This needs assessment research project concerns itself with the lack of parental involvement in preschool programs. The lack of communication between educators and parents is examined in relation to its effects on the child and the community. One possible way to begin to solve this problem is presented through the use of a survey questionnaire for parents and teachers concerning what each group feels are the primary considerations, or needs, for quality preschool educational programs. The considerations surveyed resulted from an in depth review of the literature pertaining to major early childhood concerns. This research examined five areas of review; the relationship of parents to preschools, the background of early childhood education and philosophies, the curriculum objectives in the affective domain, the curriculum objectives in the cognitive domain, and the curriculum objectives in the psychomotor domain. The resulting questionnaires consisted of twelve questions with three different types of responses. Three hundred parental questionnaires were distributed to four private nursery-kindergarten schools in a middle to upper-middle class section of a large Southern city. Fifty teachers, half who taught in the same schools surveyed and half who taught in the same area of the city, were surveyed. The resulting responses were tabulated individually and percentages totaled for each response. A large percentage of the parents--55.3%-- and all the teachers responded to the questionnaire. Both groups were in agreement on most of the questions. The parents expressed the same basic concerns for their children's preschool education as did the teachers themselves. Parental apathy, misplaced values, and ignorance were ruled out as possible reasons for their lack of involvement. Instead, the major cause for lack of parental involvement in preschool programs was determined to be a feeling of intimidation on the part of the parents. In order to remedy this situation, it is suggested that the educators involved need to be the ones to actively structure parental involvement in their educational programs. Several suggestions for this structuring are presented in the conclusions section of this project.

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2018-09-28T12:24:26Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Gabriela Novaes.pdf: 2181591 bytes, checksum: 16d947c6a272aa84595807b157d1a3ea (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-09-28T12:24:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Gabriela Novaes.pdf: 2181591 bytes, checksum: 16d947c6a272aa84595807b157d1a3ea (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-08-31 / Working with families from babies and children assisted by the child education school units have proven confrontational in many aspects, due to the presence of many beliefs and judgements that emerged from this relationship from both sides. After fifteen years after the transition from the Child Education Centers – CEC of São Paulo from the Secretariat of Social Assistance – SSA to the Municipal Secretariat of Education – MSE, we can identify units that are showing a quality result regarding the early childhood attendance. This research has the purpose of investigate one Child Education Center opened exactly during this transition period between the two secretariats, whose work with families is recognized in its region and among educators. Therefore, the issue from this study emerge from the questioning: how the relationship among school and family is conceived by parents, relatives and legal representatives from babies and children from a Child Education Center and what is written in the official documents of the Municipal Secretariat of Education from São Paulo. The theoretical reference sought to identify researches carried out with the themes of the family and school relationship in educational institutions that care for infants and young children and the diversity of possibilities for the construction of a participatory and responsible work between the two instances. The qualitative research used as methodological procedures: observation, interviews, analysis of questionnaires formulated by nursery teachers during the training hours in context, consultation of the records of the educational unit, analysis of official documents and publications of the Municipal Education Department related to children education and the school's relationship with families. Given the analysis of the data collected in light of the theoretical references used, it can be concluded that the quality work with the families and caregivers of children attending the educational institution results from a set of practices built gradually from a reflexive evaluation work, resumption of significant actions and constant dialogue between managers, teachers, education and family support staff, and observation of their needs and interests of infants and children / O trabalho com as famílias de bebês e crianças atendidos em unidades escolares de educação infantil tem se mostrado conflituoso em alguns aspectos, devido à presença de crenças e julgamentos que emergem dessa relação por ambos os lados. Após quinze anos da transição dos Centros de Educação Infantil – CEIs da prefeitura do município de São Paulo da Secretaria de Assistência Social – SAS para a Secretaria Municipal de Educação – SME, podemos identificar unidades da rede que apresentam um trabalho considerado de qualidade no atendimento à primeiríssima infância em instituições de educação infantil. A presente pesquisa teve como objetivo, investigar um Centro de Educação Infantil municipal inaugurado em pleno processo de transição entre as Secretarias, cujo trabalho com as famílias apresenta uma trajetória reconhecida em sua região e entre os educadores que acompanham seu percurso. Dessa forma, a problemática deste estudo emerge do questionamento: como a relação escola e família é concebida pelos pais, responsáveis e familiares de bebês e crianças de um Centro de Educação Infantil e nos documentos oficiais da Secretaria Municipal de Educação do Município de São Paulo. O referencial teórico buscou identificar pesquisas realizadas com os temas da relação família e escola em instituições educativas que atendem bebês e crianças pequenas e a diversidade de possibilidades para a construção de um trabalho participativo e responsável entre as duas instâncias. A pesquisa de cunho qualitativo utilizou como procedimentos metodológicos: observação, entrevistas, análise de questionários formulados por professores de educação infantil durante os horários de formação em contexto, consulta aos registros da unidade educativa, análise de documentos e publicações oficiais da Secretaria Municipal de Educação relacionadas à educação infantil e a relação da escola com as famílias. Diante da análise dos dados coletados à luz dos referenciais teóricos utilizados, pode-se concluir que o trabalho de qualidade com as famílias e responsáveis de crianças que frequentam a instituição educativa resulta de um conjunto de práticas construídas gradativamente a partir de um trabalho reflexivo de avaliação, retomada de ações significativas e diálogo constante entre gestores, docentes, equipe de apoio à educação e familiares, e da observação das necessidades e interesses de bebês e crianças

Social applications such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter have driven the public growth of Web 2.0. Universities and colleges are using social media to reach student prospects, keep contact with current students and alumni, and provide a mechanism for group collaboration and interaction in the classroom. Higher education institutions are influenced by current social media trends, and figuring out how to effectively interact with various constituencies within the social media environment can be challenging. In this study, a group of higher education students were surveyed about their social media practices and preferences with a focus on education-related activities. The goal of the research was to determine what aspects of social media use were most effective in reaching the student constituency based on social media usage patterns. The results led to significant observations that aid in the development of social media tactics to reach university and college students.

Research exists about secondary school Response to Intervention (RTI) models, but little is known about the concerns of middle and high school teachers who are working together to implement RTI practices as a shared responsibility. The extensive body of documentation on RTI at the elementary level has not helped educators develop systematic RTI implementation practices across all levels (Ehren, 2013). The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine whether there were differences in practice concerns, if any among middle school and high school teachers' RTI practice concerns when measured by the Impact Stage of the Stages of Concern Questionnaire (SoCQ). The theory of planned behavior informed the framework for this research. A Snowball Sampling strategy was used to recruit a total of 31 general education teachers from a Northeastern USA County. Data from teacher's SoCQ were analyzed using ANOVA to investigate the differences in concerns, if any between middle school teachers in Grades 6-8 and high school teachers in Grades 9-12 about RTI practices. The results indicated no differences between 6-8 and 9-12 grade teacher concerns for all questions. Findings from this research may reinforce the importance of discussions about sharing RTI practice concerns between middle and high school teachers. Such conversations may foster more collaborative teacher working relationships which may lead to better implementation of the RTI initiative across grade levels for improved student learning outcomes.

This thesis will use data derived from in-depth interviews, historical research, and environmental justice literature to examine the academic achievement of students living in the Community of Lennox. Specifically, this thesis will explore the intersectionality between social environments and academic resources to analyze how it supports or deters students from obtaining a higher degree education.

This qualitative case study explored the nature of the relationships between Local (English) Teachers (LTs) and Foreign (English) Teachers (FTs) who worked at the same English institute of a foreign studies university in south-eastern China. Employing the community of practice framework, this research drew insights from a questionnaire, interviews, and observations. The findings revealed that the teachers seldom interacted and, furthermore, were influenced by broader social structures that were not considered in the framework. Accordingly, the theory was extended to include other perspectives, such as native and non-native English speaking teacher issues and the Chinese concept of face, in order to determine the underlying reasons that inhibited their interaction. Notwithstanding these challenges, three cases of FT-LT collaboration were discovered, and the factors that enhanced their collaboration were analysed. The LT and FT participants provided suggestions to each other and the administrators on how collaboration could be improved in their institute.

This qualitative case study explored the nature of the relationships between Local (English) Teachers (LTs) and Foreign (English) Teachers (FTs) who worked at the same English institute of a foreign studies university in south-eastern China. Employing the community of practice framework, this research drew insights from a questionnaire, interviews, and observations. The findings revealed that the teachers seldom interacted and, furthermore, were influenced by broader social structures that were not considered in the framework. Accordingly, the theory was extended to include other perspectives, such as native and non-native English speaking teacher issues and the Chinese concept of face, in order to determine the underlying reasons that inhibited their interaction. Notwithstanding these challenges, three cases of FT-LT collaboration were discovered, and the factors that enhanced their collaboration were analysed. The LT and FT participants provided suggestions to each other and the administrators on how collaboration could be improved in their institute.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2009. / Title from title page screen (viewed on Mar. 10, 2010). Thesis advisor: Priscilla Blanton. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

This study reports a reflection upon the experience of a multiyear elementary school learning community designed for improved teaching and learning. The exploration uses interview data to describe the perceptions and reflections of the principal and teachers directly engaged in this project of educational reform. The goal of this process is to gain a deeper understanding of the experience and to determine to what factors the participants attribute the outcomes of this project. Through an auto-ethnographic reflective critical practice inquiry and extended interviews, this study describes the context and environment of this learning community and how the participants reflect on their experiences in that community. It also provided an opportunity for participants to review and explain their perceptions and attributions regarding both the measured and the unintended outcomes associated with this learning community project. Results from teacher and administrator reflections indicate that the strength of a multiyear learning community is the positive relationships that they foster and the institutional consistency for both parents and students. Evidence from the interviews indicates that teachers' expectations for outcomes of multiyear learning communities may differ from those of administrators, and be less concerned with improved achievement measures than other, relationship-focused outcomes. A key implication of this study is that, although the principal players involved in the creation and implementation of this learning community use terms that describe or refer to the overall experience as very successful, test scores did not respond significantly to this innovation. This suggests that comprehensive plans need to be developed in advance to assure appropriate and accurate methods of measuring success in innovations such as this.

In general, a particularly complicated and difficult relationship has existed between parents and educators, due in part, to the fact that educators have always been seen as the experts and proverbial holders of knowledge in the educational process while parents have been seen to be peripheral to this process. This inequality is seen to be problematic as a child's significant learning is increasingly understood to occur in both the home and school contexts. This study explored the perceptions of a selection of parents and educators across the three levels of the educational process with the aim of facilitating a dialogue amongst all the participants in order to establish partnerships that would assist in the integration of the formal and informal learning processes. Using the Dialogue Game as a research tool, the participants in this study revealed many of the dilemmas that inhibit the establishment of partnerships between the two contexts. While the educators appeared resistant to the idea of a partnership as they perceived themselves to be 'experts' in the area of education, parents were aware that significant learning occurs in many contexts, but felt unconfident in their abilities to educate children. Some of the findings from the current study mirror those of two earlier studies (Van der Riet, 1997 and Danckwerts, 2002) conducted in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, respectively. Although all three samples were drawn from different socio-economic and cultural groups, the findings would suggest that the parents and educators of South Africa have essentially similar perceptions regarding formal and informal education. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004.