The purpose of this study was to evaluate Core5, a computer-assisted instruction (CAI) programme, on developing early literacy skills in struggling kindergartners and providing enrichment for high achieving kindergartners. Conducted through the positivist research paradigm, the research design of this study is a quantitative quasi-experimental non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design using the probes AIMSweb Letter Name Fluency (LNF), AIMSweb Letter Sound Fluency (LSF), MAP K-2 Early Literacy, as well as a questionnaire regarding teacher perceptions of Core5 and its implementation in the classroom. This study used convenience sampling instead of probability sampling since many schools already use Core5. Fifteen schools in the Matanuska Susitna Borough School District was the target population. The sample group comprised of 751 kindergartners, aged five to six-year-olds divided into the treatment group, the partial treatment group, and the control group. Posttest analysis of LNF and LSF data confirmed all three groups made gains from the pretest, but an ANOVA indicated there was a significant difference between the three groups. A Bonferroni post hoc test determined the treatment group and the partial treatment group were significantly different from the control group. The posttest analysis of MAP K-2 Early Literacy data indicated that all three groups made gains from the pretest. An ANOVA suggested there was no significant difference between the three groups. Lastly, the end-of-year Core5 levels were correlated to the benchmark scores on LNF, LSF and MAP K-2 Early Literacy probes using Pearson’s r. The teacher questionnaire indicated that a majority of teachers have a favourable view of Core5, which is vital to the implementation of Core5 because their attitude is also a significant predictor of student use in the classroom. The findings indicate that Core5 is an effective CAI program to use as part of the kindergarten ELA curriculum. The findings also add to the volume of research on Core5, CAI programmes and blended learning. / English Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (English)

This diploma thesis is focuses on management in private and public kindergarten. The aim of the thesis is find out specifics of management in two different preschool institutions. Diploma thesis is consisting of theoretical and practical parts. First part of theoretical thesis inform about public and private sector briefly. The main topic of theoretical part is describing different functions of management, which are important for the functioning of the school. It includes the areas of school management, school funding, but also personnel management. Furthermore, it is also focuses on the legislative conditions, curricular documents and qualifications of leaders in pre primary institutions include their rights, obligations and competences. The end of the theoretical part is describing cooperation with the founders and parents, which is one of the most important factors affecting the quality of kindergarten. Practical part of diploma thesis contains two case studies of two preschool institutions. These institutions are similar in their size, number of classes, capacity of children and number of employees, but they are different in their founders. This part follows specifics of management and finding out about common and different points in these institutions. The end of the practical part is...

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This qualitative study explored the reasons why suburban district leaders opted for full-day or half-day kindergarten programming in a sample of four local suburban districts operating such programs in Southeastern, Pennsylvania. The primary data source was interviews with key district leaders including school board members, superintendents, assistant superintendents, directors of elementary education, and directors of curriculum. Review of district documents as well as informal observations in the field were used to supplement the interview data. Suburban district leaders' perceptions, values, and opinions were examined in this study to determine how decisions for kindergarten programming were made. District leaders, especially superintendents, are charged with the enormous responsibility to program appropriately for the needs of their district. This study sought to reveal how such a critical but complex decision pertaining to kindergarten programming was reached in suburban communities. "Full-day kindergarten reappeared first in the 1960's as an intervention designed to help disadvantaged children catch up to their peers through additional schooling" (DeCicca, 2007, p. 67). Presently, full-day kindergarten appears to be gaining increasing momentum as more and more mothers are working to provide additional income for their families. The era of middle class stay at home moms has been on a decline due to the unstable economy, rising cost of living, single parent households, a greater need to supplement family income, to further their own self-development, and an opportunity for women to contribute to the workforce. Educators, on the other hand, remain divided on the issue of full-day kindergarten versus half-day kindergarten primarily due to funding issues, equivocal evidence of academic gains, and resource allocations. "Given the additional expense of full-day kindergarten, information regarding the size and duration of gains should be of great interest to policymakers" (DeCicca, 2007, p. 67). The recent push for full-day kindergarten has occurred at the state level. Whether the participation in a full-day program is associated with improved outcomes has been the focus of intense inquiry (Le, Kirby, Barney, Setodji & Gershwin, 2006). Kindergarten programming in the United States has changed considerably in the last 50 years as a result of state and local standards enforced in districts across the country. All that children needed to do in a traditional kindergarten was to play and adjust themselves to a social setting (Nelson, 2000). Now, kindergarten has evolved into another grade of academics where rigorous curricula have been implemented along with higher expectations placed on schools to succeed. The controversy arises over the inconsistencies with kindergarten programming, especially for suburban children. Suburban districts are continually challenged to meet the needs of all kindergarten learners as a result of the growing changes in demographics across the county. Due to the increased populations of English Language Learners and Economically Disadvantaged Learners, the challenge to program effectively for kindergarten students can be concerning to district leadership due to old mores that are no longer appropriate to program sufficiently. The intent of this study was to inform the reader about how complex decisions such as kindergarten programming were reached. Another intent of this study was to delve deeper into the perceptions, values, and opinions of those decision makers to gain a better understanding of the reasons why and how decision makers selected half-day or full-day kindergarten for their district. The methodology utilized in this qualitative study was a case study design. The researcher collected data through interviews with district leaders including school boards members, superintendents, assistant superintendents, directors of elementary education, and directors of curriculum. Observations in the field were conducted along with a review of key district documents such as strategic plans, school improvement plans, curriculum, and achievement data. The potential impact of this study was to inform the reader about the processes used by district leaders when making informed decisions about kindergarten programming. Suburban areas may benefit from this study because the results provided rich descriptive reports that can be utilized by parents, educators, policymakers, and the general public to gain a deeper understanding of suburban kindergarten in one state. / Educational Administration

published_or_final_version / abstract / Education / Master / Master of Education

This study investigated the differences and similarities between full-day programs (FDP) and half-day programs (HDP) in Hong Kong kindergartens in terms of children’s experiences and program quality, as well as in the stakeholders such as parents’, teachers’, and principals’ perspectives. Besides, the study investigated stakeholders’ perceptions about the preference of FDP or HDP and their views about subsidizing FDP. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected to explore the research questions. Findings showed that FDP in Hong Kong is different from HDP, rather than an extension of HDP. Additionally, the stakeholders in Hong Kong prefer FDP and support to subsidize FDP. Findings from the study have significant policy and practice implications to improve overall quality of both programs. / published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

The purpose of this study was to survey the significant characteristics of language development programs in selected kindergartens. These findings were then compared to the recommendations of authorities in the field.

This study examines the enactment of leadership communication during videotaped play sessions of thirty kindergarten children. Eighteen of the children demonstrated skills in a cluster of five specific leadership behaviors. All five coders agreed that these eighteen children were sometimes leaders of their individual triad. The coders further agreed that the leadership in the triads flowed from one child to another as the session progressed. The study concluded that leadership is a facilitative process that is fluid rather than statically centered in one or more participants.

[...]Depuis les années 1990, le nombre de Kindergarten / jardins d’enfant qui proposent une initiation à une langue étrangère augmente constamment. Cependant, il n’y a pas encore d’étude en français langue étrangère (FLE) sur le comportement pragmatique-discursif des petits enfants. L’étude actuelle comble cette lacune.La thèse porte sur la compétence de communication des enfants de jardins d’enfants suivant une initiation ludique au FLE. La recherche décrit les stratégies verbales et non-verbales d’interaction et la conscience langagière de ces enfants. L’objectif du travail est d’évaluer, pour la première fois, le comportement communicatif et méta-linguistique.Nous posons quatre questions de recherche :- Quels types de stratégies communicatives les enfants mettent-ils en place pour échanger avec l’enquêteur dans une situation de communication ?- Comment évaluer leur conscience langagière?- Quels sont les indicateurs de cette conscience langagière? [...] La thèse s’appuie sur une démarche qualitative qui privilège l’utilisation d’entretiens semi-directifs. Le jardin d’enfants évalué se situe près de Rastatt, dans le pays de Bade. Le corpus se compose de 51 interviews effectuées au cours des années scolaires 2007/2008 à 2009/2010. [...] / European Commission promotes language learning and linguistic diversity as main objectives of European policy. The Action Plan 2004 – 2006 points out that it is a priority for Member States to ensure that language learning in kindergarten and primary school is effective. The implementation of the Orientierungsplan für baden-württembergische Kindergärten in 2009/10 opens new possibilities of early language teaching.Up to now we can only find global studies about mostly the exterior conditions of early language teaching in south west of Germany. The effects that would and could be reached by second language acquisition (L2) in early childhood are not yet analysed. There are no detailed scientific results concerning the development of communicative competence. The communication strategies used by very young children and their rising language awareness with French as Foreign Language are not yet described. The present study closes this gap.The main goal of the evaluation is the long-term research with the help of appropriate instruments under the specific institutional conditions. The chosen method is a video-based language acquisition research with the communication- and task based testing called SE FRÜH Sprachstanderhebung Frühsprachen. It allows to evaluate the communicative competence in form of communication strategies and metalinguistic behavior (language awareness).The data are collected in a Kindergarten close to French border where children are brought in touch with the language of their neighbor. Participated in 2007/08: 10 children (5-6 years), in 2008/09: 30 children (16: 5-6 years; 14: 4 years) and in 2009/10: 11 children (5-6 years / already evaluated when 4 years. Exemplary findings can be presented (exemplary film sequences). [...]

Thesis advisor: Rebekah L. Coley / Children moving from early education programs into elementary schools face a critical transition, making it important for both systems to coordinate to better serve our youngest children. Yet, there is limited research on coordination around the transition to school. The objectives of this dissertation were to: 1) describe the coordination efforts used by Head Start programs to smooth children’s transitions to kindergarten, 2) examine the association between coordination and children’s outcomes in kindergarten, 3) test whether there is an interaction between Head Start coordination efforts and elementary school-based transition practices, 4) test interactions between coordination and child/family characteristics, and 5) understand the benefits and challenges to coordinating across systems. This study included two phases. Phase I examined coordination efforts between Head Start programs and elementary schools in a nationally representative sample of Head Start children (N=2,019). Findings suggest that Head Start programs are engaging in a variety of activities to coordinate with elementary schools. Results of regression analyses found that coordination was positively related to children’s language and mathematics skills in kindergarten for children enrolled in elementary schools engaging in limited activities to support the transition to school. Phase II involved interviews with sixteen Head Start directors. Results showed multiple ways they coordinate with elementary schools to share information about individual children and general program practices, as well as the ways they serve as a bridge between families and elementary schools. Findings suggest that coordination may benefit children through improved practices by Head Start and elementary schools, as well as increases in parental readiness and involvement.Overall this study shows that Head Start programs are engaging in multiple activities to coordinate with elementary schools. Although direct relationships between coordination practices and child outcomes were limited, interviews with Head Start directors pointed to indirect pathways by which coordination efforts may benefit children. These findings suggest the importance of coordination practices, and stress the need for additional research to explore these pathways. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2017. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.