Zugl.: München, Univ., Diss., 2008.

Universiẗat, Diss., 2006--Tübingen. / Erscheinungsjahr an der Haupttitelstelle: 2005.

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Curriculum and instruction).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2005. / Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center; full text release delayed at author's request until 2006 Jul 20.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not a significant difference existed in the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor development of kindergarten children as a function of half-day or full-day kindergarten programs. Four public school district in Education Service Center Region XIII in Texas participated in the study.

This study was designed to explore the elements that influence the identification of young children that might be considered at-risk for early school failure. To this end, guided by complexity theory, the study sought to examine (a) system requirements and expectations at the provincial and school board levels, (b) current practice in schools and classrooms, and (c) the beliefs and knowledge of individuals surrounding the assessment and identification of at-risk students in Kindergarten. Using a qualitative, case-study approach 23 individuals from two different school boards in Ontario were interviewed to explore both practice and beliefs. Review of relevant provincial and school board documents as well as artifacts that were gathered during school visits provided further information. While there were some differences in details, the findings were similar in the two boards. In describing which characteristics were of concern when considering an at-risk designation, most participants cited social, emotional, and behavioural difficulties. While both school boards required tracking and assessment of literacy skills, teachers and ECEs concentrated more on ongoing observations and anecdotal notes to determine student progress. Interventions for students at-risk were more often provided for students with academic difficulties. However, there was also some support for behaviour difficulties in terms of consultation from special education personnel in one board and an early intervention team in the other. It was clear from the findings that many elements influence the identification of a student as at-risk including the characteristics of the student, the student’s family, and the particular classroom, school, and board the student attends. The study findings contribute to our understanding of practice and beliefs around young student at-risk and how the interactions of the various elements involved impact the identification of individual students.

Thesis on all hours kindergarten.

Not all children begin their educational journey on equal footing. The purpose of this study is to investigate how universal prekindergarten (UPK) can serve as a key to remedying issues surrounding educational inequity. In order to understand educational inequity, I dive into the history of neighborhood racial segregation in the United States, and how it led to our currently unjust system. Racial segregation, specifically city zoning laws, created racially separate neighborhoods that are still relatively homogenous to this day. In order to ascertain how UPK could combat these issues stemming from historic racial segregation, I evaluate programs in three states to highlight the approach to UPK that each has implemented: New York, Georgia, and Oklahoma. Program features in Oklahoma have produced high-quality standards and the program has reached a larger percentage of 4-year-olds. I discuss multiple dimensions of proposed education reform, particularly for students of color, including the culturally-situated nature of high-stakes testing and its inability to fully capture student and school progress. I propose a culturally empowering approach to UPK, situated within the Dallas community, as a solution to current educational inequity.

This qualitative study was an exploration of 55 Utah kindergarten teachers' perceptions of challenges in teaching. It investigated written concerns teachers expressed in a statewide survey of kindergarten teachers. Study findings indicated that two main issues were communicated by teachers: a disparity between their developmentally appropriate beliefs and practices in the classroom, and concerns about children's kindergarten readiness and transition to school. About 56% of teachers felt a struggle in implementing their developmentally appropriate beliefs about education, for a variety of reasons: large class sizes, district and state mandates, and lack of resources, particularly time. Furthermore, 53% of educators conveyed concerns regarding children's school readiness and their transition to kindergarten. These teachers articulated transition activities they engaged in and communicated the influence of preschool, both positive and negative, on their incoming kindergarteners. Three other concerns and challenges were also delineated: limited teaching time; feelings that kindergarten curriculum is becoming too academic, particularly that curricular expectations have been raised and an emphasis placed on literacy; and issues surrounding parental involvement, both in and out of school. Study findings also demonstrated that most teachers who communicated concerns about implementing developmentally appropriate beliefs had been teaching for more than 7 years. The majority of the educators who shared challenges regarding time had taught for 12 or more years, as was the case for those who spoke about concerns with parental involvement. Limitations, implications, and suggestions for future research are discussed.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of humming as a viable musicking activity based on measures of children's pitch acuity. Students are kindergarteners from a public elementary school in northern Delaware. Based on each participant’s homeroom assignment, these students will be placed in one of two groups during music instruction: (a) singing instruction only and (b) singing and humming instruction. As all kindergarteners will be participating in music instruction, no data will be collected for students who opted out of the study. Students were pretested in their humming and singing accuracy (pitch reproduction acuity), followed by four weeks of instruction. The posttest documented students' humming and singing accuracy using the Wise and Sloboda (2008) rating scale for singing accuracy in song performance. Student data were analyzed through mean, median, and standard deviation, and comparative data were analyzed using a t-test. Findings showed mixed results in the effectiveness of humming as a viable musicking activity. Significant growth was found across all measures in both humming and non-humming classes. However, greater significance was observed for students in classes that had music later in the school year, indicating that time influences kindergarteners' musical growth. Findings also indicated that exposure to music instruction has an impact on kindergarteners' willingness to perform music. / Music Education