This study aimed to investigate the attitudes, knowledge, and practices of Kuwaiti kindergarten teachers regarding their leadership roles in the classroom and schools within the State of Kuwait. This study was conducted using a mixed methods research design whereby both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed simultaneously. The qualitative sample included 56 kindergarten teachers and twelve heads of departments selected from 12 kindergarten schools from all six school districts in the State of Kuwait. The quantitative sample included 560 volunteer participants who completed a survey that measures teachers’ values, practices, and their perspectives on school culture regarding teacher leadership. ANOVA was used to analyze the differences among school district location, years of teaching experience, and teacher’s education level. The findings suggested that there were no statistically significant correlations among teachers’ beliefs regarding teacher leadership and school location, years of experience, and education level. Also, there were no statistically significant correlations between teacher leadership practices and school location, years of experience, and education level. There were significant correlations between school climate conducive to teacher leadership and years of experience, without school location and education level. Moreover, the concept of teacher leadership was ambiguous in Kuwaiti kindergarten schools. There were some indications of opportunity for teacher leadership roles, but those roles were not considered effective by participants. Teacher participants believe that their roles are restricted, and this perspective was supported in part by the heads of department. Teachers enumerated some hindrances to teacher leadership, such as instability of ministry supervisors’ decisions; top-down, unilateral decision-making; and school administrations’ tight control of teachers’ roles to the level of organizing and running classrooms. Broader implementation of Kuwaiti school restructuring efforts employing a distributed leadership model among formal and informal leadership roles and positions is recommended to help improve quality of education, the teaching profession, and school reform. In the end, the most significant benefit would be gained by students. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2001. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 183-194). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 292-305). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--York University, 2001. Graduate Programme in Education. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 234-238). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pMQ71599.

This is a case study to explore Korean girls' construction of girlhoods in a kindergarten class in order to answer the two research questions: 1) What are the constructions of girlhood that emerge in a Korean kindergarten classroom? 2) How do the girls in the classroom negotiate the constructions of girlhood? Employing the conceptual framework of gender as being a social construction (Blaise, 2005; Davies, 2003; MacNaughton, 1997 & 2000; Thorne, 1993), I reconceptualize aspects of young girls' lives and behavior that for a long time have been regarded as insignificant, natural, and/or non-existent by mainstream ECE. The findings of this study will help fill a void in the current body of knowledge in Korean and Western ECE fields. I completed data collection in one Korean kindergarten class of 5-year-olds, located in Seoul, Korea. I gathered data from five different sources: 1) field notes from observations of students' speech and behavior; 2) audiotapes of students' conversations; 3) interviews with the students; 4) interviews with the classroom teachers; and 5) my research journals. Data analysis proceeded by searching for categories and codes following Strauss and Corbin (1998) in order to find emergent themes in relation to Korean girls' construction of girlhood. By observing girls' talk and behaviors through a social constructionist perspective, I have uncovered three constructions of girlhood in one Korean kindergarten. They are appearance-based girlish girlhood, oppositional girlhood, and heteronormative girlhood. Before uncovering the girls' lived experiences that are constituted by and constitute the constructions of girlhood, I portray how these girlhoods came to take place in an institutional setting, emphasizing the institution's curriculum, guidelines, and teachers. I then go into detail about the three constructed girlhoods that emerged under these institutional conditions. The emerging girlhoods in the research setting were discursively constructed in relation to three pervasive and imperative ideas about being a girl. Although the three constructions are relevant to different aspects of life for a young Korean girl, they are not mutually exclusive or competitive. First, appearance-based girlish girlhood is constituted by and constitutes girls' bodies and bodily practices by correctly signifying their gender. Oppositional girlhood manifests itself in girls' everyday endeavors to maintain the legitimacy of the gender binary. Finally, heteronormative girlhood is a reflection of the pervasiveness of heteronormativity in Korean society at large.

No description available.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

No description available.

This study proposed to answer research questions about the efficacy of using computer-assisted instruction (CAI) to augment kindergarten emergent reading skills. Five assessment instruments were used to measure kindergarten students' emergent reading skills. In this quasi-experimental design (experimental school vs. control school), repeated measures were used (pretest and posttest). Change scores (posttest minus pretest) were calculated to run analyses. Morrow's Story Retelling was significant for the experimental group, p=.006. The Woodcock-Johnson Passage Comprehension (WJPC) subtest was significant for the interaction of group and type of kindergarten program, p=.005, meaning more children in full day programs and using CAI were reading and understanding passages. Unrelated to the hypotheses that were tested, the Phonological Awareness Test (PAT) was significant for culture, p=.006. Post Hoc results demonstrated significance between white students and English Language Learners (ELL) on the PAT, p=.003. The Concepts About Print Test was not found to be significant. No significances were found for the Woodcock-Johnson Letter/Word Identification subtest, either. In conclusion, CAI did have a positive impact on several measures of emergent reading skills. A Home Literacy Survey was completed by the parents of all participants. This survey provided extensive information about the type and frequency of literacy activities done in the students' homes to answer the research question concerning the value of home literacy activities in preparation for formal schooling. Significance was found for pretest scores on the WJPC, p=.004. The results were significant for Morrow's Story Retelling for change scores, p=.005. Conclusions can be drawn that literacy activities done in the home before coming to school do have an impact on reading/listening comprehension as measured by the WJPC and Morrow's Story Retelling. Finally, teachers in the experimental school were asked their opinions about CAI. They unanimously agreed that CAI was beneficial to students, especially low performing students. But reservations included the loss of class time to do computer lessons and the availability of a variety of CAI programs. There were also several complaints directed at the PLATO program examined in this study. The program was not user friendly for kindergarten children to operate independently, and there were reliability problems.College of Architecture / Department of Elementary Education

Purpose of StudyThe purpose of this study was to determine whether there were significant differences in the motor, personality, and social characteristics between kindergarten children with formal preschool experience and kindergarten children without formal preschool experience.ProceduresThe population of this study consisted of twenty-two pairs of kindergarten children (forty-four pupils), one with and one without formal preschool experience. The children were paired according to the number of siblings, sex, whether the mother was working or not working, and socio-economic level according to the Minnesota Scale of Paternal Occupations.Three instruments were used as measuring devices. A developmental inventory, the Preschool Attainment Record, was utilized to ascertain motor and social characteristics of each member of the group with and without formal preschool experience. The California Test of Personality: Primary Form AA, an oral examination, was used in assessing the social and personal adjustment characteristics of each child in the study, and the Would You Rather Questionnaire was employed (as a supplement to the California Test of Personality) to measure more specific traits of personality, e.g., cooperation, independence, shyness, the null hypothesis of no significant difference was tested.The t-test was applied to the data collected in this study. This procedure was employed to determine the statistical significance of differences between computed mean scores of correlated groups. The two groups were compared to identify differences between group scores in the areas of motor, social, and personality characteristics.FindingsStatistical analysis of the data indicated that pupils with formal preschool experience and pupils without formal preschool experience do not differ to a degree statistically significant in motor, personality, and social characteristics as assessed by the instruments utilized; and that formal preschool experience appeared to make relatively little or no difference in the performance of the children in the items used in this study. The group with formal preschool experience obtained mean scores that were higher in twenty-four out of thirty sub-tests. The differences in the mean scores were not statistically significant, therefore, the null hypotheses failed to be rejected.ConclusionsThe conclusions reached in this study were:Kindergarten children with formal preschool experience, as measured by the Preschool Attainment Record, the California Test of Personality, and the Would You Rather Questionnaire, do not differ in performance to a statistically significant degree when compared to kindergarten children who have not had formal preschool experience.There were no statistically significant differences in motor, personality, and social characteristics between kindergarten children with and without formal preschool experience.Although differences were not found to be statistically significant, there was a rather consistent pattern of slightly higher means of scores evidenced by kindergarten children with formal preschool experience.RecommendationsRecommendations for further research based on the findings of this study were:1. A replication of this study should be done utilizing a broader population of kindergarten children with and without formal preschool experience.2. Studies with a longitudinal base should be done to consider the provision of experience within the home, or other informal setting, which provide opportunities for development that match or exceed those typically fostered in formal settings.3. The development of additional instruments to assess the social development and specific personality characteristics of young children is recommended.4. Studies should be conducted which evaluate varied preschool experiences for the individual child.5. An in-depth follow-up study of the kindergarten children involved in this study could lead to insight into the characteristics enhanced through formal preschool experiences and those affected to a minor degree.6. Research is recommended which will look at motor, personality, and social measures in a more "global" fashion.