A case study approach was employed to investigate the expectations families in poverty had for their children's early childhood education program. Questions explored included the purpose of early childhood education, the needs of young children, the association of early childhood education to formal schooling, and families' aspirations for their children. Four women whose children or grandchildren were enrolled in an urban early childhood program and considered at risk because of poverty participated. Qualitative methods were used including analysis of interviews and families' photographs of representations of childhood, as well as the researcher's participant observations at the early childhood program. Results indicated that the women had mainstream aspirations for the children, including going to college. Analysis revealed that the women were insightful in regard to the development of children, to appropriate ways of learning for young children, and to the needs of young children. It was also apparent that the women understood the need for and desired a shared role between families and teachers in their children's development. The participants expect early childhood programs to not only prepare young children for school but to prepare them to successfully negotiate social interactions with both children and adults. The need for young children to be outside of the home was an unexpected theme of this research. The results also indicated that the women felt that childhood was a special time of life, free from anxiety, but a time to also form a secure base from which they could take risks in the world. The present study addresses myths that families in poverty do not understand the needs of young children, are not concerned with their futures, and have low expectations for their children. This study has implications for the preparation of teachers. Preservice teachers need opportunities for personal reflection regarding their assumptions about families. The development of initiatives that would allow low income families to reveal their expectations for their children's early childhood education is also implied. / Department of Elementary Education

This study explores the schooling experiences in South Africa of migrant children from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Migration has been an area of interest within political, social and academic circles. In recent times, studies have been and are being conducted on issues on migration especially with the aim of exploring migrants’ experiences and challenges. This study addresses the experiences of migrant children from the Democratic Republic of Congo in schools in South Africa and their social identity as migrants. It aims to bring these issues into focus and to encourage further research and debate with the aim of finding ways of ensuring better schooling experiences for these migrant children. As its objective, and in line with the aspirations of inclusion and diversity of the present system of education in South Africa, this study: enables an insight into the Congolese migrant children’s school experiences and the resulting challenges for schooling in South Africa, provides an avenue to explore these challenges and experiences in the light of educational policies in place in South Africa and how these challenges affect the children’s education, raises critical issues regarding inclusion and diversity in the South African educational context, and contributes to ongoing debate, awareness and research interest in the area of study. The study addresses the extent to which the inclusive schooling system in South Africa does in reality include these migrant children. This study is situated within the critical paradigm and engages Social Identity Theory as its theoretical framework. It employs a case study methodology to explore the schooling experiences of migrant children from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The theoretical framework as well as the methodology used in this study makes provision for a critical engagement in the analyses of these experiences. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Edgewood, 2010.

Public school systems are required to provide a safe learning environment free of violence and disruption. For students who threaten the learning of themselves or others, schools frequently develop a disciplinary alternative education placement. Students with a history of behavior problems at school are at greatest risk for future behavior problems and academic failures. In response to evidence that removal discipline techniques had little efficacy, schools have focused on identifying alternative methods of maintaining order and safety. This study evaluated the outcomes of an elementary-level alternative discipline placement with unique intervention programming. The program includes interventions to increase the effectiveness of traditional alternative discipline placements. Activities focus on promoting social competence and developing social information-processing skills intended to increase the behavioral and academic success of student participants. The program excludes students from the general student population and consists of a behavior management system with gradually increasing behavior expectations, reinforcements and consequences, focused social skills lessons, counseling, and parenting classes. Participants were consistently lower performing academically than control group students both before and after the program. However, students who experienced fewer discipline removals after the program had higher report card grades. Overall, participants had a decrease in discipline removals after participating in the program but continued to have more lost instruction days due to discipline than control group students. The higher grade level students had less behavior improvement following the program than younger students. No relation was found between a student’s level of success in the program and their academic or behavioral performance changes. Future research needs include a comparison of students referred for persistent misbehavior and those referred for a single, serious incident and the need to assess the specific skills addressed in the program. / Department of Educational Psychology

Learning disabled students in special education programs have not been demonstrating equal achievement gains in reading when compared to their non-handicapped peers. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of Accelerated Learning methods in teaching reading to ten learning disabled middle school students in southwest Washington. Accelerated Learning (AL) was developed by Georgi Lozanov in Bulgaria in the 1960's. The method incorporated the fine arts, suggestion and visualization techniques with a dynamic, active instructional presentation. A multiple-case study design was conducted using ten learning disabled middle school students. Each case study used information gathered from school cumulative, confidential and special education files, parent, teacher and student interviews and observation. Their achievement in reading was measured using the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery. Their reading gains, as measured after experience in their regular classes and after special education instruction using Englemann and Hanner's Direct Instruction methods, were similar to Educational District #112's learning disabled population's average gain of five months a year. Under Eclectic instruction the subjects' gains averaged nine and a half months per year and using AL instruction the gain was approximately fifteen and one half months a year. No patterns emerged to substantiate an effect between instructional reading treatment and behavior or attendance. Pattern matching for grade point average was inconclusive due to paucity of data. / Graduation date: 1992

This thesis responds to the specific educational and social needs of gifted children within the context of online applications. Online enrichment activities and social opportunities are only successful if they are able to attract and sustain attention of the advanced interests of gifted children. The aim of the research is to design an online application that appeals to gifted children and recognises the identified intellectual and social needs within the New Zealand context. This was achieved through research through design by establishing a design strategy that uses the findings of investigations and applies them to a prototype application. Developers of online content for gifted children may benefit from this research. As an initial investigation a survey was conducted about how gifted New Zealand primary school children are using online applications. It was assumed following the literature review that online applications would appeal to gifted children if they teach a new skill, have multiplayer functionality and address higher order thinking skills. Basic design characteristics of the most popular gaming websites amongst gifted children (from the survey) were then used to inform the design strategy and to develop the prototype online application typozilla. Key findings were retrieved through observation of gifted children using typozilla. The majority of children observed were especially enthusiastic seeing other players’ avatars within multiplayer areas and competing against each other. They enjoyed learning a new skill (which was touch-typing) and engaging in creative tasks. In interviews all gifted children confirmed that they perceived the typozilla design as appealing.

This thesis responds to the specific educational and social needs of gifted children within the context of online applications. Online enrichment activities and social opportunities are only successful if they are able to attract and sustain attention of the advanced interests of gifted children. The aim of the research is to design an online application that appeals to gifted children and recognises the identified intellectual and social needs within the New Zealand context. This was achieved through research through design by establishing a design strategy that uses the findings of investigations and applies them to a prototype application. Developers of online content for gifted children may benefit from this research. As an initial investigation a survey was conducted about how gifted New Zealand primary school children are using online applications. It was assumed following the literature review that online applications would appeal to gifted children if they teach a new skill, have multiplayer functionality and address higher order thinking skills. Basic design characteristics of the most popular gaming websites amongst gifted children (from the survey) were then used to inform the design strategy and to develop the prototype online application typozilla. Key findings were retrieved through observation of gifted children using typozilla. The majority of children observed were especially enthusiastic seeing other players’ avatars within multiplayer areas and competing against each other. They enjoyed learning a new skill (which was touch-typing) and engaging in creative tasks. In interviews all gifted children confirmed that they perceived the typozilla design as appealing.

This thesis responds to the specific educational and social needs of gifted children within the context of online applications. Online enrichment activities and social opportunities are only successful if they are able to attract and sustain attention of the advanced interests of gifted children. The aim of the research is to design an online application that appeals to gifted children and recognises the identified intellectual and social needs within the New Zealand context. This was achieved through research through design by establishing a design strategy that uses the findings of investigations and applies them to a prototype application. Developers of online content for gifted children may benefit from this research. As an initial investigation a survey was conducted about how gifted New Zealand primary school children are using online applications. It was assumed following the literature review that online applications would appeal to gifted children if they teach a new skill, have multiplayer functionality and address higher order thinking skills. Basic design characteristics of the most popular gaming websites amongst gifted children (from the survey) were then used to inform the design strategy and to develop the prototype online application typozilla. Key findings were retrieved through observation of gifted children using typozilla. The majority of children observed were especially enthusiastic seeing other players’ avatars within multiplayer areas and competing against each other. They enjoyed learning a new skill (which was touch-typing) and engaging in creative tasks. In interviews all gifted children confirmed that they perceived the typozilla design as appealing.

This thesis responds to the specific educational and social needs of gifted children within the context of online applications. Online enrichment activities and social opportunities are only successful if they are able to attract and sustain attention of the advanced interests of gifted children. The aim of the research is to design an online application that appeals to gifted children and recognises the identified intellectual and social needs within the New Zealand context. This was achieved through research through design by establishing a design strategy that uses the findings of investigations and applies them to a prototype application. Developers of online content for gifted children may benefit from this research. As an initial investigation a survey was conducted about how gifted New Zealand primary school children are using online applications. It was assumed following the literature review that online applications would appeal to gifted children if they teach a new skill, have multiplayer functionality and address higher order thinking skills. Basic design characteristics of the most popular gaming websites amongst gifted children (from the survey) were then used to inform the design strategy and to develop the prototype online application typozilla. Key findings were retrieved through observation of gifted children using typozilla. The majority of children observed were especially enthusiastic seeing other players’ avatars within multiplayer areas and competing against each other. They enjoyed learning a new skill (which was touch-typing) and engaging in creative tasks. In interviews all gifted children confirmed that they perceived the typozilla design as appealing.

This thesis responds to the specific educational and social needs of gifted children within the context of online applications. Online enrichment activities and social opportunities are only successful if they are able to attract and sustain attention of the advanced interests of gifted children. The aim of the research is to design an online application that appeals to gifted children and recognises the identified intellectual and social needs within the New Zealand context. This was achieved through research through design by establishing a design strategy that uses the findings of investigations and applies them to a prototype application. Developers of online content for gifted children may benefit from this research. As an initial investigation a survey was conducted about how gifted New Zealand primary school children are using online applications. It was assumed following the literature review that online applications would appeal to gifted children if they teach a new skill, have multiplayer functionality and address higher order thinking skills. Basic design characteristics of the most popular gaming websites amongst gifted children (from the survey) were then used to inform the design strategy and to develop the prototype online application typozilla. Key findings were retrieved through observation of gifted children using typozilla. The majority of children observed were especially enthusiastic seeing other players’ avatars within multiplayer areas and competing against each other. They enjoyed learning a new skill (which was touch-typing) and engaging in creative tasks. In interviews all gifted children confirmed that they perceived the typozilla design as appealing.

Thesis (PhD (Education management, law and policy))-University of Pretoria, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.