Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2009. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains iv, 51 p. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 47-51).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2003. / Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 93 p.; also includes graphics. Includes abstract and vita. Advisor: Antoinette Miranda, College of Education. Includes bibliographical references (p. 89-93).

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The purpose of this study was to examine the role that parents take in the development of the emergent curriculum in early childhood classrooms influenced by the philosophy of Reggio Emilia schools. I conducted this teacher research study in my preschool classroom and in another private preschool that follows a similar philosophy. Both preschool programs are accredited by the NAEYC; both preschool programs follow practices associated with the philosophy of Reggio Emilia, including building on the children's interests by using an emergent curriculum; and both schools encourage parents to participate. My close ties with each preschool allowed me access in ways that would not have otherwise been possible. To learn how parents are protagonists in early childhood classrooms, ones influenced by the schools of Reggio Emilia, I observed six parent participants in the two preschool classrooms (three at each site) during a four-month period. I also interviewed each of these six parents and interviewed six teachers from the two sites regarding their parent involvement practices and their use of the emergent curriculum. The data analysis led to a greater understanding of how parents are involved in early childhood programs. The analysis showed how parents influence the emergent curriculum, and how they perceive the process. The analysis also shared the teachers' perceptions of parents in the early childhood classroom specifically in emergent curriculum development. This analysis is from data collected from parent participants and teacher participants of the two preschools. Case studies offered an in-depth portrayal of two parents and how they influenced the emergent curriculum and how they were protagonists in their children's school life. This study has allowed me to become more aware of how parents influence the emergent curriculum and how parents and teachers perceive the process.

<p> Teacher attrition is a growing concern among states and school systems. Novice teachers face many difficulties during their induction and the high attrition rates within the first five years of teaching are a testament to the challenges new teachers face (Herrington et al., 2006; Fantelli &amp; McDougall, 2009). Due to new demands emerging from U.S. education policies placing an emphasis on accountability and student mastery of predetermined learning outcomes, there have been many new demands placed on kindergarten teachers (Goldstein, 2007).</p><p> By using a narrative inquiry methodology, this research study seeks to answer the following overarching question: How do novice kindergarten teachers describe their experiences in their first of year teaching? The study also seeks to answer the following sub questions: What <i>domains of curriculum practice</i> act as constraints on novice kindergarten teachers curricular decision making? How do novice kindergarten teachers use their professional discretion in making decisions about how to integrate developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) into the mandated curriculum in an era of standards-based reform?</p><p> The research was guided by the following theoretical framework: Boote&rsquo;s (2006) Theory of Professional Discretion. Participants were interviewed using a semi-structured interview protocol (Patton, 2002). Interviews were transcribed and then coded for emerging themes. The researcher worked with the participants to re-story and create a narrative of their experiences in their first year of teaching.</p><p> The following themes emerged from the interview data: (a) Teaching was a lifelong career goal; (b) Teaching kindergarten was not a choice; (c) They planned as a team; (d) They had a fear of deviating from the prescribed curricula; (e) The participants were overwhelmed with standardized testing; (f) They experienced being a living contradiction; (g) The participants had a lack of job security; (h) The participants were all surplussed or &lsquo;let go&rsquo; at the end of the school year. These themes were used to write the <i> narratives of experience.</i> There were four <i>narratives of experience, </i> one for each participant. Each narrative tells the story of each participant&rsquo;s first year of teaching.</p>

This dissertation explores the socio-cultural implications of content and context in Vygotsky's theory of the private speech of young children (Vygotsky, 1986). While private speech has long been thought to hold a snapshot of the child in cognitive transition, the content and context of the private speech has rarely been investigated. It is within the context of a larger social group that a child produces the utterances defined as private speech, and as such the context and content of the utterances must be evaluated in order to gain a comprehensive picture of the child as an active co-creator of culture in a social group.This ethnographic inquiry tells the story of one early childhood classroom, nested within a specific cultural context, as the children explore their surroundings through conversations with adults and peers. Children are observed to be engaged in the "leading work of childhood" through dramatic play, drawing, block building and music (Vygotsky, 1986). The spontaneous utterances of private speech occurred within and between the flow of these daily activities.Through the use of naturalistic observations, field notes, audio recordings, photographs and research journal, five vignettes were created of the private speech of individual children. These vignettes highlight the social nature of private speech by interjecting the content and context of the utterances through the lens of the heteroglossia of social life in the classroom (Bakhtin, 1986). This inquiry suggests that the question of the developmental purpose of private speech may well move from "Are the children engaging in "private speech?" to the more socially situated question of "To what are children referring in the content of their "private speech?" Results suggest that children are not only actively listening to the private speech of their peers, but are also producing it as social knowledge for the benefit of their peersThis inquiry adds to a larger body of research on Vygotsky's theory of private speech and sociocultural learning through the refocus of private speech as socially deployed "verbal mortar" between children rather than merely a tool for self-regulation used by individuals. The implications of this rather modest change of perspective may require teachers and researchers to consider the social life of the group, including the content of any private speech, as an integral part of a classroom curriculum, rather than a happenstance of proximity. Results also highlight the rich social life of a classroom and the important interpersonal relationships developed between a group of preschool peers. / Cette dissertation explore les implications socio-culturelles du contenu et du contexte de la théorie de Vygotsky sur le "langage égocentrique" des jeunes enfants. Alors qu'on a longtemps pensé que le "langage égocentrique" était un cliché instantanné de l'enfant en transition cognitive, le contenu et le contexte du "langage égocentrique" a rarement été investigué. C'est dans le contexte d'un groupe social plus étendu que l'enfant produit les expressions définies comme étant le "langage égocentrique" et, en tant que tel, le contexte et le contenu de ces expressions doivent être évaluées de façon à acquérir une vision adéquate de l'enfant en tant que co-créateur actif de la culture d'un groupe social. Cette enquête ethnographique raconte l'histoire d'une salle de classe dans une école, issue d'un contexte culturel spécifique, tandis que les enfants explorent leur environnement à travers des conversations avec des adultes et des semblables. Des enfants impliqués dans "le travail constructif de l'enfance" par le biais du jeu théâtral, du dessin, des jeux de construction et de la musique (Vygotsky, 1986). Les expressions spontanées du "langage égocentrique" se sont produites à l'intérieur, et entre, le flot de ces activités.À travers l'utilisation de notes prises sur le terrain, d'enregistrements audio, de photographies et d'un cahier de notes de recherche, cinq vignettes ont été créées sur le langage égocentrique d'enfants individuels. Ces vignettes font ressortir la nature sociale du "langage égocentrique" en cernant le contenu et le contexte des expressions à travers la lentille du flot continu de la vie sociale dans la salle de classe. Cette enquête suggère que la question de la raison d'être du "langage égocentrique", par rapport à un but de développement, ne devrait pas être "Est-ce que les enfants utilisent le "langage égocentrique"?", mais plutôt "À quoi les enfants font-ils référence dans le contenu de leur "langage égocentrique"?" Les résultats suggèrent que les enfants ne font pas qu'écouter de façon active le "langage égocentrique" de leurs semblables, mais qu'ils l'expriment aussi au profit de leurs semblables.Cette enquête s'ajoute à une quantité de recherches sur la théorie de Vygotsky à propos du "langage égocentrique", et de l'apprentissage socio-culturel, à travers une réévaluation du "langage égocentrique" en tant que ciment entre les enfants, plutôt qu'un outil d'auto-régulation utilisé par les individus. Les implications de ce changement de perspective relativement modeste pourraient amener les enseignants à considérer la vie sociale du groupe, incluant le contenu du "langage égocentrique", en tant que part intégrale du programme d'études de la classe plutôt qu'un fruit du hasard de la proximité. Les résultats font aussi ressortir la richesse de la vie sociale d'une salle de classe et les relations interpersonnelles qui se développent entre les semblables d'un groupe préscolaire.

<p> The purpose of this study is to identify the frequency and type of math and spatial talk by family child care providers and assistants who speak Spanish to Latino children in the Northern California Bay Area. Two Spanish-speaking family child care providers and assistants were selected to participate in this study. Their language was audio recorded. The audio recorded data were transcribed, translated, and coded based on math and spatial categories. The findings show a greater frequency of spatial talk than math talk, specifically in the spatial categories of deictic terms and spatial location and direction. In the area of math talk, a higher frequency of math talk was found in the categories of cardinality, number symbol, counting, and conventional nominatives mirroring other studies. This study contributes to the research on Spanish-speaking family child care providers and assistants by identifying the frequency and specific categories of math and spatial talk provided in these family child care programs.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to examine the sustained impact of participation in the Tools of the Mind preschool program on language arts, mathematics, reading and writing achievement in middle school, the specific impact of participation on racial subgroups and socioeconomically disadvantaged students, and the effects of student mobility on academic achievement. Using a nonexperimental, quantitative, longitudinal design, the achievement of the original cohort of students who participated in the program was examined over 2 consecutive years. The results of the study suggest that participation in the Tools of the Mind program increases the overall achievement of socioeconomically disadvantaged students and the writing performance of African American students. Analysis of student mobility data revealed that a high rate of student mobility has a negative impact on student achievement. These study results are consistent with decades of research into the impact of participation in a high-quality preschool program. Caution should be taken in interpreting the results because promotion of the development of self-regulation and executive function, aspects that set the Tools of the Mind program apart from other preschool programs, is not measured by the NJASK, and thus the impact of the program may have been underestimated.</p>

AbstractThrough the course of our history, Indigenous cultural and spiritual knowledge remains, in many places as faint as the smoke rising from the embers of last nights fire; in other places, with enough flame to ignite another log. In spite of the genocidal acts portrayed through colonialism's experimentation through religious doctrine, residential school, legislation, treaties broken and unbroken, reservations, and spiritual disregard, we the Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island remain living, breathing and believing that our history is alive through the oral stories of our beginnings and endings.Indigenous education can only be defined through the culture of the people themselves. Building or rebuilding culturally relevant curriculum familiar to the children and teachers can only increase the value of student knowledge and in turn fulfilling a proud identity and natural relationship to the universe. The majority of on reserve education systems are based on provincial guidelines and standardized testing. Historical Indigenous education was transferred orally for thousands of years with very little disruption or inconsistencies; therefore distinct meanings and connections were continuously addressed throughout ones lifetime through the wisdom of elder's legends and stories. My investigation on the role of legends and storytelling in an early childhood setting in Kahnawa:ke, Quebec is portrayed through a combination of personal narrative interwoven with research literature, classroom observations and personal interviews as portraiture, and a discussion based on data collected. The main finding was that cultural legends and stories familiar to historical, ceremonial and spiritual practices are vital to the cultural foundation of the Haudenosaunee (peoples of the longhouse or the Iroquois) and Kahnawake'hró:non (people of Kahnawa:ke). / RésuméÀ travers le chemin de notre histoire, les connaissances culturelles et spirituelles du monde Indigène restent, en beacoup de places si faible comme la fumée qui lève de la braise du feu de la veille; en autres places avec assez de flamme pour allumer une autre bûche. Malgré les actes de genocide démontré par l`expérimentation de doctrine religieuse, les écoles résidentielles, la législation, les traités brisés et non brisés, les réserves, et le mépris spirituelle de colonisation, nous le peuple Indigène de l'Île de la Tortue, vivons, respirons, et croyons que notre histoire vie dans les contes oraux de nos débuts et fins.L'éducation Inidgène peut seulement être défini par la culture du peuple elle même. Construire ou réconstuire un programme culturellement pertinent familier pour les enfants et enseignants peut seulement augmenter la valeur de les connaissances des élèves ou ils réaliseront une identité fière et une relation naturelle avec l'univers. La majorité des systèmes d'éducation sur les réserves sont basés sur des directives provinciales et des épreuves standarisées. L'éducaton d'histoire Indigène était transmis orallement pendant des milliers d'années avec très peu d'interruption ou d'inconsistance; donc significations et connections distinctes étaient continuellement adressées à travers la sagesse des légendes et contes des ainées. Ma investigation sur le rôle de légendes et contes dans un milieu d'éducation de la petite enfance à Kahnawa:ke, Québec est démontrée par la combinaison de narratifs personnels entrelacées avec de la recherche de la littérature, des observations dans la classe, des entrevues personelles et de la discussion basé sur la collection de données. Le résultat principal est que les légendes et contes culturelles familiers aux practiques historiques, cérémoniaux et spirituelles sont essentiels pour la fondation des Haudenosaunee (peuples de la maison longue ou Iroquois) et des Kahnawake'hró:non (peuple de Kahnawa:ke).

This thesis investigated the effectiveness of 3 intervention programs on the acquisition of English phonological awareness by 58 typically-developing Mandarin-speaking kindergarteners learning English as a foreign language. The programs consisted of perceptual-based, production-based, and phonemic awareness activities. The perceptual-based or production-based intervention was conducted in Phase I, followed by the phonemic awareness activities in Phase II. Children's phonological awareness skills in both Mandarin and English were assessed before and after each Phase. Results indicated that in Phase I, there was no significant difference of phonological awareness skills after the intervention for the groups who received either the perceptual- or the production-based intervention when compared to the control groups. In Phase II, there was a significant difference in overall English and Mandarin phonological awareness test scores for the groups who received phonemic awareness instruction when compared to the control group. Moreover, those children given the perceptual-based or the production-based intervention previously along with phonemic awareness instruction in Phase II did not show an advantage over those who received only phonemic awareness instruction in Phase II. Even though phonemic awareness intervention was carried out with English materials, children's performance in phonological awareness in both Mandarin and English improved. The findings suggest that implementing phonemic awareness activities in English-learning classrooms and in clinical settings where clients have limited English experiences could enhance children's phonological awareness skills in both English and their native language. / Cette thèse évalue l'efficacité de 3 programmes d'intervention visant l'acquisition de la conscience phonologique (CP) de l'anglais par 58 enfants parlant mandarin de maternelle ayant un développement normal et apprenant l'anglais comme langue étrangère. Une intervention au niveau de la perception ou de la production avait lieu lors de la phase I, qui était suivie par des activités de CP lors de la phase II. Les habiletés des enfants au niveau de la CP du mandarin et de l'anglais étaient évaluées avant et après chacune des phases. Les résultats indiquent que suite à la phase I, il n'y avait pas de différence significative au niveau de la CP entre les groupes ayant reçus les interventions au niveau de la perception ou de la production et les groupes contrôles. Suite à la phase II, il y avait une différence significative dans les résultats au niveau de la CP de l'anglais et du mandarin entre les groupes ayant reçus une intervention au niveau de la CP et le groupe contrôle. De plus, les enfants ayant reçu aussi une intervention au niveau de la perception ou de la production, en plus de celle portant sur la CP lors de la phase II, n'ont pas montré un avantage par rapport aux enfants ayant reçus seulement l'intervention portant sur la CP. Malgré le fait que les interventions utilisaient du matériel en anglais, les performances au niveau de la CP de l'anglais et du mandarin se sont améliorées. Ces résultats suggèrent que l'utilisation d'activités de CP dans les classes d'apprentissage de l'anglais et dans le milieu clinique lorsque les clients ont une expérience limité avec l'anglais peut améliorer les habiletés de CP des enfants en anglais de même que dans leur langue maternelle.