This study examined the effects of performance feedback information on parenting practices that contribute to development of vocabulary and pre-literacy skills. Fifty-one dyads of parents and their pre-school aged children were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups. Group one received full treatment including a workshop and feedback. Group two, designated as the control group, did not receive the feedback portion of the treatment; and group three, designated as a wait list control group, received neither the workshop nor performance feedback. All participating parents were administered a survey of parenting practices that lead to vocabulary and pre-literacy development. Treatment produced significant results for the vocabulary measure; however, the data did not yield a significant result for the cognitive measure. There appeared to be a significant difference between the treatment group and the wait list control group. This difference was not found when comparing the treatment group to the control group, or when comparing the control to the wait list control. Also, feedback was shown to have an effect on only one of the five parenting practices surveyed.

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This qualitative study was an exploration of 55 Utah kindergarten teachers' perceptions of challenges in teaching. It investigated written concerns teachers expressed in a statewide survey of kindergarten teachers. Study findings indicated that two main issues were communicated by teachers: a disparity between their developmentally appropriate beliefs and practices in the classroom, and concerns about children's kindergarten readiness and transition to school. About 56% of teachers felt a struggle in implementing their developmentally appropriate beliefs about education, for a variety of reasons: large class sizes, district and state mandates, and lack of resources, particularly time. Furthermore, 53% of educators conveyed concerns regarding children's school readiness and their transition to kindergarten. These teachers articulated transition activities they engaged in and communicated the influence of preschool, both positive and negative, on their incoming kindergarteners. Three other concerns and challenges were also delineated: limited teaching time; feelings that kindergarten curriculum is becoming too academic, particularly that curricular expectations have been raised and an emphasis placed on literacy; and issues surrounding parental involvement, both in and out of school. Study findings also demonstrated that most teachers who communicated concerns about implementing developmentally appropriate beliefs had been teaching for more than 7 years. The majority of the educators who shared challenges regarding time had taught for 12 or more years, as was the case for those who spoke about concerns with parental involvement. Limitations, implications, and suggestions for future research are discussed.

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No description available.

Many early childhood learners enter kindergarten not academically and social-emotionally prepared. This qualitative study explored teachers' perceptions of what constitutes high-quality learning concerning kindergarten readiness and parents' understanding and support of kindergarten readiness. The conceptual framework is based on recent studies by early childhood researchers on how and what early learners should experience during their pre-k years. The research questions focused on teachers' understanding of structural quality and process quality, kindergarten readiness, and age- appropriate curriculum. In addition, parents' understanding of kindergarten readiness and what types of learning opportunities they offer their children were examined. Through purposeful sampling, 16 teachers and 17 parents were interviewed from an early childhood site. Interview data were analyzed using a thematic analysis. The data were analyzed by coding and observing for recurrent categories and themes. Key findings indicated that teachers demonstrated a lack of understanding of structural quality and process quality and believed that the current curriculum is outdated and should be replaced to significantly impact student learning. Parents perceived that academics were far more important than social-emotional development and that affording their children learning opportunities outside of school was important. As a result of this study, a professional development program was developed for teachers intended to enhance their instructional practices in preparing early learners towards kindergarten success. Parents will also receive training from teachers to support social-emotional learning opportunities. The training could enable both teachers and parents to better support the cognitive and social-emotional growth of children.

Some children struggle to learn the academic skill of reading. Providing effective assistance to struggling students, especially to English Language Learners (ELLs), can be a challenge for teachers. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of childcare programs on the reading achievement of ELLs in kindergarten and first grade. Vygotsky's sociocultural theory along with developmentally appropriate practices constituted the theoretical framework. The overarching research question examined differences in overall reading achievement of ELLs based on the completion of formal childcare programs. A causal-comparative design was used with a cluster sample drawn from a United States federal database of 3,214 ELLs divided into 2 groups: children who participated in formal childcare (FC) programs and those with no formal childcare (NFC). Four independent-samples t tests were performed to compare reading achievement of FC and NFC participants from the fall 2010 kindergarten class (FC n = 1,348, NFC n = 1,414), spring 2011 kindergarten class (FC n = 1,485, NFC n = 1621), fall 2011 first grade class (FC n = 650, NFC n = 698), and spring 2012 first grade class (FC n = 1,482, NFC n = 1,622). Using the Bonferonni method to reduce Type I errors due to familywise analyses, the a priori alpha level decreased to 0.0125. ELL students who participated in formal preschool childcare programs achieved higher scores in reading throughout kindergarten and first grade. Based on these findings, a project was developed for family childcare providers to use to facilitate literacy development. Positive social change may result from ensuring that more children begin kindergarten and first grade with a foundation of reading skills needed for ongoing learning and academic success.

Early childhood development programs enhance children's development of knowledge, skills, and processes. Despite efforts to improve early childhood education in the United States, poor student performance in early literacy and kindergarten achievement is still occurring, and questions remain unanswered about the utility of early childhood education programs. Drawing from the theory of constructivism, the purpose of this quantitative, quasi-experimental, retrospective study was to determine the effectiveness of early childhood programs on the literacy achievement of kindergarten children. The research question addressed the differences in literacy achievement of kindergarten children based on the early childhood programs they attended. Using repeated measures analysis of variance tests for 501 student test scores, no significant interaction effects existed between program participation and gains across time for prewriting (F [2, 998] = 0.87, p = .42), cognitive (F [2, 998] = 0.84, p = .43), or language (F [2, 998] = 1.26, p = .28). However, using the Pearson correlation coefficient, younger participants had significantly more gain from pretest to posttest for prewriting (r [499] = .14, p = .002) and cognitive (r [499] = .21, p = .001) but less gain for language (r [499] = .10, p = .03). Knowing that literacy achievement can be improved in an early childhood setting contributes to the knowledge base on the effects of early learning. Educators could benefit from these findings when implementing early childhood policies and adopting effective practices to help develop successful readers in kindergarten and beyond.

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No description available.