Thesis (PH.D.)--Syracuse University, 2003. / "Publication number AAT 3081654."

Thesis, PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Rowan University, 2005. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references.

Theses (Ed.S.)--Marshall University, 2005. / Title from document title page. Includes abstract. Document formatted into pages: contains 21 pages. Bibliography: p. 15-16.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2005. / Supervisor: Stuart Reifel. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, School of Education, 2006. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-04, Section: A, page: 1216. Adviser: Mary B. McMullen. "Title from dissertation home page (viewed May 14, 2007)."

<p> The quality of educators&rsquo; teaching practices is a crucial aspect of children&rsquo;s learning. This is why researchers, policy makers, teacher educators and educational leaders have focused their efforts on developing methods and programs to support educators&rsquo; teaching practices. Although teachers are the ones who actually apply the contents and skills learned in professional development programs, there is little research that considers their perspectives. The purpose of this study was to explore Latina immigrant early childhood teachers&rsquo; professional identity and perspectives about their professional learning and development (PLD) experiences. Data collection consisted on eight in-depth face-to-face interviews with early childhood educators who work in four multicultural Head Starts, and who self-identified as Latina Spanish-speaker. Data analysis was conducted using open and axial coding techniques. The main findings suggest that Latina immigrant teachers share some values, beliefs and experiences that might play a role in shaping their careers, as well as their identities as teachers and learners. Also, the findings suggest that teachers present a positive attitude towards ongoing professional learning. However, they believe that in order to be effective for their learning, PLD programs should include more active, collaborative and contextualized approaches. Additionally, the findings indicate that teachers perceive that their work environments constrain their possibilities to fully exercise their profession.</p><p>

<p> Music plays a fundamental role in early childhood education. Research shows that the first of the intelligences developed is the musical intelligence. Educators argue that while this is an intelligence with which all human beings are born, development of this intelligence will depend on the environment and the opportunities that are provided to the child. In today's global society, music has a permanent presence and is significant in everyday lives. It is a basic element in elementary education in many countries; however, few schools in Puerto Rico integrate music in their curriculum. In addition, there is unequal access to music education in schools in Southwest Puerto Rico because the justification for including it in the curricula is questioned. The purpose of this quantitative correlation study using secondary data was to determine if there is a relationship between music integration in Southwest Puerto Rico elementary schools and academic achievement. Secondary data from schools with and without music education were correlated to determine if a relationship existed that would justify the inclusion of music education in all such schools. The findings of this study support the importance of music education for elementary school students. Children acquire more knowledge in reading and writing when music education is integrated into the curriculum. Findings show that the stage of literacy of elementary school students is higher, according to the academic achievement tests of the Department of Education of Puerto Rico, when there is music education integrated in the curricula. In summary, it is concluded that music education is of great importance for improving reading, and hence, improving the development of children.</p><p>

<p> This study was undertaken to explore ways to assist at-risk African American students in phonemic awareness skills using their cultural vernacular. African American, at-risk preschoolers typically lag behind their peers. Teachers typically do not use culturally responsive methods to instruct them. For these reasons, these children struggle with literacy. Research questions were as follows: (1) Do African American at-risk preschoolers&rsquo; phonemic awareness increase after exposure to AAVE instructional strategies? (2) Do African American at-risk preschoolers&rsquo; rhyming and alliteration increase after exposure to AAVE language instructional strategies? and (3) Do African American at-risk preschoolers&rsquo; blending, manipulation, and segmenting increase after exposure to AAVE language instructional strategies? The theoretical framework of this study was African American at-risk preschoolers and all children must be taught in a manner in which they can learn and this would include using their vernacular. The methodology used was a quantitative study involving two groups of 20 randomly sampled preschoolers enrolled in a Head Start Preschool for All program. The study took place for twelve weeks with a control group of 20 and a treatment group of 20. Data analysis included an independent T-test, followed by a paired dependent T-test. Results indicated there were insufficient data to indicate significant differences in phonemic awareness. Recommendations include further research regarding culturally responsive teaching. </p><p>

<p> Family poverty is associated with children&rsquo;s health, achievement, and behavior (Brooks-Gunn &amp; Duncan, 1997). Less than half, 48%, of children from low income homes are considered school ready by the age of five compared with 75% of their peers from middle to high income homes (Isaacs, 2012). Researchers have linked school readiness to long-term outcomes like success in grade school, lower drop-out rates in high school, and higher earned income as adults (Duncan et al., 2007). Although children in poverty experience greater deficits in areas of school readiness, participation in a quality childhood education can serve as a protective buffer and has been shown to be associated with improved academic, social and health outcomes (Caughy, DiPietro, &amp; Strobino, 1994; Love et al., 2003; Karoly, Kilburn, &amp; Cannon, 2005). School readiness has been an aim of Head Start since its conception (Raver &amp; Zigler, 1997). </p><p> More research has been dedicated to aspects of early childhood education programming to ascertain which aspects are most beneficial to children and thus there is a growing body of literature for which researchers have assessed the impact of early entry into Head Start, which in turn provides children with two years versus one year of Head Start programming (Moiduddin, Aikens, Tarullo, &amp; West, 2010; Tarullo, Aikens, Moiduddin, &amp; West, 2010). Due to the limited program capacity, children who enter Head Start at three instead of four-years-old, tend to have more extreme risk factors that afford them priority for enrollment. While randomization of a treatment such as early entry into Head Start is not often feasible nor ethical, a quasi- experimental design like propensity score analysis can help mitigate the effects of selection bias by controlling for confounding variables (Rosenbaum &amp; Rubin, 1983). </p><p> Researchers who have applied this methodology to learn more about the impact of early entry into Head Start, have found that the additional year of Head Start programming tends to lead to gains in social competence and literacy outcomes. This study sought to replicate these findings with a new sample and extend this work by assessing possible differentiated treatment effects by propensity score strata. Further, this study sought to assess the nature of the relationship between social competence and literacy. </p><p> Early Entry into Head Start was associated with significant gains in literacy throughout the four-year-old year for children in the treatment compared to those in the control. This treatment effect was consistent across all propensity score strata. There were no significant treatment effects of early entry on social competence, including social skills and problem behavior. Significant gains in social skills were observed throughout the academic year for both the treatment and control groups, but no changes were observed in problem behavior. The treatment effect on social competence was distinct for children with low propensity scores who were therefore least likely to be in the treatment group. Ad-hoc analyses of the low propensity score group identified some possible areas for future research. Finally, data here established a small positive correlation between social skills and literacy but found no correlation between problem behavior and literacy. </p><p> Collectively, the findings suggested that early entry into Head Start was significantly associated with improved early literacy outcomes that were sustained throughout the pre- Kindergarten year. Head Start, regardless of the age of entry, was associated with significant gains in literacy and social skills. Recommendations are made to improve program efficacy regarding problem behavior outcomes and assess program characteristics. Recommendations are made for future research to address the Head Start selection criteria and enrollment process to identify areas of opportunity for outreach and advocacy. </p><p>