Dual certification of early childhood/early childhood special education is an ideal way to certify preschool teachers. Having both certifications is particularly advantageous in rural areas due to the lack of practitioners trained to work in inclusive settings. This session is a conversation about how to best merge/offer these certifications.

Early childhood marks a time when word learning is accompanied by rapid growth in the cognitive processes that underlie self-modulated and goal-directed behavior (i.e., executive functions (EF)). Although there is empirical evidence to support the association between EF and vocabulary development in childhood, inconsistent findings have been reported regarding the extent to which early EF abilities predict later vocabulary outcomes and vice versa. Thus, the first aim of the present study was to employ a stringent analytic approach to examining the longitudinal relations between EF and vocabulary across multiple waves in early childhood (i.e., at ages 2, 3, 4, and 6). Among the studies that have documented a link between children's early and later EF/vocabulary skills, the underlying mechanism(s) that can account for this association have yet to be identified. As such, the second and third aims of this study were to investigate children's private speech and visual attention skills as potential mediators of the hypothesized link between early and later EF/vocabulary. The results indicate that after controlling for maternal education, a unidirectional cross-lagged panel model best fit the data. That is, across all measurement waves, children's vocabulary scores at one timepoint were positively predictive of their EF performance at the following timepoint. Although no evidence of mediation was detected, a significant and novel association emerged between children's early vocabulary scores and their later private speech production. Moreover, this study was able to replicate the well-established link between visual attention and receptive vocabulary among a sample of older children. / Doctor of Philosophy / Across the first few years of life, young children are quickly learning to understand/say new words (vocabulary development) at the same time that they are improving upon their ability to create plans, solve problems, and control their thoughts/actions (executive functioning (EF) development). These early skills act as developmental "building blocks" because they play an essential role in shaping more complex abilities later in childhood and even adulthood. Given their importance, the first goal of this study was to examine whether children's early abilities in one area are related to their later abilities in the other area at multiple ages across the early childhood period. For example, does vocabulary size at age 2 or age 3 relate to children's EF scores at age 3 or age 4? The results show that at each age measured in this study, children's early word knowledge predicted their later EF performance. The second goal of this study was to identify research-based, mediating variables in order to better understand why the expected association between vocabulary and EF exists in childhood. The results show that children with larger vocabularies at age 2 think out loud more when completing a difficult task at age 4, and that children who are skilled at finding requested objects when viewing a cluttered picture at age 4 have larger vocabularies at age 6. Collectively, these findings suggest that children's language and cognitive skills are closely related starting in toddlerhood and continuing into the elementary school years.

My thesis project aimed to assess potential meaningful differences in the behavioral subtypes of externalizing behaviors in children. Externalizing behaviors are a style of behavioral adjustment that are characteristic of early childhood behavior problems. They are commonly measured in developmental and clinical research using the Externalizing Scale of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). The scale is comprised of Aggressive and Rule-Breaking Behaviors, which are divergent in their developmental trajectory and personological distinctions: aggressive behaviors have emotional underpinnings like frustration, whereas rule-breaking is linked to behavioral impulsivity. In situations of low regulation, negative affectivity may differentially predispose children to these behaviors due to a reactive propensity for anger and frustration. Attentional control can act to regulate these behaviors through shifting and focusing of attention, but may execute this regulation differently based on the situational context. The role of contextual attentional control in predicting two distinct externalizing behaviors has not been sufficiently evaluated in children. AC was behaviorally coded for during a frustrating context. Child behavior problems and temperament were assessed via parent report. Two mediation models were assessed with NA, AC, and aggressive and rule-breaking behaviors, but no indirect effects were found. When individual components of AC were assessed separately as moderations as opposed to mediations, attention shifting played a prominent role and moderated both the aggressive and rule-breaking models. Findings further clarify the role of attention in the relation between temperament and childhood behavior problems. / M.S. / Behavior problems in early childhood consist of aggressive and rule-breaking behaviors, which are distinct behaviors with meaningful differences in how they develop. Aggressive behaviors are marked by physical tendencies such as hitting and fighting, whereas rule-breaking behaviors tend to be non-aggressive, consisting of more impulsive behaviors like stealing, cheating, and lying. Negative affectivity in toddlerhood is a predictor of both behaviors, reflecting a heightened predisposition towards negative emotions like anger and frustration. Attentional control is a form of self-regulation, consisting of shifting and focusing attention, that may be responsible for regulating the impact of negative affectivity on each externalizing behavior. Additionally, attentional control in childhood may regulate each behavior differently based on context. The goal of the current study was to understand how negative affectivity predicts each behavior differently through attentional control, specifically based on the context it is measured in. Aggressive behaviors, rule-breaking behaviors, and negative affectivity were measured using parent-report questionnaire, and attentional control was behaviorally coded for during a frustrating puzzle task. Two mediation models were assessed with negative affectivity, attentional control, and aggressive and rule-breaking behaviors, but there were no significant findings. When individual components of attentional control (shifting and focusing) were assessed separately as moderators, attention shifting moderated the relation between negative affectivity and both aggressive and rule-breaking behaviors. Findings further clarify the role of attention in the relation between temperament and childhood behavior problems.

Contemporary early childhood experts, via their major professional organization, the National Association for the education of young children (NAEYC), have adopted a set of guidelines for "developmentally appropriate practice" (DAP) in kindergartens. These guidelines, based on child development research, contrast sharply with a contrary educational movement for increased formal "academic" programming for young children. The primary purpose of this study was to survey the beliefs and practices of kindergarten teachers in Massachusetts, and to examine the congruence of those beliefs with the set of nationally proposed guidelines. A second purpose was to examine the relationship between the beliefs and practices reported and selected professional development variables. A questionnaire designed by a Louisiana group (Charlesworth et al., 1991) and based on the NAEYC guidelines was used. In addition, an author-designed set of questions on key demographic and professional development variables was included. Surveys were mailed to a random sample of 150 elementary schools in Massachusetts. One hundred twenty six teachers responded, representing 102 schools for an overall school return rate of 68%. Results indicated that Massachusetts teachers tend to follow the NAEYC guidelines for developmentally appropriate practice. Correlations between the Teacher Belief Scale and the Instructional Activities Scale (r =.6225, p,.0001) indicate that teachers in Massachusetts generally report using practices that are congruent with their beliefs. Significant positive relationships were found between teachers with advanced college training and both of the Teacher Questionnaire Scales. The professional development activities most frequently listed as valuable to Massachusetts kindergarten teachers included college courses, whole language workshops, Math Their Way workshops, DAP seminars, the Lesley College Kindergarten Conference and inclusion workshops. In further analysis, the sample was divided into thirds based on the total DAP scale scores. Those with high DAP scores differed from those with low DAP scores in the amount and type of professional development activities. The results were discussed with respect to the effectiveness of specific professional development activities.

Abstract Gardner's ( I983) Theory of Multiple Intelligences supports developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) espoused by NAEYC for early chiJdhood classrooms. This research examines teachers' use of multiple intelligences-based (MI-based) strategies while teaching for mastery of the required Florida's Sunshine State Standards (SSS). Second grade teachers in a rural community in Central Florida were surveyed with follow-up interviews regarding their teaching practices and philosophies. Data collected show that teachers believe children can master SSS using MI-based strategies but report barriers of large class sizes. Teachers who received training on Ml reported greater success with MI strategies. Teachers reported more use of MI-based strategies for teaching than in their assessment practices. Discussion includes the impact of the state standardized assessments.

Family literacy encompasses the way family members use literacy at home and in their community. This study reports early literacy activities these families do that are connected to the activities they carry out in their every day events. Reading aloud, print awareness, and how reading environmental print relates to young children between the ages of birth to preschool are some of the activities discussed in this study. Other topics such as the time of day parents read to their children and what kind of educational toys or materials their children prefer to use in relation to literacy are also incorporated. A survey instrument was given to parents and is included in Appendix A. The findings reported include the percentages of factors the surveyed parents chose as important to them in regards to early literacy activities and future success in school. Promoting literacy activities at home and in the community is an important role for parents who have children in day care. The purpose of this study was to determine what parents with children in day care do with their preschool children to support literacy development. The research question was How do parents of preschool children attending day care promote literacy activities at home? Seventy-five families that have their children in four different day care centers, participated in this study. The survey instrument used in this study revealed which activities that support literacy are most important to parents that have their children in local day care centers. Of the seventy-five families surveyed, twenty nine families have children that attend day care centers run by the United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) organization. These child development centers serve all children, especially children that have a variety of disabilities. Another forty-six families have children that attend different day care centers in the Apopka area.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Planet Earth is plagued by a myriad of problems which have been on the increase in recent years. These include, among other things, e–waste; reduction in biodiversity, air pollution, global warming and many more. Undoubtedly, the greed of human beings more than the quest to satisfy needs has been at the core of these problems which threaten the sustainability of earth’s ecosystems. For some years now, Environmental Education (EE) has been acknowledged and, consequently, employed as the vehicle to offset the impact of the challenges which continue to degrade Planet Earth. Hence, many levels of education, especially formal education; have been making some inroads towards empowering people to change their behaviour and help others through the integration of EE in learning and teaching activities. Unfortunately, the early childhood stage of human development has been neglected when it comes to education issues, in general (Calman and Tarr–Whelan 2005; Davis 1998), and in the context of this study, in issues concerning Environmental Education (Davis 2009). For example, Davis (2009) conducted a literature survey for the period 1996 – 2007 with a focus on environmental education/education for sustainability and childhood education and discovered that little research had been conducted in this area. Hence, she laments, “in general, early childhood education researchers have not engaged with environmental/sustainability issues, and environmental education researchers have not focused on very young children and educational settings” (Davis 2009: 229). Accordingly, this study was undertaken in response to Davis’s (2009) outcry and the realisation that, indeed, even in the context of South Africa, there is paucity of research in the areas identified by Davis (2009). The purpose of this qualitative–interpretive paradigm guided inquiry was to investigate the extent to which Environmental Education is integrated in Grade R teaching and learning activities at selected Early Childhood Development (ECD) Centres in the North West Province of South Africa. In order to gain in–depth information and multiple perspectives (Creswell 2007) on the subject of inquiry, the maximum variation strategy, a subtype of purposeful sampling (McMillan and Schumacher 1997) was used for case selection.Consequently, four Grade R offering ECD centres with diverse characteristics participated in this inquiry. From each of the selected centres, one Grade R classroom was selected for investigation. Likewise, the Grade R teachers whose classes were selected together with their principals participated in the investigation. Three data generation strategies were used in this inquiry, namely; participant observations, semi–structured interviews, and document and artefact analysis. And, in order to assign meaning to generated data, two data analysis strategies were utilized, namely; constant comparison (Leech and Onwuegbuzie 2007) and domain analysis (Neuman 2011). Evidence from this study suggests that, to a very limited extent, some Grade R teachers do integrate environmental issues in their activities. However, this infusion of EE is done, mainly, in the form of teaching about the environment with little or no teaching in/through and for the environment. Hence, viewed from Kopelke’s (2012) perspective, this integration of environmental issues can be considered to be environmental studies. Likewise, hindrances to the integration of EE in selected Grade R classes were identified. These included the following: classroom overcrowding, underfunding, inadequate teacher training and lack of resources. On the other hand, the following were some of the factors identified as enablers of EE infusion: collaboration among the Grade R teachers, well–designed Learning and Teaching Support Material (LTSM) and, enabling curriculum frameworks. The study makes the following recommendations, among other things: the prioritisation of Grade R teacher training and remuneration, on–going and meaningful professional support for Grade R teachers, adherence to the norms and standards for Grade R funding and empowerment of School Management Teams and Senior Education Specialists to adequately support the Grade R teachers. Additionally, studies of similar nature are recommended and the study is rounded off with some guidelines on the integration of EE in Grade R. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Planeet Aarde word deur ontelbare probleme wat in die afgelope jare verhoog geteister. Hierdie probleme sluit in, onder andere, e–afval, vermindering van biodiversiteit, lugbesoedeling, aardverwarming en nog meer. Sonder twyfel word die gulsigheid van die mens liewer as die voorsiening van behoeftes as die kern van hierdie probleme, wat die volhoubaarheid van die aarde se ekosisteme bedreig, beskou. Vir ’n paar jaar word Omgewingsopvoeding (OO) erken en gevolglik gebruik om die effek van die voortdurende uitdagings om Planeet Aarde te degradeer en te neutraliseer. Gevolglik het baie vlakke van onderwys, veral formele onderwys; deur die integrasie van Omgewingsopvoeding in leer= en onderrigaktieiteite vordering t.o.v die bemagtiging van mense gemaak om sodoende hul gedrag te verander en ander mense in die proses te help. Ongelukkig word die vroeë kinderfasee van menslike ontwikkeling in die algemeen, verwaarlos waneer dit by onderwyskwessies kom (Calman en Tarr–Whelan 2005; Davis 1998), en veral in die konteks van hierdie studie, spesifiek die kwessies van Omgewingsopvoeding(Davis, 2009). Davis (2009) het ’n literatuuroorsig vir die tydperk 1996 – 2007 met die fokus op omgewings /opvoeding vir volhoubaarheid in kinderonderwys gedoen, en ontdek dat baie min navorsing in hierdie gebied gedoen is. Dus betreur sy die feit dat “in die algemeen navorsers in vroeë kinderonderwys nie die kwessies van volhoubaarheid aangeraak het nie en die navorsers in omgewingsopvoeding nie op baie jong kinders en hulle opvoedkundige kontekste gefokus het nie” (Davis 2009: 229). Gevolglik is hierdie studie onderneem in respons op Davis (2009) se verweer en ook die besef dat, inderdaad; selfs in die konteks van Suid–Afrika, daar ‘n gebrek aan navorsing in die areas wat deur Davis (2009) geidentifiseer is bestaan. Die doel van hierdie kwalitatiewe–interpretatiewe ondersoek is om die mate waarin omgewingsopvoeding, in Graad R–onderrig en leeraktiwiteite by Vroeëkindontwikkeling (VKO) sentrums in die Noordwes Provinsie van Suid–Afrika geintegeer is, te ondersoek. Ten einde, in–diepte inligting en veelvuldige perspektiewe (Creswell 2007) oor die onderwerp van ondersoek te verwerf, is die maksimum variasie–strategie (McMillan and Schumacher 1997), wat ‘n sub–kategorie van doelgerigte steekproewe is as keuse vir hierdie gevallestudie gebruik. Gevolglik is vier VKO–sentrums, met uiteenlopende kenmerke, wat Graad R aanbied by hierdie ondersoek betrek. Uit elke gekose sentrum is een Graad R–klaskamer vir ondersoek gekies. Terselfdetyd het die Graad R–onderwysers van die gekose klasse en hul skoolhoofde aan die ondersoek deelgeneem. Drie strategiee is gebruik om data in hierdie ondersoek te genereer naamlik; deelnemer–waarneming, semi–gestruktureerde onderhoude en die analise van dokumente en artefakte. Twee strategiee is gebruik om data te analiseer en betekenis daaraan te gee, naamlik; konstant–vergelykings (Leech and Onwuegbuzie 2007) en domein– analise (Neuman 2011). Bewyse uit hierdie studie dui daarop dat, sekere Graad R–onderwysers tot ’n baie beperkte mate, omgewingskwessies in hul aktiwiteite integreer. Hierdie integrasie van omgewingsopvoeding sluit hoofsaaklik onderrig oor die omgewing in met min of geen onderrig of/deur en vir die omgewing. Dus, vanuit Kopelke (2012) se perspektief, kan hierdie integrasie van omgewings–kwessies in aanmerking geneem word by omgewingsstudies. Daarbenewens is ook, hindernisse tot die integrasie van OO in gekoste Graad R–klase identifiseer. Dit sluit die volgende in: oorbevolkte klaskamers, swakbefondsing, onvoldoende opleiding van onderwysers en ’n gebrek aan hulpbronne. Andersyds is die volgende faktore identifiseer as geleenthede wat die integrasie van OO kan bevorder: samewerking tussen die Graad R–onderwysers, goed ontwerpte Leer en Onderrig Ondersteuning Materiaal (LOOM) en bemagtigende kurrikulumraamwerke. Die studie maak onder andere die volgende aanbevelings: die prioritisering van Graad R–onderwyser- opleiding, deurlopende en betekenisvolle professionele ondersteuning aan Graad R–onderwysers, voldoening aan die norme en standaarde vir Graad R–befondsing, en die bemagtiging van Skoolbestuurspanne en Senior Onderwys–spesialiste tot die effektiewe ondersteuning van Graad R–onderwysers. Daarbenewens word, studies van soortgelyke aard aanbeveel en word die studie met ’n paar riglyne oor die integrasie van OO in Graad R afgerond.

This qualitative study investigated parents' awareness of and involvement in their prekindergarten child's literacy development. In addition, the feasibility of parents using a home literacy portfolio for the purpose of exchanging literacy information with teachers at a parent/teacher conference was examined. Participants included six parent/child dyads, who qualified for a Texas public school prekindergarten program by meeting the requirements for either free or reduced lunches or for the English-as-a-Second Language program. Research tools included audiotaped interviews with parents and with teachers; observations at parent/child workshop sessions, which were also videotaped; and work samples, including a home literacy portfolio from each child. Findings indicate that parents are involved in their children's literacy development. Also, at home, children participate in both open-ended literacy activities and drill-oriented literacy activities, with most of the activities falling into the open-ended category. According to the findings, all of the parents were more aware of their child's literacy achievements after attending the parent/child workshop and developing a home literacy portfolio. In addition, the home literacy portfolio proved to be a useful tool for sharing information at parent/teacher conferences. Parents and teachers exchanged literacy information at the parent/teacher conference. In the process of explaining the portfolios, the parents shared information about their child's drawing development, writing development, and reading development. In contrast, the teachers shared some literacy information with the parents, but much of the information teachers shared reflected the child's participation in class or general information about the child. The findings suggest that the parent/child workshop is a cost-effective vehicle for directly involving parents in their child's education. Moreover, developing a home literacy portfolio provides a means of involving parents with their child and of helping parents' become more aware of their child's literacy development.

Proponents of special education early childhood interventions programs have promoted the assumptions that these programs: (a) will have a positive effect on the long-term outcomes of preschool children with disabilities; (b) will result in some children no longer requiring special education services throughout their elementary school years; and (c) will facilitate the need for fewer services for those students who do remain in special education programs throughout their education. The purpose of this follow-up study is to identify and describe the placement decisions and the changes of exceptionality classification for children identified as special education early childhood students over the course of six follow-up years. This study (a) identifies 108 children from rural and urban school settings who were enrolled in Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) programs in 1990-91, (b) documents their categorical label and educational placement six years later, and (c) then determines the differences in the number of hours rural and urban students receive special education and/or related services in 1996-97.

Master of Science / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Bronwyn Fees / An increased focus on school readiness in recent years has placed more attention on the importance of quality early care and education settings for children ages 3 to 5 years. The first five years of a child’s life represent a crucial period for development, and care settings impact children’s outcomes in a variety of domains. Preparation of teachers in order to provide a high-quality level of care that supports positive outcomes for children is critical. This report assesses the current state of the literature on effective professional development for early childhood professionals (primarily those working center-based settings with children ages 3 to 5 years), specifically as it relates to improved outcomes for children in the areas of social-emotional competence and language and literacy development. Methods for adult learning are also reviewed and recommendations for appropriate models of professional development based upon this review are provided. It is recommended that specific aspects within models of professional development be reviewed further to determine more concrete predictors in terms of what is effective for adult learning and application of concepts. It also is recommended that early care and education providers take part in professional development activities that have an added level of support and feedback, such as coaching, to assist in improving instructional practices to impact developmental outcomes in targeted areas, such as literacy.