This study of the dance experiences of related men and boys pursues overlapping and related research goals. It is an investigation about reflective teaching practice in the process of developing an emergent curriculum for this multi-generational group of men and boys. It is an investigation about the communicative moments between participants through which members expressed their pedagogical regard for each other, their needs, desires and their dance learning. And it is an investigation about this group of men and boys as an example of aesthetic community, a community engaged in expressing and mediating individual style and dispositions through a group process and resulting in deeply shared aesthetic meanings and group style. Fourteen participants in six family groups danced together on seven Saturdays in a small community north of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Participants ranged in age from five-years old to more than forty-five years old. Dance curriculum was designed in reference to the teacher's knowledge and experience of creative movement for primary aged children, and in reference to the teacher's dance performance and choreographic experiences and experiences of parenting. Based on detailed transcriptions of two-camera video documentation of the seven sessions, a narrative analysis thickly describes significant movements of participants, before, during and after the sessions, as well as interactions and participants' utterances. Post-session captioned drawings are discussed in detail following each session. Major findings are then presented as related to three research goals: reflective practice for emergent curriculum design, intersubjectivity as it occurred in this example of inter-generational dance education and an examination of this group of learners as an example of aesthetic community. Findings are discussed in relation to relevant literature and recommendations posed for further research. / Dance

Every day in the United States, millions of children living in high-poverty neighborhoods are dropped off at a variety of early childcare settings and arrangements. When those settings are high quality, early childhood education can produce both short and long term benefits for this population, including increases in school achievement and in literacy attainment and decreases in grade retention, the likelihood of early dropout, and behavioral issues (August & Hakuta, 1997; Barnett, 1995; Brooks-Gunn & Duncan, 1997; Entwisle & Alexander, 1993; Korenman, Miller, & Sjaastad, 1995; McLoyd, 1998; Wertheimer & Croan, 2003; Zill, 1999). Early childhood education, however, is neither a formalized nor mandatory educational level, which gives parents significant latitude in deciding when and where to enroll their children. Consequently, it is important to better understand the quality, availability, distribution, and use of non-parental childcare across different settings. A more nuanced perspective is also necessary because there is great variation in the types of and tendencies toward childcare enrollment along the lines of socioeconomic status, race, and geographical location. This research study presents the findings of a qualitative, interview-based study that explored what maternal primary caregivers were influenced by when they enrolled children of color in high-poverty urban childcare centers. Building upon the current literature, the study explores the ways structural, parental, and child-level factors intersected in the decision-making process and how choices continued to effect parents after initial enrollment decisions had been made. This study also addresses parental satisfaction levels. Through a series of interviews conducted with the maternal primary caregivers of children enrolled in one of three early childhood centers in a single metropolitan region, this study captures and describes childcare enrollment as a complex and nuanced process. The findings of the study speak to the nature of navigating and managing childcare decisions from the perspective of the parent. Specifically, the study found that networks of trust, maternal instincts, and lessons learned from past childcare experiences influenced the choices of the maternal primary caregivers interviewed. Educational value and children's futures were also important, as were logistics and cost. As the mothers in the study made their choices, they also negotiated structural, parental, and child factors. The literature supports these factors as influencing choice, but they have largely been examined in isolation. This study adds to the literature by describing how levels of factors intersected and overlapped with one another. More exploratory findings of the study support that maternal primary caregivers continued to manage their childcare choices long after enrollment and that childcare satisfaction is both subjective and nuanced. The experiences of the women who participated in this study shed light upon directions for future research and areas of need in terms of resources, information, and support. The mothers in this study made childcare choices based on their realties, using who or what they knew and how they felt. Further, the local governance where this study was conducted proved highly disjointed and participants showed little faith in the system. The greatest area of need, which would stand to most benefit all parents, is for meaningful increases in support, resources, and cohesion at the local level. / Urban Education

Emotional competence is empirically associated with children’s success both socially and academically. Emotion knowledge and emotion regulation, the components of emotional competence, help children navigate interactions with peers and teachers in order to reach their goals while respecting the needs of others. An abundance of research exists on curricula to build social-emotional skills, as well as research on the role parents play in socializing children about emotional competence. However, little research exists on emotion socialization by teachers. Literature on what pre-service teachers learn about emotion socialization and emotional competence is even smaller. This study aims to learn what Early Childhood Education students at a large, urban northeastern university learn about emotional competence and emotion socialization through the use of surveys, interviews, and written reflections on the student teaching experience. A mixed-methods design elicits both breadth and depth of data on the topic. Pre- and post-measures show significant differences in self-efficacy relating to emotion socialization practices, but not knowledge or practices learned through the student teaching experience. Interview data shows pre-service teachers do believe emotion socialization to be part of their teaching role and that they influence the types of emotions felt and expressed by students in the classroom. Results will help improve the student teaching program and help the larger field of early childhood education learn about how to make the student teaching experience as helpful as possible. / Educational Psychology

The purpose of this qualitative research was to understand the process of co-constructing music in a Reggio-inspired preschool. Although both adults and children facilitate musical processes in co-constructed settings, in this study I focused on processes that emerged from children. One question guided this study: In this preschool, what processes do children use to make their music learning visible and audible? From September 16 to December 16, 2014, I visited Project P.L.A.Y. School--a play- and relationship-based, Reggio-inspired preschool--once weekly for one and a half hours during the children's free play time. The participants were 13 children between the ages of two and a half and five years old, as well as six adults. During my visits, I acted as a musical play partner with the children, following the children's leads. Data emerged from child and adult musickers as musical interactions, which I documented using Reggio-inspired documentation techniques--audio recording, video recording, and photographing during musical interactions as long as the interaction lasted. In addition, I kept a researcher's journal consisting of same-day reflections after each visit. The documentation resulted in five hours and 42 minutes of video and audio recordings, 115 photographs, and an 80 page researcher's journal. Because my data collection were modeled on Reggio-inspired documentation techniques, I did not run continuous video but only recorded during musical interactions as long as the interaction lasted. Thus, the audio and video recordings were in 215 separate files, ranging from four seconds to 19 minutes in duration. I interpreted the data using qualitative strategies, coding data from documentation and my journal. Codes gave rise to categories which became salient themes. I labeled those themes processes, and employed narrative tenets to present the findings, restorying experiences into vignettes and using photographs and notation to support the themes. At Project P.L.A.Y. School, children made their music learning audible and visible by engaging in seven music processes: vocal exploration, singing, instrument exploration, expressive movement, notation exploration, staging shows, and musical conversations. These processes emerged as part of larger social processes, such as discussion and social play. Some processes emerged within others, as children sang during their musical conversations and danced while they staged shows. Thus, co-constructed musicking was part of the whole experiences of the children. Musickers at Project P.L.A.Y. School made their learning audible and visible through musical processes that were fundamentally social and creative. The co-constructed musicking was social and creative, as adults and children developed musical thinking and skills through listening and responding to one another. Through the emergent social and musical process, adults were able to scaffold and extend children's musicking. Through these processes, musickers developed skills that may help them become thoughtful, independent, and intentional musicians. Due to the rich musicking that emerged in this context, I recommend that music teachers and early childhood teachers embrace the role of musical play partner; dedicate time to music exploration and play; design children's musicking spaces in a way that emphasizes agency and accessibility; and provide opportunities for musical choice in all music education settings. I conclude by recommending that future researchers consider studying co-constructed musicking in other environments, as well as musical project work, as projects are important to the emergent curriculum of the Reggio approach. / Music Education

Over the past three years, there have been changes in learning observed due to COVID-19 pandemic-related disruptions that affected young learners who needed support during instruction, raising concerns about their learning progress. As such, this qualitative phenomenological study explored and described the parent and teacher perspectives on the long-lasting impact of COVID-19 on kindergarten students who started formal education virtually during a pandemic. The central research question, "What are the teacher and parent perspectives on learning during the pandemic and their views on the impact of remote instruction on kindergarteners?" was examined from a constructivist and play-based learning theory. The study used purposeful and snowball sampling to obtain five teachers and four parents who virtually completed one-on-one 15- to 30-minute semi-structured interviews. Data was analyzed using Boije's constant comparative approach using three steps: (1) comparison within a single interview, (2) comparison between interviews within the same group, and (3) comparison of interviews from the two different groups. I used an inductive approach using axial coding to interpret results on themes that surfaced from within the participants' interviews. The study findings will benefit educators, school leaders, policymakers, and researchers interested in early childhood education. Limitations of the study include lack of generalizability, exclusive focus on the kindergarten level of study, and the use of previous literature conducted in different contexts and cultures to support the need for the study.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of participation in the district's early childhood program on later academic achievement as measured by the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) mathematics and reading assessments in Grades 3, 4, and 5. The studied district opened a centralized early childhood school in 2009 and implemented the Texas Pre-K Guidelines. The STAAR test results were available for five cohorts of students who attended the early childhood school and took the STAAR mathematics and reading assessments in the years 2014-2018. A quasi-experimental design was used to analyze differences in STAAR mathematics and reading scores for students who attended the district's early childhood program and students who did not attend. A two-way factorial ANOVA was used to examine the effect on test scores of attending the district's early childhood school and other demographic categories, Latinx, African American, socio-economic status, and English language learners (ELL). The results show that attending the early childhood program did not have a statistically significant effect for Latinx or African American students. However, the mean mathematics scores for economically-disadvantaged students who attended the early childhood program were higher than their peers who did not attend. ELL students who attended the program also had higher mathematics scores but the differences were usually not statistically significant. The same impact on economically-disadvantaged students and ELLs was not found on reading tests.

Fung Pan-Chung. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 46-54). / Abstracts in English and Chinese ; questionnaire in Chinese. / Acknowledgement --- p.i / Table of Contents --- p.ii / Abstract (English) --- p.iv / Abstract (Chinese) --- p.v / Chapter Chapter One --- Introduction --- p.1 / Language Development and Hearing Impairment / Positive Home Literacy Environment / Dialogical Reading Intervention for Hearing-Impaired / Children with Hearing Impairment and Their Use of Chinese Language / Objectives of the Present Study / Chapter Chapter Two --- Method --- p.17 / Participants / Design / Materials / Design / Procedures / Chapter Chapter Three --- Results --- p.27 / Demographics / Preschool and Primary Chinese Literacy Scale / Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test ´ؤ Third Edition / Feedback Questionnaire / Chapter Chapter Four --- Discussion --- p.35 / Discussion of the Effectiveness of Dialogical Reading Intervention / Reasons for the Success of Dialogical Reading on Hearing-Impaired / Importance of the Result from the Present Study / Recommendations to Parents and Educators / Limitations and Further Studies / Conclusion / References --- p.46 / Appendixes --- p.55 / Chapter A. --- Guideline for the Dialogical Reading Group / Chapter B. --- Example of Picture Cards for the Dialogical Group / Chapter C. --- Calendar Checklist for Dialogical and Normal Reading Group / Chapter D. --- Demographic Information Questionnaire / Chapter E. --- Follow-up Questionnaire for the Dialogical Reading Group / Chapter F. --- Follow-up Questionnaire for the Normal Reading Group

In this investigative study the researcher studied the methods used to assess learners with Asperger syndrome in Grade R. A detailed, and in depth study was made of Inclusive Education and the current assessment methods, as well as research into which assessment methods have been proved successful when dealing with learners with Asperger syndrome. Derived from the literature study, interviews held and observations, the researcher concluded that learners with Asperger syndrome are very unique people, but need to be supported and helped to enable them to become worthy citizens within a community. Out of the information collected it became apparent during this intense study of a fairly limited scope, that it is very important that the facilitator has to create an unique development programme for each individual learner with Asperger syndrome. Only then each learner will be helped to develop to his or her full potential. The above facts generate recommendations towards the following: • The Department of Education • The primary school • The facilitator • The family • Further research / Teacher Education / M.Ed. ( Inklusiewe Onderwys)

The purposes of this research were to explore the effectiveness of the Chickasaw Nation early care and education program in promoting school readiness while infusing tribally relevant values in children from birth through age five; engaging parents in all aspects of their children’s learning; and supporting children and families through the transitioning to kindergarten. The study used qualitative methods to examine the experiences and perceptions of ten parents, ten teachers, and five administrators within Chickasaw Nation’s early care and education system regarding the four basic areas of school readiness, parent engagement, transition, and culturally relevant pedagogy. Four primary themes emerged from the semi-structured interviews: 1) socialization, school readiness, and transition, 2) learning, curriculum, and assessment, 3) the role of parents, and 4) cultural integrity. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, transcribed, and analyzed based on four research questions. Findings indicated parents, teachers, and administrators were satisfied that the program was successful with assisting children in making progress toward achieving developmental and school readiness goals and that the children were physically, socially, emotionally, and cognitively prepared to enter kindergarten. The program provided activities to encourage and promote parental involvement; however, parents did not indicate active involvement or participation in the activities. There was little evidence to support culturally relevant pedagogy alignment with curriculum and practices. Implications for additional research focusing on American Indian children in preschool programs and the importance of instilling pride and culture are recommended.

The first purpose of this study was to develop and validate the Inventory of Opinions About Persons with Disabilities (IOPD). The IOPD was developed to collect preservice early childhood educators’self-report data related to inclusion. A total of 332 participants enrolled in graduate programs in a college of education served as the validation sample. After validation and revision of the IOPD, the researcher used the instrument to investigate preservice early childhood educators’ beliefs, attitudes, and knowledge about students with disabilities and their inclusion in general education classrooms. Data were collected from 172 participants from 10 universities in Texas during their student teaching/final intern semesters. This research demonstrated that an instrument, the IOPD, could be developed to effectively measure preservice early childhood educators’ beliefs, attitudes, and knowledge about the inclusion of children with disabilities in their classrooms. The participants reported positive self-perceptions (mean = 2.0388) about their beliefs and attitudes toward inclusion. However, the participants reported less positive attitudes about training (mean = -.09884). Discriminant function analyses indicated a negligible statistical effect for type of program (professional development school or traditional) and a statistically significant effect for preferred classroom setting (non-inclusive, special education, inclusive). Further research with the same participants or similar cohorts at one and three years of inservice teaching could broaden the scope of knowledge regarding early childhood teachers’ opinions about inclusion and students with disabilities. In addition, including procedures for gathering qualitative data with the Inventory of Opinions About Persons With Disabilities might provide more specific information about individual beliefs, attitudes, and knowledge about inclusion.