The observation of first grade children as they became readers led the researcher to this study. Some children found reading an effortless task, some progressed as expected with instruction, while others struggled. An effort was undertaken to gain insight into the various paths children took on their way to independent reading. The goal of this qualitative study was to describe the reading experiences of first grade children in order to enhance understanding and to describe their paths to look for similarities and differences. Five themes emerged from this study. First, the study found differing definitions of reading among the children, parents, and teachers. These conflicting definitions sometimes led to complications as the children learned to read. Second, the social construction of learning to read was clearly demonstrated by these children. Children in this study read together, held conversations about how to work their way through text, and engaged in joint decision making. While the children learned from and with each other throughout the study, a third theme that emerged was that of the personal nature of learning to read. In addition to reading and learning with peers, the children also chose to read alone. This seemed to be a time to try out and internalize new learning, as well as time to practice what was known. The various paths that the children took as they learned to read yielded a fourth theme. While the path for some was rather linear, others took a more circuitous route. The ability of the children in this study to identify more able readers and to seek them out to read and listen to emerged as the fifth and final theme. / Ed. D.

As the number of public school students identified as living in poverty increases, so does the number of children entering kindergarten with inadequate pre-literacy skills. This lack of preparation creates a gap in literacy achievement that is persistent and grows throughout a child's K-12 experience. One rural Virginia school division has begun offering a full-day prekindergarten program for the most at-risk three year-old children. The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of the three year-old preschool program in this one rural school division in eastern Virginia. This study examined the literacy achievement data for the first five cohorts of these students, and determined what difference, if any, exists in achievement as measured by the Virginia Phonemic Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS), the Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI), Get Ready to Read" Revised (GRTR-R) and teacher-generated student growth assessments. A two-tailed t-test was used to identify potential differences in mean scores on the appropriate achievement measures between those students who received the three year-old preschool intervention and those that did not. For each of the first five cohorts of students, no significant difference was identified in literacy achievement on the four assessments administered where such difference may be assumed to occur, indicating that early intervention may make a difference in closing the literacy achievement gap for students in poverty. / Ed. D.

Partners in Print, a family literacy program, was brought to the urban elementary school in this study to educate and empower kindergarten and first grade parents to promote literacy development at home. This research aimed to explore the impact of participation in this program after consistent participation by utilizing a one-group pre-test, post-test research design. The Parent Empowerment and Home Literacy Environment Survey, which included both structured and unstructured questions, was administered before and after participation in the program to elicit notions of parent empowerment and growth in the home literacy environment. Parent participants also completed a document review of program handouts to triangulate the data. The data suggested that parents feel more empowered after consistently participating in Partners in Print. There was also evidence that the home literacy environment was of higher quality after participation. This study validated the practice of implementing family literacy programs as a strategy for empowering parents and enriching the home literacy environments of children.

No description available.

No description available.

The present study explored the efficacy of a parent implemented emergent literacy intervention to promote reading readiness and to improve parent-child relationships among preschoolers and their caregivers. Subjects were 24 parents and their preschool children ranging in age from three to five years who attend preschool at the Mailman-Segal Institute (MSI) for Early Childhood Studies. An assessment of the students' pre -literacy skills was conducted and teacher and parent rating scales that measured social- emotional and behavioral functioning were collected. Parents were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. Parents assigned to the experimental group learned to implement activities from the Parents Activate Literacy Skills (PALS) curriculum in their daily routine to promote pre-literacy skills. Parents assigned to the control group learned to implement parenting techniques to promote improved parent-child interactions in an adapted version of Russell Barkley's Parent Training Program. Adherence to interventions was monitored by parents' self-report, and fidelity of implementation was assessed throughout the research by trained observers. The proposed study seeks to understand better the skills required for early literacy acquisition among preschoolers. The children were assessed pre and post-intervention using selected subtests of the Woodcock-Johnson III Achievement Battery and the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Abilities. Parents were asked to complete behavior rating scales and a measure of parenting stress, while teachers were asked to complete behavior rating scales prior to and post-intervention. One-way (treatment versus control) analyses of covariance were used to test for differences between groups. Results from the analyses revealed that children in the Literacy Intervention group performed significantly better than children in the Behavior Management group on Oral Comprehension, Sound Blending, and Phonemic Awareness subtests of the Woodcock-Johnson. Additionally, parents in the emergent literacy intervention showed a significant decrease on the parent-child dysfunctional interaction scale of the Parenting Stress Index (PSI)-Short Form.

Background: Physical literacy has been adopted in PE, sport and recreation to develop active participation in Canada. Physical literacy (PL) is the motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge and understanding to value and take responsibility for engagement in physical activities for life (IPLA 2015). There are three proposed domains (physical, psychological, and behavioural) for PL. Little is known about PL in children and youth. Aims: Aim 1: To characterize PL in children and youth, and to relate PL to health related fitness, performance and physical activity. Aim 2: To evaluate a PL intervention (Run Jump Throw) in grade 3/4 PE. Methods: Design: Cross-sectional (n=299, grades 3, 4, 8 and 12) and quasi-experimental intervention (n=199, 4 intervention, 4 matched comparison schools, Grade 3/4, Run Jump Throw Intervention). Instruments: Physical Literacy Assessment of Youth tools (PLAY Fun, PLAY Self, PLAY Inventory), BMI, waist circumference (WC), 20 meter shuttle run (CVFIT), sprint speed (SPEED), accelerometer measured physical activity (PA), Physical Self-Description Questionnaire (PSDQ) and the Motivation to Physical Activity Measure (MPAM). Results: Motor competence increased with grade (p<0.01). Substantial gaps (3.4% object control) in motor competence between males and females (M>F, P<0.01) identified in grade 4, the gap widens with grade (16.6% by grade 12). Motor competence was correlated (p<0.01) to -0.29 WC, -0.48 BMI, 0.54 PA, 0.56 CVFIT, 0.86 SPEED, 0.23 MPAM, and 0.5 PSDQ. The affective/cognitive domain of PLAY Self was correlated to (p<0.01) to -0.22 BMI, 0.33 PA, 0.42 PLAY Inventory, 0.46 CVFIT, 0.45 SPEED, 0.44 MPAM, and 0.79 PSDQ. Moderate associations were observed between physical and psychological domains of physical literacy. PLAY Self demonstrated convergent validity with PSDQ and MPAM. The Run Jump Throw intervention improved motor competence (5.5%, p<0.01), and was greater than comparison schools (3.5%, p<0.05). Conclusion: Physical literacy shows appropriate linkages to health related outcomes in two key domains, physical and psychological. The gender gap in physical literacy is alarming, and requires studies for remediation. These results support the notion that PL may be a gateway to physical activity in youth, and that PL can be enhanced by means of quality PL enriched lesson plans in schools. / February 2017

The purpose of this study was to describe the extent and quality of prior knowledge, transactional nature, and social context of literacy knowledge demonstrated by young mildly handicapped learners. The study was based on current theories of literacy which view literacy growth as part of the total language system development, and ethnographic methods were used to gather and analyze qualitative data. Language and literacy events were observed in three special education classrooms including 43 students ranging in age from 4 years 1 month to 9 years 11 months. Major findings of the study included: (a) The children in this study demonstrated prior literacy knowledge much like that of non-handicapped peers, (b) Demonstrations of oral and written language system transactions decreased after students received formal instruction in reading and writing. And (c) children's ability to interpret print depended greatly on the presence or absence of context with the print.

Title: Athletic literacy. Objectives: The aim of my study was to compare athletic literacy of 1st and 5th-graders and to test if children can perform basic athletic excercises and can be therefore called athletically literate. Methods: Cross-sectional study, video analysis. Results: Fifth-graders performed the excersises more precisely compared to first- graders. Their performance was more coordinated and smooth. However, in video analysis of key phases of movements (nodal points) the difference wasn't as pronounced as expected. Children from both groups have similiar motoric skills, but fifth-graders have more experience and orientate better in the movements. Indeed, this "extra" ability is what can be called athletic literacy. Children not only learned the movements, but also know how to use them properly. Keywords: Physical literacy, athletic literacy, kinogram.

Doctor of Philosophy / Curriculum and Instruction Programs / F. Todd Goodson / By the end of March 2011, 2.3 million active-duty military personnel and reservists had deployed to combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan (Golding, 2011). Many of them had experienced multiple deployments in which they served in war zones for 12 to 15 months, returned to the US for 12 months, and then deployed again to another war zone (Huebner & Mancini, 2008; Morse, 2006). Adolescents in military families whose service members are deployed repeatedly, and for longer durations, experience circumstances unique to current conflicts. Documents such as the Educator’s Guide to the Military Child During Deployment (retrieved 2008) recommend various literacy practices as a means of coping with the circumstances of deployment. This qualitative phenomenological inquiry seeks to extend the body of research in the area of adolescent literacy by examining the perceptions of adolescents regarding their out-of-school literacy practices within the experience of deployment. In this study, the perspectives of five adolescents were examined regarding their literacy practices as they shaped their identities, enacted agency, and navigated structures of power during deployment. Phenomenological analysis, critical discourse analysis, and sociocultural theory were applied to data gathered from initial interviews, literacy logs, and follow-up interviews. During the phenomenological analysis, descriptions of each participant’s experiences were developed, replete with the words and expressions of the adolescents themselves. Horizontalization of significant statements from these descriptions yielded a composite description offering an understanding of what it is like to engage in out-of-school literacy practices within the circumstances of military deployment. Three themes emerged; ambiguity, responses, and roles. A theoretical analysis utilizing critical discourse analysis and sociocultural theory examined the discourses of the participants and interpreted relationships between the adolescents’ literacy practices and their experiences with deployment. This examination offered insight to the ways these adolescents established identity and enacted agency within power circulations as their families experienced deployment. This study places the voices of adolescents at the foreground of consideration. Listening to their words and reading their texts offers true insight into their literacy practices as they navigate the lived experience of deployment.