The importance of comprehensive transition programs is increasingly being recognised. This exploratory study was designed to identify the transition practices and needs of primary schools across Victoria in metropolitan and non-metropolitan locations; and from government and non-government educational sectors. Staff from 155 schools completed a questionnaire involving multiple choice and open-ended response formats. Schools reported providing a wide range and number of activities to support children and their families during the transition to school. Variation across geographical locations and educational sectors were found, with some activities being more likely to be provided depending on whether schools: were located in a metropolitan or non-metropolitan area; or, belonged to the government or non-government educational sector. Of concern, were findings highlighting the relatively few numbers of schools specifically catering for children and families from diverse socio-cultural backgrounds (for example, single parent, low socio-economic status, immigrant and, families with language backgrounds other than English) or, engaging in transition activities with child care centres. / The need for schools to consider the needs of these groups of children and families is recommended. Teachers raised a number of concerns in relation to the transition to school and provided suggestions for improving the transition to school experience for children and their families. For example, specific ideas included: joint administrative responsibility for schools and prior to school settings; greater resources and release time for transition activities; more formalised and uniform information sharing processes/protocols, including the development of an assessment tool to capture relevant information on children’s prior learning and development; aligning curricula; developing clusters/networks; providing joint professional development/training; and, parenting support. Further research to investigate the types and use of transition activities employed by parents, prior to school setting staff, communities, and the influence of these activities on children’s adjustment to school is recommended.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the effects of executive functions on school readiness outcomes were mediated by approaches to learning in Head Start preschoolers. Executive functions are cognitive skills, including inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and working memory, that are involved in learning as well as regulating behavior (Blair, Granger, & Razza, 2005; Espy, McDiarmid, Cwik, Stalets, Hamby, & Senn, 2004). Approaches to learning include important learning-to-learn skills such as persistence, initiative, and motivation (Fantuzzo, Perry, & McDermott, 2004). Based on previous literature, it was hypothesized that strong executive functions would support the development of positive approaches to learning, which in turn would lead to increased school readiness. To test this, data were collected on 179 four-year-old Head Start preschoolers. Children were assessed on executive functions (cognitive inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and working memory), approaches to learning (using both a teacher rating scale and a direct observation), school readiness, and verbal ability. Results indicated that approaches to learning partially mediated the relationship between executive functions and school readiness, providing support for the study's main hypothesis. Results are discussed in the context of preparing at-risk preschool children for success in school.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 168-178).

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 2007. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 49-53). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Language Education, 2006. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-04, Section: A, page: 1192. Advisers: Larry Mikulecky; Jerome Harste. "Title from dissertation home page (viewed March 22, 2007)."

This basic qualitative research study focused on the internal constructions of ten early childhood education teachers who take new information acquired from workshops, coursework, or other educational venues and quickly incorporate it into their teaching. The participants were all women who work in a variety of classroom settings with two-through-six-year-olds in San Antonio, Texas. They were identified as teachers who are in the forefront in adopting new ideas in comparison to other early childhood teachers (Rogers, 2003). A wide range of experience and education levels were represented. Using the interpretive paradigm as well as the ideological framework of constructivism, a grounded theory was established in response to the research question. Of special interest were factors that can be addressed in pre-service and in-service instructional opportunities for early childhood students and professionals. There were three major findings. First, the participants expressed core moral values in relation to their jobs as early childhood teachers: they look upon their work as a moral endeavor; they have a spiritual connection to their work; and they care deeply about others. Second, they shared the character traits of a positive attitude, persistence, and flexibility. Third, they held two learning dispositions in common: they perceive and practice learning as a continual, on-going process; and they are highly reflective. Viewed together, these three findings form a continuous internal loop that impacts the external cycle of gaining new information and adopting it into classroom practice. The findings in this study parallel previous teacher knowledge research done with K-12 grade teachers in the United States and in other countries. It supports models of change that consider one's frame of reference in terms of individual belief systems and how this impacts the change process. The implication is that focusing on technical knowledge is not enough. Early childhood teacher educators must consistently employ specific strategies with their students that help illuminate and strengthen the tacit traits identified in this study.

This study examined predictors of program participation and the potential effects of participation on child development in five school sites offering integrated preschool services as part of the Toronto First Duty (TFD) demonstration project. The TFD model offered a seamless, school-based ‘service community’ integrating childcare, kindergarten, family literacy, and other early childhood services. Despite sound conceptual arguments for the utility of integrating early childhood services, no empirical studies have examined the relation between uptake of integrated preschool services and children’s developmental outcomes, within the ecological context of integrated services. This study examined program participation levels or ‘dosage’, while considering the social ecology of the child, including family and school level characteristics that may moderate or mediate the effectiveness of community-level service integration efforts to improve child outcomes during the transition to school. The ecology of participation effects was examined through generalized linear modeling techniques analyzing a linked dataset (N=272) including: (1) systematic intake form and tracking data on hours of program use, (2) children’s school readiness or child development teacher-report ratings (Early Development Instrument) measured across five domains (physical health and well-being, social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive development, communication and general knowledge), and (3) a measure of service integration levels across sites. The results provided evidence that TFD achieved its outreach aims in ensuring equitable access for all families; demographic risk factors did not predict less participation in TFD integrated services. In a parallel analysis of predictors of kindergarten absences, there was one difference; males were absent more in kindergarten, whereas there were no gender differences in integrated service participation. The results provided additional evidence that the TFD model has potential in reducing disparities in children’s developmental outcomes since participation dose predicted children’s physical health and well-being, language and cognitive development, and communication and general knowledge, after taking into account demographic, parenting and site factors. Further, parents' being less child-centred and less interested in parent participation, were significant risk factors associated with children's developmental outcomes. This study has implications for understanding the ecological complexities of school readiness, and the potential processes by which program participation affects children’s outcomes.

This thesis analyzes the “home area” learning center in open-ended preschool classrooms to address the various forms of gendered learning and pedagogy elicited by its presence in geographies of early learning. I argue that the home and block areas spatially and symbolically mimic the traditional division of public and private spheres of sociality characteristic of the patriarchal social order. I suggest that the gendered enactments of space and place in open-ended classrooms function to socialize children into heteronormative forms of sex-role consciousness through what I identify as a spatial pedagogy of domestication. I suggest that this pedagogy is enforced by ideologically haunted landscapes like the domestic landscape of the home area. By outlining critical, feminist, and queer interventions in early learning I suggest that taking a spatial approach provides a more capacious explanatory frame for analyzing how, in a neo-Marxist sense, the ideo-culturally bound relations of production are reproduced through the socializing apparatus of the preschool.

This thesis analyzes the “home area” learning center in open-ended preschool classrooms to address the various forms of gendered learning and pedagogy elicited by its presence in geographies of early learning. I argue that the home and block areas spatially and symbolically mimic the traditional division of public and private spheres of sociality characteristic of the patriarchal social order. I suggest that the gendered enactments of space and place in open-ended classrooms function to socialize children into heteronormative forms of sex-role consciousness through what I identify as a spatial pedagogy of domestication. I suggest that this pedagogy is enforced by ideologically haunted landscapes like the domestic landscape of the home area. By outlining critical, feminist, and queer interventions in early learning I suggest that taking a spatial approach provides a more capacious explanatory frame for analyzing how, in a neo-Marxist sense, the ideo-culturally bound relations of production are reproduced through the socializing apparatus of the preschool.

This study examined predictors of program participation and the potential effects of participation on child development in five school sites offering integrated preschool services as part of the Toronto First Duty (TFD) demonstration project. The TFD model offered a seamless, school-based ‘service community’ integrating childcare, kindergarten, family literacy, and other early childhood services. Despite sound conceptual arguments for the utility of integrating early childhood services, no empirical studies have examined the relation between uptake of integrated preschool services and children’s developmental outcomes, within the ecological context of integrated services. This study examined program participation levels or ‘dosage’, while considering the social ecology of the child, including family and school level characteristics that may moderate or mediate the effectiveness of community-level service integration efforts to improve child outcomes during the transition to school. The ecology of participation effects was examined through generalized linear modeling techniques analyzing a linked dataset (N=272) including: (1) systematic intake form and tracking data on hours of program use, (2) children’s school readiness or child development teacher-report ratings (Early Development Instrument) measured across five domains (physical health and well-being, social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive development, communication and general knowledge), and (3) a measure of service integration levels across sites. The results provided evidence that TFD achieved its outreach aims in ensuring equitable access for all families; demographic risk factors did not predict less participation in TFD integrated services. In a parallel analysis of predictors of kindergarten absences, there was one difference; males were absent more in kindergarten, whereas there were no gender differences in integrated service participation. The results provided additional evidence that the TFD model has potential in reducing disparities in children’s developmental outcomes since participation dose predicted children’s physical health and well-being, language and cognitive development, and communication and general knowledge, after taking into account demographic, parenting and site factors. Further, parents' being less child-centred and less interested in parent participation, were significant risk factors associated with children's developmental outcomes. This study has implications for understanding the ecological complexities of school readiness, and the potential processes by which program participation affects children’s outcomes.