A number of studies have been conducted about policy failures in Nigeria; however, little is known about the state of stakeholders' readiness to implement any government policy. Using the functionalist theory of Durkheim and the infrastructure theory of Frischmann, the purpose of this exploratory case study was to evaluate the level of preparedness of the education sector to implement the Nigerian policy on child labor, which was adopted on September 11, 2013, by the federal executive council of Nigeria. Preparedness in this study was conceptualized as the ability of the education sector to absorb children of school-going-age who quit all forms of child labor activities and return to formal education in schools. Open-ended interviews elicited narratives from 30 participants purposefully drawn from the Northern, Central, and Southern Uruan Local Government Areas of Akwa Ibom State. Interview data were transcribed, coded, and analyzed for emergent themes. The findings revealed that schools were evenly dispersed within the Uruan Local Government Area. However, the state of infrastructure in the schools, particularly in the rural communities, was in a condition of neglect with a high teacher-pupil ratio. There was a low incidence of child labor but a weak government enforcement strategy, particularly in the interior/riverine areas of the research population. This study leads to positive social change by creating awareness among policy makers that the various stakeholders in any public policy need to be equipped with adequate resources to minimize the incidence of policy failure in Nigeria.

Reading is one of the primary goals of the early elementary grades. When students start to struggle with this complex skill, educators and parents search for solutions to rectify quickly mounting gaps before a child falls too far behind. In the State of Oklahoma, lawmakers have passed a law requiring mandatory 3rd grade retention for students who do not pass the state reading test. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the perceptions of stakeholders who had experienced implementation of mandated student retention in early childhood. The study is informed by Bourdieu's cultural capital theory of social distinctions, Bloom's taxonomy theory, and Festinger's social comparison theory. Seventeen participants, including 2 parents, 8 teachers, and 7 administrators, took part in face-to-face interviews and focus groups to provide data on 3rd graders in 4 schools in an Oklahoma district. Responses from interviews and focus groups were audiorecorded, transcribed, and coded for themes. Nine themes emerged from data analysis. These themes reflected participants' concern for the potential damage to students' self-esteem, an increase in dropout rates, and that the 3rd grade is too late for retention. On the positive side, participants indicated mandatory retention permitted retention that had been previously refused, and provides time for maturity, as well as the opportunity for success for struggling students. However, study participants also opined that mandatory retention created new challenges for students, teachers, and schools. Findings guided the development of a policy recommendation to create social change within the participating district, empowering educators to help parents better understand this law and prepare their children for the 3rd grade assessment by outlining a plan for early identification and creating programs for struggling students.

Despite a rural Georgia school district's effort to increase the academic performance of all students, the achievement gap persists between general education and special education students. The purpose of the study was to explore what factors hindered coteachers from consistently applying differentiated instruction in elementary inclusion classrooms. The conceptual framework for the study emanated from Vygotsky's social development theory as it related to teachers learning from each other through professional collaboration. The research questions explored coteachers' perceptions about differentiated instruction for students with disabilities. Using a case study methodology and purposeful sampling of 6 general education and 6 special education teachers, who met the criteria and agreed to participate, qualitative data were gathered through surveys, semistructured teacher interviews, and lesson plan documentation. Open-ended surveys, transcribed interviews, and lesson plans were coded and analyzed through open and axial coding to generate themes. The major themes identified included teacher perceptions of differentiated instruction, implementing differentiated instructional practices, and supports needed for successful differentiated instructional practices. The findings indicated a need for a systematic approach to professional development on differentiated instructional strategies to improve educational growth for students with disabilities. The recommended professional development may contribute to positive social change by increasing coteachers' impact on the learning environment for special needs students. This increased impact may lead to higher graduation rates and more self-sufficiency among students.

In the 1990-91 school year. Kentucky's public schools received a mandate to begin a preschool program to aid children who were at risk of school failure. Children to be served were three-and four-year-olds qualifying for free lunch or having handicaps. This study is an evaluation of the preschool program in Hart County Kentucky. Two concerns were identified. These concerns were: (1) identifying teacher and parental perceptions of the program and (2) measuring student academic gains. The results of the evaluation indicate that teachers and parents have a positive attitude about the preschool program. Students participating in the program showed greater achievement gains when compared to a control group of students who did not participate in the program.

The purpose of the study is twofold: I. To make a comparative analysis of recently published preprimerrs from the standpoint of: A. Relation of the content of the picture to the content of the printed text. B. Style of writing C. Elements of interst D. Vocabulary burden II. To evaluate the difficulty and relative merit of the preprimers analyzed.

The Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS, LaParo, Pianta, & Stuhlman, 2004) assesses quality of teacher social and instructional interactions with children, and classroom management and productivity. Prior research indicated low quality of feedback scores in programs serving low-income children (Early et al., 2005). The purpose of this study was to compare the quantity and quality of managing interaction utterances (i.e. a type of feedback) provided by Head Start teachers (N = 8) in two classroom contexts. Video-recorded book-reading and 20-minute center-time sessions in the fall and spring of a school year were used to assess managing interaction utterances in structured (book-reading) and unstructured (center-time) contexts. A coding system was developed to classify managing interaction utterances by statement type. Statements were coded as “do” commands, “don’t” commands, negative comments, general praise (good job), or labeled praise (Good job sharing your toys). Command utterances were also coded for purpose as managing behaviors (not directly related to academic learning) or teaching behaviors (guide child in academic learning). Results indicated there was a higher quantity of managing interaction utterances in center time than book reading. In addition, there was a higher quality of managing interaction utterances in center time. This finding was demonstrated through a greater rpm of “do” commands, general praise, and overall developmentally appropriate statements (“do” commands, general praise, and labeled praise) in center time than book reading. Analyses of purpose revealed center time commands were used to manage and teach the children, whereas in book reading commands only had a managing function; however, this trend failed to reach significance. The differences in quantity and quality of classroom management statements across contexts indicate within-group variation of instruction as a function of context. Thus, teachers may benefit from context-specific training sessions.

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The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of e-mail specific performance feedback (ESPF) on increasing the quantity and quality of pre-school teacher behavior specific praise (BSP) using a multiple probe design across 4 general education pre-school classrooms which included students with and without disabilities. Researchers also wanted to examine the effects of the teacher’s BSP on student’s task engagement during class activities. Results indicated a functional relation between ESPF and increasing the quantity and quality of BSP statements. Results also indicated that increased quantity and quality of BSP statements increased average task engagement across all student participants.

The purpose of this study was to investigate if early childhood educators could reliably score items using a new scoring system for the Assessment, Evaluation, and Programming System for Infants and Children (AEPS; Bricker, 2002). The participants were university students completing their certification in Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education (IECE) at the University of Kentucky (UK). The six participants completed training on implementing the AEPS and administered the AEPS to measure child outcomes. The results of this study validated the new scoring system for the AEPS by illustrating that the participants could reliably score a curriculum based assessment.

This study determined the effectiveness of using picture activity schedules with preschoolers who exhibited disruptive behaviors in an inclusive setting during transition times in a public preschool. The participants in this study were three male and one female student, ages 3 years to 5 years, who were enrolled in an inclusive public preschool. All children are Caucasian. Three of the children had an individualized education plan including goals for speech and social-emotional concerns. One child was typically developing and did not have an individualized education plan. The study method used a single-subject withdrawal design (ABAB). The results confirmed that the use of picture activity schedules decreased the mean duration of transitions and the duration returned to pre-intervention levels when picture activity schedules were removed for two of the four children.