This research considers the predictive utility of 10 decoding skills on a student's ability to read. The 10 skills are Consonant Blends/Digraphs, Decode Multi-Syllable Words, Decode Patterns/Word Families, Letter Identification, Manipulation of Sounds, Matching Letters to Sounds, Phoneme Identification, Phonological Awareness, Syllable Types: CVC, CVCe, R-Control, and Vowel Digraphs/Diphthongs. The research also examines the nature of the relationships between the decoding skills and reading ability. Furthermore, the research decomposes reading ability into segment 1 assessing decoding, and segment 2, assessing comprehension. Specifically, the study assesses the manner in which each of the 10 skills contributes to the variance in the two segment scores. The literature is limited to efficacy studies related to programs used to teach reading, and prior studies addressing skills have failed to extend examination beyond correlations between phonological and phonemic awareness, and a student's ability to read. These issues were examined in the present research using assessment records of 541 kindergarten, first, and second grade students who had each been administered the 10 aforementioned decoding skills tests as well as a reading assessment administered in two parts (decoding and comprehension). All records reflected assessments occurring within the same school year for each student assessed. The dependent variables are scaled scores with a valid range from 100 to 350 and represent the combined reading score plus each of the two segment scores. Multiple regression analysis was employed to consider the predictive utility and examine the correlations between the variables. Hierarchical regression was employed to further scrutinize the variance accounted for by each decoding skill. As a group, the 10 decoding skills indicated that students scoring higher overall on decoding also scored higher on overall reading ability, segment 1, and segment 2 (p < .001). However, the coefficient of variation indicates the grouped decoding skills may not be useful for prediction purposes for the segment 1 assessment (CV = .103). Correlations between all independent variables and the dependent variables were moderate to high (.617 to .880), with the exception of Letter Identification and Matching Letters to Sounds which were low to moderate (.248 to .500). The correlation between Letter Identification and Matching Letters to Sounds was moderate (.579). Post hoc analysis indicated the inclusion of Letter Identification and Matching Letters to Sounds did not account for any statistically significant additional variance in the combined reading score (p = .459), the segment 1 score (p = .261), nor in the segment 2 score (p =.749). By itself decoding does not sufficiently predict reading ability. This study brings to light the nature of the relationship between discrete decoding skills and reading ability for early learners. The research identifies additional information for consideration by educators providing early literacy instruction which may help them zero in on difficulties students may be having as they advance in their literacy.

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This study examined the perceived impact and satisfaction levels of early intervention services of families living in the Appalachian region of northeast Tennessee. Families living in Hawkins and Johnson counties in the northeast region of Tennessee whose children with disabilities had recently exited an early intervention program participated in the study. The primary sources of data collection were personal interviews based on the Beach Center Family Quality of Life (FQOL) Scale (Beach Center on Disability, 2003), the Family Functioning Style Scale (FFSS) (Deal, Trivette, & Dunst, 1998), and member checks. The FQOL contains 5 subscales: Family Interaction, Parenting, Physical or Material Well-Being, Emotional Well-Being, and Disability-Related Supports. Each subscale includes items unique to the subscale that participants examined and ranked (Low, Medium, or High) as to how important, how satisfied, and the priority for support regarding each item. The study focused on and addressed 1 of the 4 categories of family-based practices; strengthening family functioning (Trivette & Dunst, 2000). The findings of this study revealed that families, overall, were highly satisfied with the early intervention services received. The findings suggest that families in Hawkins and Johnson counties valued and found the need for family interaction important. The levels of support regarding individual subscales revealed some variations but maintained consistency within group majority expectations and family requirements. It can be concluded that the perceived impact of early intervention services met the needs of each individual participant in the area of family interaction and the satisfaction level was ranked high.

This dissertation investigated teacher perceptions about adaptive skill training within an early childhood comprehensive development classroom for students with intellectual disabilities. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding about adaptive skills from a teacher's perspective. The aims of the study were to help educators understand the role of comfort level, importance of adaptive skills, planning for adaptive skills, and connecting adaptive skills to an academic outcome. A quantitative, cross-sectional design was used, and an online survey was completed by 254 special education teachers. The participants that completed the survey were 93% female and on average had 14 years of teaching experience. The survey gathered teachers' opinions about adaptive skills. It was reported that teachers felt adaptive skills were important to teach in the classroom environment. The teachers also reported that toileting was the most important adaptive skill. The survey also found that teachers explicitly teach adaptive skills on a daily basis. The survey also revealed that instruction might improve if access to a structured curriculum was more readily available and age appropriate. It was reported that there were very limited opportunities for educators to attend professional development about adaptive skills. These findings communicated that adaptive skills seem to be important to educators, and the lack of availability for structured curriculums should be addressed to further meet the needs of students with intellectual disabilities.

This study investigated the use of spatial language by preschool teachers and children (ages 3-5 years) in 12 preschool classrooms to see if there are gender differences in the length and amount of spatial language used toward and by preschool boys versus preschool girls. Frequency counts and duration were analyzed using Mann-Whitney U tests and correlations. Mann-Whitney U tests showed that duration of the teachers’ use of spatial language towards preschool boys versus girls (p = .03) and preschool boys’ versus girls’ use of spatial language (p = .04) were statistically significant, p < .05. The frequency of spatial language was not statistically significant for either teachers or preschoolers. Correlation analyses revealed various statistically significant relationships among frequency and duration variables. The study of gender differences in spatial language should continue to investigate further what may be causing girls not to use spatial language for long period of times.

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The collaborative efforts between school psychologists and early educators can prepare children for success. Since the first decade of life is such a critical time period, early childhood interventions from birth to the early school grades are receiving widespread attention today as one of the most effective ways to prevent learning difficulties and to promote children’s development and well-being(Reyonlds, 2004). School psychologists should promote the fact that "making schoolsready for all children" contributes to systems integration among schools and early childhood programs (Bagnato, 2006). This study is important to further examine the roles of current school psychologists and to study their collaborative work with early intervention. Early childhood intervention is defined as the provision of educational, family, health and/or social services during any of the first eight years of life to children who are at risk of poor outcomes because they face socio-environmental disadvantages or have developmental disabilities (Reynolds, 2004). Federal law acknowledges the importance and need for early intervention as The Economic Opportunity and Community Partnership Act of 1974 and subsequent amendments to the law required Head Start programs in each state to serve a minimum of 10% children with disabilities (Hooper & Umansky, 2004). When children are not meeting milestones, early intervention increases the likelihood of success and a more positive later outcome.

Cross-sectional and geographical data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics were combined with school-district level data from the Census Bureau’s F-33 Survey of Local Government. Use of this unique dataset, allows for the examination of the longterm effects of preschool participation while controlling for the quality of schooling encountered post-program. Former Head Start participants report better health status than individuals with no preschool experience or experience in preschools other than Head Start. Individuals who attended these other preschools outperformed the Head Start group when it came to high school graduation and overall educational attainment. No differences were detected in regard to the groups’ employment status and income. School quality did not appear to be a strong determinant of future success. Neither did it appear to explain the fadeout effect found in many other studies. Long-term effects did not vary much by Head Start region indicating that program quality is of similar quality across the nation. Some differences in benefits were found between rural and urban programs. Respondents who attended Head Start in urban and suburban areas report better health status than their rural peers. Individuals from rural areas were more likely to graduate from high school and have higher incomes than people from urban areas. Intergenerational benefits were also examined. Children whose mothers attended Head Start as a child are more likely to be eligible for the program than children whose mothers had no preschool experience. Among the eligible population, children of Head Start mothers are statistically more likely to actually attend the program than children whose mother did not attend Head Start.

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