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The purpose of this qualitative research was to understand the process of co-constructing music in a Reggio-inspired preschool. Although both adults and children facilitate musical processes in co-constructed settings, in this study I focused on processes that emerged from children. One question guided this study: In this preschool, what processes do children use to make their music learning visible and audible? From September 16 to December 16, 2014, I visited Project P.L.A.Y. School--a play- and relationship-based, Reggio-inspired preschool--once weekly for one and a half hours during the children's free play time. The participants were 13 children between the ages of two and a half and five years old, as well as six adults. During my visits, I acted as a musical play partner with the children, following the children's leads. Data emerged from child and adult musickers as musical interactions, which I documented using Reggio-inspired documentation techniques--audio recording, video recording, and photographing during musical interactions as long as the interaction lasted. In addition, I kept a researcher's journal consisting of same-day reflections after each visit. The documentation resulted in five hours and 42 minutes of video and audio recordings, 115 photographs, and an 80 page researcher's journal. Because my data collection were modeled on Reggio-inspired documentation techniques, I did not run continuous video but only recorded during musical interactions as long as the interaction lasted. Thus, the audio and video recordings were in 215 separate files, ranging from four seconds to 19 minutes in duration. I interpreted the data using qualitative strategies, coding data from documentation and my journal. Codes gave rise to categories which became salient themes. I labeled those themes processes, and employed narrative tenets to present the findings, restorying experiences into vignettes and using photographs and notation to support the themes. At Project P.L.A.Y. School, children made their music learning audible and visible by engaging in seven music processes: vocal exploration, singing, instrument exploration, expressive movement, notation exploration, staging shows, and musical conversations. These processes emerged as part of larger social processes, such as discussion and social play. Some processes emerged within others, as children sang during their musical conversations and danced while they staged shows. Thus, co-constructed musicking was part of the whole experiences of the children. Musickers at Project P.L.A.Y. School made their learning audible and visible through musical processes that were fundamentally social and creative. The co-constructed musicking was social and creative, as adults and children developed musical thinking and skills through listening and responding to one another. Through the emergent social and musical process, adults were able to scaffold and extend children's musicking. Through these processes, musickers developed skills that may help them become thoughtful, independent, and intentional musicians. Due to the rich musicking that emerged in this context, I recommend that music teachers and early childhood teachers embrace the role of musical play partner; dedicate time to music exploration and play; design children's musicking spaces in a way that emphasizes agency and accessibility; and provide opportunities for musical choice in all music education settings. I conclude by recommending that future researchers consider studying co-constructed musicking in other environments, as well as musical project work, as projects are important to the emergent curriculum of the Reggio approach. / Music Education

There is little evidence in the literature that early childhood (EC) teachers are using developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) in implementing computer applications in their classrooms. The purpose of this study was to identify EC teachers' perspectives about the use of developmentally appropriate computer applications and to identify their perspectives on strategies for implementing change toward greater use of developmentally appropriate computer applications. The study was based upon Joseph and Reigeluth's conceptual framework of systemic change processes, which provides educators with the foundation to achieve sustainable changes. The research questions that guided this qualitative case study were designed to obtain teachers' perspectives about the use of DAP while embedding technology into EC classrooms and strategies that might be used in encouraging use of DAP computer applications. Data collection included semistructured interviews with 10 EC teachers in one school and reviews of relevant documents. Data from interviews and document reviews indicated a perceived need for more integration of developmentally appropriate computer technology in the classroom and for increasing teachers' knowledge of DAP through training and staff development. Recommendations for schools included finding more and varied technology funding sources, placing greater school emphasis on the importance of a learning organization, and increasing stakeholder involvement. For teachers, recommendations were to develop additional instructional strategies for embedding DAP technology into the classroom. This study has the potential to help stakeholders and EC teachers enhance the fidelity of instruction and students' learning in the classroom.

Childhood obesity rates are on the rise. There are detrimental physical and psychological health effects associated with childhood obesity. Society needs proven methods of delivering nutrition and physical activity education to children. The Teens Reaching Youth (TRY) 4-H model has been shown to be effective at delivering curriculum in a variety of topics. To assess the effectiveness of the TRY 4-H model at delivering nutrition and physical activity education to youth, grades third through sixth. The program's objectives were to increase youth participants' nutritional knowledge, improve youth participants' eating and fitness habits, and improve leadership and life skills of the teens involved in the TRY 4-H program. We compared three groups of youth grades third through sixth in Northern Utah. We looked at the youth's nutrition knowledge and food preferences as well as their parents/guardians' behaviors. Then two of the groups participated in a nutrition and physical activity education program. One group was taught by TRY 4-H teams and the other group was taught by adult volunteers from the community. After participating in the program, the youth's nutrition knowledge and food preferences and their parents/guardians' behaviors were re-assessed. The control group was unavailable for re-assessment due to limited access. Teen leadership was assessed using a teen leadership and life skills assessment tool. At baseline, the three samples had no statistical differences. The TRY 4-H treatment and Adult Volunteer treatment were found to produce statistically similar nutrition knowledge out-comes. Parents/guardians reported improvements in youth participant nutrition and physical activity habits. Teen members of the TRY teams experienced an increase in leadership and life skills. Teens from the TRY 4-H program are as effective as adult volunteers at teaching younger youth about nutrition. This education delivery method should be utilized in additional communities to aid in the fight against childhood obesity.

The cultural and linguistic diversity of the United States is growing rapidly and early intervention service providers are very likely to work with families whose cultures differ from their own. Service providers must consider the multiple cultural factors of families which contribute to family dynamics and the potential for miscommunication is high when the cultural frameworks of early intervention providers differ from those of the families they serve. Culturally responsive practices have been put forth in the theoretical literature as a way to increase successful communication and service provision but there is limited research investigating the beliefs, experiences, and practices of early intervention providers regarding cultural responsiveness and the efficacy of specific practices. This study utilized an exploratory case study methodology with multiple case analyses to investigate the expressed beliefs and practices of in-service early intervention providers regarding culturally responsive practices and comparing them to the tenets of best practice set forth in the conceptual literature. Specifically, the study tested the theory that cultural responsiveness is an integral component of effective early intervention service provision.

The purpose of this research study is to identify teachers&rsquo / perceptions on the effectiveness of their teacher education programs in supporting their professional practices. The data to the study were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 17 in-service teachers working in public early childhood institutions in Ankara. The data were analyzed through the emerging codes and themes shaped by the research questions. The results indicated that the 1998 program the study intended to investigate was found to be relatively satisfying in terms of developing professional teach ing competencies. The major weakness was reported to be theory-oriented structure which did not allow for ample practice opportunities both in the courses and in the field experiences. Moreover, due to the infancy ages of the field, the contents of courses offered were perceived to be in line with the essentials of primary and elementary level which contradicts the necessities of early childhood teaching. The findings were further discussed and interpreted.

This dissertation investigates the ways in which pre-k teachers understood the math content that they were to teach and their math instruction. To investigate this, a qualitative case study examining five pre-k teachers was conducted. Data sources included observation field notes, teacher interviews, and documents such as state and district pre-k guidelines. The findings from this dissertation suggest that pre-k teachers’ knowledge entails both knowledge of subject matter and pedagogical content knowledge. In addition, this study identified what these pre-k teachers knew about math and teaching/learning math as well as what they still needed to know to provide high quality and effective math instruction. Chapter 1 introduces my research question and important terms, such as mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT). Chapter 2 synthesizes relevant literature in the area of effective math instruction, theoretical framework of teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching and early mathematics education. The literature review seeks to highlight the importance of early childhood teachers’ deep understanding of mathematical content and of their math instruction. Chapter 3 forwards the specific conceptual framework for this study while detailing the methodology that guided this investigation including data gathering and analysis. Chapter 4 presents the findings from this research. It examines pre-k teachers’ understanding of mathematical content that they are to teach and their knowledge of how to teach mathematics. Chapter 5 addresses the significance of these two major findings. First, I discuss the four types of mathematical knowledge and skills that these pre-k teachers possess. I also compare and contrast them with the teacher knowledge examined in the literature. Then, by examining research literature on early math education, I suggest what mathematical knowledge and skills they still need to attain to offer high-quality and effective math instruction. This dissertation concludes with a discussion of implication for teachers, teacher educators, and suggestions for future research. / text

In Korea, English education in kindergartens has dramatically increased in the last 15 years. As a result, almost all Korean kindergarten students are learning English today. The present study aims to understand Korean parents’, kindergarten teachers’, and kindergarten students’ perceptions of early English-language education (EEE). This study is particularly significant because thus far little research has investigated the perceptions of EEE held by the young learners themselves. Ninety-five participants - 30 kindergarten teachers, 33 parents, and 32 five- and six-year old kindergarten students - were recruited from five kindergartens in four cities in Chung-Nam province, Korea. The parents’ and teachers’ perceptions of EEE were examined through questionnaires, whereas the students’ perceptions of learning English were investigated through multiple data collection methods: a questionnaire, an interview session, and a drawing activity. Questionnaire data gathered from the parents and teachers were quantitatively analyzed, and the data gathered from the kindergarten students were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The findings revealed that the parent and student groups shared more positive attitudes towards EEE than the teacher group. In addition, many more parents and students believed that English education is necessary at the kindergarten level than the teachers did. Concerning kindergarten students’ perceptions, the three data collection methods in this study showed that many kindergarten children consistently held positive attitudes towards learning English. The students were not only interested in learning English, but they also showed high self-confidence in learning English. / Graduate

abstract: Arizona State University's (ASU) teacher education program has been restructured several times in the last two decades to train teachers to teach children more effectively by responding to their individual needs and learning demands. One of the reasons for restructuring was to respond to new licensing requirements by the State. To serve young children's needs, the state of Arizona required individuals working with young children to obtain either early childhood licensing or endorsement by January, 2009. Responding to these new requirements, ASU now requires student teaching in a preschool setting in addition to the existing Kindergarten to third grade student teaching and internship requirements. This study addressed the question of teacher preparation and self-efficacy based on this newly restructured teaching model used in the ASU Tempe teacher education program. The following questions guided this study: 1) What effects do beginning teachers perceive that their split-student teaching experiences have on their experience as a new teacher; 2) How do beginning teachers' prior schooling, educational, and personal background influence their current teaching; and 3) What role does home, family, and collegial support play as beginning teachers start their teaching career? A qualitative case study research method was utilized in this study. Two face-to-face, in-depth individual interviews and one focus group interview with three second-year and two third-year beginning teachers were utilized to understand their experiences in the program and in their beginning years of teaching. An analysis of interview data revealed beginning teachers' student teaching experiences partially fulfilled their need of having adequate in-classroom experience before starting their teaching careers; yet they highlighted some suggestions for student teaching assignments to better prepare prospective teacher candidates in the program. Moreover, they expressed both satisfaction and dissatisfaction toward courses taken in the program. Their statements also emphasized the importance of having effective mentorship in their student teaching and first year of teaching. Support from administration, experienced colleagues, friends, and family members were also acknowledged as highly valuable as they struggled with issues in their beginning career. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Curriculum and Instruction 2010