Thesis (M. S.)--Oklahoma State University, 2005. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p.43-50).

Thesis (M.A.)--Rowan University, 2009. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 270-282).

<p> The purpose of this study was to discover the readiness levels for a cohort of students entering kindergarten for the first time and find the factors that influence school readiness by using a valid and reliable readiness assessment tool to impact policy. The readiness levels were the dependent variables in the study. The independent variables were the factors that potentially impact the children&rsquo;s readiness such as: gender, ethnicity, socio-economic levels, and prekindergarten experience. A three-week summer readiness intervention created the opportunity to randomly match the attendees to non-participants to study effectiveness of the program. Quantitative data analysis discovered significant differences in school readiness for children in this sample among groups when comparing the independent variables of gender, prekindergarten attendance, socio-economic levels, and a three-week summer intervention. The readiness differences occurred in almost every domain and for overall readiness. Prekindergarten experience did raise readiness levels. Females in the sample entered schools significantly more skilled than males. Both, the children from paid and reduced text program exhibited higher levels of the essential skills upon entering school than the children receiving free texts. A summer three-week readiness intervention raised readiness skills significantly in overall readiness; Approaches to Learning; Cognitive, General Knowledge; Language Development; Early Literacy; and Social, Emotional domains. One implication from the results was that even a three-week readiness program had an impact; therefore interventions can make a difference in preparing children for school. However, as found in prior research socioeconomic level is highly correlated to school readiness.</p>

<p> The purpose of this dissertation study is to describe, explain, and analyze teachers&rsquo;, supervisors&rsquo;, and educational administrators&rsquo; perspectives, or self-reported opinions, regarding their current practices and policies of Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Saudi Arabia (SA), and the challenges and the benefits of adopting the Reggio Emilia approach (REA) into early childhood institutions in SA. ECE faces many challenges in SA, such as: the traditional role of the teachers, a standard curriculum that is planned in advance, lack of collaboration with families, centralized education management, and the image of the child as passive learner (Metwaly, 2007). With these in mind, I argued that implementing the REA in Saudi kindergartens in a way that suits the social, culture, and religious context may help overcome some of the challenges that are confronting ECE in SA today. </p><p> Three theoretical frameworks guided this study: social constructivist theory, the community of collaboration perspective, and the theoretical foundation of ECE in SA. The social constructivist theory and community of collaboration perspective offered a comprehensive understanding of the RE philosophy and its core principles by explaining how children learn and the critical importance of community collaboration. In addition, examining the theoretical foundations of ECE in SA guided my understanding of current Saudi ECE practices and policies. </p><p> This study used in-depth interviews to explore and analyze ECE teachers&rsquo;, supervisors&rsquo;, and educational provincial administrators&rsquo; perspectives in Riyadh about the potential benefits and challenges of implementing the REA into the Saudi ECE context. Audiotapes and transcriptions from individual interviews with participants were used as data sources, along with documents and analytic memos. Data were analyzed using the constant comparative analysis approach; this can provide opportunities to explore the participants&rsquo; opinions about the likelihood of implementing the REA, what it would take to adopt it if possible, and how it could be modified to fit the social, cultural, and religious context in SA. </p><p>

<p> Grandparents play an important yet varied role in grandchild care-giving, from being the primary caregiver of their grandchildren, to sharing living space and child rearing with their children and grandchildren, to providing informal childcare for grandchildren while their parents/guardians are at work. Grandparents also play a variety of roles in family constellations, including tradition keepers, storytellers, and family gatherers. One unexplored question in the research literature is how grandparents providing care negotiate nature with their grandchildren. Using the theoretical concepts of Funds of Knowledge, <i>nepantla</i>, and Common Worlds anthis study documents and analyzes how grandparents and grandchildren use space, sensory experience and story to negotiate nature experiences. Six groups of grandparents and grandchildren with a history of lifelong nature involvement are co-researchers in this study. The first data collection method was the Mosaic approach, which includes participant observation of care-giving routines, child-led tours of geography important to their care receiving, and child-taken photographs. The second method was walking interviews with grandparents, which were mapped using geographic information systems to produce a spatial transcript. The final method was to create documentation books and a slide show in the style of the Municipal Infant-Toddler Schools of Reggio Emilia that were shared in a large group gathering of all participants. Data analysis was undertaken using a critical constructivist lens, part of a larger crystallization approach. </p><p> Key words: grandparents, nature, grandchildren, children's geographies, geo- narratives, Funds of Knowledge, <i>nepantla</i>, Common Worlds </p><p>

abstract: This qualitative study investigates the at-home educational efforts of six immigrant families as they prepare their children for school in the United States. The participants’ at-home educational activities were provided by the Mexican immigrant families using photographs of activities that they judged as skills which developed the child’s ability to engage with other children, teachers, and the curriculum on their first day at school. Photovoice methodology was used in order to provide the Mexican immigrants’ voice. The families were recruited from a large urban city in the Southwest with a large immigrant population. They were recruited from medical centers, social support centers, churches with immigrant communities, and schools that had Mexican immigrant children in attendance. The schools and churches provided the greatest source of participants. The educational level of the parents varied from over fifteen years to three years of schooling in Mexico. The children in the study were citizens of the United States, were from two to four years of age, had not yet attended school in the U.S., but had siblings attending public schools in the United States. The families opened their life to the researcher and provided an insight through their photographs that could not have been gained if only interviews and/or questionnaires were used. The twenty five photographs selected to identify the six educational themes that were highlighted throughout the study are demonstrative of what the families in the study were doing to prepare their children for their first day of school. Mexican immigrant parents have high expectations for their children and are willing to sacrifice for the children’s education. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation English 2015

<p> The research examined kindergarten teachers&rsquo; beliefs and implementation of school, family, and community partnerships (SFCPs) in Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia. It used Epstein&rsquo;s model of SFCPs including the following practices: parenting, communicating, volunteering, learning at home, decision-making, and collaborating with the community. Two strands were employed: the quantitative obtained teachers&rsquo; beliefs and implementation of the SFCP practices by surveying a sample of 266 teachers from 126 public kindergartens. The follow up qualitative strand included a purposeful sample of 12 teachers to explore their experiences with SFCPs within three different social and economic areas (SEAs): High, middle, and low SEAs. </p><p> Two-way Multiple Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) and chi-square tests were used to analyze teachers&rsquo; response to the survey. Thematic analysis was used to analyze teachers&rsquo; responses the follow-up interviews. The results revealed that there were no significant associations between teachers regarding to their years of experience or different teaching areas in terms of their beliefs about or implementation of SFCPs. The teachers believed that all of the six practices were important but gave slightly differences priorities to them. For the implementation of the practices, learning at home ranked the highest of the implementation, 74% of the study sample implemented this practice between once a semester to a weekly basis. For parenting and communication practices, over 50% of the sample implemented these practices between several times a semester to weekly. Collaborating with the community, volunteering, and decision-making were the lowest in implementation. More than half of the participants (49%, 60%, and 66% respectively) never implemented any of them. </p><p> The interviews analysis provided four main themes; partnerships knowledge, establishing partnerships need, partnership obstacles, and partnerships enhancement. The result showed that not all teachers acknowledged the six practices. They provided different stories to show the need (or not) of specific practices. The interviews focused on teachers&rsquo; experiences and highlighted many of the barriers that weakened the partnerships and emphasized the need to enhance these partnerships. This enhancement should be from different levels and parties, including but not limited to the teachers, co-workers, families, Ministry of Education, and the community.</p><p>

<p> Despite being mandated reporters by law, preschool teachers often fail to report suspicion of child abuse or neglect. Although research has been conducted regarding reasons why teachers do not report, no study has yet examined preschool teachers&rsquo; thinking as decisions are being made. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to examine the in-the-moment decision-making process of preschool teachers to report or not report cases of suspected child abuse or neglect. Three research questions guided this exploration of teachers&rsquo; responses to cases of possible child abuse or neglect, the reasons teachers give for their responses, and their confidence in the correctness of their decisions to report or not to report child abuse or neglect. The conceptual framework for this study was the ethical decision-making model of Meneghetti and Seel. The research was a phenomenological study using the think aloud protocol of van Someren, Barnard, and Sandberg. Three scenarios of possible child abuse cases were used as the basis for the face-to-face interviews in which 6 lead preschool teachers described their thought processes. The purposeful sample comprised 6 lead teachers in a major city in the United States with children aged 2 through 5. A thematic analysis method and coding strategy were used to answer the research questions. The findings in this study were consistent with the literature in that most of the teachers did not elect to report their suspicion of child abuse or neglect, but were inhibited by lack of clear understanding of what constitutes abuse and neglect, and by a desire for more information. This study contributes to positive social change by indicating a need for more training of preschool teachers in their mandated reporter role, which can result in more confident decision making and greater success in protecting young children.</p><p>

<p> Previous research indicates that burnout leads to issues such as attrition and poor practitioner health in early childhood education and other helping professions. This study examined self-care as a potential buffering factor against burnout in preschool teachers. Maslach&rsquo;s three-dimension construct of burnout, trauma stewardship, and the coping reservoir model formed the theoretical foundations for this research. This study used semi-structured, open-ended interviews to collect qualitative data from four preschool teachers at different points in their careers to understand how early childhood educators conceptualize and practice self-care, experience burnout, and perceive the relationship between self-care and well-being. The findings show that preschool teachers experience multiple levels of work-related stress, that several types of factors can increase resilience to stress and burnout, and that self-care is highly complex and dynamic. These results point to the necessity of promoting self-care at the individual and organizational levels, treating self-care as a professional imperative, providing burnout interventions at the individual, organizational, and societal levels, and encouraging teachers to practice self-care in dynamic, adaptive ways to best support their unique needs and situations. The field would benefit from further studies exploring the relationship between self-care and burnout specifically in early childhood education, ways in which organizations can promote self-care practices in employees, and what characteristics or practices exist among teachers who have demonstrated resilience in the face of chronic work-related stressors. </p><p>