The project was designed to study the nature of the burnout phenomenon among Head Start Social Services Coordinators in eight southeastern states. The association of age, sex, marital status, years employed, program size, caseload, race, education and perceived level of stress to the three subscales of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) were correlated on a population of 59 coordinators representing 25% of the total population. Years employed was shown to be negatively correlated to the Emotional Exhaustion subscale. Perceived stress levels due to workload were most strongly associated with emotional exhaustion. Relationship to the other factors studied was not significant. The findings provide support for the contention that burnout does exist among members of this population and that steps need to be taken at the individual and agency levels to combat the stressful conditions related to burnout. While emotional exhaustion and lack of personal accomplishment were shown to exist, the subjects showed little to no evidence of depersonalization in working with their clients.

Progress monitoring and data analysis are essential skills needed by classroom teachers within the implementation of multi-tiered systems of support for making data-based decisions about student progress and instruction. Within the early childhood MTSS research, consideration of teacher-collected progress monitoring data followed by data-based decision-making is rare. To provide teachers with a robust progress monitoring strategy, I trained preschool teachers of inclusive classrooms to use direct behavioral observations to collect data and inform their instruction. The project experimentally evaluated teachers’ generalization of acquired behaviors within the context of a single-case research design. The project’s independent variable, teacher training, consisted of a video-based multimedia presentation and in-vivo feedback. The primary dependent variable was teachers’ implementation of teacher-directed behavior observation procedures. Results indicate that teacher training was effective for three teachers, as evidenced by teachers reaching criterion levels of performance across consecutive days and sessions. Data on the durations of teacher training activities indicate that an average of 21 minutes of in-vivo feedback was provided to the teachers throughout training. Social and ecological validity data suggest that teachers perceived the training activities to be relatively non-intrusiveness and that the target progress monitoring strategies were of value to the teachers. A functional relation was established between training and teachers’ implementation of direct behavioral observation procedures.

Research supports the knowledge that there exist many models on and definitions of school readiness within early education. Additionally, research shows that utilizing developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) produces positive short and long term results for students; indicating the effectiveness and necessity for DAP in the classroom. The study sought to inform teachers via presentation on the subjects of school readiness and DAP; as well as gain insight on the barriers teachers face in utilizing their school readiness and DAP knowledge base in the classroom. To accomplish this, the study used a pre-survey, presentation with discussion, and a post-survey to collect information on teachers’ knowledge and beliefs, teachers’ levels of professionalism and autonomy, as well as gain insight on how useful the presentation was for teachers. Results show teachers gained information from the presentation but may be unable to use this information in the public setting. These results are based on direct feedback from teachers, as well as the effect size of teacher’s responses on ranking school readiness characteristics and DAP/DIP items before and after the presentation. Regarding what teachers know about these topics, results indicate variance on teachers’ ideas on school readiness. Responses were sorted into three themes; specific skills, different areas of development, and the importance of early experiences. Teachers also had, on average, an appropriate ranking of DAP/DIP teaching practices in the classroom, with scores that grew stronger for some teaching practices after the presentation. Additionally, multiple-choice questions on teacher autonomy and teacher professionalism show that most teachers feel they are treated as professionals and autonomous in their positions. However, despite these results, a discussion on barriers of implementing an appropriate model of school readiness as well as DAP portrayed a much different scenario with teachers in the public setting. In fact, this study found that teachers in the public setting are very much limited by administrators in their ability to utilize ideas, curriculum, and assessments they view as appropriate in the classroom. As such, future research should seek to reach the school administrators to gain insight on the basis of their decisions, as well as educate them on the research supporting successful learning in the early education classroom.

Reading achievement scores in the United States are low and educators need more strategies to support young students in literacy. It is important to identify the technologies and implementation strategies that educators find beneficial for literacy instruction. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate perspectives on instructional technology and literacy strategies intended to promote student-centered learning opportunities. The conceptual framework was Bloom's mastery learning, Bransford's anchored instruction, and Piaget's constructivist theory. Each theorist encouraged exploration and hands-on interactive learning opportunities. The research questions addressed how teachers perceive the implementation of technology tools to enhance literary performance and engagement in kindergarten and first grade. A purposeful sample of 8 teachers and 4 administrators with 3+ years' experience that implemented the core reading curriculum and had access to literary technologies participated in interviews and teachers' classrooms were observed. A combination of a priori and open coding was used to identify patterns and themes. Participants identified technology as a positive influence on reading instruction, student performance, and engagement. They identified problems including weak technical support and insufficient time for peer support and sharing related to working with the various technologies. Further research is recommended into integration of developmentally appropriate instructional technology. This study may contribute to positive social change by providing a tool that can be used by school districts to better improve the adoption of current and future technological innovations based on teacher experience and perceptions.

Writing is essential to human interaction. When handwriting is illegible, communication may be negatively impacted. A severe deficit in handwriting is known as dysgraphia, a problem frequently associated with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Video self-modeling (VSM) has been proven effective for children with ASD in the strengthening of social skills, verbalizations, and daily living skills. However, there remains a significant gap in the literature regarding the use of VSM for the treatment of dysgraphia in children with ASD. Because VSM has demonstrated success in the acquisition of many types of skills, it may prove similarly effective for remediating dysgraphia in children with ASD. Utilizing a behavioral perspective, this study seeks to determine if VSM is an effective treatment for improving handwriting legibility and proficiency. This study analyzes secondary data collected by a day treatment center (DTC) specializing in the care of children with ASD. Data indicated that after establishing a baseline level of behavior for writing simple words, the DTC staff administered the VSM treatment and rated the legibility of the participants' responses based on the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement (WJ-III) Handwriting Legibility Scale. Raw score differences between baseline and treatment phases were recorded and analyzed. A pretest/ posttest evaluation based on scores obtained from the Handwriting Proficiency Screening Questionnaire (HPSQ) and Handwriting Proficiency Screening Questionnaire for Children (HPSQ-C) determined changes in handwriting proficiency. Effectively analyzing this data would be an important contribution to the existing literature, and would enhance social change initiatives through strengthening the communication skills of individuals with ASD.

Teaching students to read fluently has always been a national problem. At an elementary school in Louisiana, over 50% of second grade students earned at risk or at some risk ratings on the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) test in reading fluency from 2007 to 2009. The purpose of this project study was to determine the professional learning needs of educators for teaching oral reading fluency by investigating 2 aspects of reading proficiency: educators' perceptions of additional skills needed to increase students' fluency by second grade, and the types of professional development educators believed would assist them in improving students' fluency skills. Theories of self-efficacy, behaviorism, and automaticity formed the theoretical framework for the study. A qualitative case study approach was used that included the responses of 4 participants to an open-ended researcher-developed questionnaire, lesson plans from participants, and the researcher's journal. Participants' written responses to the questionnaire were coded and themes determined, then triangulated with their lesson plans and the researcher's journal notes. Findings showed that teachers believed the components of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension, along with recognition of the letters of the alphabet, whole word recognition strategies, and practice, should be the focus for professional learning for teachers' collaborative learning communities, teacher study groups, and workshops as the preferred methods. Contents of the project include best practices for educators to use to increase oral reading fluency at any age, which may effect positive change with the national problem of helping persons in our society become literate by reading fluently.

Children are being used as marketers and consumers for the purpose of financial gain. Although much research exists about children's stance as consumers, very little is known about their role as marketers. Such lack of information indicates that children's authentic voices about their experiences are seldom articulated, heard, listened to, and acted on. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological heuristic study was to explore the lived experiences of former child participants in commercial activities in order to understand their perceptions as well as, the meaning, and impact of the experiences on their childhood development. The theoretical framework used included the theories of Bandura's social learning, Bronfenbrenner's ecological system, Vygotsky's social constructivism, Knowles' andragogy, and Meziro's transformative learning. The primary questions focused on participants' perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes, as well as the meaning, and impact such lived experiences had on their childhood development. The final sample consisted of 13 adults above age 18 who participated in commercial activities during their childhood and were selected through the snowballing technique. Data were collected, analyzed, and manually coded from multiple individual and focus group interviews. The thematic results and findings are necessary labor, cultural practice, belief system, power of tangible and intangible rewards, independent mobility factor, social dangers of risk factor, participants' affective response, and experiential learning. Implications for social change include the establishment of partnerships among schools, children, parents, and commercial industries to strengthen advocacy for, and effect improved conditions and treatment of child participants in commercial activities.

Many American preschool children enter kindergarten without the emergent literacy skills needed to learn to read. To address this problem, this multicase qualitative study investigated the emergent literacy practices at Steiner Waldorf-inspired and Reggio Emilia-inspired schools. The research questions focused on how alternative preschool philosophies help staff cultivate emergent literacy skills in young children. The conceptual framework came from Piaget's cognitive development theory, and Vygotsky's sociocultural theory. The study included eight participants from two Reggio Emilia-inspired and two Steiner Waldorf-inspired preschools. Data were collected through open-ended interviews, observations, and analyses of de-identified student work, then subjected to thematic cross-case analysis. Regarding the role of the two philosophies in the development of emergent literacy skills, findings indicated that teachers cited the philosophies leading them to honor their students, focus on the development of the whole child, and act as facilitators for children's oral language development through play. Regarding how program staff apply their program philosophies to creating emergent literacy through the learning environment key, the findings showed that both Steiner Waldorf-inspired and Reggio Emilia-inspired staff viewed the environment as another teacher. Reggio Emilia-inspired staff carefully organized the indoor and outdoor learning environments to provide numerous opportunities for authentic experiences and play, while Waldorf-inspired staff was more likely to draw from nature itself to create opportunities for imaginary play. When children start school with a solid foundation in emergent literacy, they are more likely to be successful readers.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 1 in 6 children are diagnosed with a developmental disability or with developmental delays, which are associated with impairments in physical, language, cognitive, and/or adaptive behaviors. To fill a gap in the literature, the adaptive profile of young children initially served as developmentally delayed (DD) were analyzed to explore adaptive differences between different ethnicities and placement settings of children at the time of the initial referral prior to DD assessment. Archival data included 333 preschool aged children. The independent variables of eligibility status (DD or not DD eligible), ethnicity (White, Black, or Hispanic), and placement setting prior to testing (home, daycare, or school) and the dependent variable of Adaptive Behavior Assessment Scale-II Parent/Primary Caregiver Form General Adaptive Composite (GAC) standard scores were used. Three 1-way ANOVAs indicated a significant difference between the 2 levels of eligibility status. There was no difference for the 3 levels of ethnicity. There was a significant difference in GAC scores between public school setting versus home setting but not between daycare setting versus public school and home settings. To effect positive social change, knowledge from this study highlights the need to increase professional and public awareness of early identification of DD children; the importance in mandating competent care by highly trained individuals; and the impact of educating parents, daycare professionals, educators, and other providers about the role of social learning on development and mastery of functional life skills for all young children.

The purpose of this study was to address gaps in the trauma treatment literature related to the expense and inaccessibility of evidence-based interventions for children with disabilities who have experienced trauma. Another aim of this study was to provide additional support for a newly piloted intervention for children with disabilities who have experienced trauma. This intervention is known as Smart Start: Parenting Tools for Children with Developmental Delay, Social-Emotional Concerns, and Trauma. A non-concurrent multiple baseline method was used to determine whether there was a functional relationship between the intervention and children’s challenging behaviors for five caregiver-child dyads. In addition, three of five caregiver-child dyads were assessed for improvements in child PTSD symptomatology, positive parenting practices, parenting stress, and treatment acceptability. Results from visual analysis, masked visual analysis, and hierarchical linear modeling were mixed, but generally supported a statistically and clinically significant relationship between participation in Smart Start and improved caregiver ratings of children’s challenging behaviors. Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test did not show statistically significant changes in interventionists’ ratings of challenging behavior, but descriptively, four of five children were rated as improved. Reliable change index scores revealed statistically significant changes in trauma symptoms and parenting stress for two participants. Positive parenting practices improved significantly for all participants according to the reliable change index. The intervention was implemented with good fidelity. All caregivers found Smart Start highly acceptable. Future research with larger samples is warranted based on the extremely promising results of the present study.