<p> Promoting global awareness is commonly cited as a main benefit of early foreign language education; however, little research backs this claim. This study explores a partial Spanish immersion preschool and how it shapes young children&rsquo;s global awareness and knowledge of foreign languages and cultures. The study used a series of games, activities, and interviews to address the following three aspects of the classroom: (1) foreign language activities and language use, (2) how global awareness was portrayed by students and teachers, and (3) the beliefs, goals, and motivations of parents who chose to enroll their children there. The frameworks of translingualism and global education informed analysis of classroom observations, activities with children, and interviews with parents and teachers.</p><p> Findings indicated that children did show signs of early learning related to global awareness, though language and culture were not always the primary goals for parents and teachers at the school. Children&rsquo;s literature and games allowed children to express their views and understanding about their learning about Spanish and other cultures in the classroom. They were able to talk about speaking Spanish in school and knew some words and phrases learned through exposure from the teachers in the classroom. Parents and members of the staff expressed their beliefs in the value of early second language exposure; however, primary needs of the children such as keeping them safe and developing a nurturing environment were always the priority. The findings will inform future development of language immersion programs for young children and give directors of such programs insights into what parents may hope for their children to learn regarding language and other cultural instruction.</p><p>

<p> This research set out to enhance instruction for early education and child development majors in a community college setting in a manner that allows them to gain content knowledge while becoming more prepared to practice effective pedagogy in early learning classrooms. This study examined how metacognitive awareness changes throughout a semester with scaffolded goal setting and reflective practices. It investigated the types of goals students set for a specific learning task, as well as investigated their ability to apply reflective practice to their own learning and teaching practices. This research used a mixed method design to data collection with quantitative data from rubrics and an inventory and qualitative data from instructor journaling. Quantitative results indicated that students improved in some elements of goal setting and all assessed elements of reflective practice, along with improvements in metacognitive awareness. Qualitative findings also indicated that students improved in metacognitive awareness and goal setting as a formal practice even though there was evidence of struggle in regard to the unfamiliarity of the goal setting practice itself and defining a time frame to achieve their goals. The goal setting and reflective practices within the course were helpful to the instructor. Each provided an opportunity for the instructor to support student learning and effectively use strategies to support achievement of the students in the course and in the early childhood field.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of this project was to identify a potential funding source and write a grant to fund a community program that centers on strengthening family dynamics. The city of Compton in Los Angeles County is stricken with poverty, systemic and economic challenges that often impact the daily living of families and the ability of the communities to thrive. It has been evidenced that child maltreatment contributes to disruptions in family dynamics and community relationships. To counteract these rates of maltreatment, an innovative community program was proposed, which focused on fostering positive family relationships and increasing social supports through effective community engagement to reduce transgenerational child maltreatment. The goal of this project is to increase interactions and social supports for children and families by providing a variety of activities and resources within their community. The actual submission of the grant application was not a requirement of the thesis project.</p><p>

<p> The role of school libraries in both public and private school systems has changed dramatically over the last two decades as the Internet and ubiquity of digital devices has made the world accessible within seconds just by the tap of a finger on a touchscreen or keyboard. The purpose of the school library as a functional educational space has traditionally been one that promotes information literacy, reading for information, and reading for pleasure with paper books. In today&rsquo;s ever increasingly digital world, however, well-resourced libraries are exchanging paper books and reference sets for e-books and subscriptions to online services that store information in virtual clouds rather than on bookshelves. Moreover, their coveted spaces are sometimes transformed into tactile learning spaces inspired by the recent Maker Movement. </p><p> This qualitative research study examines the functional role of the school libraries in four independent schools, an inquiry seeking to better understand how young students use libraries to develop multiple literacies&mdash;digital, informational, tactile, and printed&mdash;all of which are necessitated by the growing prevalence of electronic resources and technology in schools. How should well-resourced school libraries today, historically bound to paper collections and archives, design learning spaces and allocate resources to support a generation of students born into the digital age? It is the intersection of these two points, students born into a world dominated by technology and traditional school libraries dominated by paper resources, that the current role and purpose of school libraries is examined.</p>

<p> The purpose of this research was to explore factors influencing Kuwaiti kindergarten preservice teachers&rsquo; intentions to use Web 2.0 technologies in their future Kuwaiti kindergarten classrooms and their perceptions of using Web 2.0 technologies to enhance kindergarten student learning. This mixed methods study employed parallel collection of qualitative and quantitative data, separate analyses of the data, and then a merging of the findings. Gathered data were evaluated using the decomposed theory of planned behavior (DTPB) to predict the factors that influence Kuwaiti preservice teachers&rsquo; intentions to use Web 2.0 technologies in their future kindergarten classrooms. The central research questions of the study included the following: (1) What factors do Kuwaiti preservice kindergarten teachers describe as the best predictors of their intentions to use Web 2.0 technologies in their future classrooms? (2) What are Kuwaiti preservice kindergarten teachers&rsquo; perceptions of the pedagogical benefits of using Web 2.0 technologies in their future classrooms? (3) How do Kuwaiti preservice kindergarten teachers describe the factors that predict their intentions to use Web 2.0 technologies in their future kindergarten classrooms? (4) How do Kuwaiti preservice kindergarten teachers describe their perceptions of Web 2.0 technologies as pedagogical tools? The findings revealed that attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control positively and significantly affect the preservice teachers&rsquo; intentions to use Web 2.0 technologies. </p><p> This study indicated Kuwaiti kindergarten preservice teachers&rsquo; intention to use YouTube, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Twitter in their future kindergarten classroom to improve student learning, communicate with parents, and share classrooms activities. Another important finding was the fact that the majority of Kuwaiti kindergarten preservice teachers did not use Wikis, Blogs, Facebook, and Skype. However, they proficiently used the popular Web 2.0 technologies in their social cultural environment. Most of the teachers believed that Web 2.0 technologies could improve kindergarten students&rsquo; learning, but they had concerns regarding inappropriate content. Hence, they were not prepared to use Web 2.0 technologies in educational settings. Finally, by using a mixed-method approach, this study offered educators a different dimension of the factors that affect preservice teachers&rsquo; intentions to use technology.</p>

<p> This study used a phenomenological research design to investigate how process features of child care quality are experienced in Hmong licensed family child care settings. Interviewing with open-ended questions was relied on as the data collection method. The results included eight major themes: playtime and learning activities are structured to promote individual child&rsquo;s cognitive and physical development; the child care program is founded on licensing standards of health, safety, and well-being; child care provider uses child-centered interactions in their involvement with the children; child care provider uses positive behavioral guidance in shaping children&rsquo;s behaviors; fostering a bi-cultural identity in Hmong children through different approaches; the relationships between the child care providers and children are strengthened by a kinship-based-relationship and a display of affection/love and care; feeding practice is adjusted to meet the needs of each child; and the child care provider seeks support to improve his/her child care practice. The findings from this study revealed that as Hmong, the child care providers appear to perceive themselves as a bridge that connects to the next generation, and it is their moral responsibility to instill a strong foundation in cultural identity, while providing the necessary academic preparations in the Hmong children in order for those children to be a bridge for another Hmong generation. The success of bridging from one generation to another will ensure the preservation of the Hmong culture, as well as the future success of the Hmong. These results can have important implications for early childhood professionals and organizations, as well as for the Hmong community.</p><p>

<p> In 2011, the Head Start Office introduced the Parent, Family, and Community Engagement (PFCE) Framework to all Head Start programs (Department of Health and Human Services, 2011a). This framework was developed to increase parent involvement in getting children ready for kindergarten. The goal of the framework was to provide technical resources and skills to improve the parent involvement level in Head Start parent involvement activities. The goal of this study is to explore the perception of the role of the father and Head Start programs&rsquo; father involvement facts at eight selected Head Start programs. </p><p> Interview, survey, and activity observation were used. Specifically, the Paternal Involvement in Child Care Index (PICCI) score and father/father figures&rsquo; demographic information, family/community coordinator interview answers were gathered from the Head Start programs that participated in the study. Three statistical techniques, independent <i>t</i>-test, Mann-Whitney U test, and multiple-regression were used for quantitative data analysis, and qualitative data was generalized into a flow chart and a father involvement model based on Bronfenbrenner&rsquo;s ecological system theory. </p>

<p> Transitional kindergarten (TK) is the 1st year of a 2-year kindergarten program. It follows the requirements of California Senate Bill 1381 in providing a modified kindergarten curriculum that is both age and developmentally appropriate. The Kindergarten Readiness Act of 2010 changed the required entry age for admittance to kindergarten and first grade and developed a TK program to implement throughout districts. The criterion to enter a TK program is that students must turn 5 between the months of September 2 and December 2. The TK program is designed to place emphasis on developing cognitive, socioemotional, and physical skills. TK implements the same core curriculum and materials as the kindergarten program, with curricular modifications and developmentally appropriate practices that will allow TK students to ultimately meet the Kindergarten Common Core and State Content Standards at the end of their 2-year program. </p><p> This study aimed to explore teachers&rsquo; perceptions about the extent to which the new TK program contributes to students&rsquo; social, emotional, and cognitive development to ultimately yield better learning outcomes for students once they enter kindergarten. Further, this qualitative study aimed to give a voice to TK and kindergarten teachers who are at the heart of the TK program implementation. It explores not only how the implementation of the Kindergarten Readiness Act of 2010 affects teachers professionally but also how it affects the learning outcomes of students under their tutelage. </p><p> Overall, these findings of this study revealed teachers&rsquo; beliefs that the TK students needed extra time to develop the cognitive, socioemotional, and physical skills necessary to improve learning outcomes in kindergarten. Teachers viewed the TK program as developmentally appro- priate to meet the needs of all students; however, they believed that the TK curriculum did not integrate the developmental domains into teaching and learning of subject matter. In fact, the participants held diverse perspectives regarding the TK curriculum on preparing students for kindergarten. Although teachers held various perspectives on the TK curriculum, they expressed strong, unifying views on their passion for practice and the importance of their instructional practices.</p>

<p>This research project offers educators a close and intimate view of the researcher's personal teaching efforts and a reflective account of responses to instruction. This qualitative reflective self-study includes written records of attempts to create and deliver reading comprehension lessons. It also includes a detailed account of how the researcher's reflections and insights affected lesson design as well as her responses to the academic, social, and emotional needs of the students. Furthermore, this self-study examines how teachers' and administrators' attitudes impact teaching and learning, with a thoughtful emphasis on how the gifts of under-represented students may be used in effectively planning instruction. Specifically, this self-study presents how reflection is used to examine the application of various teaching strategies with eight elementary school students attending a reading comprehension intervention class at an urban school in California. The researcher chronicles her use of culturally relevant teaching practices grounded in high expectations, and a belief in the importance of student empowerment for the purpose of increasing social justice and equity for all students. In this study, reflective notes of lessons are presented. Additionally, how the lessons were designed in order to create opportunities for a small group of African American and English Language Learner students to use their talents and gifts to improve comprehension of text are detailed. This teacher-research study provides insights on how a cycle of deep reflection and consideration of planned instructional actions and design might be improved. As part of the reflection and instructional planning process described in this study, there is focus on the students' thinking and learning processes and domains that support the students as they become self-empowered, independent, and confident readers. The examination of the thinking process of the students, as well reflection and self-examination of instruction by the teacher-researcher, are the center of study. Ultimately, a vivid story unfolds of how both the students and teacher-researcher become more empowered as gifted readers, writers, and communicators of transformation.

<p> Educational reforms have created a climate of accountability and high academic pressure that has resulted in a pushing down of the curriculum into early childhood education. Once a prominent pedagogical feature, play is disappearing from kindergarten. The following is a doctoral dissertation that studied administrator, teacher, and parent perceptions of play and its role within the kindergarten curriculum at a Catholic elementary school in the Los Angeles Archdiocese. Using a qualitative case study method, the study noted how play was utilized in transitional kindergarten and traditional kindergarten classrooms at the school site. Interviews, classroom observations, and document review of school publications contributed to the following findings: play was used as a reward for classroom management, adults did not commonly see the connection between play and learning, and academic achievement was valued over play. These findings were placed in the larger context of kindergarten, play, and curriculum by using a theoretical framework built on Early Child Education theories and Epstein&rsquo;s (2011) Parental Involvement framework. This case study highlighted factors that influenced curriculum design and implementation in kindergarten. It contributes to the effort to inform parents, teachers, administrators, and policy makers of the importance of defending play within kindergarten in light of social pressures that favor a didactic kindergarten setting.</p><p>