This dissertation presents the results of an intervention study examining whether electronic picturebook applications on a tablet computer support the development of print knowledge in preschool age children in low literacy childcare environments. Print knowledge is one of the earliest literacy skills to develop and there is evidence that children who enter kindergarten without this skill are less likely to be reading on grade level two years later (Piasta et al., 2012; Whitehurst & Lonigan, 1998). Since print knowledge is so critical for later literacy development, it is important to make sure that all children acquire this capacity. The sample for this study consisted of 3 and 4 year old children who attended six low literacy classrooms in four childcare centers located in Delaware and Chester Counties. Classrooms were randomly assigned as either experimental or control. A tablet computer preloaded with interactive electronic picturebooks was added to the experimental classroom for children to interact with during free play. Teachers were told not to use the tablet for individual, small or large group reading and there were no other changes to the literacy environment. Children were allowed to play with the tablet as a free choice activity. There were no changes to the literacy environment of the control classrooms. A pre-test/post-design using the Get Ready To Read Screening tool measured changes in children’s print knowledge learning over the three month period of time in which the study was conducted. The quality of the literacy environment was measured at the beginning and end of the study. Additional data were gathered through teacher and family questionnaires and classroom observation. The frequency and duration of tablet use was also tracked. The results indicate that there were no positive significant differences in print knowledge from pre to post test. This indicates that the teacher is still the most critical component of the emergent literacy environment. / Educational Psychology

The purpose of this study was fourfold: to further our understanding of the effect of training on teachers' use of "bridging strategies"; to identify variables that influence teachers' use of the strategies; to explore the feasibility of using the Bridging Strategy Rating Scale (BSRS) as a feedback/evaluation tool for members of the child care and school community; to establish which strategies were least/most used. A series of two-way, 2 x 2, ANDV As, !-tests, and descriptive statistics revealed that training was partially effective in assisting teachers in their use of the "bridging strategies"; comfort with, clarity of concept, and simplicity, were identified contextual variables that influenced teachers' use of some of the strategies. T-test of control group's pretest and posttest mean score was statistically significant whereas the experimental group's was at a level that approached significance. Observing, validating, participating/conversing, managing/organizing/providing were the most used strategies and extending, problem initiating, role modeling and instructing were the least used. Interpretations and implications for early childhood teacher educators are discussed. / Ph. D.

Although play is a vital concept and a core element within early childhood development, it is quickly diminishing throughout our schools. It is critical to provide an awareness that play is important in the development of young children and allows . children the opportunity to grow socially, emotionally, physically and cognitively. This thesis provides some play strategies and implications for parents to ensure their children's optimal development.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of participation in the district's early childhood program on later academic achievement as measured by the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) mathematics and reading assessments in Grades 3, 4, and 5. The studied district opened a centralized early childhood school in 2009 and implemented the Texas Pre-K Guidelines. The STAAR test results were available for five cohorts of students who attended the early childhood school and took the STAAR mathematics and reading assessments in the years 2014-2018. A quasi-experimental design was used to analyze differences in STAAR mathematics and reading scores for students who attended the district's early childhood program and students who did not attend. A two-way factorial ANOVA was used to examine the effect on test scores of attending the district's early childhood school and other demographic categories, Latinx, African American, socio-economic status, and English language learners (ELL). The results show that attending the early childhood program did not have a statistically significant effect for Latinx or African American students. However, the mean mathematics scores for economically-disadvantaged students who attended the early childhood program were higher than their peers who did not attend. ELL students who attended the program also had higher mathematics scores but the differences were usually not statistically significant. The same impact on economically-disadvantaged students and ELLs was not found on reading tests.

Since 2011, the state of Oregon has embarked on a comprehensive educational policy change to create a unified birth to twenty educational system. As part of the birth to age five early childhood and family investment strategy, mandated participation in Oregon professional development system is required for all early childhood educators working in Office of Child Care licensed programs. To date, research on early childhood educators' experience in professional development systems has focused primarily on experiences with regulatory systems. This hermeneutic phenomenological study explored how four early childhood educators made meaning of their experiences of professional engagement in Oregon's state professional development system. As a researcher-participant, I conducted a two-part interview with these early childhood educators. First, we revisited the experience of the professional development journey in collage, followed by narrative semi-structured interviews. The researcher employed Dahlberg's (2006) concept of "bridling the experience" (p. 16) as a way to develop an understanding of early childhood educators' professional practice and the intersection between practice and professional engagement in Oregon's professional development system for childhood care and education. The collage and narrative dialogues illuminated the essence of each individual's experience. Experiences such as the intersection of personal professional self, acts of professional engagement, and the emotional nature of participants' work all emerged from the collage and interview process. Three essential themes emerged from the data interpretation and discussion, namely, (a)Personal and Professional Self: Intertwining Personal Experience and Professional Identity, (b)Curves Ahead: Maneuvering Rivers, Roads, and Paths, and (c)The Journey and the System are Asynchronous: "You Guys Figure that Out, Good Luck." Through the emergence of essential themes, participants demonstrated that their experiences while unique also shared common characteristics of what it means to be an early childhood educator in Oregon living with policy in the classroom. It is now the turn of policy makers and program managers of Oregon's professional development system to recognize the strength and wisdom of the voices in the early childhood classroom.

Fung Pan-Chung. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 46-54). / Abstracts in English and Chinese ; questionnaire in Chinese. / Acknowledgement --- p.i / Table of Contents --- p.ii / Abstract (English) --- p.iv / Abstract (Chinese) --- p.v / Chapter Chapter One --- Introduction --- p.1 / Language Development and Hearing Impairment / Positive Home Literacy Environment / Dialogical Reading Intervention for Hearing-Impaired / Children with Hearing Impairment and Their Use of Chinese Language / Objectives of the Present Study / Chapter Chapter Two --- Method --- p.17 / Participants / Design / Materials / Design / Procedures / Chapter Chapter Three --- Results --- p.27 / Demographics / Preschool and Primary Chinese Literacy Scale / Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test ´ؤ Third Edition / Feedback Questionnaire / Chapter Chapter Four --- Discussion --- p.35 / Discussion of the Effectiveness of Dialogical Reading Intervention / Reasons for the Success of Dialogical Reading on Hearing-Impaired / Importance of the Result from the Present Study / Recommendations to Parents and Educators / Limitations and Further Studies / Conclusion / References --- p.46 / Appendixes --- p.55 / Chapter A. --- Guideline for the Dialogical Reading Group / Chapter B. --- Example of Picture Cards for the Dialogical Group / Chapter C. --- Calendar Checklist for Dialogical and Normal Reading Group / Chapter D. --- Demographic Information Questionnaire / Chapter E. --- Follow-up Questionnaire for the Dialogical Reading Group / Chapter F. --- Follow-up Questionnaire for the Normal Reading Group

This study was conducted in order to assess the effectiveness of practitioner training in underprivileged early childhood settings. The quantitative study set out to test a target group of 800 Grade R children, ranging in age from five to six and a half years, in order to determine the impact that practitioner training on early intervention has on young children. A pre-test evaluated the initial level of each child‟s abilities, including physical-motor, language and speech, cognitive, play and social and emotional development. Children were placed into control and experimental groups through random selection of practitioners. The experimental group's teachers (practitioners) underwent an eight-month part-time intervention programme which focused on the importance of early intervention, the domains of development, planning, preparation and assessment as well as encouraging community awareness. The control and experimental groups continued with their normal school programmes, but the practitioners in the experimental group were developing a deeper understanding of early childhood development and activities which enhance development in children. The results indicate that the impact of effective practitioner training and enhancing a deep understanding of stimulation in young children can have positive, long-term results in children's cognitive ability, laying foundational concepts and scope for development. Vast differences were noted in the ability level of children which were stimulated, as compared with those children who were not as stimulated. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

This study was conducted in order to assess the effectiveness of practitioner training in underprivileged early childhood settings. The quantitative study set out to test a target group of 800 Grade R children, ranging in age from five to six and a half years, in order to determine the impact that practitioner training on early intervention has on young children. A pre-test evaluated the initial level of each child‟s abilities, including physical-motor, language and speech, cognitive, play and social and emotional development. Children were placed into control and experimental groups through random selection of practitioners. The experimental group's teachers (practitioners) underwent an eight-month part-time intervention programme which focused on the importance of early intervention, the domains of development, planning, preparation and assessment as well as encouraging community awareness. The control and experimental groups continued with their normal school programmes, but the practitioners in the experimental group were developing a deeper understanding of early childhood development and activities which enhance development in children. The results indicate that the impact of effective practitioner training and enhancing a deep understanding of stimulation in young children can have positive, long-term results in children's cognitive ability, laying foundational concepts and scope for development. Vast differences were noted in the ability level of children which were stimulated, as compared with those children who were not as stimulated. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

In South Africa, the expansion of early childhood development was projected in White Paper 5 and Grade R was determined as the reception year. One condition for the achievement of objectives in Grade R is quality education, in which the teacher plays an irreplaceable role. How effective the Grade R teacher is in the performance of her work, however, depends amongst others on how she experiences her work-life and the extent of her security as a professional in the workplace. The paucity in research on the labour law position of the Grade R educator is due to the relative low status of employees in the early childhood development sector. Professional security was approached from a labour law perspective to start filling the knowledge gap in Education Law on the labour law position of the Grade R teacher with this modest contribution. The execution of policy forms an integral part of the Grade R teacher's employment conditions and determines to a great extent her daily task. This research answers the central research question: which roles do law and policy play regarding the professional security of the grade R educator? The research approach was qualitative-interpretivistic in nature and included observation of Grade R teachers' workplaces, as well as semi-structured interviews. A group of Grade R educators in the Matlosana and Tlokwe areas in the North West Province as well as principals and heads of department in the Foundation Phase were also interviewed. Other stakeholders such as parents as members of school governing bodies, members of teachers' unions and university lecturers were also participants in the research. Data generation on a smaller scale took place in Ontario, Canada, where the respective roles of law and policy regarding the Full-Day Early Learning Kindergarten programmes in professional security was investigated. All the data was used to understand and describe professional security of Grade R educators better, and generalisation was not the goal. The conclusion was reached that the theoretical underpinnings of the five legal disciplines that were used in creating a legal framework for professional security, were particularly relevant for the work-life of the Grade R participants in the study. Two psychologically oriented theories have also contributed to a deeper understanding of professional security. Although legislation, in principle, supports professional security, the extent to which participants had knowledge of relevant legislation or could apply legal principles to the workplace affected their professional security. Ignorance amongst policy-makers and employers about the nature and purpose of Grade R education leads to the underestimation of the Grade R domain, which negatively affects appointments, remuneration, conditions of service and policy implementation. Ignorance of the law also led to educator misconduct, and issues related to delictual liability emerged. Moreover, participants, due to ignorance, took the law into their own hands to create their own security in the workplace. Professional security emerged as a key issue in both ECD policy implementation and quality teaching. Finally a number of propositions were derived from the conclusions. / PhD (Education Law), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

In South Africa, the expansion of early childhood development was projected in White Paper 5 and Grade R was determined as the reception year. One condition for the achievement of objectives in Grade R is quality education, in which the teacher plays an irreplaceable role. How effective the Grade R teacher is in the performance of her work, however, depends amongst others on how she experiences her work-life and the extent of her security as a professional in the workplace. The paucity in research on the labour law position of the Grade R educator is due to the relative low status of employees in the early childhood development sector. Professional security was approached from a labour law perspective to start filling the knowledge gap in Education Law on the labour law position of the Grade R teacher with this modest contribution. The execution of policy forms an integral part of the Grade R teacher's employment conditions and determines to a great extent her daily task. This research answers the central research question: which roles do law and policy play regarding the professional security of the grade R educator? The research approach was qualitative-interpretivistic in nature and included observation of Grade R teachers' workplaces, as well as semi-structured interviews. A group of Grade R educators in the Matlosana and Tlokwe areas in the North West Province as well as principals and heads of department in the Foundation Phase were also interviewed. Other stakeholders such as parents as members of school governing bodies, members of teachers' unions and university lecturers were also participants in the research. Data generation on a smaller scale took place in Ontario, Canada, where the respective roles of law and policy regarding the Full-Day Early Learning Kindergarten programmes in professional security was investigated. All the data was used to understand and describe professional security of Grade R educators better, and generalisation was not the goal. The conclusion was reached that the theoretical underpinnings of the five legal disciplines that were used in creating a legal framework for professional security, were particularly relevant for the work-life of the Grade R participants in the study. Two psychologically oriented theories have also contributed to a deeper understanding of professional security. Although legislation, in principle, supports professional security, the extent to which participants had knowledge of relevant legislation or could apply legal principles to the workplace affected their professional security. Ignorance amongst policy-makers and employers about the nature and purpose of Grade R education leads to the underestimation of the Grade R domain, which negatively affects appointments, remuneration, conditions of service and policy implementation. Ignorance of the law also led to educator misconduct, and issues related to delictual liability emerged. Moreover, participants, due to ignorance, took the law into their own hands to create their own security in the workplace. Professional security emerged as a key issue in both ECD policy implementation and quality teaching. Finally a number of propositions were derived from the conclusions. / PhD (Education Law), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014