Pre-Elementary, Early Childhood, Kindergarten Teacher Education Commons^™

Career Pathways And Wage Ladders: A Key Opportunity For Improving Quality, Courtney Parkerson, Annie Schaeffing, Emily Sharrock

Bank Street Education Center

To leverage the possible opportunity the Build Back Better Act presents, this policy brief closely examines the potential of career pathways and wage ladders to serve as the foundation for transformative change for the early care and education workforce.

Re-Storying Ourselves As Early Childhood Teachers Amidst Covid: Toward Needed Transformations, Julie Orelien-Hernandez, Patricia Pion, Rafaella Soares-Bailey

Occasional Paper Series

No abstract provided.

Establishing Early Care & Education As A Public Good, Brandy Jones Lawrence, Emily Sharrock

Bank Street Education Center

This brief outlines a set of guiding principles including tactical policy and advocacy actions needed to move us toward investing in early childhood education as a public good to support all children, families, and society as a whole.

Acquiring English Then Reacquiring Indonesian: A Study Of Family Language Policy, Aris Bahari Rizki, Muchamad Sholakhuddin Al Fajri

The Qualitative Report

This study investigates how family language policies are shaped and developed in five Indonesian scholars’ families who live in England. More specifically, it analyses parents’ attitudes towards children’s bilingualism and second language development focusing on the investigation of factors that can influence parental language ideologies and the patterns of language practices within the families. Data were obtained from participant observations, fieldnotes, and semi-structured interviews. All the data were then analysed using inductive analysis approaches proposed by Cohen et al. (2011) and Thomas (2006) which include reading the transcripts several times, identifying the texts related to the purpose of the study, …

Advances In Global Education And Research: Volume 4, Waynne B. James, Cihan Cobanoglu, Muhittin Cavusoglu

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

This is the fourth volume of the Advances in Global Education and Research Book Series. This volume has the following parts:

• Part 1: Adult Education
• Part 2: Curriculum and Instruction Development
• Part 3: Educational Technology
• Part 4: Education in Other Specialties
• Part 5: English as a Second Language
• Part 6: Global Competence
• Part 7: Higher Education and Educational Leadership
• Part 8: Inclusive Education
• Part 9: International Education
• Part 10: PreK-12
• Part 11: Research Methods in Education

ISBN: 978-1-955833-04-2

Adult Education

• Teaching for knowledge transfer: Best practices from a graduate-level educational psychology distance learning program
  • Bobby Hoffman
• A study on the …

Coaching As A Framework For Early Intervention Service Delivery, Rebecca Walzak

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Abstract

The Division for Early Childhood (DEC) has set forth a list of high leverage practices that have significant impact on children with special needs from birth through early childhood. One of these impactful strategies is building family capacity, which can be effectively addressed using a coaching framework for service delivery. Research in the field has not yet clearly defined coaching terms, definitions or characteristics, which impacts the fidelity of the practice and requires research and consensus moving forward. This body of work seeks to look at current research around the topic of coaching and it’s effectiveness in meeting student …

Nebraska Child Care Market Rate Survey Report 2021, Greg W. Welch, Elizabeth Svoboda, Alexandra Daro, Venessa Bryant, Caitlyn Glissmeyer

Buffet Early Childhood Institute Reports and Publications

Consistent with the 2019 MRS, the Institute conducted a survey of all licensed child care providers across the state to obtain private pay child care rates for children with or without medical and behavioral needs. Categories of focus for data collection and reporting included: 1. Geographic location: rural or urban 2. Type of care: Family Child Care Home I, Family Child Care Home II, Child Care Center, and School Age License 3. Age group of children: infant, toddler, pre-school, and school-age 4. Status of medical and behavioral needs 5. Accreditation 6. Extent to which child care providers participate in Child …

How Can Early Childhood Educators Promote Equitable Outcomes Through Trauma-Informed Practice?, Elizabeth Terry

Graduate Teacher Education

An abundance of research acknowledges the effects of trauma on children from an early age. Prolonged and severe trauma in early childhood can lead to adverse outcomes in important areas of development, such as one’s physical, mental, and social-emotional well-being (Morsy and Rothstein, 2019). Children present school systems and educators with the task of addressing this important, but infrequently considered issue. Trauma has lasting effects regardless of age, but the impacts of trauma during childhood are especially profound during such formative years. Children require safe spaces to learn and flourish as individuals, therefore it is important that early childhood educators …

An Evaluation Of One School's Reading Program To Support Struggling Readers Through The Use Of Data, Gabrielle Jones

Dissertations

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of one school’s reading intervention program, and its impact on struggling readers reading performance. Participants in this study included administrators, Grades 3 through 5instructional staff that directly impact student learning in reading through reading instruction. I collected survey data and analyzed it to determine teachers’ ability to instruct struggling readers with high expectations for student learning. As a result, this evaluation exhibit teachers require more quality planning time to prepare effective reading intervention lessons that includes strategies attained from strategically designed professional development structured to increase students’ reading ability. …

A Guide For Preschool General Education Teachers To Identify And Support Children With Developmental Delays, Sarah Jane Snider Mrs

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Snider (2021) A Guide for Preschool General Education Teachers to Identify and Support Children with Developmental Delays

It is essential to identify areas of professional development that educators need in order to effectively teach children. Professional development strengthens teachers knowledge and equips them with skills that will improve teaching practice and child achievement. This study looked at preschool general educator areas of weakness. The information that was obtained was used to create a professional development guide to enhance weakness areas. The results show that preschool general education teachers needed further information on identifying and supporting children with developmental delays. In …

An Investigation Of The Effects Of Self-Efficacy On Stem Implementation, Caroline Buechel

Curriculum and Instruction Undergraduate Honors Theses

In order to equip students with the 21^st Century skills necessary for today’s society, STEM education must be properly implemented in school curricula (Lamb, Akmal, & Petrie, 2015). To do so, it is important for teachers to possess both proficient knowledge of the subject matter and confidence towards the implementation of STEM. A person’s beliefs about their ability is known as their self-efficacy (Bandura 1997). Related to education, Bandura notes that this self-efficacy affects a teacher’s views on their ability to handle tasks, obligations, and challenges related to a challenge (1997). Additionally, numerous studies indicate that this self-efficacy in …

K-12 Economically Disadvantaged Students, Poverty, And Education: Ecological Narratives Of Successful Raised-In-Poverty, Texas Educators, Rebecca N. Morris

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research study aimed to understand how successful Texas educators who grew up in poverty understood and improved the educational experience of economically disadvantaged students. This study utilized a structural ecological theory and three theories of social relationships (Social Identity, Standpoint, and Cultural Capital). This phenomenological and qualitative study used a cross-sectional, descriptive, online case study design rooted in narrative nonfiction. Virtual interviews with six successful Texas educators that grew up in poverty were conducted. A narrative method of analysis was utilized to generate codes then organize them into themes, and to construct and compare the narrative findings. The results …

Playing Through Tragedy: A Critical Approach To Welcoming Children’S Social Worlds And Play As Pedagogy, Cassie Brownell

Occasional Paper Series

Children’s play frequently reflects the ways they understand and cope with personal life experiences and those in the wider world. Drawing connections to many of the tenants of Jonathan Silin’s lifelong work, the author offers illustrative examples of why play and children's social worlds matter as well as why adults should pay attention to what children do and say in their play. Through personal stories, the author shows how integrating play(full) experiences into the daily life of a classroom can foster children's understanding of seemingly "difficult" or "adult" ideas and events that may be confusing, fear-inducing or represent significant loss. …

Young Mathematicians: Stem Skills For Success, Lindsey Herlehy

Publications & Research

Our youngest STEAM learners are creative and curious but require support and foundational skills in math and science. Through play-based, open-ended explorations, young students can engage in STEAM-learning skills such as subitizing, sorting, drawing, and patterns. In this session, participants will actively take part in activities highlighting each of the mathematical foundations, examine STEAM-integrated tasks that support these concepts, and share resources to be used in the classroom.

The Work Is Within: My Buddhist Faith As I Reckon With Police Shootings & Racial Unrest, Vicki Mokuria

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

Based on the author’s life story in which her husband was shot and killed by police officers in front of her and their two young children, she provides a first-person narrative of her experience, linking the ways her Buddhist faith and practice have sustained her over the years. She recounts snippets of her privileged childhood growing up Jewish in the South before meeting and marrying her Ethiopian husband and beginning a family with him, along with beginning their Buddhist practice. Specific aspects of Buddhist philosophy are incorporated in this piece to provide insights into a Buddhist lens on our current …

Unit #6: Animals - Remote Learning Activities, Lindsey Herlehy, Cassandra Armstrong

Little STEAMers: Early Learning Program

No abstract provided.

Unit #5: Buildings - Remote Learning Activities, Lindsey Herlehy, Cassandra Armstrong

Little STEAMers: Early Learning Program

No abstract provided.

Centering Values: Building An Equitable Future Through The American Rescue Plan Act, Emily Sharrock, Brandy Jones Lawrence, Karen Demoss, Brigid Brennan

Bank Street Education Center

The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) constitutes a significant change in our nation's approach to social policy and offers a new opportunity to imagine positive change in how we value and support human development and learning with a clear focus on equity. This memo outlines Bank Street's recommendations for spending to inspire communities and policymakers as they think broadly about the potential this funding offers to invest in our future.

Compassion Fatigue Among Help Me Grow Care Coordinators: A Case Study, Alexandra Goldberg

All Theses And Dissertations

The purpose of this exploratory sequential mixed methods case study was to explore the perceptions of the prevalence and impact of compassion fatigue among Help Me Grow (HMG) care coordinators throughout the United States. Guided by the compassion fatigue and professional quality of life theories as the conceptual framework, the prevalence of compassion fatigue was explored quantitatively through the Professional Quality of Life questionnaire (ProQOL) and the impact of compassion fatigue was explored qualitatively through semi-structured, open-ended interviews. The ProQOL questionnaire results indicated that no participants were experiencing compassion fatigue. Seven key themes emerged from the qualitative interviews, including (a) …

Music, Our Human Superpower, Kristin Lems

Faculty Publications

Research about music pervades every discipline because music touches every area of life. Studies revealing the salutary effects of music can be found not only in music educator research, but in research in psychology, speech and hearing, child development, neuroscience, and increasingly, health and wellness, aging, rehabilitation and recovery. Since my focus is especially in the areas of language and literacy, I research the positive effects of music on reading, writing, and learning languages - and of this, there is no shortage. In this brief Academia article, I share what I’d like to call an “homage-with-references” to our great Superpower, …

Realizing The Promise Of Early Educator Apprenticeships, Brandy Jones Lawrence, Emily Sharrock, Courtney Parkerson

Bank Street Education Center

In response to the introduction of the Early Educator Apprenticeship Act in both houses of Congress, this positioning statement outlines recommendations for rebuilding the workforce at this critical moment with quality and equity at the center through apprenticeships, which have been effective in improving K-12 school systems. A national system of robust apprenticeship programs would support rebuilding our supply of care while also ensuring educators receive the high-quality clinical practice and coaching required for the complex task of supporting early brain development.

Little Big Minds: Stem For Our Youngest Learners, Cassandra Armstrong, Lindsey Herlehy

Publications & Research

STEAM-integrated activities are for all learners, including those in an early childhood setting. Participate in a series of play-based activities that promote foundational mathematics skills and foster curiosity, creativity, and innovation. Measure, graph, sort, categorize, argue, and defend your ideas while previewing a series of STEAM-integrated concepts featuring simple machines.

Student Teachers With Mental Health Conditions Share Barriers To Success: A Case Study, Michael Houdyshell, Diane Kratt, Jackie Greene

The Qualitative Report

Universities are trying to address student mental health needs through counseling centers and other outreach initiatives. However, do individual colleges know how to address the mental health concerns of their own students? Three faculty members in the College of Education at a university located in the southern United States posed two questions to find out what it is like for student teachers to live with a mental health condition, and what would support academic performance in the College. Seventeen undergraduate students who self-reported as having a mental health condition and were completing their senior year as student teachers volunteered to …

Emotional Dimensions Of Teaching In Elementary Education Preparation, Kathleen M. Crawford, Juliann Sergi Mcbrayer, Katherine Fallon

The Qualitative Report

Student teaching is a pivotal event in teacher education preparation programs, and there is a need to investigate emotions in teaching. This study examined how one elementary program navigated the emotional dimensions of teaching. Findings revealed that the emotional dimensions of student teachers were influenced by individualized factors unique to the teacher; certain emotions were perceived as more acceptable to express; and supervisors needed to support student teachers to manage and respond to the emotional dimensions of teaching. The recommendation is to go beyond the technical and academic aspects of teaching and address the emotional dimensions to best prepare the …

Elevating Nebraska’S Early Childhood Workforce: Report And Recommendations Of The Nebraska Early Childhood Workforce Commission. April 2021 One-Year Update, Buffet Early Childhood Institute

Buffet Early Childhood Institute Reports and Publications

On Jan. 30, 2020, the Nebraska Early Childhood Workforce Commission released its report and recommendations, Elevating Nebraska’s Early Childhood Workforce. With a strong commitment to collaborative action, commission members vowed that the report would not just sit on the shelf—and they have been true to their word. Even the COVID-19 pandemic could not prevent commission members and the organizations they represent from engaging with partners in diverse communities across the state to pursue the report’s vision, goals, and recommendations.

In fact, the pandemic’s dramatic impact on the early childhood workforce and the children and families they serve has only served …

Individualized Coaching To Improve Pre-School Quality: Perception Of Teachers And Administrators, Danielle Anna Picot

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

The Exclusive White World Of Preservice Teachers’ Book Selection For The Classroom: Influences And Implications For Practice, Helen Adam, Anne-Maree Hays, Yvonne Urquhart

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper reports on a study of the children’s book preferences of 82 Preservice teachers (PSTs) at one Western Australian University. The study found PSTs preferred older books published during their own childhood or earlier. Further, representation of people of colour was limited to only 8 of 177 titles listed by PSTs. Key influences on their preferences were their personal favourite books and those used by mentor teachers during practicum experience. The outcomes of this study have implications for curriculum development and implementation of Initial Teacher Education courses, and in turn, for equitable outcomes of the future students of PSTs.

Kindergarten Entry Assessment Practices In Pennsylvania, Anne Katona Linn Ed.D.

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, there is significant variation in kindergarten programs and the entry assessment systems used in school districts. There are no reliable data on the kindergarten entry assessment (KEA) systems used in public kindergarten programs across the Commonwealth. It is well-established that comprehensive KEAs should be part of a broader preschool through third grade (P-3) continuum of early childhood education to assess whole-child skills, include families and community partners, be culturally and linguistically responsive, and developmentally appropriate. This study aimed to understand the KEA practices of kindergarten teachers in Pennsylvania. An online survey was distributed to kindergarten …

Creating Trauma Sensitive Classroom In The Early Childhood Setting, Janelle Elke

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

The purpose of this study is to ensure that our early childhood classrooms are trauma sensitive for our students that have been exposed or are experiencing trauma. Roughly 26 percent of children in the United States witness or experience a trauma before the age of 4( Briggs- Gowan et al.2010). The study was conducted in three different phases. In the first phase, data was collected on what strategies are presently implemented for students who have been exposed to trauma. In the second phase, strategies, techniques and tools were introduced to help during stressful situations that happened during class. In the …

Our Stories, Our Voices: The Lived Experiences Of Black Families With Young Children During Covid-19, Devalin Jackson

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of Black families raising young children during shelter in place orders and distance learning due to Covid-19. The study was conducted virtually through Zoom and Google form due to county shelter in place orders. Participants were recruited from the school in which the researcher worked. Through the use of virtual interviews, the five participants highlighted themes of reconnections, isolations, empowerment, family values and conversations. The families shared experiences of resilience and hope and brought thoughts of how these experiences could be highlighted in instructional and curriculum designs; especially during …