Nearly 70% of preschool children in the United States are enrolled in child care facilities. This means that they eat many meals away from their homes. Despite government support for childhood nutrition through the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), research that measures the nutritional value of meals served in child care facilities has been lacking. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if there are differences in the calories and nutritional value of lunch meals offered to preschool children in facilities that participate in CACFP and in facilities that do not participate in CACFP. Ajzen's theory of planned behavior formed the theoretical foundation for this study. Two research questions addressed the nutrient and caloric content of lunches served in CACFP and non-CACFP facilities. An ex post facto quasi experimental design was used to compare 598 meals from existing monthly menus from a random sample of 30 child care facilities located in a state in the Southwestern United States. Using a MANOVA test, significantly greater amounts of proteins, fats, and calories were found in meals served by non-CACFP facilities. A comparison of actual menu items suggested that greater numbers of fatty foods were present in menus served at non-CACFP facilities. These results support literature that found childhood illnesses, like obesity and malnutrition, may stem from high-calorie meals that lack adequate nutrients. This study may contribute to positive social change by supporting nutrition oversight, such as that provided by the CACFP program; encouraging tighter state and local nutritional guidelines in child care; and focusing attention on the importance of everyday nutrition for all children attending child care facilities.

Despite state requirements, standards, and recommendations from various early childhood agencies, huge differences exist in levels of education held by teachers of 4-year-olds in early childhood classrooms, which may affect the quality of service they offer to children as well as students' performance on assessments. This quantitative study determined whether significant differences existed between assessment scores of at-risk children taught by teachers with different levels of education and years of experience using standardized assessments (Teaching Strategies GOLD [TSG] and Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening [PALS]). The theoretical framework for this study was Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory of human development. Data were analyzed using a descriptive and 1-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Pretest and posttest data were collected from an archived database of TSG and PALS assessment scores of 142 at-risk Prekindergarten 4 children who were taught by 18 different Prekindergarten 4 teachers at a local Head Start site. A 1-way MANOVA multivariate test indicated that assistant teachers' level of education was statistically significant at p = .012. A univariate 1-way ANOVA indicated that no statistically significant difference was found among the groups of dependent variables. It is recommended that attention be focused on teacher practice and teacher-child interaction backed with adequate professional development, rather than levels of education and experience. This study may support the hiring of committed teachers who can turn knowledge into practice and use data to inform their practice to unlock the potential of at-risk children.

High-quality preschool is freely available at two locations in a rural area. However, many parents choose not to send their children to preschool at all, despite its availability and demonstrated benefits to children. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory study was to understand why families did not enroll children pre-K. Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems model was used as a conceptual framework for the study. which suggests that child development is influenced by multiple environmental factors. Research questions were related to examining the perspectives of parents who had not enrolled their children in pre-K on their inhibitions and inducements to enroll their children in pre-K. Interviews were conducted with parents who did not enroll their children in high-quality preschool. Semi-structured interviews with 12 parents of kindergarten-enrolled children at a single school in a mid-west state were conducted to address questions. Data acquired from interviews were analyzed using open, axial, and selective coding. Inhibitors to enrollment included lack of transportation, lack of knowledge of program availability, and parental attachment to their young child. Participants reported the currently zero cost as an inducement, and they noted that more convenient transportation and extended pre-K hours would also induce them to enroll their children in pre-K. Parents disagreed about the usefulness of pre-K, with some asserting its benefit in providing academic skills and socialization and others arguing that it is not beneficial to children. This study could lead to positive social change by encouraging public outreach to inform parents better about the benefits of high-quality pre-K programs and ways to increase knowledge of their availability.

Despite positive effects of parent engagement on children's school success, prior research into parent engagement has relied almost exclusively on interactions by mothers and has not included fathers. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the perspectives of preschool teachers regarding their engagement with fathers of children in their classrooms. The conceptual framework was Epstein's 6 types of parental involvement. Three research questions, regarding teachers' perspectives of father engagement, teachers' reported efforts to increase the engagement of fathers, and the barriers teachers describe in increasing fathers' engagement, form the basis of this study. This was a qualitative study using the interviews of 9 lead preschool teachers with at least 3 years' experience, who work with children 2 to 5 years old. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis following open coding of interview transcripts. Five themes emerged including the teachers' comfort level, communication preferences, limiting center perspectives, limiting teacher perspectives, and fathers' disengagement. Findings indicated that teachers felt uncomfortable with fathers and preferred to communicate with mothers, and father engagement was hampered by limiting assumptions by the center and by teachers, and by fathers' perceived lack of interest. This study presents implications for positive social change by suggesting that individual teachers can increase parent engagement by being more inclusive of fathers, including becoming more comfortable engaging fathers, communicating with fathers directly, and being open to fathers' engagement in a variety of ways. When fathers feel welcome in childcare settings, children benefit because both parents are working on the child's behalf.

Choosing the most effective method of teaching literacy acquisition that will improve student achievement is a challenge for many early childhood educators. The problem is the target school district where this study took place did not have a curriculum for preschool teachers to use that provided reading instruction. The purpose of this causal comparative study was to explore the relationship between Concepts About Print (CAP) scores of preschool students who received direct CAP instruction and those who received indirect instruction through indirect reading and writing activities. Guided by Marie Clay's theory, which concludes that reading difficulties among beginning readers stem from a lack of attention to print concepts, this study examined students' knowledge of print conventions. A comparative research design compared pre- and post-test scores on the CAP assessment. An analysis of covariance with the pretest as the covariate was also performed in this study. Results revealed that students who were taught print concepts directly scored higher on the CAP assessment than did the students who were taught indirectly. Research findings from this study could aid administrators in the target school district with developing a technique to teach reading for preschool teachers on the local level, which will lead to social change by providing each preschool student with the strong literacy foundation needed to ensure later school success. Lifelong readers can begin in preschool.

The purpose of this research was to assess the effects of a pre-therapy client orientation on clients admitted to a mental health center. A secondary purpose was to develop an effective and brief audio-visual orientation that would positively influence clients in therapy. It was hypothesized that a pre-therapy orientation would significantly reduce client no shows and cancellations, increase client fee payment, increase client level of psychological functioning, and increase client satisfaction with mental health services. None of the four hypotheses was supported by the research. A questionnaire filled out by the therapists involved in the study, after the data were collected, revealed that all of the therapists oriented their clients to therapy to varying degrees. This may account, in part, for the lack of results. Implications for future research suggest investigation into the development and evaluation of training programs for individual therapists to orient their clients in the most systematic, optimal fashion. Research should also focus on the magnitude of change after a pre-therapy orientation and the development of instruments of sufficient sensitivity to detect that change.

The efforts of practice sessions in discrimination tasks with the aid of instructional cues were studied to determine their influence on the visual perceptual abilities of pre-school children . The research was conducted at the Utah State University Child Development Laboratories with twenty children. Ten of these children were three years of age and ten were four years of age at the time of the study. Of the twenty children , five boys and five girls, were given training in performing tasks requiring ability in visual perception. The remaining ten children, five boys and five girls, were not given any visual perceptual training. It was found that the ten children who had received individualized instruction during the practice sessions scored significantly higher on the visual discrimination tasks than the ten children who had received no training. The children made significant improvement through the practice sessions which was indicated by a comparison of the beginning test scores to the ending test scores. There was a significant difference in the visual perceptual abilities of girls and boys and older and younger children as measured in the visual discrimination tasks.

Little research is currently available on child care arrangements involving grandparents, at a time of significant change within the child care sector. This study explored the experiences of grandparents providing regular care of their grandchildren prior to school entry. It used narrative inquiry, a qualitative research methodology to investigate the nature of their care experiences from the perspective of grandparent carers. Narrative tests were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 17 grandparents from a range of socio-economic and cultural backgrounds across Sydney and in south-west NSW, Australia. The active engagement of grandparents in the preparation of interpretive tests enabled significant depth of meaning to be discovered within grandparents' stories. The study revealed the grandparents held contrasting views in relation to their care experience. They gained significant meaning from building strong bonds with grandchildren, while also experiencing loss of autonomy, physical tiredness, and in some cases, family tension. The study found grandparent careers were not a homogenous group and identified four carer clusters grouped around grandparents' perspectives on family contribution, care obligations and personal independence. The study points to the importance of grandparents having choice in care decisions and the need to establish arrangements with adult children that are true care partnerships. / Doctor of Philosphy (PhD)

This thesis reports research which employed quantitative data collection methods to investigate pre-service teacher perceptions of extended practicum learning environments of pre-service teachers at a Catholic university and their self-efficacy for future teaching. By drawing on learning environment research, practicum in teacher education literature, student teacher practicum evaluation data and stakeholder perceptions of dimensions of the ACU extended practicum learning environment, an instrument, a 72-item questionnaire, the Extended Practicum Learning Environment Inventory (EPLEI) was developed and validated. To establish relationships between student teacher perceptions of the extended practicum learning environment and their self-efficacy for future teaching, a Student Teacher Efficacy Instrument (STEI) was also developed. Data were collected from student teachers using the EPLEI and the STEI. In 2001, the total sample consisted of 64 students. Recognising that there are a number of dimensions to the learning environments of the extended practicum and to assess differences in student teacher and supervising teacher perceptions of the same extended practicum learning environment, supervising teachers responded to an analogous form of the EPLEI. In 2002, the sample consisted of 57 student teachers and their supervising teachers. Statistical analyses were performed on the quantitative data and revealed some statistically significant differences in the way student teachers and supervising teachers perceive the same environment. Statistical analyses also revealed significant differences in student teachers perceptions of extended practicum environments in relation to school type. Student teachers who participated in the extended practicum in Catholic schools perceived the learning environments more positively than student teachers in State and Other Christian schools. The analyses revealed significant associations between student teacher perceptions of the extended practicum learning environments and their self-efficacy for future teaching. This research clearly demonstrates that extended practicum experiences of student teachers at a Catholic university are affected by features at both classroom and school levels

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This research explores the possibility of a phenomenology of religion that is ontological, founded on Martin Heidegger’s philosophical thought. The research attempts to utilise Heidegger’s formulation of phenomenology as ontology while also engaging in a critical relation with his path of thinking; as a barrier to the phenomenological interpretation of the meaning of Religion. This research formulates Religion as an ontological problem wherein the primary question becomes: how are humans, in our being, able to be religious and thus also able to understand the meaning of ‘religion’ or something like ‘religion’? This study focuses on the problem of foundation; of whether it is possible to provide an adequate foundation for the study of religion(s) via the notion ‘Religion’. Further, this study also aims to explore the problem of methodological foundation; of how preconceptions of the meaning of Religion predetermine how religion(s) and religious phenomena are studied. Finally, this research moves toward the possibility of founding a regional ontological basis for the study of religion(s) insofar as the research explores the ontological ground of Religion as a phenomenon. Due to the exploratory and methodological/foundational emphasis of the research, the thesis is almost entirely preliminary. Herein, the research focuses on three main issues: how the notion of Religion is preconceived, how Heidegger’s phenomenology can be tailored to the phenomenon of Religion, and how philosophical thought (in this case, Pre-Socratic philosophy) discloses indications of the meaning of Religion. Pre-Socratic thought is then utilised as a foundation for a preliminary interpretation of how Religion belongs-to humans in our being. This research provides two interrelated theses: the provision of an interpretation of Religion as an existential phenomenon, and an interpretation of Religion in its ground of being-human. With regard to the former, I argue that Religion signifies a potential relation with the ‘originary ground’ of life as meaningful. Accordingly, the second interpretation discloses the meaning of Religion as grounded in being-human; that for humans in our being, the meaning of life is an intrinsic question/dilemma for us. This being-characteristic, I argue, can be called belief.