No description available.

By the end of the kindergarten, students are expected to possess early academic skills as well as the social maturity to be successful in first grade. Students leaving kindergarten without these readiness skills are sometimes held back in first grade or referred for a special education evaluation in later grades if they fail to make adequate progress. However, before a special education referral can be made, the education system must demonstrate that the deficit is not due to a lack of instruction. Response-to-Intervention is a preventive intervention framework supported by federal legislation (No Child Left Behind (NCLB); 2002 and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEIA); 2004) that ensures that only valid special education referrals (i.e., referrals based on quantitative data) are processed. Using a multi-tiered assessment and intervention approach, students are first identified as at-risk through the use of screening tools designed to indicate academic or behavioral deficits. At-risk students are then exposed to evidence-based interventions with increasing levels of intensity to determine the type and amount of support needed. However, response-to-intervention has yet to be extended down to kindergarten students, and the screening instruments available for this population have yet to be evaluated for their predictive validity with end of first grade academic and behavioral performance. This study examines the predictive validity of psychometrically sound academic and behavioral screening instruments with first grade academic and social-emotional success. Participants included kindergarten students (n=290) from five ethnically diverse elementary schools located in a small suburban city in a mid-Atlantic state. Early literacy, early numeracy, writing, and social-emotional screening assessments were administered three times a year to determine whether the screening tools were adequate measures of kindergarten readiness skills for first grade academic and social-emotional success. Participants were followed from the beginning of kindergarten until the end of first grade to determine which skills measured by the screening assessments were the most predictive of a conceptual model of first grade academic and social-emotional success. The results indicated that the social-emotional screening assessment was able to significantly predict social-emotional success at the end of first grade. Kindergarten academic screening assessments however, were not able to significantly predict first grade academic success. Results also indicated that there were significant differences in scores across gender, ethnicity and family composition. / School Psychology

To determine the impact of an administrator's decision on student placement in kindergarten classrooms, teachers were asked to share their perceptions on how that decision impacted their ability to deliver instruction and follow the district scope and sequence, as well as how that decision impacts student academic achievement and social and emotional development. This qualitative study was designed to gather data from kindergarten teachers using focus group interviews and individual interviews of campus principals from two campuses within the same district. The following two ways in which kindergarten classrooms were created were explored: (a) by random assignment or (b) knowledge of students' academic and behavioral performance based on information relevant to their Pre-K experience. Campus principal participants reported that they each chose their method to provide equity in the classrooms and fairness amongst their teachers. Teacher participants reported that overall, they preferred to have as much information about incoming students as possible and to be a part of the process of placing students into classrooms for the following year. By examining these teachers' perspectives, the findings from this study may positively influence policy and practice for campus administrators as they decide how they will place students in kindergarten classrooms. Continued qualitative examination of student achievement could help determine if one method of placement positively impacts student achievement. Data collected from a larger sample within the district or expanded to compare between districts could help campus administrators make positive classroom placements for kindergarten students. Also, a quantitative study using a survey might provide a more expansive view of the impact of administrators' process of assigning kindergarten students to classrooms.

No description available.

Stemming from the lack of character education in today's public schools and the desire to integrate a teaching character traits into the everyday curriculum this study sheds light on the current character education programs their successes and failures and shows how the everyday classroom teacher 9an use teachable moments and children's literature to teach students character traits such as respect for self and others. The purpose of this study was to ensure that character education could be taught in addition to academic subjects without disrupting the plethora of requirements required by the classroom teacher. As a result of my study, I found that incorporating character education in an everyday classroom is difficult, however possible. I also found that school wide reinforcement and program might be more beneficial than just one program with in a single classroom. I also provided the reader with the possibility to incorporate character education in the early childhood classroom if he or she so desires.

This study examined factors related to how the interactive behaviors of a group of Black kindergarten children, as demonstrated within the social organization of the classroom, may be related to reading readiness achievement outcomes. Cultural differences in language use, the demands for cooperation in mainstream schools, and established patterns of social interaction were examined as reasons for differential outcomes among blacks. Verbal and non-verbal forms of expression and social interactions, as displayed by students and teacher in the classroom, are related to whether students gain access to participation structures and, therefore, learning opportunities. In this ethnographic study participant observation was the method used to collect data. In the research classroom, linguistic form was not a factor in gaining access to participation strucures. This study suggests, however, that access to reading information was limited to competent students who complied with social and academic demands to gain access to participation structures operating in crucial lesson segments and, therefore, learning opportunities. / Ed. D.

This Diploma thesis is a continuation of bachelor thesis, which discusses the formal cooperation between family and school in pre-school age of a child. Diploma thesis is extended and brings new information about cooperation of family and school. There are important information from Bachelor thesis included in the theoretical part. They play important role in practical part of Diploma thesis and objectives and goals for the research come out of them. Theoretical part is therefore focusing on terms family, teacher and nursery school. It also derives information from curricular documents, such as Framing educational program of pre-school education. It discusses its main principles and objectives and focuses on conditions of pre-school education, where parents play an important role. I tis one of the main principles of Step by Step program. Also White book is mentioned, which also talks about cooperation with parents. Theoretical part then discusses the opportunities and options of working together, how to realize it and what its applications. It also talks about other programs and initiatives emphasizing the importance of cooperation with family. One chapter talks in detail about Begin together program, about its objectives and teacher's methods of work in this program. In this chapter, thesis...

published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Architecture

Unser tägliches Umfeld ist heute mehr als jemals zuvor durch die Präsenz von Medien geprägt. Wir begegnen ihnen in schulischen Einrichtungen, am Arbeitsplatz, im häuslichen Bereich oder in unserer Freizeit und nutzen sie gleichermaßen zu Informations- und Unterhaltungszwecken. Dass sich dieser Trend im Laufe der nächsten Jahre weiterhin fortsetzen und verstärken wird, steht außer Frage. Auch in Bezug auf Vor- und Grundschüler lässt sich diese Tendenz beobachten. Um die jüngsten Mitglieder unserer Informationsgesellschaft vor eventuellen medienbezogenen Risiken zu schützen, wird diese Entwicklung durch eine in öffentlichen Diskussionen vielfach zu vernehmende Forderung nach Medienkompetenz begleitet. Allerdings beruht die Mehrheit von Modellen und Konzepten zur Entwicklung und Förderung von Medienkompetenz im Kindesalter nahezu ausschließlich auf theoretischen Annahmen. Aus diesem Grund sollten mittels des durch die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) geförderten Projekts "Der Erwerb medialer Zeichenkompetenz im Vor- und Grundschulalter: Grundlagen und Förderung", welches zugleich die Grundlage der vorliegenden Dissertation darstellt, folgende Forschungsfragen beantwortet werden: a) Wie lassen sich kindliche Fähigkeiten in Bezug auf Medienkompetenz erfassen?, b) Wie entwickelt sich Medienkompetenz im Verlauf der (frühen) Kindheit? und c) Welcher Zusammenhang besteht zwischen Medienkompetenz und anderen relevanten kognitiven und akademischen Fähigkeiten und der Kompetenz, aus medial vermittelten Inhalten zu lernen? Zu diesem Zweck wurden drei empirische Studien mit Vor- und Grundschülern durchgeführt, die sich mit der Entwicklung der medialen Zeichenkompetenz beschäftigten. Es stellte sich heraus, dass sich die mediale Zeichenkompetenz, welche ab circa. vier Jahren erworben wird, förderlich auf den Erwerb von Lesekompetenz und mathematischen Kompetenzen, auf ihre Vorläuferfähigkeiten sowie auf medienvermitteltes Lernen auswirkt. Zudem zeigte sich, dass die mediale Zeichenkompetenz als ein, zumindest partiell, eigenständiger, symbolisch-kognitiver Bereich zu interpretieren ist, welcher zwar gewisse Verbindungen zu Intelligenzleistungen aufweist, aber dennoch als von ihnen verschieden betrachtet werden muss. Aus den Resultaten folgt somit, dass es günstig wäre, mit Kindern zwischen vier bis sechs Jahren ein Training der medialen Zeichenkompetenz durchzuführen.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / A group of well-to-do women formally organized the Indianapolis Free Kindergarten and Children’s Aid Society with the goal to open kindergartens for children like Onis Williams. Reverend Oscar C. McCulloch, a social gospel proponent, was influential in organizing these women as well as several other Indianapolis charitable organizations. The clubwomen of the Indianapolis Free Kindergarten and Children’s Aid Society collected funds and goods from local businesses and wealthy businessmen to support their work; the clubwomen also hosted teas, parties, and an annual ball to raise money. At first, the women of the Indianapolis Free Kindergarten and Children’s Aid Society (hereafter IFK) opened kindergartens and distributed clothing to young children in the poorest districts of the city. Over time, however, IFK expanded to include adult programs, programs for children of all ages, and opened a teachers’ training school. This thesis consists of three chapters. The first chapter will focus on the Indiana Primary and Normal Training School, the teacher training school run by IFK. The second chapter will discuss the various social and academic programs available to Indianapolis children, including the actual kindergarten. The third chapter will focus on six different programs available to mothers whose children attended kindergartens and other programs. This thesis will show how some Indianapolis clubwomen used the teacher’s school, the kindergartens, and the programs for mothers of IFK to create a successful Progressive program that endured for nearly seventy years.