Action research has proven to be a powerful protocol for enhancing best-practices pedagogy and for guiding reflective practitioners in becoming effective change agents. This dissertation uses action research methods to, first, frame the institutional process of crafting a new, complex water exhibit at a Massachusetts children’s museum; and second, to closely follow, reflect upon, and assess the efforts by multiple stakeholders across a two-year period to produce an exemplary learning environment. This research provides parameters by which other children’s museums can likewise maximize their creativity and resources in exhibit development through the use of fully substantiated action research methodology.

This study investigated whether children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) show difficulty acquiring Noun Phrase structure. A group of 10 children with SLI with an average age of 5 was tested with 3 experiments designed to probe their comprehension of articles, simple and complex possessive phrases, and their adherence to syntactic principles of binding and “wh” extraction. Their performance was compared with 2 groups of normally developing children, one group of 10 younger children matched to the SLI group according to Mean Length of Utterance (LM or Language Match group), and one group of 10 children matched to the SLI group according to age (AM or Age Match group). A spontaneous language sample was also obtained from the SLI and LM groups to compare their performances on spontaneous language and comprehension tasks. Significant differences were found between the SLI and AM groups in all tasks subject to statistical testing, and between the SLI and LM groups in some of the tasks. In tasks where significant differences were not found, there were differences in the response patterns of the SLI and LM groups. These results suggest that children with SLI show marked difficulty with Nominal Phrases and that their difficulty can be described as a limitation in their ability to project fully hierarchical phrase structures that affect their verbal and nominal system similarly. Comparisons between performance on spontaneous language and comprehension tasks suggest that reliance on spontaneous language production only can lead to an overestimation of children's grammatical ability.

Teachers' ratings of children's behavior are an essential tool of psychological research and practice. Previous research has reported levels of agreement between parents' and teachers' report of children's behavior, but relatively little attention has been paid to the agreement between teachers or between teachers and observers. In general, teacher-observer agreement has been found to be superior to parent-teacher agreement, but inferior to inter-teacher agreement. The present study included 170 children. Twenty-nine preschool teachers reported on the behavior of the children in their classroom, using Achenbach's Teacher Report Form. Research assistants coded children's behavior using videotapes of the preschool classrooms. Agreement between teacher reports was stronger than teacher-observer agreement. Standardization of teacher-report data within classrooms resulted in improved agreement, suggesting that reliability may be improved by focusing on report of children's behavior relative to other children in the classroom, rather than on an absolute scale. Inter-teacher agreement, and some types of teacher-observer agreement, showed significant variation across informant pairs. Finally, a teacher's perceptions of a child's behavior predicted aspects of the teacher's behavior toward the child, even after accounting for the child's behavior.

This short-term longitudinal study investigated changes in newborn infant behavior over the first month of life and changes in mothers' mental representations of their infants and of themselves as parents, during the first month postpartum. There is evidence to suggest that maternal representations and newborn infants' behavior play an important role in the evolving infant-mother relationship, and that a newborn infants' developmental progress is dependent upon the quality of that relationship. While there is some research on neonatal behavioral development in Puerto Rican infants, there are no data on the development of maternal representations in Puerto Rican mothers. The study's sample consisted of 20 newborn infants and their mothers. Infants were examined on the Clinical Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (CLNBAS)(Nugent, 2001), during the first 48 hours of life and at one month postpartum. Mothers' representations were examined using the Maternal Representation Questionnaire (MRQ)(Stern & Stern-Brushwieler, 1999). This is the first study to use the CLNBAS and the MRQ for data collection during the first month. Results showed that newborn infant behavioral patterns of Puerto Rican infants changed in a positive direction during the first month postpartum. More specifically, significant positive developmental changes in the areas of autonomic, motor, and social interactions were found, while there were no changes in state organization, as measured by the CLNBAS. Results also revealed that mental representations of Puerto Rican mothers were positive and stable during the first month postpartum. Puerto Rican mothers' mental representations during the first month barely changed, were very positive, and also consistent with the positive newborn developmental changes as assessed by the CLNBAS during the first month of their infant's life. Mothers' knowledge of their infants' capacities increased over the course of the first month and they felt they became more effective and comfortable in their role as new mothers. Mothers also reported feeling well supported by family and friends during their transition to motherhood. In summary, this study contributes to the understanding of newborn behavioral changes and maternal representations early in the development of the mother-infant relationship in the context of Puerto Rican families.

Building upon previous emergent literacy research, this descriptive and correlational longitudinal study investigated the relationship between parent-child storybook reading and children's early literacy skill development. A new, reliable videotaping system was used as was a measurement tool sensitive to the growth of children's early literacy skills, the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Literacy Skills (DIBELS). Twenty-five parent-child dyads volunteered for phase one; all children were 3 to 5 years old. Eighteen of the original 25 children participated in a follow-up study a year later. Most families were Caucasian, English-speaking, and interested in literacy activities. Dyads were videotaped reading storybooks and their interactions were coded. Six video categories became predictor variables: Parent Q, A, D, L (Parent questions, answers, discusses content of book, or discusses book as it relates to life of parent or child); Child Q, A, D, L; Child reads or is prompted to read, Off-task events, Total events; and Words read per minute. Other predictor variables included Minutes per week of Parent and Parent-child reading (derived from a parent interview) and children's scores from the Early Screening Profiles (ESP) Cognitive/Language Profile subtest of the American Guidance Service (AGS). These variables were correlated with dependent variables obtained by administering three DIBELS tests to the children: Onset Recognition Fluency (ORF) and Letter Naming Fluency (LNF), used in both phases, and Phoneme Segmentation Fluency (PSF), used only in follow-up. Only children 5 and older were administered the age-sensitive PSF probes. From follow-up scores, slope data were generated measuring progress in the three skill areas. A number of the video predictor variables correlated at .32 (a small effect size) or above with the children's concurrent LNF scores. The children's ESP cognitive and language scores also correlated at .32 or above with several of the children's concurrent or subsequent DIBELS scores. Description and discussion of the direct observation system and parent interview are included, with suggestions for refinements. The ESP and DIBELS are discussed, and recommendations are made for future research.

Despite the continuing trend to delay parenthood in contemporary society, research about late-timing parenthood has been extremely limited. The purpose of this study was to examine the process of maternal adjustment for a sample of late-timing primiparous mothers. This developmentally rooted short-term longitudinal study used both quantitative and qualitative methods. Twenty mothers, all of whom were twenty-nine years of age and older, were interviewed during the eighth month of pregnancy and again at two months postpartum. Measures of social support were administered in the prenatal period, and again in the postnatal period, along with measures of maternal self-esteem and infant temperament. Observations of mother-infant interaction and the home environment were done at two months. Qualitative data were used to develop "personal profiles". The data show that the late-timing mothers adjusted well to new parenthood. They had positive prenatal attitudes about motherhood and demonstrated average or higher levels of maternal self-esteem. They were satisfied with the support they received, and did not feel isolated. They found their infants adaptable and unpredictable, but not difficult or dull. They were sensitive and responsive to the needs of their infants. Results also show that maternal adjustment was influenced over time by prenatal attitudes about motherhood, infant temperament, maternal self-esteem, and the quality of the caregiving environment provided by the mother. The personal psychological resources of the mother and the temperament of the infant were most influential in determining the quality of maternal adjustment and the developing mother-infant relationship. Qualitative results show that maternal adjustment, for some, was also influenced by sources of support and stress. Late-timing motherhood was seen as a desirable life-course choice by most of the late-timing mothers.

PURPOSE: This study constructed an assessment instrument for the use of teachers and their assistants in preschool education programs. It also established measures of reliability and validity of that instrument. PROCEDURES: Initially, extant assessment instruments were scrutinized. From ideas generated by the best of these instruments and from lists of competencies necessary for academic success in grade one of public schools, the first draft of the instrument was prepared. Extensive revision to reduce. the length of the assessment and to simplify its administration was then accomplished. The second edition was then field-tested in preschool centers to ascertain whether (a) the instrument was economical in respect to time , (b) whether the language of the items would be comprehensible by the age levels of children examined, and (c) where the interest level of the instrument would hold their attention. Following field-testing minor revisions were made before submitting the assessment to three expert judges for item-by-item scrutiny to establish content validity. Judges considered (a) relevance of item content to curricula stressing language and cognitive skill development, (b) age -level placement of items, and (c) adequacy of item language in eliciting considered responses. From the critiques of ·the judges, revisions to the assessment were made. The test-retest reliability of the instrument was next determined by assessing a group of pupils twice each with a ten day interval separating pairs of assessments and then computing a Pearson product moment correlation for the pairs of scores. Next initerrater reliability was determined using the Kendall coefficient of concordance technique upon scores obtained by each of four raters who assessed each of a group of ten pupils. Criterion validity was then examined by applying the Spcannan rank order positions of pupils according to assessments scores with rank positions assigned by their teachers judgments of their language and cognitive skills proficiencies. Teachers utilized a list of skills representative of assessment items for their guidance. RESULTS: An assessment instrument was constructed sampling language and cognitive skill behaviors from age two through seven years, establishing a range to detect both slow and rapid development. The instrument was found to be (a) economical in terms of assessment time, (b) interesting to young children so that attention span poses no problem, (c) usable by preschool staff members who possess no psychometric expertise, (d) simple to administer and interpret, (e) possessing content validity, test-retest reliability, and interrater reliability . . RECOMMENDATIONS: Revisions of this instrument to enable accurate assessment of children whose primary language is other than Standard American English would be a contribution to educational practice in the United States. Here translation, however, is not suggested . Also basic research to determine whether cognition precedes, occurs with, or follows language development would serve , heuristically, the development of preschool curricula. Predictive validity, investigated by a five year study in a community with population stability, would determine whether this instrument has value in preschool pedagogy.

PROBLEM: David Elkind and others have claimed that due to the complex, multiple relationships between sound and symbol in English, the process of learning to read requires logical abilities beyond simple discrimination and association. It has further been asserted that these abilities are not available to most children prior to the stage of reasoning which Piaget calls concrete operational. The purpose of this study was to examine primary grade children to determine whether a relationship existed between attainment of the concrete operational stage of reasoning and two aspects of reading performance: decoding and reading comprehension. PROCEDURE: An elementary school located in Stockton, California served as the source of data collection. A random sample of 120 primary grade children was drawn from the school in 1976, and subjects were studied over a two year period of time. A selection of five, individually-administered Piagetian assessments was used to determine each child's stage of reasoning. Assessments tapped logical abilities in classification, seriation, and conservation. Based on their performance on the tasks, subjects were designated as either preoperational or concrete operational in their reasoning. Reading performance was measured using subtests of the Metropolitan Achievement Test (MAT). Analysis of variance CANOVA) and Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) were used to detect differences between preoperational and concrete operational groups in both decoding and reading comprehension. Two years later, in 1978, the reasoning assessments and the reading measures were administered again to those subjects who still remained at the school (n = 66). Pearson Product Moment Correlation (Pearson r) was used to determine the relationship between gains in cognitive development over the two years and gains in: 1) decoding, and 2) reading comprehension. ANCOVA was used to detect differences on the MAT between subjects who had moved to the concrete operational stage of reasoning over the two year period and those who had remained at the preoperational stage over the same ~~ of time. FINDINGS: The findings of this study did not provide definitive results regarding the questions under investigation. Hypotheses which predicted that concrete operational children would outperform preoperational children in decoding and reading comprehension were supported by data on the MAT. However, when the effects of decoding were accounted for, differences between the two groups in reading comprehension disappeared. None of the hypotheses regarding the relationship between gains in cognitive development and gains in reading over two years were supported by data from the study. However, these particular findings should be viewed with reserve since they likely reflect random fluctuations associated with: 1) instrumentation, and 2) decreased sample sizes. Therefore, although this study was unable to provide more conclusive information regarding the relationship between attainment of concrete operational thought and reading competence, it should not be concluded that no such relationship exists. RECOMMENDATIONS: The following recommendations for further research were made: 1) Replicate the present study with modifications which include choosing a reading test which has a decoding measure for all grade levels, using Piagetian measures which span a range of development from preoperational through formal operational, and increasing initial sample size to compensate for inevitable attrition over time; 2) Conduct more experimental studies which examine the effects of cognitive training on the reading performance of trained vs. untrained subjects; and 3) Continue to conduct studies whose goal is the creation of a precise and reliable testing instrument for the measurement of the Piagetian competencies.

Research report submitted the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Occupational therapy / This cross sectional quantitative study aimed to examine the understanding parents/caregivers have of school readiness requirements for Grade 1 children in comparison to expected scholastic criteria in the Gauteng province and the demographic factors which may affect this. A questionnaire was specifically designed for this study based on CAPS (Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement) and IEB (Independent Education Board) and included looking at various area of development. Questionnaire content was validated by experts in a pilot study. Five hundred and ten questionnaires were circulated to parents/caregivers of Grade R and Grade 1 scholars in 2 urban and 1 private school. Two hundred and ten questionnaires were returned of which 180 were included in the data analysis. Overall results revealed that parents/caregivers had a better understanding of school readiness with respect to thinking and reasoning; motor ability; numerical skills and speaking abilities. They had moderate understanding of writing abilities; life skills and listening skills with the least knowledge about activities of daily living, reading and viewing skills and language structure and use. The only significant demographic factor that was identified was the level of education of the mother. This suggested that a higher level of education enabled the prediction of school readiness. / MT2017

This multi-method study examines the challenges and strategies of family day care providers, the least studied and most commonly employed child care workers. I also examine workers within the context of two alternative efforts to raise the compensation and status of family day care work---professionalization and unionization. Qualitative data were collected through interviews with staff and key members of a professionalization group and a union serving providers in Illinois. Quantitative and qualitative data from home day care providers come from a mail survey sent to a random sample of 1,300 licensed providers in Illinois, resulting in 553 valid responses. Using data from the provider survey, I find that providers orient themselves to their work in a variety of ways, some primarily out of a devotion to home and family, and others as a career or as service to kith, kin and community. Race is a central factor shaping provider motivations and expectations about their work. While work conditions and remuneration are troubling for all workers, race shapes perceptions of these problems. White providers are more likely to be dissatisfied with their hours and schedule, while black providers are more likely to be dissatisfied with remuneration. In analyses of the two organizations working to improve conditions for workers, I delineate the different goals, strategies and methods of each organization. While the training and credentialing efforts associated with professionalization are ideally associated with greater autonomy and status for the workers, the service orientation of this organization fails to empower workers or incorporate worker demands into their political action. The union, while more democratic in theory and practice, suffers from a narrow focus and a limited ability to marshal resources and public support. Differences in goals and methods do coincide with different opinions and participation among providers, especially by race. Black providers are more likely to invest time and money in credentials, but they are less likely than white providers to join associations for family day care workers. In contrast, black providers are far more likely than white providers to endorse and participate in the union.