The children ask him every day about the contents of the box and try to guess what his hidden treasure might be. They think of what they would shield in their own box …

Attachment And Creativity Focused Counseling Intervention For Parents And Adolescents Presenting With A Trauma History, Leah Merle Batty-Hibbs

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The central research question that informed this study asks: How do attachment and creativity focused counseling interventions encourage connection between an adolescent and their parent or caregiver? The research study centered on two mother and son dyads that participated in six weeks of a therapeutic intervention. The modality utilized an attachment and creativity focused approach created by the author. Data was collected through a post intervention semi-structured interview with the parent (adult). Data was transcribed and evaluated with an interpretive phenomenological approach. Six themes were identified by a team of researchers. The findings have implications for clinical practice with parents …

Lively Emu Dialogues: Activating Feminist Common Worlding Pedagogies, Mindy Blaise, Catherine Hamm

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This paper draws from a series of Place-thought walks that the authors took at an open-range zoo. It practices a feminist common worlds multispecies ethics to challenge the systems that maintain nature-culture divisions in early childhood education. Postdevelopmental perspectives (i.e., feminist environmental humanities, multispecies studies, Indigenous studies) are brought into conversation with early childhood education to consider how zoo-logics maintain binaries and hierarchical thinking. Zoo-logics are related to developmental, colonial, and Western ways of reasoning and being in the world. Two feminist approaches to ethics, (re)situating and dialoguing, are discussed and show how they are necessary for undermining binaries and …

Kindytxt: A Free Text Messaging Program For Kindergarten Children And Families, Lennie Barblett, Nicola Johnson, Caroline Barratt-Pugh, Susan Hill

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

• This project focused on developing, delivering and evaluating a literacy text-messaging program for parents / carers with a child at kindergarten in WA.
• Texts were delivered weekly over 30 weeks, in collaboration with Better Beginnings. Families were invited to participate through a flyer in the book gifting bag delivered by local librarians to families attending kindergarten across Western Australia.
• Kindergarten teachers and librarians from 16 LGAs attended workshops to establish kindergarten-family library partnerships, along with the production and evaluation of a partnership framework and implementation materials.
• Evaluation involved all participants, with in-depth data collected from participants in six communities.

An Appraisal Of The Class Instrument As An Observational Measurement Tool For Evaluation Of Student And Teacher Interactions In Western Australian Classrooms, Gillian Kirk, Marianne J. Knaus, Shane Rogers

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The National Quality Framework is used across Australia to drive quality improvement in early childhood settings. Unique to Western Australia, the National Quality Standard is also used in schools to improve quality in classrooms up to Year two (seven to eight years). However, the literature suggests the National Quality Standard is too broad with an emphasis on quantifiable program features (structural quality). As the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS™) instrument was designed to measure classroom interactions (process quality), the purpose of this current study was to examine its efficacy in Pre-primary (five-year-old) classrooms. A mixed-method research approach was employed to …

The Design Of Early Childhood Teacher Education Programs: Australian Employer Perspectives With International Program Comparisons, Wendy Boyd, Linda Mahony, Jane Warren, Sandie Wong

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Provision of quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) supports children’s learning with strong agreement that early childhood teachers (ECTs) are central to quality provision. In many countries, it is mandatory that ECEC services employ ECTs. However, Australian ECT employers report that early childhood graduates are not always well-prepared to work in ECEC settings. This may be because what constitutes optimal early childhood initial teacher education programs (EC ITE) is unclear. To investigate the design of EC ITE programs this research reports on (i) design of EC ITE programs across international contexts; and (ii) 19 Australian ECT employers’ perspectives on …

Books That Tell My Story: Transforming The Attitudes Of Australian Preservice Teachers Towards Children’S Diverse And Multicultural Literature., Kym M. Simoncini, Hilary Smith, Lara Cain-Gray, Darlene Sebalj

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Children’s literature is ubiquitous in Australian classrooms with picture books playing a particularly important role in early childhood classrooms. Teachers use children’s literature to teach early literacy concepts including vocabulary and to help children learn about the world and their identity. Historically, the majority of children’s literature has featured White characters and perspectives, excluding many children from seeing themselves and their lives reflected in books. The aim of this study was to explore how an assessment task that asked preservice teachers (PSTs) to select an underrepresented aspect of children’s literature, locate books on that topic, and reflect upon their own …

Exploring Thai Teachers’ Perspectives On Evidence-Informed Practices In Inclusive Early Childhood Education, Joseph S. Agbenyega, Danielle Lane, Sunanta Klibthong

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Evidence-informed practices play vital roles in teaching and learning in inclusive schools; however, limited research has been conducted to explore inclusive early childhood teachers’ perspectives on research-informed teaching. This study, which was informed by the Cognitive Apprenticeship Theory (CAT), used structured and online focus groups to explore the views of 26 inclusive early childhood teachers in Thailand regarding their understanding and value for evidence-informed practice, how they source, analyse and use evidence to inform their professional practice and the factors supporting or inhibiting evidence-informed practices in their schools. A combination of framework and descriptive data analysis identified findings …

Ece 302 Children, Families, Communities, And Schools In Sociocultural Contexts—Birth To Grade 6, Lisa Cavallero

Open Educational Resources

Topics covered in this course include: home, school, and community influences, family diversity, roles and experiences of families, early learning, special needs, protecting children, influences of the home and community, working with families.

This course outline includes:

• all assignments for the course (link to assignments packet).
• links to lecture slides
• instructor notes
• additional resources

Note: users will be prompted to make their own copy of documents when clicking on links to Google Docs and Google Slides.

ผลการจัดประสบการณ์โดยใช้แนวคิดจิตตปัญญาศึกษาและการชี้แนะทางอารมณ์ที่มีต่อความสามารถทางอารมณ์ของเด็กวัยอนุบาล, พิมสวัสดิ์ โกศลสมบัติ

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

งานวิจัยนี้มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อ 1) ศึกษาผลของการจัดประสบการณ์โดยใช้แนวคิดจิตตปัญญาศึกษาและการชี้แนะทางอารมณ์ที่มีต่อความสามารถทางอารมณ์ ด้านความรู้เกี่ยวกับอารมณ์ และด้านการกำกับอารมณ์ ของเด็กวัยอนุบาล 2) เปรียบเทียบความสามารถทางอารมณ์ ด้านความรู้เกี่ยวกับอารมณ์ และการกำกับอารมณ์ระหว่างเด็กวัยอนุบาลที่ได้รับการจัดประสบการณ์โดยใช้แนวคิดจิตตปัญญาศึกษาและการชี้แนะทางอารมณ์ กับการจัดประสบการณ์แบบปกติ การวิจัยครั้งนี้ใช้ระเบียบวิธีการวิจัยกึ่งทดลอง แบบศึกษา 2 กลุ่ม วัดหลายครั้ง ตัวอย่างที่ใช้ในการทดลอง คือ เด็กอนุบาลชั้นปีที่ 2 โรงเรียนในสังกัดสำนักงานเขตพื้นที่การศึกษาประถมศึกษากรุงเทพมหานคร สำนักงานคณะกรรมการการศึกษาขั้นพื้นฐาน จำนวน 50 คน แบ่งเป็นกลุ่มทดลอง 25 คน และกลุ่มควบคุม 25 คน กลุ่มทดลองได้รับการจัดประสบการณ์โดยใช้แนวคิดจิตตปัญญาศึกษาและการชี้แนะทางอารมณ์ ประกอบด้วย 2 ขั้นตอน แต่ละขั้นตอนประกอบด้วย 3 ขั้นย่อย ขั้นตอนที่ 1 การจัดกิจกรรมเสริมประสบการณ์กับเด็กกลุ่มใหญ่ ประกอบด้วย 1) การสร้างความพร้อม ประกอบด้วย 2 กิจกรรม คือ 1.1) การเตรียมสภาวะกายใจของเด็กให้เหมาะสม และ 1.2) การนำพาเด็กสำรวจท่าทางของตนเอง 2) การให้ประสบการณ์ใหม่ ประกอบด้วย 2 กิจกรรม คือ 2.1) กิจกรรมเปิดประสาทสัมผัส และ 2.2) กิจกรรมปลุก เปลี่ยน และ 3) การฝึกสะท้อนคิด ขั้นตอนที่ 2 การชี้แนะทางอารมณ์รายบุคคล ได้แก่ 1) การสร้างสภาวะรู้ตัว 2) การนำพาทบทวนสาเหตุ 3) การให้ทางเลือก ส่วนกลุ่มควบคุมได้รับการจัดประสบการณ์แบบปกติ ระยะเวลาทดลอง 10 สัปดาห์ เครื่องมือที่ใช้ในการวิจัย คือ แบบวัดความเข้าใจอารมณ์ของเด็กวัยอนุบาล แบบสังเกตพฤติกรรมด้านอารมณ์ของเด็กวัยอนุบาล แบบสอบถามพฤติกรรมด้านอารมณ์ของเด็กวัยอนุบาล แบบสังเกตพฤติกรรมด้านอารมณ์ของเด็กวัยอนุบาลสำหรับผู้ปกครอง และแบบบันทึกการสังเกตพฤติกรรมด้านอารมณ์ของเด็กวัยอนุบาล วิเคราะห์ข้อมูลวิจัยโดยการหาค่าเฉลี่ย ส่วนเบี่ยงเบนมาตรฐาน การทดสอบค่าที และความแปรปรวนแบบวัดซ้ำ ผลการวิจัย พบว่า 1) เด็กวัยอนุบาลที่ได้รับการจัดประสบการณ์โดยใช้แนวคิดจิตตปัญญาศึกษาและการชี้แนะทางอารมณ์มีความสามารถทางอารมณ์สูงกว่าก่อนการทดลอง โดยค่าเฉลี่ยคะแนนความรู้เกี่ยวกับอารมณ์ และค่าเฉลี่ยความถี่พฤติกรรมการกำกับอารมณ์ของเด็กวัยอนุบาล หลังการทดลองสูงกว่าก่อนการทดลอง …

Arts Integration Experiences Of Elementary Educators, Amy E. Jefferson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine how elementary teachers applied their professional learning to integrate arts in the classroom. The research questions guiding the study included: (1) What content, skills, and understandings do teachers transfer from professional learning to practice? and (2) How do teachers navigate the implementation of arts integration? Knowles' (1978) Adult Learning Theory was used to examine how meeting the needs of teachers as adult learners during professional learning influenced the implementation experience.

A case study design employing qualitative data collection methods such as focus groups, individual interviews, and the sharing of artifacts from practice …

Love And Learn: Creating Space For Authentic Caring In Family Child Care, Katherine Kelly Hart Meehan

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Children benefit from engagement in early education and care (ECE) programs that support their learning and development while also providing a point of connection to critical resources for their families. For children from economically disadvantaged families, the lack of access to high-quality ECE results in a persistent achievement and opportunity gap (García & Weiss, 2015). A significant portion of ECE occurs in home-based early learning environments, also known as family child care (FCC) programs, which play a critical role in supporting children from low-income and immigrant families (Layzer et al., 2007; Porter et al., 2010). Unfortunately, this sector of ECE …

Using Online Training Modules To Enhance Parents' Early Literacy Training Skills And Understanding, Ayodele Sanni

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Parental involvement is considered a crucial factor in developing children’s early literacy and reading skills, especially for children not yet in school. The present study aims to determine whether an online literacy module can increase early literacy knowledge in parents who may not have the training to promote their child’s learning. Additionally, the study examines parent perspectives of online video training and the practicality of the video’s content. To test the hypothesis that parent knowledge will increase after exposure to the online video, 29 Canadian parents (27 mothers, two fathers) with children aged 3 to 5 were provided with supervised …

Leading Early Childhood Education In Iowa Schools, Alaina T. Daters

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Over the last 15 years, Iowa’s Statewide Voluntary Preschool Programs (SWVPP) have undergone significant growth. By the end of the 2021-2022 school year, 323 out of 327 (99%) of Iowa public school districts offered preschool (Iowa Department of Education, 2022c). As a result, well over 450 Iowa administrators are potentially responsible for leading their district’s preschool program.

The purpose of this mixed methods research study was to gain an understanding of the experiences, knowledge, and pedagogical needs of licensed Iowa administrators that are responsible for their district’s SWVPP. Data was collected through a survey and analyzed using descriptive statistical analysis …

Gameplays Versus Playstyles: The Social Construction Of Transmediated Communities Among Filipino Children Gamers In Minecraft And Roblox, Cheeno Marlo Sayuno

ASEAN Journal of Community Engagement

The children of today’s generation are considered as digital natives, which means that they have the capacity to navigate technological terrains to the best of their abilities and create online communities in new storyworlds. Minecraft and Roblox, two sandbox open-world mobile games, are manifestations of such ability to create worlds, survive in difficult gaming situations, face opponents in combat, and interact with players within a community. Even more so, such transmedia engagements allow the child participants, as evidenced in this study, to transact with players and the app itself to introduce new playstyle strategies that complement or subvert the gameplays …

Professionalism In Early Childhood Education, Kimberly R. Thai

Master's Theses

This grounded theory analysis uses participant interviews and document analysis to further understand the lived experiences of teachers and leaders in Early Child Education. The thesis was set out to explore the following research questions: How do ECE leaders and teachers understand teacher professionalism? What is the role of whiteness and gender in teacher professionalism? and What is the relationship between the ideas of professionalism and the local context in ECE? The study finds that insiders have strong notions of professional conduct but that exploring professionalism was a site of contention for the participants. Two responses to issues of professionalism …

An Examination Of Positive Behavioral Interventions And Supports (Pbis) And Conscious Discipline As An Intervention To Challenging Behaviors In The Preschool Classroom, Jennifer Nelson

Graduate Teacher Education

In the field of early childhood education, there has been a growing concern over the number of challenging behaviors being displayed. To decrease the display of challenging behaviors, educators have been looking for positive strategies and supports to help manage the display of challenging behaviors such as Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) (Carter, Van Norman, & Tredwell, 2011), and Conscious Discipline (Bailey, 2014). When managing the display of challenging behaviors, a shift has occurred from using negative discipline practices to implementing positive guidance approaches in early childhood (EC) classrooms (Carter et al., 2011). When educators teach the children what …

Exploring The Therapeutic Effect Of Children's Picture Books, Yunfan Chen

Theses - ALL

This thesis discusses the phenomenon of left-behind children in China amid the country's urbanization, revealing the psychological state of these children in the countryside.

In this thesis, some psychological research sources have proven how picture books relieve children's emotions and attain therapeutic effects on children's psychology. Then, this thesis analyzes two examples of children's books depicting how picture books help children to manage their negative feelings and having a therapeutic effect on the child.

This thesis claims that bibliotherapy through children's independent reading of books can effectively alleviate left-behind children's negative emotions.

Differences In At-Risk Children's Preschool Assessment By Educators' Levels Of Education, Folashade Z. Olayinka-Bello, Donna Brackin

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

We determined that significant differences existed between assessment scores of at-risk children taught by assistant teachers with different levels of education using standardized assessments (Teaching Strategies GOLD [TSG] and Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening [PALS]). A 1-way MANOVA indicated that assistant teachers’ level of education was statistically significant at p = .012. Archived pretest and posttest data were collected from TSG and PALS assessment scores of 142 at-risk Prekindergarten 4 children taught by 18 different Prekindergarten 4 lead and assistant teachers at a local Head Start site. We found that irrespective of teachers’ levels of education, the role of assistant teachers …

Best Practice And Strategies To Effectively Support Dual Language Learners, Sydney Richardson

Graduate Teacher Education

According to Winsler et al. (2014), the fastest growing population of students entering preschool classrooms are considered Dual Language Learners (DLLs). Teachers are expected to teach these young learners, yet most of them feel unprepared to do so (Kibler, 2013). Many early childhood educators are unaware of the best practices and strategies to effectively support Dual Language Learners (DLLs) while preserving home language and culture (Hardin et al., 2010). In this review of literature, peer reviewed studies were examined for best practices teachers can utilize when working with children whose home language is not English. Results suggest that having children …

Strategies For Supporting Professional Growth In Early Childhood Team Members, Kristin Goetz

Graduate Teacher Education

Early childhood education (ECE) teachers, including pre-service and in-service workers, have reported the need for ongoing professional development support (Boyer, 2004; Buettner, Hye Hur, Jeon & Andrews, 2016; Brown, Cheddie, Horry, & Monk, 2017). Specific targeted support for professionalism was addressed as a retention strategy for the future of ECE (Boyer, 2004). The lack of consistent minimum qualifications for ECE teachers has contributed to a number of teachers in the field having little understanding regarding professionalism as a whole when teacher careers commence. The quality of learning and teaching in the classroom has been said to be largely determined by …

Mindfulness In Early Childhood Education, Madalyn L. Coss

Honors Projects

The following work identifies the need for mindfulness in early childhood education. It explains what mindfulness is, what the benefits of it are, and how it can be used in early childhood classrooms. A podcast episode is included with the intent of it being used to inform educators on the subject.

Computational Thinking For Teachers, Susan Imberman

Open Educational Resources

This is a syllabus for a course in computational thinking. The course described introduces preservice and inservice teachers to the fundamental concepts of computer science, including web design, coding, ethics, computational thinking, course resources, etc.

The Effect Of Direct Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Instruction And Small Group Literacy Interventions On Kindergarten Students’ Reading Growth, Brianna Elizabeth Wierschke

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This study focuses on the impact of the implementation of Heggerty Phonemic Awareness and Literacy Footprints guided reading system curriculum in a kindergarten classroom. Adding these interventions are to determine if a focus on phonemic awareness skills is essential for students to learn when beginning to learn how to read. Students were tested at the beginning of the school year for a base score, then tracked at every month, and then a final benchmarking in December. The study took place in a North Dakota elementary school, 23 kindergarten students was monitored for data purposes. The data and results demonstrate a …

Building Confidence Of Academic Library Staff In The Selection Of Culturally Authentic Native American Picture Books, Cassondra Leeport

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This study aimed to explore the confidence and ability of library staff to select and identify culturally authentic Native American picture books. The researcher, a self-identified Native American, developed a tool designed to assist in library staff in identifying key elements of a picture book that lend themselves to a work being culturally authentic. Assisting patrons in selecting materials is a key element in the library profession. The setting of this research is a university with a large Professional Education Program as well as a documented dedication to serving Native students and surrounding tribal communities and the participants of the …

Preschool Whole Group Circle Time: Does More Comfortable Seating Give Rise To Preschooler Engagement?, Roberta Kopel

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Flexible and alternative seating in the classroom has been a topic of research and implementation in the classroom in recent years. At this time, much of the research discovered looked at inflatable cushions, therapy balls, or even low tables using pillows as seats. It has been observed in practice by this researcher that many times what is sometimes labeled as flexible seating is just something that is “cute” and not a regular chair with a back and legs or flexible seating as noted in research findings such as a therapy ball. Thus far, it has been difficult to determine the …

Yoga As A Positive Behavior Intervention, Kristen Kadrie

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This study explored teaching preschool age students how to use yoga strategies to calm their bodies, reducing the number of times a student demonstrates negative behavior. The fifteen participants were three through five year olds from one of the preschool classrooms at the Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) Early Learning Center. Baseline data was collected for five days, resulting in a determination that four of the students would be considered the subjects for the study, one who received special education services. Additional baseline data was collected for these students for ten days. All fifteen participants and the classroom teachers were …

Stimming Expresses Empathy, Not To Be Masked Or Persecuted: A Scoping Review And Case Study Of The “Double-Empathy Problem” Solved By Recognizing The Autism Language, Kathryn Haas

Student Capstone Papers

This article critically examines autism and autistic stimming through the lenses of neurotypicals and autistics, evaluates confines currently imposed upon autistics by neurotypical society, and synthesizes what autistic leaders have expressed about their experiences striving for inclusion (Gernsbacher, 2017; Milton, 2012). Autistic-led studies are now at the forefront of the neurodiversity movement and are growing in fervor. The following themes were identified: (a) prevalence of autism, (b) the interpretation and measurement of empathy, (c) discovery of genetic factors transformed autistics’ identity, (d) publication of non-genetic factors such as vaccines undermined the legitimacy of the autism language, (e) the problem with …

Newsgirl, Chapters 1-8, Jennifer Starch

Diverse Families Bookshelf Lesson Plans and Activities

No abstract provided.