No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

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.

The problem identified for this study was that principals of elementary schools often do not have the appropriate preparedness and readiness required for meeting the needs of children and teachers in the primary grades. The purpose of this study was to examine the perception of early childhood campus leaders regarding how well-prepared they are to supervise a high-needs campus that consists of primary grades which include prekindergarten through third grade. Qualitative methodology of case study design with a phenomenological perspective was selected. A finding of this research study was principals' preparedness for supervising early childhood grade levels was because their prior work experience in early childhood. Also, supports for the principals are needed to impact how they supervise early childhood grades, but careful consideration of which supports are needed must be made. The final finding was principal actions when supervising early childhood classrooms are based on their opinion about quality rather than the district defined quality document. Recommendation for further research are to replicate this with a larger population and sample; conduct a quantitative study of the impact of early childhood leadership on student outcomes that would follow a cohort of students through elementary school; and conduct a qualitative case study of principal leadership preparation that includes a teacher focus group to determine if the leadership practices are impacting teacher practices.

<p> The early childhood administrator is tasked with overseeing all operations within the early childhood program. Operational functions include functions traditionally associated with education including the design and implementation of curriculum, creating and maintaining the learning environment, and ensuring the health and safety of children enrolled in the program. The administrator of the early childhood program is also tasked with other functions including human resource functions, budgeting, as well as income and cost management. Additionally, the administrator should be an advocate within public policy concerning early childhood education. Research has acknowledged the functions associated with the early childhood administrator role. In 1992, Paula Jorde-Bloom named the early childhood administrator as the &ldquo;Gatekeeper of Quality&rdquo;. Since then, research has supported that establishing and maintaining quality is yet another responsibility of the early childhood administrator. The current study examined the role of the administrator, particularly the preparation that the administrator receives, in an effort to determine the impact that the administrator has on the quality of the program. A sample (n = 224) was pulled from early childhood administrators in Mississippi. The preparation received by these administrators, including formal education and additional training, was measured and regression analysis with Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale Revised (ECERS-R) scores measuring quality of the early childhood program regressed with an aggregated early childhood administration preparation variable to determine if administration preparation could predict overall quality within the early childhood program. As the literature indicated that fiscal management practices also fall under the scope of responsibilities of the administrator, fiscal management preparation was isolated and regression analysis with ECERS-R scores was conducted to determine if fiscal management preparation could predict overall quality within the early childhood program as well. The study found that administration preparation was a significant predictor of quality. However, preparation specific to fiscal management knowledge was not found to be a predictor of overall quality. Practical implications and suggestions for future research are addressed.</p>

No description available.

<p> The decision regarding when to send their child to school can be difficult one for parents. Much attention has been paid to the relationship between age of entry into kindergarten and academic achievement. However, a child&rsquo;s ability to maintain the behavioral standards of a classroom is an equally important aspect of readiness for school. In this study, a secondary analysis of 9,474 kindergarten students examined the relationship between the age at which a child enters kindergarten and teacher reports of externalizing behavior problems. Data on other child factors including child sex, attendance in a preschool program, socioeconomic status, race, and family structure were also obtained in the fall of the kindergarten year. There was a significant main effect of child age on externalizing behaviors, even after controlling for family structure and socioeconomic status (SES). In addition, there were significant relationships between race and externalizing behavior, child sex and externalizing behavior, and preschool attendance and externalizing behavior, even after controlling for family structure, and SES.</p>

<p> I selected 10 typically developing preschool students between the ages of 2 and 3 years from a preschool facility. I tested their listener and speaker responses to common stimuli to determine whether they demonstrated differences in their listener and speaker repertoires. I selected the 6 children with the largest discrepancy in their listener and speaker repertoires to participate in Naming probe sessions to measure for the presence of Naming (a capability which allows an individual to acquire language incidentally). None of the participants had the full Naming capability at the onset of the study. A delayed multiple probe design across participants was implemented to test for the emergence of speaker responses for stimuli the participants could only respond to as a listener prior to the acquisition of Naming. Multiple exemplar instruction (MEI) across speaker and listener responses was implemented to induce Naming in these participants. Following the acquisition of Naming the experimenter re-tested listener and speaker responses, finding that the participants could respond as a speaker to the stimuli they previously could only respond to as a listener, thereby demonstrating the transformation of stimulus function from listener to speaker responses. Following the acquisition of Naming, 5 of the 6 participants acquired over 50% of untaught responses with the exception of 1 participant who acquired 30% of untaught responses following the acquisition of Naming.</p>