Η παρούσα έρευνα διερευνά τις έννοιες του γλωσσικού γραμματισμού, ο οποίος κυριαρχεί στα σύγχρονα προγράμματα σπουδών για το νηπιαγωγείο. Σημείο εκκίνησης αποτέλεσε η απροσδιοριστία του όρου «γραμματισμός» όπως καταγράφεται αφενός στα προγράμματα και αφετέρου στις πρακτικές στα νηπιαγωγεία. Το 2011 νέα πιλοτικά προγράμματα για όλες τις βαθμίδες της εκπαίδευσης εισήγαγαν τον όρο «κριτικός γραμματισμός» με σκοπό να συμπληρώσουν και να βελτιώσουν τα υπάρχοντα προγράμματα. Στην εργασία μας επιχειρήθηκε η συγκριτική ανάλυση των επίσημων ή μη εγχειριδίων (παλιών και νέων) με βάση ένα μοτίβο οκτώ αξόνων, που μας επέτρεψαν να διακρίνουμε τις συνέχειες και τις ασυνέχειες ανάμεσα στα προγράμματα. Στη συνέχεια, προσπαθήσαμε να δούμε πώς αποτυπώνονται στις στάσεις και στις πρακτικές σε δύο δείγματα νηπιαγωγών. Πραγματοποιήθηκαν συνεντεύξεις με 7 νηπιαγωγούς που εφάρμοσαν για δύο σχολικές χρονιές το νέο πρόγραμμα «κριτικού γραμματισμού» και με 7 νηπιαγωγούς που το «μελέτησαν» χωρίς να το έχουν εφαρμόσει. Μέσα από την επεξεργασία των προγραμμάτων διαπιστώθηκε πως αυτά παρουσιάζουν μια πολύπλοκη θέση περί γραμματισμού. Ειδικότερα, η στοχοθεσία του νέου προγράμματος στηρίζεται σε επικοινωνιακές-λειτουργικές προσεγγίσεις, παρόλο που υιοθετεί τον κριτικό γραμματισμό ως θεωρητική παραδοχή του. Από την ανάλυση των συνεντεύξεων προέκυψε πως οι νηπιαγωγοί δεν κατονομάζουν το μοντέλο γραμματισμού που ακολουθούν και αναφέρονται σε στόχους που επιδιώκουν μέσω των δράσεών τους. Οι στόχοι αυτοί εστιάζουν στην καλλιέργεια στρατηγικών για κατανόηση και παραγωγή προφορικών κειμένων και στην απόκτηση λειτουργικών δεξιοτήτων για το γραπτό λόγο. Η έρευνα αφενός αποτελεί μια πρώτη προσπάθεια αποτίμησης του νέου προγράμματος πάνω στο ζήτημα του γλωσσικού γραμματισμού και αφετέρου οδηγεί στην ανίχνευση αντιλήψεων και στην υιοθέτηση στάσεων των νηπιαγωγών, που εμπλέκονται σε μια γλωσσική αλλαγή στο χώρο του νηπιαγωγείου. / This research explores the meanings of literacy, which dominates in current curricula in kindergarten schools. The initial point was the indefinite term of “literacy” as, on one side, proposed in curricula and, on the other side, regarding the practices used in kindergarten places. In 2011, the term “critical literacy” was introduced by New Curriculum for all grades in Greek educational systems in order to supplement and improve the already existing curricula. The purpose of this study is to present a comparative analysis of previous and new curricula, according to an 8-base pattern. This pattern allowed us to distinguish the continuity and the discontinuity among the curricula. Moreover, we attempted to investigate teachers' perceptions and attitudes with interviews among 7 kindergarten teachers who implemented for 2 years the new curriculum based on critical literacy pedagogy and 7 kindergarten teachers who just studied this curriculum without having implemented it. The analysis and interpretation of curricula highlighted the complicated meanings attributed to the term of literacy. More specifically, the aim of New Curriculum is based on communicative - functional principles for the teaching of Greek language, even though “critical literacy” is used as a theoretical admission of the new. The interviews shown that kindergarten teachers didn't identify the model of literacy pedagogy suggested by new curriculum and they only mention specific linguistic goals in respect of their literacy practices. These goals are related to comprehension and production of oral texts as well as the acquisition of functional skills for the written medium. In conclusion, this study discussed the perceptions and attitudes of kindergarten teachers to the process of curricular change, which leads to a general change in educational system in kindergarten school age.

Σκοπός αυτής της έρευνας είναι να διερευνήσει τις απόψεις των νηπιαγωγών σχετικά με τη θέση της μουσικής στο Νηπιαγωγείο σήμερα, καθώς και τις σχέσεις των νηπίων μεταξύ τους και με τη νηπιαγωγό τους μέσω της μουσικής. Έτσι, αρχικά διερευνάται η συμβολή της αισθητικής αγωγής στην ανάπτυξη της προσωπικότητας του παιδιού της προσχολικής ηλικίας, έπειτα παρουσιάζονται διάφορα εκπαιδευτικά μοντέλα για τη διδασκαλία της μουσικής στο Νηπιαγωγείο και αναλύεται το Μουσικοκινητικό Σύστημα του Orff, ση συνέχεια γίνεται λόγος για την θέση της μουσικής στα αναλυτικά προγράμματα σπουδών για το Νηπιαγωγείο στην Ελλάδα και στην Αγγλία, μέσα από μια συγκριτική ανάλυση αυτών και η μελέτη κλείνει με μία έρευνα που πραγματοποιήθηκε το Μάιο του 2008 σε 19 τμήματα Νηπιαγωγείων της Πάτρας και είχε ως αντικείμενο τη διερεύνηση της σχέσης των παιδιών μεταξύ τους και με τη νηπιαγωγό τους μέσα από δραστηριότητες μουσικής και τα συμπεράσματα που διεξάγονται από αυτή. / The aim of this research is to study the kindergarten teachers’ viewpoint of music’s condition in the kindergarten today and also their aspect on children’s relationship with the other children and their teacher through music activities. So, initially the study focuses on the confluence of esthetic education on infants’ development. There is also a presentation of educational styles on music’s tuition in the kindergarten and an analysis of Orff’s music system, while part of this study is the comperative presentation of greek and english curriculum for music in the kindergarten. Finally, the study focuses on a research that took place in May 2008 at 19 classes of Patra’ s kindergartens looking into the children’s relationship with their colleagues and their teacher through music activities and of course the conclusions that have been conducted from the research.

Tekniken är en stor del av alla barns vardag i samhället, detta ger oss därför ett ansvar att ge barnen möjlighet att utforska och experimentera med IT-verktyget pekplattan för att kunna stimulera barns språkutveckling i deras tidiga år. I läroplanen för förskolan (Lpfö 98/2010) står det skrivet att förskolan ska främja barns utveckling inom enkel teknik i vardagen (a.a). IT-utvecklingen är i ständig rörelse framåt, hela tiden upptäcks nya fantastiska användningsområden kring de IT-verktyg vi använder oss av idag. Tekniken är här för att stanna! Hur kan vi delge vår kunskap till barnen inom användningsområdet pekplattan när det gäller barns språkutveckling? Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur pekplattan används i förskolans verksamhet för att främja barns språkutveckling. I studien belyser författarna hur pedagogerna använder sig av pekplattan som ett verktyg när det gäller att främja barns språkliga utveckling. Denna studie är kvalitativ då författarna har gjort egna analyser och tolkningar utifrån observationer, samt att författarna belyser pedagogernas syn och tankar hur de använder pekplattan genom intervjuer. Elva pedagoger på tre olika avdelningar har intervjuats och sex observationer har genomförts. Resultatet visar på hur pedagoger använder sig av pekplattan för att främja barns språkliga utveckling. De frågeställningar som är aktuella i studien besvaras genom respondenternas intervjusvar samt de genomförda observationerna. Diskussionen innefattar författarnas egna tankar om pedagogernas förhållningssätt till IT-verktyget pekplattan. Den framtagna teorin i studien diskuteras och knyter an till studiens syfte samt frågeställningar. / Technology is a big part of every child living in the community, this gives us a responsibility to give children the opportunity to explore and experiment with IT tool touchpad in order to stimulate children's language development in their early years. In the kindergarten curriculum (Lpfö 98 /2010) , it is written that preschool should promote children's development in the simple technology of everyday life (a.a.). IT development is constantly moving forward, constantly discovered new amazing applications on the computer tools we use today. The technology is here to stay! How can we communicate our knowledge to the children within the area of ​​use the touchpad when it comes to children's language development? The purpose of this study is to investigate how the touchpad used in the preschool activities to promote children's language development. The study highlights the authors how educators use the touchpad as a tool for promoting language development of children from a didactic perspective. This study is qualitative as the authors have done their own analyzes and interpretations based on observations, and that the authors highlight educators' views and ideas how to use the touchpad interviews. Eleven teachers at three different departments were interviewed and six observations have been carried out. The result shows how teachers use the touchpad to promote children's language development. The issues that are important in the study answered by respondents' interview responses and the observations don. The discussion includes the authors ' thoughts on teachers' attitudes to IT tool touchpad. The developed theory in the study are discussed and linked to the purpose of the study and issues.

Ikimokykliniu amžiaus tarpsniu ypač svarbu organizuoti vaiko šokio veiklą kaip vientiso asmenybės ugdymo būdą, padedantį pamatus judesių raiškos, jų meninės kokybės tolesnei plėtotei, o šio proceso metu teigiamos socialinės ir emocinės patirties įgijimas, pažinimo motyvacijos žadinimas, kūrybiškumo skatinimas darželyje yra viena iš socialinės kompetencijos ugdymo prielaidų. Vadinasi, ikimokyklinio amžiaus vaikų šokio veiklą būtina organizuoti ir įgyvendinti taip, kad ji savo tikslų sistema, turiniu, organizacinėmis formomis, technologijomis, ugdymo sistemų pobūdžiu, jų vidinėmis ir išorinėmis savybėmis realizuotų kiekvieno vaiko asmenybės vystymosi raidos ir socializacijos idėją. Todėl ikimokyklinio amžiaus vaikų socialinės kompetencijos ugdymo šokio veikloje galimybių atskleidimas yra aktuali pedagoginė problema. Tyrimo tikslas – atskleisti ikimokyklinio amžiaus vaikų socialinės kompetencijos ugdymo šokio veikloje galimybes bei ypatumus. Šiam tikslui įgyvendinti kelti uždaviniai: remiantis pedagoginės, psichologinės, metodinės literatūros bei švietimo dokumentų analize atskleisti socialinės kompetencijos sampratą bei ikimokyklinio amžiaus vaikų socialinių gebėjimų ugdymo prielaidas; išryškinti vaiko socialinės kompetencijos ugdymo šokio veikloje galimybes; įvertinti tėvų požiūriu šokio veiklos svarbą vaikų socialinės kompetencijos ugdymui; pateikti ir eksperimentu patikrinti socialinės kompetencijos ugdymo šokio veikloje modelį. Tyrimo objektas – ikimokyklinio amžiaus vaikų... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / It is particularly important to organize child’s dance activity to make it a solid means of person education, which gives base to movement expression, development of its artistic quality and, in this process, gaining positive social and emotional experience, stimulating familiarity motivation, encouraging creativeness in the kindergarten is one of social competence education presumptions. Consequently, it is necessary to organize and implement preschool children dance activity insomuch that it would realize the idea of every child’s personal development and socialization by its aim system, content, organizational forms, technologies, nature of educational systems, their internal and external features. Therefore, potentiality revelation of social competence development during dance activity of preschool children is a relevant pedagogical problem. The aim of the research is to reveal the potentiality and peculiarities of social competence development during dance activity of preschool children. Specific objectives were set in order to realize this aim: to reveal the concept of social competence and presumptions of social competence development of preschool children using analysis of pedagogical, psychological, methodic literature and educational documents; to highlight possibilities of preschool children social competence development during dance activity; to evaluate parents attitude towards dance activity importance to children social competence development; to propose and... [to full text]

Teachers report that there are an increased number of students engaging in persistent antisocial behaviour in their classrooms. Teachers need to identify these students early because if there is early identification then there is the potential for early intervention, which in turn may prevent negative long-term outcomes for these students as well as long-term costs to society. The aims of this study were (1) develop a psychometrically sound, cost effective, three-step multiple gating behaviour screening procedure that teachers could use in their kindergarten/classroom so that they could identify those students at-risk of antisocial development, (2) examine if the third gate of this procedure was necessary for the accurate identification of these students, and (3) could such a screening procedure be adapted for classroom teacher use in New Zealand kindergartens and schools. Forty eight teachers from three kindergartens and 10 primary/intermediate schools volunteered for the study, of which 34 teachers completed all three gates of the screening procedure. Results indicate the three gate screening procedure was easily adapted for kindergarten and classroom use with, at Gate 3, teachers’ self-recording 30 direct observations of a nominated and control student during their normal teaching lesson with good accuracy. All three gates were effective in identifying those students at-risk of antisocial development but Gates 1 and 2 were the most effective in terms of accuracy, time and resourcing. The teachers found the three gate procedure manageable, required very little training and did not interrupt classroom routine or schedules. The implications of these findings are discussed.

The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of developmental instruction on the whole number computational abilities and mathematical attitudes of kindergarten children. Gender differences in mathematical achievement and attitudes were also explored.Ten traditional mathematics lessons were adapted by the researcher from the adopted mathematic program for the school system, Heath Mathematics, Connections, (Mangre, et al., 1992). Ten developmental mathematics lessons were created by the researcher following the guidelines of the NCTM Standards (1989) promoting the notion of a developmentally appropriate curriculum. The research designed both the Attitudinal Scale and Cognitive Abilities Test which were given both before and after the instructional treatment.The school corporation chosen as the site for the research was located in an urban area consisting of two small cities and the surrounding rural areas. The community consisted of people with diverse socioeconomic status and cultural backgrounds. The sample for the study consisted of 62 kindergarten students enrolled in four half-day classes in one elementary school. Complete data were available for 50 students. Four hypotheses were formulated and tested at the .05 level of significance.ResultsThe four hypotheses were analyzed using a 2 (method) x 2 (gender) MANOVA on the gain scores for both achievement and attitude taken together. Gain scores were obtained by subtracting the pretest score from the posttest score for both achievement and attitude.The findings of the study were:1. There was no significant difference between the whole number computational abilities of kindergarten children receiving developmental instruction and kindergarten children receiving traditional instruction.2. There was no significant difference between the whole number computational abilities of kindergarten boys and kindergarten girls receiving developmental and traditional instruction.3. There was no significant difference in the mathematical attitudes of kindergarten children receiving developmental instruction and kindergarten children receiving traditional instruction.4. There was no significant difference in the mathematical attitudes of kindergarten boys and kindergarten girls receiving developmental and traditional instruction. / Department of Elementary Education

The purpose of the study was to investigate the construct validity of the Total Individual Progress Level I Pre-kindergarten Screen (TIP) for males and females. Exploratory factor analysis of the items was used to determine the underlying dimensions of TIP.The subjects were 799 students from a rural and suburban school district adjacent to a larger city in east-central Indiana who were screened prior to kindergarten entrance during the years 1977 to 1984. The sample was split to allow for cross-validation of the exploratory factor analysis results.The covariance structures of males and females were judged to be similar. Therefore, a principal components analysis using SPSS-X (Nie, 1983) was used to determine the optional number of factors to retain for males and females together in two separate samples. Judgements regarding the number of factors to retain was based on the scree plot and eigenvalue greater than one criteria (Reynolds & Paget, 1981). Both orthogonal and oblique rotations were explored for 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-factor solutions using principal factoring with iterations.The four-factor varimax solutions for Sample 1 and Sample 2 were found to provide the best solution of TIP. The same four constructs were found in both samples and were extracted in the same order, indicating reliability of this factor solution of TIP. The factors were named, in order, Language, Visual, Gross Motor, and Speech Mechanics.The results obtained in the two samples were compared in regard to Rummel's (1970) considerations. Similarities were found in number of retained factors, configuration of the variables, complexity of the solution, variance accounted for by the factors, and communalities. In addition, results of Tucker's congruence coefficient and Cattell's salient variable similarity index indicated factorial similarity for all four factors across both samples.The four derived factors did not completely resemble the four pre-established subscales of TIP.The Concepts subscale did not emerge as a separate construct and the Hearing and communication subscale was broken into two different factors. Fewer items comprised the four-factor varimax solution. Only two of the extracted factors, Gross Motor and Visual, resembled the pre-established subscales of Motor and Vision and Visual, respectively.

The purpose of this study was to compare the opinions of kindergarten teachers, transitional grade teachers, and first grade teachers regarding the importance of selected goals, content, learning activities, and evaluation procedures for a transitional grade between kindergarten and first grade. Effects of teaching experience and educational background were examined.The Transitional Curriculum Questionnaire for Teachers was developed by the researcher and mailed to 189 elementary schools with transitional classrooms. Respondents included 156 kindergarten teachers, 104 transitional grade teachers, and 263 first grade teachers. The majority of the teachers reported educational backgrounds in elementary education. Teaching experience ranged from 1 to 44 years.Through the use of a checklist, responding teachers identified goals, content, learning activities, and evaluation procedures which they considered "important" for a transitional program. A chi-square test at the .05 level of significance was used to analyze the data.Results1. Kindergarten teachers, transitional grade teachers, and first grade teachers agreed on the importance of 10 of the 16 goals, 6 of the 16 content areas, 6 of the 16 learning activities, and 11 of the 16 evaluation procedures for a transitional program.2. Teachers with backgrounds in early childhood education and teachers with backgrounds in elementary education agreed on the importance of all 16 goals, 14 of the 16 content areas, 13 of the 16 learning activities, and all 16 evaluation procedures for a transitional program.3. Teachers with varying years of teaching experience agreed on the importance of 15 of the 16 goals, 14 of the 16 content areas, all of the 16 learning activities, and 13 of the 16 evaluation procedures for a transitional program. / Department of Elementary Education

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which tri-weekly evidence-based vocabulary lessons implemented throughout the regular school day would increase kindergarten students’ expressive and receptive vocabulary development, thus decreasing the vocabulary gap exhibited between low-income children and their more advantaged peers upon entering kindergarten. The participants in this study were kindergarten students at an elementary school in the Midwest. The students in the control group received their normal vocabulary instruction from the district’s adopted reading series. The experimental group students received instruction from the evidence-based direct instruction vocabulary lessons found in Judy Montgomery’s The Bridge of Vocabulary. Data was collected before and after the intervention took place using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Fourth Edition and the Expressive Vocabulary Test, Second Edition, and was analyzed using an ANOVA to compare growth. Analysis showed that students who received the vocabulary intervention made significantly greater growth in both expressive and receptive vocabulary development than students who received vocabulary instruction from the adopted reading series. More specifically, the students from poverty who received the intervention made significantly greater vocabulary development than the students from poverty who did not receive the intervention. / Department of Elementary Education

Access to abstract permanently restricted to Ball State community only / Access to thesis permanently restricted to Ball State community only / Department of Elementary Education