Thesis (Ph. D.) in Psychology--University of Maine, 2001. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 79-90).

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The purpose of this study was to examine the role that parents take in the development of the emergent curriculum in early childhood classrooms influenced by the philosophy of Reggio Emilia schools. I conducted this teacher research study in my preschool classroom and in another private preschool that follows a similar philosophy. Both preschool programs are accredited by the NAEYC; both preschool programs follow practices associated with the philosophy of Reggio Emilia, including building on the children's interests by using an emergent curriculum; and both schools encourage parents to participate. My close ties with each preschool allowed me access in ways that would not have otherwise been possible. To learn how parents are protagonists in early childhood classrooms, ones influenced by the schools of Reggio Emilia, I observed six parent participants in the two preschool classrooms (three at each site) during a four-month period. I also interviewed each of these six parents and interviewed six teachers from the two sites regarding their parent involvement practices and their use of the emergent curriculum. The data analysis led to a greater understanding of how parents are involved in early childhood programs. The analysis showed how parents influence the emergent curriculum, and how they perceive the process. The analysis also shared the teachers' perceptions of parents in the early childhood classroom specifically in emergent curriculum development. This analysis is from data collected from parent participants and teacher participants of the two preschools. Case studies offered an in-depth portrayal of two parents and how they influenced the emergent curriculum and how they were protagonists in their children's school life. This study has allowed me to become more aware of how parents influence the emergent curriculum and how parents and teachers perceive the process.

<p> Teacher attrition is a growing concern among states and school systems. Novice teachers face many difficulties during their induction and the high attrition rates within the first five years of teaching are a testament to the challenges new teachers face (Herrington et al., 2006; Fantelli &amp; McDougall, 2009). Due to new demands emerging from U.S. education policies placing an emphasis on accountability and student mastery of predetermined learning outcomes, there have been many new demands placed on kindergarten teachers (Goldstein, 2007).</p><p> By using a narrative inquiry methodology, this research study seeks to answer the following overarching question: How do novice kindergarten teachers describe their experiences in their first of year teaching? The study also seeks to answer the following sub questions: What <i>domains of curriculum practice</i> act as constraints on novice kindergarten teachers curricular decision making? How do novice kindergarten teachers use their professional discretion in making decisions about how to integrate developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) into the mandated curriculum in an era of standards-based reform?</p><p> The research was guided by the following theoretical framework: Boote&rsquo;s (2006) Theory of Professional Discretion. Participants were interviewed using a semi-structured interview protocol (Patton, 2002). Interviews were transcribed and then coded for emerging themes. The researcher worked with the participants to re-story and create a narrative of their experiences in their first year of teaching.</p><p> The following themes emerged from the interview data: (a) Teaching was a lifelong career goal; (b) Teaching kindergarten was not a choice; (c) They planned as a team; (d) They had a fear of deviating from the prescribed curricula; (e) The participants were overwhelmed with standardized testing; (f) They experienced being a living contradiction; (g) The participants had a lack of job security; (h) The participants were all surplussed or &lsquo;let go&rsquo; at the end of the school year. These themes were used to write the <i> narratives of experience.</i> There were four <i>narratives of experience, </i> one for each participant. Each narrative tells the story of each participant&rsquo;s first year of teaching.</p>

The incidence of childhood leukemia is increasing, especially in urbanized areas. It is hypothesised that transplacental exposure to environmental carcinogens, such as benzene, plays a role in the etiology of childhood cancers. The studies in this thesis investigated mechanisms of transplacental benzene tumourigenesis focusing on the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Initially, we investigated the effect of maternal benzene exposure on fetal erythroid progenitor cell number and the role of ROS in benzene metabolite-induced dysregulation of erythropoiesis. In the CD-1 mouse, in utero benzene exposure caused significant alterations in female fetal liver erythroid progenitor cell numbers at gestational day 16 and postnatal day 2. Using an in vitro chicken erythroblast cell line capable of erythropoiesis, we found that hydroquinone significantly inhibited erythropoiesis and this effect was prevented by pretreatment with PEG-superoxide dismutase. The second objective investigated the role of ROS in dysregulated fetal hematopoietic progenitor cell growth after maternal benzene exposure in C57Bl/6N mice. In utero exposure to benzene caused changes in fetal hematopoietic progenitor cell numbers, an increase in levels of fetal liver intracellular ROS, and a decrease in IκB-α protein levels, which were all prevented by pretreatment with PEG-catalase. The final objective determined the incidence of cancer in offspring transplacentally exposed to benzene. This study compared two strains of mice (C57Bl/6N and CD-1), as well as male and female offspring. This study also measured levels of benzene and benzene metabolites present in maternal blood and fetal liver tissue after maternal benzene exposure. Transplacental exposure to benzene induced hepatic and hematopoietic tumours in male and female CD-1 mice, respectively. Interestingly, there were no significant changes in tumour incidence in C57Bl/6N mice demonstrating a significant strain difference in susceptibility to transplacental benzene carcinogenesis. Levels of fetal liver benzene metabolites also differed between genders and strains of mice suggesting that the gender and strain differences in tumour formation may be dependent on fetal benzene metabolism capability. In conclusion, this thesis supports the hypothesis that benzene exposure to pregnant women contributes to the etiology of childhood cancers and highlights ROS and fetal benzene metabolism as potential mechanisms. / Thesis (Ph.D, Pharmacology & Toxicology) -- Queen's University, 2009-12-21 13:10:12.747

Major Depressive Disorder is a highly prevalent and recurrent psychological disorder, affecting approximately 12% of Canadians across their lifetime and 5% each year. Studies have shown that a history of childhood maltreatment increases risk for depression by conferring a vulnerability to the effects of stressful life events (i.e., stress sensitization). The goal of the current investigation was to examine whether the relation between childhood maltreatment and stress sensitization in depression is influenced by age group and depression history. This study also sought to investigate whether specific characteristics of the maltreatment experience differentially relate to stress sensitization. Two hundred and seven clinically depressed adolescents (i.e., 12 – 17 years; n = 59) and adults (i.e., 18 – 64 years; n = 148) participated in this study. Childhood accounts of maltreatment were assessed using the Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse Scale, and stressful life events experienced 3 months prior to depression onset were assessed using the Life Events and Difficulties Schedule. Results revealed that individuals with a history of severe maltreatment reported lower severity levels of stressful life events prior to depression onset than did those without such a history, but only among adolescents. Further, this relation was specific to independent stressors (i.e., those totally or nearly totally independent of the behaviour of the individual) and not dependent stressors (i.e., those at least partly due to the individual’s behaviour), and was specific to emotional abuse. Results also suggested that it is the experience of severe maltreatment, rather than particular aspects of it, that sensitizes individuals to the effects of stress. In summary, this study provides support for the relation of childhood maltreatment to stress sensitization in adolescents. Maltreated adolescents may be especially vulnerable to the depressogenic effects of stress, perhaps because their maltreatment experience is more proximal to depression onset. In contrast, other relevant processes (e.g., cognitive schema and neurobiological consolidation, chronic stress) may drive stress sensitization in adulthood; however, further research is required to investigate such mechanisms. Limitations and clinical implications are discussed. / Thesis (Master, Psychology) -- Queen's University, 2011-08-31 19:15:16.313

This dissertation explores the socio-cultural implications of content and context in Vygotsky's theory of the private speech of young children (Vygotsky, 1986). While private speech has long been thought to hold a snapshot of the child in cognitive transition, the content and context of the private speech has rarely been investigated. It is within the context of a larger social group that a child produces the utterances defined as private speech, and as such the context and content of the utterances must be evaluated in order to gain a comprehensive picture of the child as an active co-creator of culture in a social group.This ethnographic inquiry tells the story of one early childhood classroom, nested within a specific cultural context, as the children explore their surroundings through conversations with adults and peers. Children are observed to be engaged in the "leading work of childhood" through dramatic play, drawing, block building and music (Vygotsky, 1986). The spontaneous utterances of private speech occurred within and between the flow of these daily activities.Through the use of naturalistic observations, field notes, audio recordings, photographs and research journal, five vignettes were created of the private speech of individual children. These vignettes highlight the social nature of private speech by interjecting the content and context of the utterances through the lens of the heteroglossia of social life in the classroom (Bakhtin, 1986). This inquiry suggests that the question of the developmental purpose of private speech may well move from "Are the children engaging in "private speech?" to the more socially situated question of "To what are children referring in the content of their "private speech?" Results suggest that children are not only actively listening to the private speech of their peers, but are also producing it as social knowledge for the benefit of their peersThis inquiry adds to a larger body of research on Vygotsky's theory of private speech and sociocultural learning through the refocus of private speech as socially deployed "verbal mortar" between children rather than merely a tool for self-regulation used by individuals. The implications of this rather modest change of perspective may require teachers and researchers to consider the social life of the group, including the content of any private speech, as an integral part of a classroom curriculum, rather than a happenstance of proximity. Results also highlight the rich social life of a classroom and the important interpersonal relationships developed between a group of preschool peers. / Cette dissertation explore les implications socio-culturelles du contenu et du contexte de la théorie de Vygotsky sur le "langage égocentrique" des jeunes enfants. Alors qu'on a longtemps pensé que le "langage égocentrique" était un cliché instantanné de l'enfant en transition cognitive, le contenu et le contexte du "langage égocentrique" a rarement été investigué. C'est dans le contexte d'un groupe social plus étendu que l'enfant produit les expressions définies comme étant le "langage égocentrique" et, en tant que tel, le contexte et le contenu de ces expressions doivent être évaluées de façon à acquérir une vision adéquate de l'enfant en tant que co-créateur actif de la culture d'un groupe social. Cette enquête ethnographique raconte l'histoire d'une salle de classe dans une école, issue d'un contexte culturel spécifique, tandis que les enfants explorent leur environnement à travers des conversations avec des adultes et des semblables. Des enfants impliqués dans "le travail constructif de l'enfance" par le biais du jeu théâtral, du dessin, des jeux de construction et de la musique (Vygotsky, 1986). Les expressions spontanées du "langage égocentrique" se sont produites à l'intérieur, et entre, le flot de ces activités.À travers l'utilisation de notes prises sur le terrain, d'enregistrements audio, de photographies et d'un cahier de notes de recherche, cinq vignettes ont été créées sur le langage égocentrique d'enfants individuels. Ces vignettes font ressortir la nature sociale du "langage égocentrique" en cernant le contenu et le contexte des expressions à travers la lentille du flot continu de la vie sociale dans la salle de classe. Cette enquête suggère que la question de la raison d'être du "langage égocentrique", par rapport à un but de développement, ne devrait pas être "Est-ce que les enfants utilisent le "langage égocentrique"?", mais plutôt "À quoi les enfants font-ils référence dans le contenu de leur "langage égocentrique"?" Les résultats suggèrent que les enfants ne font pas qu'écouter de façon active le "langage égocentrique" de leurs semblables, mais qu'ils l'expriment aussi au profit de leurs semblables.Cette enquête s'ajoute à une quantité de recherches sur la théorie de Vygotsky à propos du "langage égocentrique", et de l'apprentissage socio-culturel, à travers une réévaluation du "langage égocentrique" en tant que ciment entre les enfants, plutôt qu'un outil d'auto-régulation utilisé par les individus. Les implications de ce changement de perspective relativement modeste pourraient amener les enseignants à considérer la vie sociale du groupe, incluant le contenu du "langage égocentrique", en tant que part intégrale du programme d'études de la classe plutôt qu'un fruit du hasard de la proximité. Les résultats font aussi ressortir la richesse de la vie sociale d'une salle de classe et les relations interpersonnelles qui se développent entre les semblables d'un groupe préscolaire.

The study was conducted with a total of 13980 children of the 1995 birth cohort, who were living in Manitoba by the end of December, 2006. Higher frequency of RSV-associated LRTI before 2 years was associated with higher risks of asthma diagnosis at 7 and 11 years and also with risks of transient wheeze and early persistent asthma. Higher risk of asthma diagnosis was associated with more severe episode(s) of RSV-associated LRTI within the first 2 years of life. First clinically significant RSV-LRTI between 6 and 12 months was associated with the highest risks of asthma diagnosis at 7 and at 11 years. But first RSV-associated LRTI within the first 6 months of life was associated with the highest risk of asthma/transient wheezing before the age of 3 years and early persistent asthma and transient wheeze. These associations were diminishing with increasing age of the children of the study cohort.

<p> The purpose of this study is to identify the frequency and type of math and spatial talk by family child care providers and assistants who speak Spanish to Latino children in the Northern California Bay Area. Two Spanish-speaking family child care providers and assistants were selected to participate in this study. Their language was audio recorded. The audio recorded data were transcribed, translated, and coded based on math and spatial categories. The findings show a greater frequency of spatial talk than math talk, specifically in the spatial categories of deictic terms and spatial location and direction. In the area of math talk, a higher frequency of math talk was found in the categories of cardinality, number symbol, counting, and conventional nominatives mirroring other studies. This study contributes to the research on Spanish-speaking family child care providers and assistants by identifying the frequency and specific categories of math and spatial talk provided in these family child care programs.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to examine the sustained impact of participation in the Tools of the Mind preschool program on language arts, mathematics, reading and writing achievement in middle school, the specific impact of participation on racial subgroups and socioeconomically disadvantaged students, and the effects of student mobility on academic achievement. Using a nonexperimental, quantitative, longitudinal design, the achievement of the original cohort of students who participated in the program was examined over 2 consecutive years. The results of the study suggest that participation in the Tools of the Mind program increases the overall achievement of socioeconomically disadvantaged students and the writing performance of African American students. Analysis of student mobility data revealed that a high rate of student mobility has a negative impact on student achievement. These study results are consistent with decades of research into the impact of participation in a high-quality preschool program. Caution should be taken in interpreting the results because promotion of the development of self-regulation and executive function, aspects that set the Tools of the Mind program apart from other preschool programs, is not measured by the NJASK, and thus the impact of the program may have been underestimated.</p>