Master of Landscape Architecture / Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Huston Gibson / Play is essential to the development of children, as it serves as the main platform for a child to begin to explore his or her world and understand their physical and social environment. It is not a frivolous activity, but a method of learning. Despite this recognition, many playground designs are still steered, wrongly so, by unwarranted societal fears of safety. Such playgrounds lack developmental benefits due to their composition of isolated, prefab plastic components on an asphalt field. Despite recognition in the late twentieth century that “childhood itself is in danger of extinction”, many playground are still sterile in nature. The time is now for designers to look critically at playground design trends and intervene to improve the quality of the environments our children are exposed too. The positive development of the next generation, our children, depends on it. In the case of the community of La Chuscada in Chinandega, Nicaragua, economic status presents a major barrier to the creation of beneficial learning environments. This project addresses the hardships of implementing a developmentally beneficial playground, and through the collaboration with the Amigos for Christ philanthropic organization and interior architecture student Aaron Bisch, offers solutions to achieve this goal. Culture-specific influences of play are explored and survey data from the community of La Chuscada reveal strategies for the implementation of a nature playground design that offers developmental benefits for the children of the community.

Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Anne Beamish / The current educational model utilized in the United States focuses on teaching technology, preparing for standardized tests, and training students to be productive members of society. These are all valuable and necessary educational goals, especially considering the fact that the current national trend is to promote citizens’ integration into a more global community and job market—significantly affecting the work opportunities available to our country’s youths. However, one of the most necessary and fundamental aspects of childhood—outdoor learning in nature—is being undervalued. Outdoor learning experiences in the natural environment are exceptionally important in encouraging holistic childhood development because they offer children firsthand experiences with natural processes. Through interactions with nature, children are able to witness the impact that human actions have upon the environment. As Richard Louv asserts in the Last Child in the Woods, “Healing the broken bond between our young and nature—is in our self-interest, not only because aesthetics or justice demands it, but also because our mental, physical, and spiritual health depends upon it” (Louv, 2008, 3). The broken relationship between America’s youths and nature must be healed. Public schools offer a unique opportunity for children to be reacquainted with nature because about 90% of American students below the college level attend public schools. In the year 2009, over 2.3 million students attended public elementary schools; 226,082 of those students were in Kansas (National Center for Education Statistics, 2012). Garfield Elementary School in Augusta, Kansas is an ideal situation for the development of an outdoor learning environment that promotes student awareness and connection to local nature. The nature-oriented design of Garfield Elementary School’s grounds, described in this Master’s Report, fosters the creation of deep-seeded emotional ties to the natural world in the children who experience the site—effectively combating Nature-Deficit Disorder by encouraging students to become environmental stewards. This is accomplished by using children’s literature to inspire the organization of spatial environment variety and a range of natural elements (such as water) on the school site, which encourage students to engage in five outdoor learning activities: physical, creative, sensorial, solitary and social.

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.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Special Education, Counseling, and Student Affairs / Judy Hughey / Successful transition practices are essential in moving students forward into new facets of learning and life. Noteworthy is the transition into kindergarten, as students experience a new environment, with new academic, social, and behavioral expectations. Research has reviewed teacher and student perceptions on this topic, but has traditionally overlooked the parent stakeholder. Specifically assessing kindergarten transition from parents’ vantage point provides a varied and necessary perspective that is often underutilized in effective school transitioning programs. Therefore, this study surveyed parents of children transitioning into kindergarten to identify their experiences and involvement in transition programming. Specifically to: (a) assess the concerns of parent stakeholders upon transitioning their children into formal schools (b) assess the perceptions of parent stakeholders in regards to their children’s transition into kindergarten, (c) assess the areas in which parent participants would like more information about the transition process, and (d) explore environmental variables and demographics that may impact student transitional success. The study utilized a retrospective pretest survey design to examine the experiences and perceptions of parents whose children were enrolled in full-day kindergarten in two school districts of comparable size in Northeast Kansas. A sample size of 91 participants was generated, as a parent or guardian of every student enrolled in kindergarten for the 2010-2011 school year in the surveyed schools was selected and solicited as participants for this retrospective pretest study. The final study population included 68 participants (n = 68) amongst the two respective schools, for an overall response rate of 74.7%. Survey mean results indicated that no particular item in academic, behavioral, or social domains were considered a great concern for parents transitioning their child into kindergarten. However, items that received the highest rating for concern prior to kindergarten were in the areas of academic success in comparison to peers, and adjusting to new routines and surroundings. Parents also rated adjusting to new routines and surroundings as the area with the least amount of transitional success. Seventy-three percent of participants agreed or strongly agreed to feeling engaged in the transitional process. Also, a significant difference in parents’ perceived need for both social and behavioral support emerged between first and second born children as they transition into formal schooling indicating parents of firstborn would like more information and support. Finally, results also showed that significance emerged between parents’ desire for counselor services and their concern as to the child’s level of behavioral success upon entering kindergarten.

Master of Science / Department of Family Studies Human Services / Rick J. Scheidt / Currently in the United States there are 2.7 million grandparent caregivers caring for 5.4 million grandchildren, with 883,386 of these grandparents caring for their grandchildren without any assistance from the child’s biological parent. These grandparents have unique needs and require support services that understand and recognize those needs. However, many of the resources currently available are not designed to assist this population. This report explores many of the issues grandparents face when taking over as the primary caregiver for their grandchild. Specifically this report highlights the financial, legal, and medical issues, as well as the need for respite care and housing. These particular issues were selected because they are commonly cited as difficult areas to navigate for grandparent caregivers, and also because there are crucial resources in each of these areas that allow grandparents to successfully raise their grandchild. Without these tools, the process of raising the grandchild can prove extremely difficult for grandparents, which can have negative consequences on the grandchildren. In addition it offers suggestions for grandparents seeking assistance regarding these issues, also providing several resources. This report also offers guidance for grandparent caregiver advocates and encourages future research and scholarship to explore programs assisting this population.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Bronwyn S. Fees / Positive child outcomes are related to high quality child care environments as evidenced through longitudinal studies (Campbell, Ramey, Pungello, Sparling, & Miller-Johnson, 2002; The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development [NICHD] Early Child Care Research Network, 2005; Schweinhart, Montie, Xiang, Barnett, Belfield, & Nores, 2005). These findings are important particularly for young children from low-income families. As these children are commonly the recipients of child care by a relative, high quality relative care is essential (U. S. Census Bureau, 2005; Brown-Lyons, Robertson, & Layzer, 2001; Collins & Carlson, 1998; Ehrle, Adams, & Tout, 2001). Prior research on the quality of care provided by relatives has been limited, inconsistent, and inconclusive due to differing methodological approaches. Previous studies have often grouped relative child care providers along with other home-based care settings; however, they are not the same. Previous studies have also employed a variety of measurement tools to assess quality. This study examined the overall quality of care in relative child care settings using a tool specifically designed for relative child care, comparing the quality of care and motivations for care between subsidized and non-subsidized settings. Overall, findings were consistent with results of previous studies on kith and kin or relative child care providers in that 1) a wide range of quality of care was observed among both subsidized and non-subsidized settings; 2) no differences were observed between quality in subsidized and non-subsidized; 3) no differences were observed between quality of care based on motivation for providing care. The majority of providers will provide care for family regardless of availability of payment; however, subsidized providers were more family-oriented in their motivation compared to non-subsidized who more child-oriented. While all levels of care were observed in both infant/toddler and preschool settings, infant/toddler settings scored higher on all adult-child interaction variables. These settings were also observed to be safer than preschool settings. Also subsidy status alone does not necessarily increase or affect quality of the care as payment is not the primary motivation for care. Policymakers should, therefore, explore other means by which to enhance quality such as equitable subsidy rates across home-based settings and support programs for this population.

Master of Science / Department of Human Ecology / Bronwyn Fees / With obesity on the rise in young children, the need to examine interventions to increase activity levels, a factor in obesity, in childhood is apparent. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between toddlers wearing a costume prop and their type and intensity of movement as well as their level of social participation. It was hypothesized that intensity of movement and types of movement would increase when the child wore a cape compared to no cape. A total of fifty-four subjects between the ages of 24 and 36 months participated in the study, structured into an intervention group (n = 27) and a control group (n = 27). Toddlers in the control group were observed for 20 minutes during free play inside the classroom wearing a specifically designed data collection garment (which looked like a “vest”) to record movement and sound. Participants in the intervention group were observed with the same data collection garment and the costume prop “cape” for 20 minutes during morning free-play period inside. The toddlers‟ behaviors were coded as outlined by Brown, Pfeiffer, McIver, Dowda, Joao, Almeida, and Pate‟s (2006) Observational System for Recording Physical Activity in Children-Preschool (OSRAC-P), modified to capture the unique movements of toddlers for the present study. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and a Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) were utilized to examine the effect of a costume prop on intensity of activity, types of gross motor movement, and forms of social play. Results revealed the intervention group exhibited significantly greater engagement in onlooker, solitary, and parallel play (p < .001) than the control group. No significant differences in the levels of intensity or types of activity exhibited between the two groups. Implications for further research on physical activity and stimulating physical activity in the classroom are discussed

Master of Science / Family Studies and Human Services / Karen S. Myers-Bowman / Single parenting has become a part of American society, yet it seems that through stereotyping and shaming these parents are looked down upon. Often times, single parents do not have the same resources as two parent homes, but single parents can still be effective and raise well-rounded children. This is a qualitative study that sought to provide a different perspective of single never-married parents by interviewing their young adult children. This study focused on the experiences of the young adult children and used Family Stress Theory to help understand and capture specific moments in their lives.

Master of Science / Department of Hospitality Management and Dietetics / Kevin R. Roberts / The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that one in six Americans become ill,128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die each year due to foodborne illness. Children are at a higher risk of acquiring foodborne illness than adults for several reasons, including: an immune system that has yet to fully develop, limiting their ability to fight infections; a lack of control over the food they consume because their meals are usually provided by others; and the lack of awareness of food safety risks. Thus, it is critical to ensure that childcare center employees practice safe food handling. The purpose of this study was to explore the food safety knowledge, practices, and barriers to safe food handling practices of childcare center employees. Observations were conducted in 10 childcare centers in Manhattan, Kansas. Each childcare center was observed for two days during lunch preparation and service. Observations of foodservice employees were conducted in the kitchen using a structured observation form. Teacher observations were conducted in the classroom using detailed notes. A questionnaire was used to collect demographic, food safety training, and food safety knowledge information. SPSS (v. 20.0) was used to analyze data. Childcare center employees had high average scores on the safety knowledge assessment. The majority of employees received some type of food safety training. Time pressures, availability of equipment, and small food preparation space were found as the main barriers to implementing safe food handling. Childcare center foodservice workers and teachers were knowledgeable about handwashing and time/temperature control, but failed to utilize on the job. Results of this study will help childcare educators to develop materials to improve food safety practices and encourage owners/managers of childcare centers to enhance their food safety behaviors.