The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of PCIT as an alternative to medication in managing symptoms and behavior problems of preschool-aged children with ADHD. Using a multiple baseline single-case design, the study measured the impact of PCIT on four preschool-aged children's problem behaviors and ADHD symptoms, parenting practices, and mothers' attitudes towards therapy. Outcome measures included the Child Behavior Checklist, Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory, Behavior Assessment System for Children, ADHD Symptom Observation form, Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System, Parenting Practices Interview, and Therapy Attitude Inventory. Results from visual analyses, a visual permutation test, and hierarchical linear modeling showed partial treatment effects for mothers' use of labeled praises (b = 10.67, p < 0.0001), commands (b = -26.84, p = 0.000), behavior management skills (b = 91.21, p < 0.0001), children's behavior problems (b = -20.29, p = 0.000), and parent-reported ADHD symptoms (b = -25.76, p = 0.000). Mothers expressed high satisfaction with PCIT and reported their relationships with their children and their children's compliance and behavior problems had improved post-intervention. The consistency with which other caretaking partners (e.g., fathers) practiced the same discipline procedures as the mothers in the study played a significant role in the changes observed in mothers' use of effective discipline practices and children's behavior problems. Findings of this study indicate PCIT may partially be an effective intervention in improving children's behavior problems and ADHD symptoms.

The purpose of this interview study was to describe and explain perceptions, beliefs, and practices about technology among four teachers at a Jamaican infant school, by answering: What are teachers' perceptions and beliefs about the role of technology in young children's learning? What are the practices regarding technology among Jamaican infant school teachers? I used criterion sampling to identify participants for my inquiry. For data collection, I used semi-structured interviews, teachers' lesson plans, and my reflective journal. I applied a socio-cultural approach (Rogoff, 1990) for the data analysis to make sense of the teachers' perceptions and articulated practices. The findings indicated the teachers' appropriation of technology for knowledge building. The teachers also perceived technology as a tool of instruction to replace charts for curriculum content. The teachers believed technology augment children's readiness skills for first grade. The teachers' envisioned affordances of technology indicated their articulated practices for children's appropriation of technology. The findings also indicated the actual and envisioned barriers that challenged teachers' facilitation of the child as agent with technology in the Jamaican early childhood classroom. The findings indicate the importance of understanding the cultural context of teachers' practices with technology and provide implications for technological innovations in Jamaican classrooms. Information and communication technology for development (ICT4D) is a cultural activity to be explored with teachers, students, and their social partners in institutions of practice.

Research suggests that teacher-child interactions in early childhood classrooms are an essential element to high quality programs and child outcomes. With the increase in state funded pre-kindergarten classrooms across the nation and the growing concentration on academic content for young children, careful attention is needed to children’s social-emotional development. Research suggests that it is a strong social emotional foundation that contributes to children’s successful transition into their elementary school years. Therefore, the purpose of this mixed method study was to pilot the use of focal child data as a professional development tool for pre-kindergarten teachers to examine teacher-child interactions. Studying eight teachers across two pre-kindergarten sites, the development of participant’s knowledge of teacher-child interactions was captured using focal-child classroom observations, face-to-face exchanges, teacher reflections, and researcher field notes. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics from quantitative sources, combined with emerging themes through iterative cycles of coding qualitative data. Situated in a conceptual framework that places individual development in context, this study exemplifies the value of using uniquely tailored focal child data as a professional development tool for pre-kindergarten teachers. Findings from this mixed method study reveal how focal child data provided participating teachers with a new lens for examining teacher-child interactions, which led to a heightened awareness of and intentionality in their interactions with children. Additionally, a collaborative community of practice model for professional development contributed to teacher understanding and transformation over the course of this study. Capturing the direct social ecology of a child’s pre-kindergarten experience aided in understanding the relationship between specific children’s experiences and the context in which those experiences take place. Findings from this study enhance participant understanding of the complex nature of teacher-child interactions.

Research on mathematics achievement has become increasingly important with today's technological advances and demand for specialized knowledge. Though there is much literature regarding mathematics achievement in monolingual speakers, little is known regarding the mathematical abilities of Dual Language Learner (DLL) Latino children. This study examined the early numeracy skills in English and Spanish of 132 DLL Latino children attending Head Start programs in five counties across Florida. Relationships and differences among their performance in both languages were examined, along with the contribution of specific parent demographic variables to math achievement. Findings indicated that DLL Latino Head Start children's performance on early numeracy tasks in both English and Spanish ranged from average to low average when compared to national normative samples of monolingual peers. Child participants' performance on early numeracy tasks in English and Spanish was related to some extent. In addition, multiple regression analyses revealed that combined demographic variables predicted math performance in English and Spanish, but only mothers' level of education uniquely predicted the child participants' math performance in Spanish. This study is an important contribution to the literature, as it provides data regarding the early numeracy skills of DLL Latino Head Start children, as well as implications for the field of school psychology. Future directions for research are also discussed.

Although research on children's play is abundant and considerable advances have been made in young children's play, the majority of these studies have been based in western developed countries and written from adults' perspectives rather than with children. Additionally, very little research has been done on children's play with active participants from smaller developing countries. The voices of society's youngest members have been lost or are only marginally represented. The purpose of this qualitative research is to explore, understand, and describe young Jamaican children's lived play experiences as related through their eyes. The theoretical frameworks used to guide this study are sociocultural theory and narrative case study. Narrative case study focuses on a particular phenomenon and, through rich description, each participant's story relates the complexities of this phenomenon. Sociocultural theory is related to the social, cultural, and historical theory of a people and is constructed as they participate in culturally pertinent activities. The examined literature, which draws on diverse theoretical frameworks, including Vygotsky and Rogoff's sociocultural theory and Bronfenbrenner's work on socioecological theory, discusses types of play, the relationship between play and children's development, indoor and outdoor play at school, and play as perceived by children. A key theme in this literature is children's beliefs and values observed through a cultural filter. The three 5-year-old children, their teacher, and parents were purposefully selected for this single-bounded case study. The methods of data collection include video-cued interviews (VCI), a researcher's journal, and observation and field-notes. An understanding of the history of Jamaican education and its people is essential to the successful implementation of the play-based curriculum. The importance of knowing how children view their play and its manifestations and meanings is compelling to the Jamaican people and will help inform teachers, teacher education programs, parents, national and international funders, and other stakeholders as they try to fuse Jamaican culture with global elements of young children education.

The purpose of this research study was to examine the effects of Interactive Metronome (IM), a non-academic treatment, when integrated with reading intervention. The intention was to analyze the degree to which IM affected fluency when introduced alongside reading intervention. The research questions that guided this study focused on how internal timekeeping affects reading fluency. This study used a multiple baseline across participant’s single-subject design. Three participants were monitored to determine a baseline using Curriculum Based Measures and Correct Word Per Minute data, and then each received a total of 15 hours of Interactive Metronome treatment. Progress was documented with progress monitoring of fluency using Curriculum Based Measures over a period of 17-22 weeks. Results suggest that students did not benefit from the Interactive Metronome treatment. Data derived from the study does not indicate a causal relationship between Interactive Metronome and improved fluency. Future research should investigate a possible connection between Interactive Metronome and comprehension.

Research has found that many children who come from a low socioeconomic background often begin their schooling careers behind most students. Head Start programs around the nation are utilized to close the gap in achievement, by providing those students with the educational support necessary to prepare them for future schooling. However, when assessed with the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS), Head Start programs have been found to be weaker in the area of Instructional Support. As a result, teachers are falling short in the way they provide feedback, incorporate higher thinking skills, and foster language development. In order to strengthen the instructional support component, research has supported the utilization of professional development to foster ways of incorporating informative praise which then encourages the desired behaviors and provides a rich language model for children This study was designed to provide professional development to Head Start teachers in order to increase informative praise and decrease commands and negative comments utilized by teachers. An increase in the number of general praise statements and informative praise statements used directly after the training was administered was found. However, as time progressed, the amount of praise decreased back to the levels before the training was given. It was also found that negative comments and commands decreased continuously throughout all observations after the training.

We are currently in an era of accountability, so the need for measuring fidelity of implementation is gaining attention. However, there is little research in the area of fidelity of implementation and an inclusive early childhood classroom. In addition, most of the research is conducted using teachers. This study examined the fidelity of implementation by two teaching assistants using the teaching strategies of time delay and system of least prompts with children with and without disabilities in an inclusive early childhood setting. A multiple-probe design with conditions across two behaviors and across two participants design was used to determine the effects of teaching assistants’ fidelity of implementation of evidence-based teaching strategies. Also a multiple probe across two behaviors, replicated across children was used. Most importantly, the results showed that teaching assistants could implement systematic teaching strategies with fidelity. Secondly, the children were able to make progress towards their target skills.

The purpose of this study was to determine if there existed significant relationships between 4 and 5 year old children’s attitude toward school, their classroom teacher’s perception of their attitude toward school, length of time in school, sex, or a composite of these with their achievement on the Pre-School Attainment Record. A random sample of 55 Head Start children completed three instruments. The instruments used in this study were a revised Children’s Attitude Toward School Scale (CATSS-R), (Beere, 1970) The Pre-School Attainment Record (PAR), (Doll, 1966) and the Teachers Rating of Attitude of Children Toward School (TRACTS). The results of the multiple regression analysis yielded an R of .517 between the composite variable (CATSS-R and Age) and the PAR achievement measure. This was statistically significant at the .01 level of confidence and explained 26.7% of the PAR variance. The second composite variable consisting of CATSS0R, Age and TRACTS correlated with the PAR achievement variables at .530 and was significant at the .01 level, explaining 28.13% of the PAR variance. The third variable, TRACTS, contributed only 1.3% of the total composite variance explaining PAR achievement. Time in school and sex contributed even less when included with the other variables in the composite variable. Results of the Pearson-product moment correlation of each of the variables with PAR achievement demonstrated significant correlations for only CATSS-R and Age (r .45 and r -.30) at the .01 level of confidence. However, the ­ tests between Pearson correlation coefficients of each of the variables’ correlation with the PAR achievement revealed four out of a possible 10 significant differences. The ANOVA test showed that the four year olds were superior to the five year olds on the PAR. A brief discussion was given of the implications for education in regard to the vast differences between teachers perception and students own perception of their attitude toward school.

Latinos are the fastest-growing minority group in the United States and have higher dropout rates compared to other groups. Moreover, problem behaviors are common in preschool classrooms, and the incidence of these problems is higher for children from low-income families. The purpose of this study was to understand Latino children's problem behaviors in the context of peer play interactions and identify those variables that influence such behavior. 265 five and six-year-old Spanish-speaking children (53.6% female) attending Head Start or kindergarten participated in the study. Additionally, 198 mothers and 78 pre-kindergarten and kindergarten lead teachers participated in the study. Child level data were gathered through the Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale, Teacher (PIPPS-T), the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Fourth Edition (PPVT-4), and the Test de Vocabulario en Imágenes Peabody (TVIP). Maternal data were obtained from the Demographic Parent Interview, the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), and the Breve Inventario de Síntomas (BIS). Both correlations and the multilevel models showed play disconnection related negatively to the child’s English proficiency and positively to maternal depression. Results suggest that children with lower English proficiency tend to be more disconnected from their peers as compared to children with higher English proficiency. Similarly, mothers with higher levels of depression symptoms had children with higher levels of play disconnection (internalizing behaviors). The current findings are consistent with previous studies and relevant to both researchers and practitioners.