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

Moments Of Reflection: A Phenomenological Study Of Preservice Teacher Reflection, Jane Ferris

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Transitioning from their training programs to their own classrooms, new teachers may feel a disconnect between what they learned and what they experience. To help with this transition and to promote teachers’ abilities to respond to the varying and unique needs of their students and schools, teacher training programs, beginning in the 1980s, have incorporated the use of reflective practice. Reflection provides teachers an opportunity to engage with their experiences in such a way that prereflective understandings, assumptions, biases, and beliefs may be identified. Reviewed literature suggests that teacher training programs do not clearly define and implement reflection instruction into …

Reframing Professional Learning To Analyze Teacher Practice And Promote System-Wide Change, Jennifer Smerecky

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

The present study examined teachers’ perceptions of targeted professional learning experiences offered within their educational agency. This study focused on teachers' perceptions of the planning, delivery, and follow-up support from teacher professional learning sessions. The teacher participants shared their perceptions of professional learning, implementation of new strategies, barriers to implementation, and support needed from their administration in order to grow as educators. This focus of this study aims to reframe professional learning by forming cooperation between administrators and teachers within education organizations to reform professional learning opportunities. This study advocates for further development in the collaboration of a system-wide change …

Teachers' Perspectives Of Best Instructional Practices In Motivating African American Boys To Read, Jamilia R. Howard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Elementary school officials have reported difficulty motivating young African American boys to read. It is important that teachers understand why these children have not been motivated to read and create classroom environments that encourage reading motivation. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore teachers' perspectives on best instructional practices for motivating 3rd -grade African American boys to read. The conceptual framework for this study consisted of critical race theory, self-determination theory, and the theory of social constructivism. The research questions focused on teachers' perspectives regarding 3rd -grade African American boys' motivation to read and best instructional practices …

Early Childhood Teacher Perspectives Regarding Preparedness To Teach Children Experiencing Trauma, Christina Lombardi-Davis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, approximately 26% of children will witness or experience a traumatic event before they turn 4 years old. Therefore, teachers must be prepared to meet the individual needs of children who exhibit symptoms of trauma. However, there is a gap in research regarding teachers' perspectives about how teacher preparation experiences influence teaching strategies and the creation of supportive environments for preschool children who have experienced trauma. Using Bandura's theory of self-efficacy, the purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore how teachers' perspectives about teacher preparation experiences influenced their teaching strategies and the creation of supportive …

Functional Assessment Of Behavioral And Social Supports, Beth S. Rous

Educational Leadership Studies Faculty Publications

The Functional Assessment of Behavioral and Social Supports is a practice-oriented assessment tool designed to help early childhood teams identify children’s behavioral, social, communication, classroom, work, and self-management skills and the supports needed for successful participation in early childhood settings. The assessment allows teams to document whether skills are present, emerging, inconsistent, or not present; identify adult or classroom supports; describe patterns of support; and summarize priority skills for intervention. The tool is intended for use by teachers, families, and assessment team members as part of early childhood transition, intervention planning, and classroom support processes.

Instructional Strategies Manual, 4th Edition: For The Helpful Entry Level Skills Checklist, 4th Edition, Beth S. Rous

Educational Leadership Studies Faculty Publications

The Instructional Strategies Manual, 4th Edition is a companion resource for the Helpful Entry Level Skills Checklist. The manual provides teachers, families, and early childhood teams with strategies, activities, and adaptations to support young children’s development of social, behavioral, communication, classroom, work, and self-management skills during the transition from preschool to school-age programs. The manual is organized around five major skill areas: classroom rules, work skills, communication skills, social behavior skills, and self-management skills. It includes strategies that can be embedded into daily classroom routines, family activities, and individualized supports, with adaptations for children with hearing, vision, cognitive, physical, speech/language, …

Preschool Teacher Perspectives Of Crisis Preparedness, Sara Ann Machado

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this study was to understand the perspectives of preschool teachers

regarding school-based emergency planning in independently funded childcare centers.

Current research has investigated perspectives of crisis preparedness by a variety of

school staff but has not yet included the extent to which preschool teachers feel prepared

to handle a school crisis event. This study was based on the integrated model of school

crisis preparedness and intervention proposed by Jimerson, Brock, and Pletcher. This

study examined how preschool teachers describe the effect of crisis preparedness drills

and training on their ability to handle school crisis events prior to, …

Teachers' Perspectives On The Prepared Environment As A Component Of The Toddler Curriculum, Maria Varela

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is insufficient research about teachers' perspectives on the prepared environment as a component of toddler program curriculum. Previous studies suggested the need to further investigate how teachers prepare toddler program environments to promote children's optimum development to meet their developmental milestones in group-based education. The conceptual framework for this study was grounded in Montessori's prepared environment and Malaguzzi's concept of environment as the third teacher. Twelve teachers with 3-19 years of experience in toddler education programs participated in semistructured interviews to answer three research questions about their perspectives on the prepared environment as a component of toddler program curriculum …

Not So Different After All: Examining The Shift From Oregon Teacher Work Sample Methodology To Edtpa, Chelsea Mabie

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

Through a comparative analysis, the previous Oregon Teacher Work Sample Methodology utilized to assess preservice educators' competency is compared to the edTPA performance assessment, which formally replaces the later assessment system for newly minted Oregon educators as of the 2018-2019 school year. While Oregon Work Sample Methodology was cutting edge from the 1980s onward, the state legislature adopted edTPA in 2016. Many educators, administrators, and other hiring committees are not familiar with the new assessment system as they hire new educators coming out of state-accredited programs. After a comparison of both assessment systems' components in regards to InTASC standards, it …

Early Childhood Educators’ Use Of Students’ Assessments For Data-Driven Decision Making, Brandy Shanice Jones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The research problem addressed by this study is that educators do not know how students’ assessments are being used for data-driven decision making to plan for instruction and design curriculum. Data-driven decision making has been implemented throughout the Southeastern region of the United States for several years as part of public-school reform efforts. The purpose of this basic qualitative study with interviews was to explore how early childhood principals, academic coaches, and teachers used students’ assessment data for data-driven decision making to plan for instruction and design curriculum in two rural schools. This study addressed local concerns about how educators …

Preschool Educators’ Perspectives On The Racial Disproportionality In Exclusionary School Discipline, Delesline Miller

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Black preschool students are disproportionately suspended and expelled from school compared to their same age White peers. The purpose of this study was to explore the perspectives of preschool educators in a single county located in a southeastern state to gain insight about the racial disproportionality in school discipline. Critical race theory was used as a framework to further understand educators’ perspectives concerning the influence of race and culture on student discipline and examine educators’ perspectives concerning the contextual factors that contribute to exclusionary school discipline. This was a basic qualitative study with semistructured interviews of 11 preschool educators. Participants …

Understanding Teachers’ Experiences Implementing An Innovative Early Literacy Program, Stephanie Callaway

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem addressed in this study was the lack of effective literacy interventions for the development of reading skills for primary students who are at-risk for dropping out of high school. The purpose of this study was to examine early literacy instruction by exploring the insights and perspectives of primary educators who participated in a literacy intervention program known as the supporting literacy model. The conceptual framework was based on sociocultural learning theory and self-efficacy theory. The main research question for this qualitative multiple case study addressed the experiences of teachers and instructional coaches who implemented the supporting literacy model. …

Exploring Head Start Teachers’ Challenges Working With Dual Language Learners, Jolene Andriaschko

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although the number of dual language learners is increasing in the United States, little is known about the challenges Head Start teachers and education coordinators face in working with this population. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore Head Start teachers’ and education coordinators’ perspectives regarding the support teachers need to meet the challenges of working with dual language learners. This study was grounded in Jim Cummins’s language acquisition framework, which suggests that dual language learners benefit from instruction in their native language and the language of the classroom. A basic qualitative study design was used with …

Caregiver Experiences With The Dyslexia Identification Process In A Borderland Community In Texas, Angela Victoria Enriqueta Owens

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This phenomenological study (Moustakas, 1994; Peoples, 2020) uses critical disability theory (Devlin & Pothier, 2006) and intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1989) as a lens for investigating the experiences of caregivers in a borderland community in Texas during their childâ??s dyslexia identification process. I used Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) which has roots in hermeneutic phenomenology (Heidegger, 1971) as a research method to answer the research question, how do caregivers from minoritized backgrounds in a Texas Borderland community experience the Dyslexia identification process in public schools. The three caregivers in this study were able to participate through face-to-face and virtual formats, due to the …

Perspectives Of Mentor Teachers For Early Childhood Teacher Preparation, Shannon J. Rivera

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Early childhood (EC) teacher education programs and public-school partnerships have broadened preparation of preservice teachers by providing more learning opportunities during preservice field experiences. These experiences require mentoring from highly qualified supervising teachers. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore mentors’ perspectives of their qualifications to mentor EC preservice teachers in a 4-year university laboratory school. Ambrosetti’s theory of mentor preparation guided this study. The research question addressed mentor teachers’ perspectives of their mentoring qualifications for EC preservice teachers. A snowball sample of 8 mentor teachers, with at least 4 years’ experience mentoring EC preservice teachers, volunteered …

The Perspectives Of Early Childhood College Faculty On The Role Of Play, Susan Paula Mckoy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractEarly Childhood and Care Education (ECCE) educators are expected to understand the role of play and implement play in their classrooms, but specific classes on the role of play at the college level are not offered. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to examine the perspectives of full-time ECCE faculty at a Southeastern state technical college teaching preservice teachers to determine their students’ understanding of the role of play, the inclusion of play in their lesson plans, and how play is being implemented in their classrooms. The conceptual framework guiding the study was Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development. …

Prekindergarten Educators' Perspectives On Professional Development About Transgender And Gender-Nonconforming Children, Danita Marie Norris Mccray

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Young children start to develop an understanding of gender and gender identity in prekindergarten. Early childhood educators require professional development in creating safe, supportive learning environments for transgender and gender nonconforming children. Limited research has focused on prekindergarten educators' knowledge, skills, and dispositions about supporting transgender and gender nonconforming children in their classrooms. Framed by Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological systems theory and Derman-Sparks antibias early childhood concepts, the purpose of this basic qualitative study with interviews was to explore prekindergarten educators' perspectives on professional development about transgender and gender nonconforming children. Data were collected using semistructured, in-depth interviews with 12 prekindergarten educators …

Elementary-Level Instructional Coaches’ Perspectives On Roles And Teacher Effectiveness, Amanda Miliner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Instructional coaches help improve teacher effectiveness to ultimately help improve student performance. The roles of instructional coaches often vary depending on the leadership or recent trends of a school district. This inconsistency impedes the instructional coach’s ability to improve teacher effectiveness. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore elementary-level Title I instructional coaches’ perspectives on their roles and how these roles improved teacher effectiveness. Organizational role theory served as the conceptual framework for this study. This study consisted of a convenience sampling of 7 Title I instructional coaches in one school district in a Southern state. The …

First-Grade Teachers’ Perspectives On Children’S Oral Reading Fluency And Automaticity, Keshia Wood

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Reading fluency and automaticity are essential components of the first-grade reading curriculum, yet little is known about teachers’ perspectives on their role in assisting children in mastering these skills. The purpose of this basic qualitative research study was to explore teachers’ perspectives of the problem of low reading fluency and low automaticity among their first-grade students. The theory of automatic information processing in reading formed the conceptual framework, augmented by Rasinski’s techniques of repeated reading and readers theater to support development of reading fluency and automaticity. Research questions about teachers’ perspectives of oral reading fluency and automaticity, their understanding of …

Examining Predictors Of Birth Outcomes: Implications For Early Childhood Development And Policy, Cissy Lee Mattingly

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

While the infant mortality rate has improved significantly in the United States in recent years, a Black-White disparity persists. The problem is the high infant mortality rate in the state of Texas. The purpose of this quantitative multiple logistic regression study was to examine disparities in birth outcomes in the state of Texas by race, ethnicity, and other significant predictors related to socioeconomic status. The Mosley-Chen theoretical framework bridges the gap between social science and biomedicine to identify key predictors of infant mortality including socioeconomic factors for studies in child development. The 2 research questions examined if race and ethnicity …

Prekindergarten Practitioners’ Perspectives Of The Creative Curriculum For At-Risk Students, Navine Fortune

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Investigators have addressed elementary practitioners’ perspectives concerning the concept of curriculum development and children’s learning; however, much less information is available on prekindergarten practitioners’ perspectives of curriculum for at-risk prekindergarten students. This basic qualitative study explored prekindergarten practitioners’ perspectives of self-efficacy, competence, and motivation in the implementation of The Creative Curriculum for Preschool Program with at-risk students in a southeastern state. The theories of constructivism and self-efficacy guided the conceptual framework for this study. The research questions focused on prekindergarten practitioners’ perspectives of self-efficacy, competency, and motivation during implementation of the curriculum. Data were collected using in-depth semistructured interviews with …

Characteristics Of Teacher Language Exchange With Preschool Children, Patricia Plummer-Wilson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research has documented the influence of early home language experiences on children’s development and educational success, but as many children spend large portions of their days in childcare centers, preschool teachers have similar potential to have a profound and lasting influence on children’s language development. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the varying levels of quantity and quality of teacher language exchanges with preschool students in independently-funded childcare facilities. The work of Hart and Risley on parental language exchange formed the conceptual framework for this study. The research questions guiding this study focused on affirmative versus …

Experiences Of Parents Interacting In An Urban Preschool Outreach Program, Sonya Renee Baines-Corey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractParental engagement supports children academically. However, African American parents engage at lower levels than other parents. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to understand the experiences of urban preschool parents in a blended parental engagement program. A combination of critical race theory, experiential learning, social learning theory, and andragogy served as the conceptual framework. Data were collected through semi structured face-to-face interviews with eight African American parents, observational field notes, and an archival review of preschool documents in a Southeast U.S. state’s innovative parental engagement program that incorporates technology. Findings from inductive thematic analysis indicated three major themes. …

Parents And Educators Perspectives Of Chronic Absenteeism: Strategies To Improve Attendance, Gloria Genene Woullard-Wilder

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The research problem for this study was the chronic absenteeism for students in Grades 1–3 in a high-poverty, low-performing elementary school in a Southern state. Chronic absenteeism (CA) can result in poor reading skills and high dropout rates for students in low-income areas. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the perspectives of 6 parents, 6 educators, and 4 school support staff regarding the causes of CA in Grades 1–3 and recommendations to increase and sustain attendance. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory served as the framework. The research questions were used to identify causes of CA and suggestions …

Prekindergarten Teachers' Perspectives Of Supporting The School Readiness Of English Language Learners, Shannon Rice

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem examined in this study was that English language learners (ELLs) are not meeting readiness proficiency, which contributes to the growing learning gap between ELLs and their native English-speaking peers. The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain an understanding of prekindergarten teachers' perspectives about what is needed to increase their effectiveness in teaching ELLs. The conceptual framework for the study was Vygotsky's sociocultural theory. Prekindergarten teachers' perspectives were examined to understand how they assess, create goals, and monitor the learning progress of ELLs as well as how they can be further supported by colleagues and administration. Data …

Effectiveness Of Response To Intervention In Third Grade Reading Outcomes, Amanda Wentz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Reading continues to be a struggle for many students beyond primary ages. Response to Intervention (RTI) is a common approach in practice to improve reading outcomes, but it has not been researched with all populations. Studies on 3rd grade struggling readers are needed to ensure they receive appropriate support to become more successful readers. The theoretical foundations for this quantitative study included Vygotsky’s social constructivist theory and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The research questions examined whether participating in RTI had a significant influence on 3rd grade students’ reading outcomes from the beginning compared to the end of the school year. …

Factors That Affect Language And Literacy Development In International School Contexts, Jessica Cardoza

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Kindergarten students attending English-immersion, international school programs in Spanish-speaking countries may be at risk for learning difficulties. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the relationship and comparisons between factors of duration of program enrollment, home language spoken by parents and caregivers, and children’s gender (independent variables), and the English language proficiency (dependent variable) of dual language learners attending an international school where the instruction was primarily in English and the dominant language of the country was Spanish. Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory and Dworin’s theory of bidirectionality in bilingual language development formed the theoretical foundation for this study. Research …

Culturally Sensitive Parenting Counseling, Corporal Punishment, And Early Childhood Development In Grenada, Lauren Elizabeth Anne Orlando

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many children under 5 years of age in developing countries and regions, including the Caribbean, will not fulfill their developmental potential due to being exposed to risks such as poverty, poor health, violence, and unstimulating home environments. Adverse childhood experiences, which include corporal punishment, may increase children’s risk for poor adult health and disease outcomes. The purpose of this quasi-experimental, quantitative study, grounded in the social ecological model, was to examine the use of corporal punishment and the impact of parental exposure to culturally sensitive parenting counseling (CSPC) provided to families with children aged 0 to 3 years old enrolled …

Early-Career Child Care Teachers' Perceptions Of Their Training Experiences, Teri M. Peasley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In a Midwest state, child care teachers who enter the workforce with only a high school diploma or GED credential are not required to complete child development training before being placed in a classroom. Child care teachers need foundational knowledge to provide quality care and education to young children. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore how early-career child care teachers with no advanced education in child development experience training upon entering the workforce. Personal narratives are scarce in existing research, and understanding the perspectives of child care teachers provided an opportunity to consider appropriate training and …

Educators’ Perspectives On Parent Engagement In Rural Title I Charter Schools, Patricia Ann Burns

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

At a rural Title I charter school serving K-3 students in the Southeastern United States, educators have noted low levels of parent engagement. A low level of parent engagement can lead to low levels in student achievement. Educators wish to understand the benefits of parent engagement, barriers to parent engagement, benefits of parent engagement, barriers to parent engagement, and ways to increase parent engagement. The purpose of this basic qualitative study with interviews was to address the local problem by exploring rural Title I charter school educators' perspectives on benefits of, barriers to, and strategies for increasing parent engagement. Epstein’s …