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This qualitative study investigated parents' awareness of and involvement in their prekindergarten child's literacy development. In addition, the feasibility of parents using a home literacy portfolio for the purpose of exchanging literacy information with teachers at a parent/teacher conference was examined. Participants included six parent/child dyads, who qualified for a Texas public school prekindergarten program by meeting the requirements for either free or reduced lunches or for the English-as-a-Second Language program. Research tools included audiotaped interviews with parents and with teachers; observations at parent/child workshop sessions, which were also videotaped; and work samples, including a home literacy portfolio from each child. Findings indicate that parents are involved in their children's literacy development. Also, at home, children participate in both open-ended literacy activities and drill-oriented literacy activities, with most of the activities falling into the open-ended category. According to the findings, all of the parents were more aware of their child's literacy achievements after attending the parent/child workshop and developing a home literacy portfolio. In addition, the home literacy portfolio proved to be a useful tool for sharing information at parent/teacher conferences. Parents and teachers exchanged literacy information at the parent/teacher conference. In the process of explaining the portfolios, the parents shared information about their child's drawing development, writing development, and reading development. In contrast, the teachers shared some literacy information with the parents, but much of the information teachers shared reflected the child's participation in class or general information about the child. The findings suggest that the parent/child workshop is a cost-effective vehicle for directly involving parents in their child's education. Moreover, developing a home literacy portfolio provides a means of involving parents with their child and of helping parents' become more aware of their child's literacy development.

This study examined which predictor measures best explain first grade retention in Texas, using three campus configuration types. Predictor measures were chosen from Texas public school campus student demographic and operational data, as well as community-based early childhood program data. Prior to this study, no research had been conducted in Texas that merged public school-based early childhood program data with community-based early childhood program data in order to understand a historical and often neglected problem in the state's education system: the number of students being held back in first grade. To determine which predictor measures best explained first grade retention among selected campus configuration types, a hierarchical regression analysis was conducted. Initially, public school campuses that did not contain early childhood and/or pre- kindergarten programs in their campus configuration, and that generally served students with fewer risks for academic and social failure, had lower first grade retention rates, which were statistically significant. After controlling for multiple campus student demographic and operational predictor measures, as well as access to community-based early childhood programs per first grade student, however, campuses that contained early childhood and pre-kindergarten programs, or a combination of both, had retention rates that were no longer statistically different from the campus configurations that, on average, contained fewer economically disadvantaged and at-risk students. Although the study was a systems-level analysis and was restricted to making inferences at the aggregate level that were non-causal, the findings provided several clues that suggest early childhood programs and experiences, both internal and external to public school campuses, have the potential to affect the short- and long-term academic success of vulnerable children. The study encouraged collaboration between the public school system and a complex, diverse community-based early childhood system, using a "vulnerable neighborhood approach" (Bruner,2007), as one effective strategy for promoting school readiness and success for disadvantaged children, and as one means to address this challenge. / text

This study addressed the current status of early childhood curriculum design and implementation in the Texas Education Service Centers Seven and Eight. No Previous research about the characteristics of the preschool programs had been completed in those areas. This research established if preschool programs were receiving priority status in East Texas. The results yielded evidence regarding the characteristics of administrators, teachers, curriculum implementation, plus parent and community involvement. The information also provided insight regarding short-term and longitudinal effects on children who have attended preschool programs. Data were collected from a search of educational literature, regional service preschool directors, administrators, and teachers. The procedure used in designing the survey and interview documents was Michael Scriven's goal-free strategy. The main sources for the questions were the National Association for the Education of Young Children and Head Start. The study first directs attention to the common characteristics of national programs/standards, then discusses the level of implementation in local rural prekindergartens. The fifteen open-ended interviews yielded concise information relevant to the population of students served and administrative beliefs on current practices. Surveys were sent to a total of all preschool administrators in the Education Service Center Regions of Seven and Eight. A 51 percent response rate was received. The results of the analysis demonstrated the direction current administrators hope early childhood will take in the areas of 1) developmentally-centered curriculum, 2) parental and community input, and 3) professional development. The administrators' commitments and focal points were correlated with the national standards. Recommendations are made that should result in an overall increase of successful prekindergarten and high school graduates.

This quantitative methods study explored the knowledge, attitudes and practices of PK-5 teachers on the use of technology applications in the classroom. The Texas State Board of Education has set in place standards for technology applications that require the use of technology applications across all grades. Likewise, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published new guidelines on the use of technology by children. However, it is the responsibility of teachers to implement and embed these standards, while also paying attention to the recommendations of the AAP. I developed a survey that provided demographic information, and included 12 items to measure the knowledge, attitudes and practices of teachers of technology applications in the classroom. Participants included 251 PK-5 teachers from three different districts in a South Texas region. Multiple regressions were conducted for each of the constructs produced by a factor analysis. Knowledge and attitudes presented no statistically significant results from individual teacher characteristics, but there were statistically significant differences on attitudes by districts. The regression analysis for practice reported a statistically significant difference between teachers that held a master's degree and those who did not. I conclude that technology applications implementation in the PK-5 classrooms is still developing and evolving, but there is still no consistency across districts, and further research in this matter is still needed.