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

Child-Directed Play And Teacher Education Related To Preschool Suspension And Expulsion, Nicole Scienza

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The amount of time that children spend in child-directed activity can increase the frequency and quality of teacher–child interactions, which can decrease challenging behavior in children. The problem is that preschool children are being expelled and suspended at a high rate, and additional research is required to examine the prevention of behaviors that lead to expulsion and suspension. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine whether the percentage of the day that children spend in child-directed learning stations, the quality of activities offered during child-initiated time, and the education level of the lead teacher predict classroom suspensions or …

The Effects Of A Teacher Coaching Model On Preschool Suspensions And Expulsions, Jody Jeanne Bering

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In early childhood centers, students with disabilities are being suspended and expelled, leaving them with no place to attend school to learn with their peers or to receive early intervention special education services. This study was designed to determine the effects of coaching on the number of suspensions and expulsions of students with disabilities attending early childhood centers. The framework for this study was based on the theory of Conjoint Behavioral Coaching. The research question was: What are the effects of a coaching intervention by early intervention teachers to early childhood teachers on the number of suspensions and expulsions of …

Disadvantaged Preschool Children: Public Policy, Education Models, And Kindergarten Readiness, Virginia H. Byerson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a high rate of academic failure among disadvantaged preschool and post preschool students in some school districts in Virginia, yet little is understood about the relationship between education models and academic performance among economically disadvantaged students (EDS). The problem explored is the absence of classroom exercises in pre and post preschools that capitalize on cognitive development to improve executive function (EF) and self-regulation (SR) skills. The purpose of this study is to understand if a change in current classroom practices impacts academic performance among low-income students. Narrative policy serves as a theoretical guide in this qualitative case study …

The Effects Of Picture Activity Schedules On Transition Times In An Inclusive Preschool Classroom, Elizabeth A. Reis

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

This study determined the effectiveness of using picture activity schedules with preschoolers who exhibited disruptive behaviors in an inclusive setting during transition times in a public preschool. The participants in this study were three male and one female student, ages 3 years to 5 years, who were enrolled in an inclusive public preschool. All children are Caucasian. Three of the children had an individualized education plan including goals for speech and social-emotional concerns. One child was typically developing and did not have an individualized education plan. The study method used a single-subject withdrawal design (ABAB). The results confirmed that the …

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. …

Alone Centers: Privacy Retreats For Young Children To Manage Emotions And Seek Shelter From Overstimulating Environments, Clarke Mcgibben

University of Montana Journal of Early Childhood Scholarship and Innovative Practice

No abstract provided.

Minds Under Construction, Judi Guisti

University of Montana Journal of Early Childhood Scholarship and Innovative Practice

No abstract provided.

A Safe Place To Retreat, Brianna Saltenberger

University of Montana Journal of Early Childhood Scholarship and Innovative Practice

No abstract provided.

The Writing Center: A Place Just For Writing!, Raelynn Cameron

University of Montana Journal of Early Childhood Scholarship and Innovative Practice

No abstract provided.

Let’S Make Music In Preschool!, Heidi Paul

University of Montana Journal of Early Childhood Scholarship and Innovative Practice

No abstract provided.

Building A Rich, Aesthetic Play-Based Environment For Preschool, Dana Lozier

University of Montana Journal of Early Childhood Scholarship and Innovative Practice

No abstract provided.

Kindergarten Literacy Readiness Before And After Highscope Implementation, Chandra Kathleen Youngblood

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Students who attended preschool in an urban Michigan district are not entering kindergarten with the necessary skills. The preschool implemented the HighScope curriculum and the effect of this curriculum on kindergarten readiness was unknown. The purpose of this causal-comparative study was to investigate the difference in kindergarten readiness scores of students who attended a preschool before and after the High Scope curriculum was implemented. The pedagogical practices of preschool and the HighScope curriculum align with Dewey and Vygotsky's theories on experiential learning which were the foundation that guided this causal comparative study. The research questions examined preschool letter identification and …

Effect Of Public And Private Preschool Attendance On Kindergarten Literacy, Matthew Garofolo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Students who enter kindergarten lacking readiness skills often struggle to meet literacy benchmarks and to successfully complete school. The problem to be investigated by this study is the low literacy scores on the standardized Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment test at 2 public New Jersey elementary schools. While some students attended public or private preschools, others did not attend any preschool prior to starting kindergarten. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the difference in kindergarten literacy gain scores among students who attended public, private, and no preschool. Vygotsky's sociocultural theory and emergent literacy theory served as the …

Pathways To Kindergarten Readiness., Ashley T. Forrest, Stephanie Nutter, Deborah Rivera

College of Education & Human Development Capstone Projects

The purpose of this capstone was to explore pathways for increased kindergarten readiness by examining the relationship between kindergarten readiness as measured by the Brigance Kindergarten Screener (BKS) domains of cognitive/general knowledge and language/communication and each of the following variables: school funding, school location, school classification, teacher credentials, teacher years of experiences, music inclusion, and time allotted to music instruction. Participants included 174 preschool students from 17 classrooms in an urban school district. This capstone used preexisting data from the school district including demographic variables of race, socioeconomic status (SES), prior setting, attendance, and the school-level variable of climate. A …

A Comparison Of The Effects Of Peer Networks And Peer Video Modeling On Positive Social Interactions Performed By Young Children With Developmental Disabilities, Conrad Oh-Young

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A concern that parents of children with disabilities have is whether or not their offspring are able to interact and be accepted by children who do not have disabilities. Unfortunately children with developmental disabilities (DD) may experience difficulties when interacting with typically developing peers. One method of addressing this issue has been to ensure that children with DD receive instruction in the same school setting as their peers. However, simply attending the same school as children who are typically developing may not be enough. Hence the need for interventions such as peer network (PN) and peer video modeling (PVM), that …

Preschool Teachers' Attitudes And Beliefs Toward Science, Sharon Henry Lloyd

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, a current initiative, Advancing Active STEM Education for Our Youngest Learners, aims to advance science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education in early childhood. The purpose of this study was to understand preschool teachers' proficiency with science and address the problem of whether or not science learning opportunities are provided to young children based on teachers' attitudes and beliefs. A theoretical framework for establishing teachers' attitudes toward science developed by van Aalderen-Smeets, van der Molen, and Asma, along with Bandura's theory of self-efficacy were the foundations for this research. Research questions explored preschool teachers' attitudes and …

Modeling Alphabet Skills As Instructive Feedback Within A Phonological Awareness Curriculum, Arnold Olszewski

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the use of instructive feedback for modeling early literacy skills. Instructive feedback is defined as the presentation of additional information during the positive feedback phase of learner trials. Thus, it is a way of modeling additional information when students respond to a trial correctly. Previous studies have demonstrated that instructive feedback can facilitate students’ observational learning of skills, such as sight words, numerals, and vocabulary. Instructive feedback has yet to be investigated when modeling early literacy skills.

A modified version of an evidence-based early literacy intervention, PAth to Literacy, was used. Studies examining the efficacy of …

A Comparison Of Piprt To Vmo To Increase Social Play Skills In Children With Autism, Kathleen Scarlett Ohara

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Young children with autism often experience delays in social play skills. These delays result in poor relationships with adults and peers, decreased social interactions, and engagement, and eventually social isolation and withdrawal. Social play skill deficits are essential to the development of self-regulation and cognitive skills. Addressing these delays is critical to improve social functioning and minimize any detrimental effects on future engagement and academic achievement.

The purpose of this study was to use an alternating treatment design to determine whether PIPRT intervention or a VMO intervention would be effective to increase social play skills in two settings for four …

Assessing Vocabulary Of Children: Investigating The Evaluation And Instruction Of Basic Concepts, Rebecca Elizabeth Smith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Vocabulary knowledge of preschool children is a key factor in predicting literacy success in elementary school (Hammer, Farkas, & Maczuga, 2010). However, few deliberate attempts to teach basic concept vocabulary have been studied (Bowers & Schwarz, 2013; Wilson, 2004). The purpose of this research is to determine if large group explicit instruction with interactive activities of specific basic concept vocabulary will increase preschool children's understanding of basic concept terms when measured by a standardized basic concept assessment. This research will also assess the validity of a basic concept-curriculum based measure (BC-CBM) as an efficient tool to monitor a child's understanding …

Leaping The Language Gap: Strategies For Preschool And Head Start Teachers, Carolyn D. Abel, Jannah Walters Nerren, Hope Elizabeth Wilson

Faculty Publications

Strategies that promote the development of language skills are recognized as important in early childhood education. For early childhood centers and care providers, there are also additional concerns that interventions which meet these developmental needs are both time and cost effective. This pilot study investigates the effect of indirect language stimulation (ILS) techniques on the receptive and expressive oral language of 4-year-olds, using techniques that can be easily taught to teachers and implemented in the classroom. Two preschool teachers in a southwest rural community in the United States were randomly assigned for instruction over a 6-month period on effective ways …

Daily Calendar Group Time And The Mathematical Skills Of Preschoolers, Deborah Ann Lavine

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The evidence supporting the common instructional method of daily calendar group time to teach math skills to prekindergarten children has been inconclusive. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of exposure to daily calendar group time on prekindergarten children's math score gains in a private early-childhood program located in the suburban Southeast. Vygotsky's sociocultural theory guided this quantitative, causal comparative design wherein archival data from 104 prekindergarten students' pre- and posttest numeracy skill scores on the Young Children's Achievement Test were analyzed. Data from 6 classrooms over 2 school years were compared using multiple linear regression. Four …

Fidelity Of Implementation, Teacher Perspectives And Child Outcomes Of A Literacy Intervention In A Head Start Program: A Mixed Methods Study, Dawn Davis

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The success of early childhood interventions have been influenced by the degree to which they were implemented with fidelity (e.g., Davidson, Fields & Yang, 2009; Dusenbury, Brannigan, Falco, & Hansen, 2003; Elliot & Mihalic, 2004), meaning “the degree to which teachers and other program providers implement programs as intended by the program developers” (Mellard & Johnson, 2008, p. 240). This study examines relations among implementation fidelity, teacher characteristics, their perceptions, and child literacy outcomes within a preschool literacy intervention using a mixed methods design.

This study examines child literacy outcome data from 247 preschool children and fidelity, perceptions and demographic …

A Study Of Stimulating Versus Non-Stimulating Visuals In A Preschool Classroom, Bolin R. Stephanie

Education Undergraduate Research

This was a qualitative research study with the purpose of examining characteristic and/or behavior changes in children ages two and a half to four based on stimulating and nonstimulating room décor. The data in this study was collected while observing twelve children at the Kiddie Kampus Daycare in Collegedale, Tennessee. Changes in mannerisms, behavior, character traits, and attention span were logged first in the typical, non-stimulating room, and then logged again using the same twelve children, in the same room, during another week of observation after the addition of visually stimulating decorations. Most children exhibited clear reactions to the visual …

Explicit Teacher-Implemented Phoneme Awareness Instruction: Preschool Effects, Heather M. Osterhouse

Masters Theses

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the impact of explicit, concentrated, teacher-implemented phonological awareness instruction for ―at risk‖ 4- year-olds. Early childhood educators were trained to implement a 10-week program delivered for 20-minute sessions, four times a week, in their classrooms. The program focused on phonological awareness beginning at the level of letter-sound knowledge and advancing to blending and segmenting constituent phonemes in words. Pre- to post-treatment comparisons of phonological awareness and letter knowledge skills indicated that children in the experimental group made significant gains in comparison to the control group in phoneme blending and letter knowledge. …

Literacy Coaching And Preschool Teacher's Implementation Of Literacy Instructional Practices, Teresa Byington

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Literacy coaching has gained prominence during the past decade as a professional development strategy for changing teacher practices. The purpose of this study was to identify whether a coaching intervention increased teacher's level of implementation of five targeted literacy instructional practices. Additionally, the researcher sought to determine if there was a relationship between teacher's stages of concern and their level of implementation of literacy instructional practices. Teachers participated in a six-week literacy coaching intervention. The study was a pre-post intervention group mixed methods design with both quantitative and qualitative measures. The participants of the study included eight preschool teachers and …

Preschoolers With Speech And Language Impairment: Case Studies From A Teacher-Delivered Phonological Awareness Program, Katherine J. Wickham

Masters Theses

Past and present research demonstrates early reading success related to phonological awareness (PA) instruction conducted individually or in small groups outside of the preschool classroom. This study investigated the effects of an explicit, intensive and teacher-delivered PA instruction for children with speech sound disorder and language impairment as part of the preschool curriculum. The investigator examined the performance of individual cases in both groups, those who received instruction and the control. Two participants in each of the experimental (E1 and E2) and control (C1 and C2) groups had standardized scores indicating deficits in speech and/or language. These children who received …

A Case Study Of Jamaican Children's Lived Play Experiences, Carol Ann Long

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although research on children's play is abundant and considerable advances have been made in young children's play, the majority of these studies have been based in western developed countries and written from adults' perspectives rather than with children. Additionally, very little research has been done on children's play with active participants from smaller developing countries. The voices of society's youngest members have been lost or are only marginally represented.

The purpose of this qualitative research is to explore, understand, and describe young Jamaican children's lived play experiences as related through their eyes. The theoretical frameworks used to guide this study …

Investigating The Status Of Early Numeracy Skills In Bilingual Dual Language Learner Latino Children Attending Head Start And The Association With Parent Demographic Characteristics, Chavely Lissette Iglesias

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research on mathematics achievement has become increasingly important with today's technological advances and demand for specialized knowledge. Though there is much literature regarding mathematics achievement in monolingual speakers, little is known regarding the mathematical abilities of Dual Language Learner (DLL) Latino children. This study examined the early numeracy skills in English and Spanish of 132 DLL Latino children attending Head Start programs in five counties across Florida. Relationships and differences among their performance in both languages were examined, along with the contribution of specific parent demographic variables to math achievement. Findings indicated that DLL Latino Head Start children's performance on …

The Impact Of Preschool Education On Students' Kindergarten Readiness And Subsequent Kindergarten Performance, Kelsey Musselman Carroll

Education Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of preschool education on students' kindergarten readiness and subsequent kindergarten performance in a low socioeconomic primary school. There are several factors that influence a child's readiness for school, including the children's natural talents and abilities, their families, their early environments, their schools, and their communities.

The setting for this research was a primary school located within a small, urban school district in the piedmont area of North Carolina. For the purpose of this study, all kindergarten students were placed into three subgroups: kindergarten students who attended the prekindergarten program at …

High Stakes Play: Early Childhood Special Educators' Perspectives Of Play In Pre-Kindergarten Classrooms, Joanne Scandling Manwaring

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined Early Childhood Special Educators' perceptions of play as a developmentally appropriate practice in special education prekindergarten classrooms in one southeastern school district. Through purposeful sampling, eight prekindergarten special educators were identified because they held multiple teaching certifications and some held National Board certification. The participants had many years of experience in pre-kindergarten special education, and were professional development trainers, teacher mentors and or leaders in the prekindergarten special education community. These eight accomplished pre-kindergarten special education teachers were interviewed using an informal, semi-structured format about their beliefs concerning play, how they implement it in their classrooms as …