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The reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) in 1997 increased educational standards and accountability for the education of students with disabilities. Specifically, the amendments of IDEA 1997 were directed at improving the results for all children served in Part B (early childhood special education) and Part C (early intervention). IDEA 1997 required that states develop a plan, including transition policy, procedures and practices to create a smooth transition from Part C (early intervention) to Part B (early childhood special education) services. IDEA 1997 also required that parents, school administrators, service coordinators, and special educators be involved in the transition process. In 2004, IDEA 1997 was amended and is now known as IDEA 2004. Among the many amendments of this legislation are increased emphasis on early intervention services and transition. This suggests that the transition process from Part C to Part B should be revisited by all agencies involved to ensure that smooth transitions occur. Few studies have addressed the transition process and no studies were found that looked comprehensively at the transition process among parents, administrators, and other service providers. The purpose of this study was to better understand the facilitators and inhibitors to successful transitions through the perceptions of all stakeholders involved in the process using three case studies. Major findings indicate that factors that may interfere with a smooth successful transition process include: (1) parents’ concerns about services, (2) confusion about meetings, and (3) lack of information, while factors that facilitate a successful transition include: (1) meaningful involvement and communication among all parents and school representatives and (2) having adequate information for decision-making. The findings reveal that although the school system was in compliance with the transition process, there were clear areas for improvement. / Ed. D.

Comparatively little is known about the scientific, psychological, or social issues surrounding children adopted from China and their parents. The goal of this study was to seek out links that might exist between the background of adoptive parents who had adopted children from China and their motives in adopting these children, and to explore the influence of the parents' childhood backgrounds on the way they parent, the changes in relationships within and outside the family after the adoption, and the developing importance and meaning of the adoption to the parents. I used a qualitative research design to look at the real experiences of American parents who had adopted children from China. I used a topical life history method using in-depth interviews. I also used a second interview to follow up on the questions I still had after the first interview. In addition, I used questionnaires to get basic background information (please see attached Appendix (C). I interviewed twenty American parents in ten families who had adopted children from China. The condition for inclusion in this study were: (1) The families had a prior, established relationship with me and resided in the New England area of the U.S. (2) The adopted child had to be a female from China. (3) The child must have resided in the U.S. by the age of 12 months. (4) Each family must contain two legal parents. At the time of the interviews, these children ranged in age from infancy to middle childhood. In this study of ten families, results were both expected and unexpected in light of the literature on parenting and adoption. Analysis of the interviews with the parents yielded six major themes: (1) Parents' descriptions of their own childhood family structure and childhood experiences; (2) Parents' expectations, prior to and during the adoption experience, for the adoption to improve the family unit; (3) Changes in the parents' relationships after the adoption; (4) The adoptive parents' expectations of the adopted child; (5) The most challenging experiences of the adoptive parents; and (6) the meaning of the adoption for the parents.

Research and interest in trauma-informed pedagogy have grown substantially. Trauma-informed pedagogy includes knowledge of trauma symptoms, associated behaviors, and environmental and instructional trauma-informed strategies. Various scales measure attitudes and experiences with trauma-informed practices; however, the literature suggests a lack of validated tests measuring teachers' knowledge of trauma. Reliable and valid tests measuring knowledge are critical when determining the professional development needs of both pre-service and in-service teachers. This multi-phase study aimed to fulfill this need by creating the Teachers’ Knowledge of Trauma (TKOT) test. With the guidance of literature and qualitative data from eight early childhood professional peers, a 50-item test was created to measure teachers' knowledge of trauma. Draft 1 of the TKOT was evaluated by a team of 14 trauma experts providing both quantitative and qualitative analysis, which was used for further refinement, resulting in a 33-item test (Draft 2). Draft 2 included collecting quantitative and qualitative data from 20 pre-testing participants, resulting in a 34-item test (Draft 3). A total of 429 survey administration participants completed Draft 3 of the TKOT, providing quantitative data for reliability testing (Cronbach's α = .78) and item reduction analyses. The Rasch model analysis was used, resulting in a calculated variance of residual value of .46, supporting the one dimension, or one factor, model for the TKOT. The item reduction analyses conducted with the data from the 429 survey administration participants narrowed the TKOT to a final 25-item version (Draft 4). Draft 4 of the TKOT demonstrated a Cronbach's α of .77, rating the test as acceptable. Future research will include further item analysis, tests of dimensionality conducted with the recruitment of another sample with the hope of more diversity in race and gender among pre-service and in-service students, and continued reliability and validity testing. These next steps are predicted to result in a well-developed and validated final version of the TKOT that will serve as an open-source tool for schools and universities to identify gaps in trauma-informed learning.

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’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.

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Two groups of students were compared to determine the impact of early intervention at the Early Childhood School on academic outcomes in later elementary school years for both math and reading. Students who were determined to be disadvantaged in some way, either by income, limited English proficiency, or having been identified as needing specialized instruction and who attended an early intervention program, prior to kindergarten, were compared to a similar group who did not attend the intervention program. Scores on district level assessments in math and reading were tracked for both groups of students through the third grade. Scores on high stakes standardized testing of the students in third grade were also analyzed. Results indicated that students in the control group outperformed students in the treatment group on the majority of district level assessments. However, the opposite was true for high stakes testing where the treatment group outperformed the control group on a consistent basis. These results were consistent, regardless of the nature of the disadvantage. Students who attended the prekindergarten program at the Early Childhood School had higher scores on the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) exam than disadvantaged students who did not attend. Since this was not the case for district level assessments, it is recommended that the district revisit their local assessments and testing administration practices. It is also recommended that this cohort of students continue to be studied to see of the outcomes last beyond the third grade.

Sensory processing difficulties (SPD) can significantly impact a child's behavior, learning, and overall well-being. However, many educators, particularly those teaching in the early grades, lack the necessary training to recognize and effectively respond to these challenges. Consequently, students exhibiting atypical behaviors are often mislabeled or misunderstood, leading to inappropriate interventions or missed opportunities for early support. The B-SENSE (Behavioral and Sensory Exploration for Nurturing Successful Educators) program aims to bridge this critical knowledge gap by providing training and resources to educators. The B-SENSE program is a multi-faceted professional development initiative designed to enhance educators' understanding of SPD and their ability to distinguish these conditions from behavioral issues (BI). The program comprises several key components including a needs assessment survey, two training modules, informational emails, and a post-training survey. It is grounded in the principles of effective professional development approaches, constructivist theory and sensory integration theory. Using a variety of methods, this training incorporates evidence-based strategies, such as active learning, collaborative problem-solving, and the application of concepts to real-world scenarios. The B-SENSE program equips educators with the confidence and competence necessary to identify SPD, make appropriate referrals, and implement inclusive practices within their classrooms. This initiative aims to foster reflection leading to positive changes in attitudes, behaviors, beliefs, and methods. By fostering collaboration among educators, parents, and school administrators, and promoting a culture of empathy and acceptance, this program may positively impact student outcomes, lead to inclusive policies, raise job satisfaction, and increase employee retention rates within school districts.

This dissertation examines issues of social class and musical parenting within the context of an early childhood jazz education program. Using administrative and survey data from 469 self-selected families from six cities in the U.S. where this program is offered, I aimed to identify what factors play a role in parental decisions for enrolling in the program and whether those factors were associated with their social class. Considering this early childhood jazz program as an organized activity supports the analysis of music classes as a form of investment in cultural capital fostered by parents. I used current economic models of the family and theories of social and cultural class reproduction to understand families’ participation in the program and their musical engagement. Principal component analysis revealed four components representing possible reasons that drove parents to enroll in the program: Cultural and Educational Enrichment for the Future; Appreciation of Jazz; Socialization and Bonding; and Social Networks. Simple linear regression analysis showed significant associations between socioeconomic status (SES) and two principal components (Cultural and Educational Enrichment for the Future and Social Networks). Overall, parents showed high scores of both general and musical engagement, and those variables were highly correlated. Additionally, there were no statistically significant associations between parents’ previous formal musical experiences and their musical engagement when controlling for musical materials at home and their average value of music education. Parents’ engagement with the program activities was positively associated with their music making at home and that association stayed stable and strong after taking into account sociodemographic factors, parents’ values of music education and access to musical materials. Families from lower SES backgrounds used activities and materials from the jazz class at home with more frequency than families from other SES groups. This finding could suggest that when lower SES families are given access, they incorporate new musical tools and ideas from the jazz program as affordances to increase their parenting skills; therefore, the impact of the program might be stronger for those parents than for the other more advantaged groups. Jazz music in this context seems to be working as an equalizer of opportunities by reducing inequalities.