Research has suggested that speech pathologists (SPs) in Australia involve parents in intervention when working with children with phonological impairment. However, details of what this practice entails are unknown. If parents are considered integral to meeting service delivery challenges regarding recommended intervention intensities, there is a need to better understand how parents are involved and trained to provide intervention. This study addresses that need. An anonymous, voluntary online survey was completed by 335 SPs in Australia who work with children with phonological impairment. Participants answered questions about how they involve and train parents, and the type of home practice activities provided. In addition, SPs were asked to identify barriers they faced when involving parents in intervention for children with phonological impairment. Overall, 96.36% of SPs involved parents in intervention. SPs reported involving parents in a range of intervention tasks, including goal planning, observing sessions, and completing home practice activities. Sixty-eight percent reported training parents to provide intervention, of whom 87.77% indicated that they do not follow a structured training program or approach when working with parents. Of note, 83.9% of SPs strongly agreed that parent involvement is essential for intervention to be effective; however, most SPs reported barriers to involving parents in intervention, notably compliance with completion of home practice activities. Although SPs consider parent involvement to be valuable, they identified several barriers to this practice. This poster will offer practical suggestions for how parent training and parent involvement could be implemented for children with phonological impairment.

As technology and our world understanding develop, we will need citizens who are able to ask and answer questions that have not been thought of yet. Currently, high school and college graduates entering the workforce demonstrate a gap in their ability to develop unique solutions and fill the current technology-driven jobs. To address this gap, science needs to be prioritized early in children's lives. The focus of this research was to analyze a science training program that would help pre-school teachers better understand Mind in the Making life skills, the nature of science, science practices, and improve their self-efficacy integrating science education into their classrooms and curriculum. Seventy-one teachers enrolled in two three-day, professional development trainings that were conducted over three, five-hour sessions approximately one month apart. During that training the teachers learned hands-on activities for young children that introduced life and physical science content. They were also given the task of developing and implementing a science-based lesson for their students and then analyzing it with other participants. The information from the lesson plans was collected for analysis. After the last training the teachers were given a pre/post retrospective survey to measure effective outcomes. The results from the lesson plans and surveys indicate that the trainings helped improve the teachers' understanding of Mind in the Making, the nature of science, and science practices. The results also show that the teachers felt more comfortable integrating science education into their classrooms and curriculum.

Researchers have determined that field experience is crucial in education preparation programs, yet little information is available about field experience within online early childhood education (ECE) programs. Educators who work in online ECE programs need to understand how to facilitate field experience effectively. The purpose of this qualitative interview study was to understand the processes, procedures, and experiences of instructors who facilitate preservice teachers' field experience in online ECE programs. A constructivist framework was used to examine facilitation practices. Nine instructors from online ECE programs in the United States participated in 2 semistructured interviews that lasted approximately 1 hour each. A combination of a priori and open coding was used to support inductive analysis. Themes included communication, mentoring, collaboration, parity between online and live facilitation of field experiences, roadblocks, innovations, assessment, and reflection. Participants reported that a constructivist approach was crucial for online facilitation. Four key findings included an intentionality of design for parity between online and live facilitation, active engagement in responding to facilitation challenges, embedded constructivism in curriculum design, and a necessity for online options despite preference for live field supervision. Social change implications for ECE instructors include sharing of best practices to improve facilitation of field experience in online ECE programs and acknowledgement of need for research focused on quality of field experience. Enhancing the quality of field experiences could better prepare teachers, which would benefit young children in ECE classrooms.

The teaching and learning of English is pervasive in Hong Kong, and children begin to learn English as a second language from as early as when they enter kindergarten at the age of three. Early vocabulary development (i.e., the knowledge of word meanings) is one of the important building blocks for reading development in English. This thesis portrayed two contexts, namely the home and the school, within which the teaching and learning of English vocabulary occurred for young children in Hong Kong. Two studies were conducted to (i) describe the home literacy environment and the English vocabulary skills of children from different socioeconomic backgrounds; (ii) explore the relationship between the home literacy environment and children’s English vocabulary skills; (iii) describe the contexts in which English vocabulary instruction occurred; and (iv) identify the teaching strategies adopted by teachers during English vocabulary instruction in early childhood classrooms. In Study 1, participants were 65 Chinese children (including 40 girls) and their mothers or fathers from four kindergartens. Children’s nonverbal IQ and receptive and expressive vocabulary were assessed. Parents completed a questionnaire which tapped family demographics and the home literacy environment. There were significant differences in home literacy practices and English vocabulary skills as a function of socio-economic status. The home literacy environment, as measured by book reading practices and the teaching of print-related skills, accounted for unique additional variance in English receptive and expressive vocabulary after controlling for the effects of child age, nonverbal IQ and maternal education. In Study 2, English vocabulary instruction was observed in six early childhood classrooms from three kindergartens over the course of a week. From 23 sessions of observations and 535 minutes of data, field notes were coded to identify the contexts of vocabulary instruction and the strategies used in teaching words. The teaching of vocabulary occurred in 12 out of 23 sessions and words were taught within the context of theme-based learning, systematic phonics instruction and storybook read-aloud. Teachers predominantly used certain strategies that promoted children’s recognition and memorization of words, such as the use of visuals, the emphasis on the pronunciation and written form of words, and pointing and labeling of words. This thesis provides an account of the home and school context for the English vocabulary development of Chinese children learning English as a second language. The findings highlight the importance of a rich home literacy environment for the support of second language vocabulary development and reflect the instructional strategies used in early childhood classrooms to facilitate word learning. Implications of these findings are discussed. / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

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The use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in early childhood education (ECE) is controversial. Currently, ICT in ECE is experiencing a second wave of popularity. While many of the recurring debates exist around the use of technology in the education sector it would appear that ICT is here to stay. A distinguishing feature of the literature across both waves is a growing appreciation of the importance of pedagogy and the key role of the teacher. This thesis builds on this broad concept of pedagogy by investigating the growth of ICT in ECE. The aim of the study was to discover new insight and understanding of how parents‟, teachers‟ and children‟s perceptions of the use of ICT in ECE influence the surrounding practice. A mixed-method approach was undertaken with a sample group in three distinct phases in one geographical location in the greater Wellington region. The study adopted an interpretive framework to inform the research methodology and help explain the findings. The findings across the three phases show the multifaceted nature of ICT and the many layers that are required to ensure that it can be offered in an authentic and meaningful way in ECE. When this approach is not evident it constrains the integrated use of ICT and affects the quality of the programme offered. Factors that influence the level of quality include: (a) the role of teacher‟s beliefs and self-efficacy; (b) fluid conceptions of pedagogy; (c) the competing and co-existing drivers associated with the use of ICT in ECE; (d) the changing face of literacy; (e) barriers affecting the full integration; and (f) the implications of policy on practice. The thesis draws on the framework of an enabled and enacted ICT curriculum developed in the literature review, as a tool to indicate and understand the current state of the level of ICT integration in ECE centres. Overall the findings show that participating teachers have begun their ICT journey and are working towards the goal of offering an authentic and meaningful educational experience. Yet, the research shows that the many layers of support necessary to ensure teachers continue to move forward on this journey are not well understood. A failure to address these gaps may sadly lead to a “third wave” of ICT in which history repeats itself.

The research study was determined by the fact that child development is important and that teachers/caregivers must acknowledge every child's level of development, age, individuality, social and cultural background when planning a program. Children are complex beings and therefore the literature study focused on pre-schooler, three to five years, child development during this stage and domains and principles of development. Semi-structured interviews were based on literature study and used to guide the interviews. After analyzing the data themes and sub-themes was identified and verified with literature. The teachers/caregivers were able to share knowledge, experiences, needs and concerns. To conclude recommendations were made to help teacher/caregivers to plan how to include child development in their daily program. / Social Work / M.Diac (Play Therapy)

The critical role of children’s play in the development of peer relationships, social and communicative skills is reviewed and discussed. The difficulties experienced by a pre-school learner in engaging in peer relationships, communicating successfully in a classroom situation and constructively using play materials was explained. This was done through the use of anecdotal records, checklists, questionnaires, photographic evidence and a semi-structured interview with the learner’s parent. A pre-school play programme, using blocks, dough and puppets (BDP Programme) was devised and used to assess its influence on the acquisition of social and communicative skills by a non-social and non-communicative learner. The study found the BDP Programme to be very successful in assisting this learner to develop peer relationships and communicative skills in the peer group and thus played a critical role in the social development of this learner. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

Thesis (MTech (Education))--Peninsula Technikon, Cape Town, 2002 / Within the broad theoretical context provided by debates on the importance of focussing on programme teaching towards workplace-orientated goals and greater cooperation between the world ofwork and the higher education sector in order to develop work integrated curricula, this study attempted to investigate the relevance of the diploma in educare with regard to meeting the needs ofeducare centres. The study as a whole is set against the general literature on the development of the transdisciplinary curriculum that integrates the world of work with academic programmes and the development oftransdisciplinary curriculum in educare in particular. The literature that was surveyed covered the following aspects: The needs ofthe educare practitioner in the workplace, important aspects that need to be present in the Early Childhood curriculum in order for the child to learn effectively and how could the higher education sector and the workplace, work together to develop a balanced curriculum that is offered to the educare practitioners at the institutions. Along with this investigation quantitative as well as qualitative data were collected about the curriculum that is offered to potential educare practitioners by means of questionnaires, interviews and focus group interviews. The conclusion drawn from the findings of the literature survey and the investigation is that the integration of theory and practice in the teaching and learning processes should be encouraged if the development and professional growth of students are to be achieved, and more interaction should take place between the higher education sector and the workplace in order to increase the performance levels of students and their employability in the workplace. The present study therefore, is an attempt to encourage the integration oftheory and practice and collaborative efforts between higher education institutions and the worklllace in curriculum development and is in line with the new South African curriculum that places emphasis on the relevance of education to the needs ofthe workplace and to the lives of South Africans.

O atendimento á infância na maioria dos países ocidentais encontra-se ainda em estágio crítico. Os serviços oferecidos são fragmentados, inflexíveis, incoerentes e segregados, refletindo cisão entre as ações de cuidar e educar a criança pequena. Essa tese é o resultado de um longo percurso em busca de possíveis determinantes desse quadro e de elementos que pudessem conformar um modelo de atendimento unificado e responsivo às necessidades, interesses e potencialidades das crianças e suas famílias. Assim, um modelo de sistema unificado de cuidado e educação infantil foi sendo construído a partir de premissas lançadas em estudo anterior (Haddad, 1991) e ampliado com visitas de estudo a países da Europa ocidental, o contato com o trabalho desenvolvido pela Rede Européia de Atendimento Infantil e, mais especificamente, o conhecimento dos sistemas de atendimento infantil dos países escandinavos. Partindo do pressuposto de que um sistema unificado de atendimento infantil deve apoiar-se numa perspectiva de desenvolvimento humano, suficientemente ampla para incluir as forças provenientes dos ambientes sociais, econômicos e culturais que afetam o desenvolvimento, a teoria ecológica do desenvolvimento humano de Urie Bronfenbrenner (1996) passou a constituir-se a referência básica desse estudo. As informações reunidas nesse trabalho assinalam a coerência entre os aspectos filosóficos, políticos e práticos, a responsabilidade partilhada entre família e poder público, unidade de objetivos e funções, profissionalização, universalização do atendimento, diversidade, continuidade e flexibilidade nos serviços oferecidos como as principais características que compõem um sistema unificado de cuidado e educação infantil. / In most Western countries, the public child care is still in a critical stage. The services offered are fragmented, inflexible, incoherent and segregated, reflecting the division between care and education of young children. This thesis is the result of a long search for possible determinants of this picture and for elements that could comply with a unified model for child care and early childhood education that would meet the needs, interests and potentialities of children and their families. Hence, a model for unified system of care and education has been constructed from the premises launched in previous study (Haddad, 1991) and has been enlarged by study visits to Western European countries, the contact with the work developed by the European Childcare Network, and more specifically, by learning about the Scandinavian child care systems. Starting from the presupposition that an integrated system of care and education must be supported by a broad perspective of human development which includes the strengths forthcoming from social, economic and cultural environments that affect the development, the ecology of human development of Urie Bronfenbrenner (1996) became the basic reference to this study. The data gathered in this work signalizes the main characteristics of a unified system of care and education for young children: the coherence between philosophical, political and practical aspects; the shared responsibility between family and public power; the unity of objectives and functions; professionalism; universal aims, diversity, continuity and flexibility in the services offered.