Research on mathematics achievement has become increasingly important with today's technological advances and demand for specialized knowledge. Though there is much literature regarding mathematics achievement in monolingual speakers, little is known regarding the mathematical abilities of Dual Language Learner (DLL) Latino children. This study examined the early numeracy skills in English and Spanish of 132 DLL Latino children attending Head Start programs in five counties across Florida. Relationships and differences among their performance in both languages were examined, along with the contribution of specific parent demographic variables to math achievement. Findings indicated that DLL Latino Head Start children's performance on early numeracy tasks in both English and Spanish ranged from average to low average when compared to national normative samples of monolingual peers. Child participants' performance on early numeracy tasks in English and Spanish was related to some extent. In addition, multiple regression analyses revealed that combined demographic variables predicted math performance in English and Spanish, but only mothers' level of education uniquely predicted the child participants' math performance in Spanish. This study is an important contribution to the literature, as it provides data regarding the early numeracy skills of DLL Latino Head Start children, as well as implications for the field of school psychology. Future directions for research are also discussed.

Although research on children's play is abundant and considerable advances have been made in young children's play, the majority of these studies have been based in western developed countries and written from adults' perspectives rather than with children. Additionally, very little research has been done on children's play with active participants from smaller developing countries. The voices of society's youngest members have been lost or are only marginally represented. The purpose of this qualitative research is to explore, understand, and describe young Jamaican children's lived play experiences as related through their eyes. The theoretical frameworks used to guide this study are sociocultural theory and narrative case study. Narrative case study focuses on a particular phenomenon and, through rich description, each participant's story relates the complexities of this phenomenon. Sociocultural theory is related to the social, cultural, and historical theory of a people and is constructed as they participate in culturally pertinent activities. The examined literature, which draws on diverse theoretical frameworks, including Vygotsky and Rogoff's sociocultural theory and Bronfenbrenner's work on socioecological theory, discusses types of play, the relationship between play and children's development, indoor and outdoor play at school, and play as perceived by children. A key theme in this literature is children's beliefs and values observed through a cultural filter. The three 5-year-old children, their teacher, and parents were purposefully selected for this single-bounded case study. The methods of data collection include video-cued interviews (VCI), a researcher's journal, and observation and field-notes. An understanding of the history of Jamaican education and its people is essential to the successful implementation of the play-based curriculum. The importance of knowing how children view their play and its manifestations and meanings is compelling to the Jamaican people and will help inform teachers, teacher education programs, parents, national and international funders, and other stakeholders as they try to fuse Jamaican culture with global elements of young children education.

John Dewey’s Art as Experience (1934) declares art to be the “incomparable organ of instruction” on the third to last page of the book. This dissertation analyzes the place of children within the aesthetic philosophy Dewey expresses in the text and what the implications of Art as Experience could mean if applied to the art-making of children as the foundation for developing kindergarten and elementary curriculum. By exploring Dewey’s earlier writings on education and art, the dissertation develops a view of how art-making could be applied in a Deweyan pedagogy. The main influences on Dewey’s aesthetic development are explored including the frequently overlooked influence of F. Matthias Alexander. Particular emphasis is given to Dewey’s relationship with Albert Barnes and Dewey’s place in the Barnes Foundation as the Director of Education. The writings of Barnes and Dewey’s three associate directors of education are considered for their possible influence on Dewey’s aesthetic development as it applies to establishing a Deweyan philosophy of art-based education. A selection of the initial reviews of Art As Experience from 1934 and 1935 are analyzed to establish the reception of the book. The contentious arguments that Dewey and Benedetto Croce exchanged in print from the late 1940s until both men’s deaths are explored for what they reveal about Dewey’s view of intuition in art-making. A selection of contemporary writers’ views on Dewey’s aesthetics are considered as well as the conclusions of the 1989 University of Illinois Symposium on the influence of Art as Experience. The dissertation concludes by isolating twenty concepts from Art as Experience and considering their meaning as the foundation on which kindergarten and elementary curriculum could be formed. The guidelines are built upon 76 passages from Art as Experience and establish John Dewey as a dominant influence in the formation of Art Education. / text

The purpose of this research study was to examine the effects of Interactive Metronome (IM), a non-academic treatment, when integrated with reading intervention. The intention was to analyze the degree to which IM affected fluency when introduced alongside reading intervention. The research questions that guided this study focused on how internal timekeeping affects reading fluency. This study used a multiple baseline across participant’s single-subject design. Three participants were monitored to determine a baseline using Curriculum Based Measures and Correct Word Per Minute data, and then each received a total of 15 hours of Interactive Metronome treatment. Progress was documented with progress monitoring of fluency using Curriculum Based Measures over a period of 17-22 weeks. Results suggest that students did not benefit from the Interactive Metronome treatment. Data derived from the study does not indicate a causal relationship between Interactive Metronome and improved fluency. Future research should investigate a possible connection between Interactive Metronome and comprehension.

Research has found that many children who come from a low socioeconomic background often begin their schooling careers behind most students. Head Start programs around the nation are utilized to close the gap in achievement, by providing those students with the educational support necessary to prepare them for future schooling. However, when assessed with the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS), Head Start programs have been found to be weaker in the area of Instructional Support. As a result, teachers are falling short in the way they provide feedback, incorporate higher thinking skills, and foster language development. In order to strengthen the instructional support component, research has supported the utilization of professional development to foster ways of incorporating informative praise which then encourages the desired behaviors and provides a rich language model for children This study was designed to provide professional development to Head Start teachers in order to increase informative praise and decrease commands and negative comments utilized by teachers. An increase in the number of general praise statements and informative praise statements used directly after the training was administered was found. However, as time progressed, the amount of praise decreased back to the levels before the training was given. It was also found that negative comments and commands decreased continuously throughout all observations after the training.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Σκοπός της εργασίας αυτής ήταν μια πρώτη μελέτη του παιχνιδιού και της επικοινωνίας των κωφών/βαρηκόων παιδιών με τα ακούοντα παιδιά μέσα σε ένα νηπιαγωγείο. Συγκεκριμένα, σκοπός μας είναι η μελέτη του κοινωνικού παιχνιδιού και του μη κοινωνικού παιχνιδιού των κωφών/βαρηκόων παιδιών, καθώς και της επικοινωνίας τους με το περιβάλλον τους (κωφά ή ακούοντα παιδιά) μέσα και έξω από τη τάξη. Στη παρούσα εργασία έγινε προσπάθεια να απαντηθούν τα εξής ερωτήματα: α) το είδος παιχνιδιού που χρησιμοποιούν τα κωφά/βαρήκοα παιδιά μόνα τους, μεταξύ τους ή/και με τα ακούοντα παιδιά, μέσα και έξω από τη τάξη και β) τον τρόπο επικοινωνίας που χρησιμοποιούν τα κωφά/βαρήκοα παιδιά μεταξύ τους ή/και με τα ακούοντα παιδιά, μέσα και έξω από τη τάξη. Στην έρευνα έλαβαν μέρος 10 παιδιά (Ν=10), από τα οποία τα πέντε ήταν κωφά/βαρήκοα και τα υπόλοιπα πέντε ήταν ακούοντα παιδιά, τα οποία αποτέλεσαν και την ομάδα ελέγχου. Τα αποτελέσματα της εργασίας έδειξαν ότι τα κωφά/βαρήκοα παιδιά αλληλεπιδρούν και επικοινωνούν με τα ακούοντα παιδιά, μέσα στη τάξη, ενώ δεν συμβαίνει το ίδιο, έξω από τη τάξη, αφού τα αποτελέσματα έδειξαν ότι τα κωφά/βαρήκοα παιδιά αλληλεπιδρούν και επικοινωνούν μόνο μεταξύ τους. Τέλος, τα αποτελέσματα αυτά θα πρέπει να ληφθούν υπόψη από τους εκπαιδευτικούς, προκειμένου οι τελευταίοι να αποκτήσουν τις απαραίτητες γνώσεις και πληροφορίες για τη σχολική ένταξη κωφών/βαρηκόων παιδιών σε σχολεία ακουόντων, με σκοπό να προσφέρουν ευκαιρίες για θετικές αλληλεπιδράσεις μεταξύ κωφών/βαρήκοων και ακουόντων παιδιών. / The aim of this assignment was a first study of the play and the communication among the deaf/hard of hearing children in the kindergarten. In particular, our aim is the study of social and non social play of deaf/hard of hearing children inside and outside of the classroom. At the present study, an effort was made to answer the following questions: a) the type of play that the deaf/hard of hearing children are using by themselves, between them or/and between hearing children, inside and outside the classroom and b) the way of communication, the deaf/hard of hearing children are using between them and/or the hearing children, inside and outside the classroom. In the study 10 children (N=10) participated, five of which were deaf/hard of hearing and the rest five were hearing children, which represented also the control group. The results of this assignment showed that the deaf/hard of hearing children interact and communicate with the hearing children, inside the classroom, but it does not happen the same outside the classroom, since the results showed that the deaf/hard of hearing children interact and communicate only among them. Finally, these results have to be taken under consideration by the teachers, so that they acquire the necessary knowledge and information for the school integration of the deaf/hard of hearing children in regular schools, with the purpose of offering opportunities for positive interactions between deaf/hard of hearing children and hearing children.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

We are currently in an era of accountability, so the need for measuring fidelity of implementation is gaining attention. However, there is little research in the area of fidelity of implementation and an inclusive early childhood classroom. In addition, most of the research is conducted using teachers. This study examined the fidelity of implementation by two teaching assistants using the teaching strategies of time delay and system of least prompts with children with and without disabilities in an inclusive early childhood setting. A multiple-probe design with conditions across two behaviors and across two participants design was used to determine the effects of teaching assistants’ fidelity of implementation of evidence-based teaching strategies. Also a multiple probe across two behaviors, replicated across children was used. Most importantly, the results showed that teaching assistants could implement systematic teaching strategies with fidelity. Secondly, the children were able to make progress towards their target skills.

The purpose of this study was to determine if there existed significant relationships between 4 and 5 year old children’s attitude toward school, their classroom teacher’s perception of their attitude toward school, length of time in school, sex, or a composite of these with their achievement on the Pre-School Attainment Record. A random sample of 55 Head Start children completed three instruments. The instruments used in this study were a revised Children’s Attitude Toward School Scale (CATSS-R), (Beere, 1970) The Pre-School Attainment Record (PAR), (Doll, 1966) and the Teachers Rating of Attitude of Children Toward School (TRACTS). The results of the multiple regression analysis yielded an R of .517 between the composite variable (CATSS-R and Age) and the PAR achievement measure. This was statistically significant at the .01 level of confidence and explained 26.7% of the PAR variance. The second composite variable consisting of CATSS0R, Age and TRACTS correlated with the PAR achievement variables at .530 and was significant at the .01 level, explaining 28.13% of the PAR variance. The third variable, TRACTS, contributed only 1.3% of the total composite variance explaining PAR achievement. Time in school and sex contributed even less when included with the other variables in the composite variable. Results of the Pearson-product moment correlation of each of the variables with PAR achievement demonstrated significant correlations for only CATSS-R and Age (r .45 and r -.30) at the .01 level of confidence. However, the ­ tests between Pearson correlation coefficients of each of the variables’ correlation with the PAR achievement revealed four out of a possible 10 significant differences. The ANOVA test showed that the four year olds were superior to the five year olds on the PAR. A brief discussion was given of the implications for education in regard to the vast differences between teachers perception and students own perception of their attitude toward school.