Early Childhood Education Commons^™

Waldorf Kindergarten And Reggio-Inspired Kindergarten: Documenting Value And Effectiveness Of Two Arts-Based Approaches, Daria Stowell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Waldorf kindergarten and Reggio-inspired kindergarten are two arts-based approaches to early childhood education that are viewed as strong educational alternatives to traditional education and serve as sources of inspiration for progressive educational reform. This study describes, interprets, and appraises the intentions and operations of two Waldorf kindergartens and two Reggio-inspired kindergartens in the United States in order to uncover the aims, practices, and values of both.

Five questions guide this study: (1) What are the intentions of Waldorf kindergarten and Reggio-inspired kindergarten? (2) What do Waldorf kindergarten and Reggio-inspired kindergarten look like in practice? (3) What do the children have …

Thinking With Paint: Troubling Settler Colonialisms Through Early Childhood Art Pedagogies, Veronica Pacini-Ketchabaw, Vanessa Clark, B. Denise Hodgins

Education Publications

In this paper we think with the specificities of paint to tell stories about entanglements of settler colonialism and paint and painting in early childhood art education. We see to become implicated (Razack, 1998) within settler colonialism in the context we now call Canada. We paint a messy non-linear picture of our work with children through a process of storytelling. Through complex pictures of how we are attempting (even if partially and imperfectly) to respond and stay with the trouble our stories bring forward, we gesture toward hope and decolonizing strategies. Our work takes inspiration from contemporary artists and from …

Crafting New Relationships In Child And Youth Care: Human-Nonhuman Encounters, Veronica Pacini-Ketchabaw

Education Publications

No abstract provided.

Researching Neoliberal And Neocolonial Assemblages In Early Childhood Education, Veronica Pacini-Ketchabaw, Fikile Nxumalo, Mary Caroline Rowan

Education Publications

The article provides a discussion of ‘‘researching’’ neoliberalisms and neocolonialisms in white settler colonial societies such as Canada. It addresses the research implications after conceptualizing neoliberalisms as assemblages that are always already implicated in colonial histories. Specifically, the article discusses the need to rethink methodologies when neoliberalisms do not follow coherent directions, the kinds of methodological and research approaches necessary for the fluid and nonlinear movements of neoliberalisms and neocolonialisms, and how neoliberalisms and neocolonialisms as connected assemblages open up early childhood research practices that attend to colonial pastpresents.

Introduction To The Special Issue On Materiality In Early Childhood Studies, Veronica Pacini-Ketchabaw, Laurie Kocher, Sylvia Kind

Education Publications

No abstract provided.

Parents' Perspectives On A Problem-Solving Approach In An Early Childhood Setting, Lisa Marie Hanson

Theses and Graduate Projects

This study attempts to gain insight into parent's perspectives on child- centered problem -solving skills, specifically the Thomas Gordon's Parent and Teacher Effectiveness Training Model. This is just one of the models currently being used across early childhood schools. When conflict arises in the classroom teachers are trained to guide the students through the problem solving process on a daily basis. This model is A Problem Solving Approach. The Problem Solving Approach is the model I interviewed parents of preschoolers in the Northwest Learning Center about. Through qualitative methods using narrative and descriptive approaches, this study investigated parents' perspectives on …

A Habitat For “Coco”: A Social Studies Investigation With Preschool-Aged Children, Mary Bowne, Jennifer Kampmann

School of Education, Counseling and Human Development

Every investigation begins with a “spark” or provocation; something that ignites conversation and action by the teacher and/or children. Learning takes place through the process of construction, thus answering the endless “whys” and the meaning of things, others, and life (Rinaldi, 2006), which can be accomplished through projects and investigations. As a teacher, nothing is more rewarding than seeing children’s enthusiasm for learning, specifically the zest to ask questions and take control of their own learning. When teachers create lessons that are engaging, provoke questions, research, and collaboration, the static classroom environment now transforms into a dynamic environment where action …

Mexican-Origin Parents’ Latent Occupational Profiles: Associations With Parent-Youth Relationships And Youth Aspirations, Lorey A. Wheeler, Kimberly A. Updegraff, Adriana Umana-Taylor, Jenn-Yun Tein

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

This study utilized an ecological, person-centered approach to identify subgroups of families who had similar profiles across multiple dimensions of Mexican-origin mothers’ and fathers’ occupational characteristics (i.e., self-direction, hazardous conditions, physical activity) and to relate these subgroups to families’ sociocultural characteristics and youth adjustment. The study included 160 dual-earner Mexican-origin families from the urban Southwest. Mothers’ and fathers’ objective work characteristics and families’ sociocultural characteristics were assessed when youth were in early to middle adolescence; adjustment was assessed during late adolescence and early adulthood for two offspring in each family. A latent profile analysis identified 3 profiles that evidenced distinct …

Laboratory: Where Science Becomes Art, Amy Norton, Madeline Carpenter, Colton Weeks, Jae Lim

P-12 Lesson Plans

This is group of lessons for K-12 art classroom is connected to the artists in the ZMA exhibition Laboratory, on view November 14, 2014 - February 21, 2015. The exhibition worked to demystify artistic practice by revealing parallels between art and scientific research and methodology. These associated lessons include scientific concepts and principles paired with art.

Implementation Of The Ready! For Kindergarten Program, Sharon Bonnett

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Research has shown that nearly 50 percent of Minnesota children entering kindergarten are not well prepared with the skills necessary to be successful in the kindergarten curriculum (MinneMinds, 2014 ). This gap in kindergarten readiness creates an achievement gap causing students to face significant hurdles to academic achievement (MinneMinds, 2014) which are hard to improve over time. Investment in parent-focused early childhood education programs has been shown to create the heftiest gains for children across a wide range of outcome measures and is a critical step in ensuring that children are prepared for success in school (Neville et al., 2013).

Toward An Early Start For Head Start Children : Evidence From An Academic-Enriched Literacy Initiative, Haiyan Zhang

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The purpose of this study was to address the question of whether it is developmentally appropriate to expose preschool children to a comprehensive instructional program designed to facilitate the acquisition of early literacy skills. The primary means of addressing this question was to assess the development of emergent literacy skills in four-year-old children enrolled in a literacy-enriched Head Start program for a period of one year, as compared with those of four-year-old children who entered at age three and enrolled in the program for two years. Related questions of special interests are to what extent the three and four-year-old children …

School Psychologists' Early Numeracy Training And Practices, Jia Liu-Trofimovsky

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

An emergent area of research pertains to early numeracy, or number sense. Early numeracy plays a significant role in the development of mathematics skills, and researchers have recognized its importance for overall academic achievement. This study surveyed practicing school psychologists to investigate current early numeracy training and practices. A nationwide sample of 279 school psychologists completed a Web-based survey modeled after the available early numeracy research. The majority of individuals reported receiving at least one professional development training for academic concerns per year. A larger number of participants had training for reading and early literacy compared to early numeracy. Related …

Meaning Making With An Ipad : A Case Study Of One Child's Engagement With Ipad Applications Within Her Family Activity System, Barbara Maria Vokatis

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

As children increasingly use digital technologies in interactions with their parents (Marsh, 2003, 2004, 2011; Robinson & Turnbull, 2005), such possibilities create new ways in which literacy is practiced (Barton, Hamilton, & Ivanič, 2000; Jewitt, 2008; Street, 1998). Yet, what the literacy field knows about interactions between children and parents comes mostly from studies on traditional print (Caspe, 2009; Halliday, 1975; Heath, 1983). The research attending to children's interactions with technologies suggests that while young children are immersed in a culture of digital media, research on young children's home literacy practices involving technologies is far from comprehensive.

Recruiting, Engaging, And Retaining Low Income Parents In Community Parenting Programs: A Phenomenological Study, Jane Elyce Fuqua Glasgow

Theses and Dissertations in Early Childhood Education

This study examined factors that impact recruitment, engagement, and retention of low-income parents in community parenting programs. Using a traditional qualitative phenomenological approach, this research sought to develop an understanding of the difficulties that program providers often encounter in engaging low-income parents. Participants included program stakeholders (providers, policy-makers, and funders) and low-income parents with children under the age of five from urban areas. A series of focus groups were held in order to capture the voices and develop a textural description of the lived experiences of participants. Results revealed that a combination of factors impact engagement, including the important role …

Using Interactive Reading Techniques With Word World To Enhance Emergent Literacy, James B. Godfrey

Theses and Dissertations in Early Childhood Education

Facets of emergent literacy such as phonological awareness (PA) and alphabet knowledge (AK) are precursors to later conventional literacy (Dockrell, Stuart & King, 2010; Neuman & Dwyer, 2009; NELP, 2008). Interactive reading techniques such as dialogic reading (Whitehurst et al., 1988) and explicit print referencing (Piasta et al., 2012; Justice et al., 2010) have been used effectively with printed text to enhance emergent literacy. This quasi-experimental study was designed to determine the extent to which interactive reading techniques combined with the viewing of educational television may enhance facets of emergent literacy such as PA and AK. A convenience sample of …

Integrating Universal Design And Response To Intervention In Methods Courses For General Education Mathematics Teachers, Kelley E. Buchheister, Christa Jackson, Cynthia Taylor

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

Traditionally, teacher education programs have placed little emphasis on preparing mathematics teachers to work with students who struggle in mathematics. Therefore, it is crucial that mathematics teacher educators explicitly prepare prospective teachers to instruct students who struggle with mathematics by providing strategies and practices that specifically address their needs. In this study, we describe the principles of Universal Design for Learning and Response to Intervention. More specifically, we discuss how one Mathematics Teacher Educator uses these frame works in her mathematics methods course to help prospective teachers become cognizant of early interventions and effective strategies that can be implemented to …

From Preschool To Prosperity: The Economic Payoff To Early Childhood Education, Timothy J. Bartik

Upjohn Press

Bartik shows that investment in high-quality early childhood education has several long-term benefits, including higher adult earnings for program participants.

The Use Of Apps To Prime Learning For A Verbal Task, Christina Frederick, Devin Liskey, Daniel Brown

Publications

This study tested whether or not children’s memory performance would be affected by stimulating brain activity by completing a verbal puzzle task or a non-verbal puzzle task prior to a verbal learning task.

Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Sexuality Education: A Case Of Primary Schools In Morogoro Region, Tanzania, Margareth Bilinga

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

This paper is about teachers’ attitudes towards teaching sexuality education (SE) in Morogoro rural and urban districts. It is based on a study which employed mixed method design and used both qualitative and quantitative approaches. It involved a sample of 126 teachers residing from Morogoro rural and urban schools. Data were obtained through interviews and questionnaire. It was revealed that a majority of the teachers supported the teaching of SE in schools with more support of HIV and AIDS contents than pregnancy and contraceptives. There was no significant difference in terms of attitudes between teachers residing in rural and urban …

Textbook Aliteracy In Teacher Education: Information Everywhere, But How Much Do They Read?, Rosalind R. Gann, L. Kathryn Sharp, Scott Mcilquham

ETSU Faculty Works

This article explores the problem of textbook aliteracy, i.e. the failure to read assigned texts despite the ability to do so. Constructivism is its theoretical frame. Teacher education students at a medium-sized university in the Southern Appalachian Mountains were surveyed on their textbook reading practices. Ninety percent of the 116 students completing the survey reported studying instructors’ power points in preference to completing assigned readings, at least some of the time. All were readers, though a majority (68%) reported at least some difficulty reading assigned texts. Often, they appeared to be avoiding the challenges posed by demanding text. The authors …

The Importance Of Developmentally Appropriate Practice In Early Childhood Education, Jeneille Larsen

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

It is important for educators, parents and families to know how children learn and what options of early education and curriculum are available. Three theorists and their theories on how children learn and obtain information, the NAEYC's statement on Developmentally Appropriate Practice and various preschool's throughout the world and their methods and curriculum is discussed. A "perfect" preschool method is then proposed using all the previous information to formulate the ideal preschool and curriculum.

Nebline, November-December 2013

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: Family and Couple Strengths: Getting Connected, Staying Connected

Farm Views

Urban Agriculture

Food & Fitness

Home & Family Living

Horticulture

Environmental Focus

4-H & Youth

Community Focus

Extension Calendar

Nutrition Education Program

Family and Community Education (FCE) Clubs

and other extension news and events

Nebline, October 2013

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: Volunteering for 4-H is Rewarding and Fun, While Benefiting Youth

Farm Views

Urban Agriculture

Food & Fitness

Home & Family Living

Horticulture

Environmental Focus

4-H & Youth

Community Focus

Extension Calendar

Nutrition Education Program

Family and Community Education (FCE) Clubs

and other extension news and events

Nebline, September 2013

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: Community Gardens are Growing: UNL Extension in Involved With Several in Lincoln

Farm Views

Urban Agriculture

Food & Fitness

Home & Family Living

Horticulture

Environmental Focus

4-H & Youth

Community Focus

Extension Calendar

Nutrition Education Program

Family and Community Education (FCE) Clubs

and other extension news and events

Nebline, August 2013

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: 8 Tips for Better-Tasting Fruits & Vegetables

Farm Views

Urban Agriculture

Food & Fitness

Home & Family Living

Horticulture

Environmental Focus

4-H & Youth

Community Focus

Extension Calendar

Nutrition Education Program

Family and Community Education (FCE) Clubs

and other extension news and events

2013 Lancaster County Super Fair Schedule & Map Special Pullout Section

Nebline, July 2013

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: Integrated Pest Management in Nebraska Schools: Solving Pest Problems Effectively with Fewer Pesticides

Farm Views

Urban Agriculture

Food & Fitness

Home & Family Living

Horticulture

Environmental Focus

4-H & Youth

Community Focus

Extension Calendar

Nutrition Education Program

Family and Community Education (FCE) Clubs

and other extension news and events

Quality Profiles In Early Childhood: An Example From Virginia's Quality Rating Improvement System, Kathryn M. Squibb

Theses and Dissertations in Early Childhood Education

Quality in early childhood settings has emerged as an important factor in determining whether the potential benefits of educational experiences before kindergarten will be realized. Research demonstrates that in order for such interventions to be beneficial to young children's development, the quality of their educational environments and experiences must be high. Quality rating and improvement systems (QRISs) are a method to assess, communicate, and improve the level of quality in early childhood settings. These rating systems have the potential to safeguard public investment by making programs accountable for quality, meet a consumer need for families seeking high quality care, and …

Preschool Teaching At A Crossroads, Marcy Whitebook

Employment Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Public Pre-Kindergarten Attendance On First Grade Reading And Social Achievement: A District Level Analysis, Michael James Haslip

Theses and Dissertations in Early Childhood Education

The purpose of this study was to test the relationship between attending a school district Pre-K program and children's later literacy and behavior outcomes in the beginning and middle of first grade. Children's text level, letter-sound identification, sight words, spelling and citizenship skills were measured. The study included 880 children who attended the division Pre-K program and 176 children who attended no formal or institutional preschool of any kind. Selection bias was addressed through propensity score matching, completed using optimal matching. Independent-samples t tests were run on literacy and behavior measures. Subgroup analysis was performed to test the effect of …

Nebline, June 2013

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: Smart Family Finances

Farm Views

Urban Agriculture

Food & Fitness

Home & Family Living

Horticulture

Environmental Focus

4-H & Youth

Community Focus

Extension Calendar

Nutrition Education Program

Family and Community Education (FCE) Clubs

and other extension news and events