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<p>Education has become increasingly important in today’s society. In the three essays of this dissertation, I analyze the impacts of government education policies on elementary and high school students in Ontario.</p> <p>The first two essays measure the costs and benefits of programs that allow students to choose from a wider range of high schools. Theoretically, increased choice could benefit students since schools might compete for students by improving their productivity. The third essay of this dissertation, coauthored with Jean Eid and Christine Neill, examines the impacts on students of a switch from half-day to full-day kindergarten.</p> <p>In the first essay (Chapter 2), I document that students living in areas with more choice are more likely to apply to university. These outcomes seem to be due to competition between Public and Catholic school boards. I find that students attending public schools are more likely to apply to university when they are surrounded by more Catholic schools (and vice versa).</p> <p>In Chapter 3, I examine a potentially negative outcome of increased choice. I find that it is the brightest students (as measured by their standardized test scores) who are the most likely to take up the choice and opt in to a different school. These bright students move to what are perceived to be the better schools, leaving behind weaker students at poorer schools. If peer effects are important, this has the potential to be harmful for weaker students.</p> <p>In Chapter 4, my coauthors and I measure the impact of full-day kindergarten on standardized test scores once the students are in grades 3 and 6. We find that this universal program had no effect on the overall likelihood that a student passes these standard tests; however, we do observe some small improvements for students living in low-income and low-education neighbourhoods.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The effect of public school prekindergarten (pre-K) attendance on academic achievement has not been extensively studied for the purpose of funding these programs. The MCT2 scale scores in the areas of language arts and math and the report card number grades for the areas of language arts and math were analyzed for 114 students. Of this number, 49 students attended a public school pre-K program, and 65 students did not attend a public school pre-K program. This study was a causal-comparative study. A repeated measures approach with a between-within design was used. An analysis of covariance, ANCOVA, was used to examine if there was a statistically significant difference in the MCT2 scale scores for language arts for 3rd-grade students who attended a public school pre-K program and students who did not attend a public school pre-K program. In addition, 3 separate t-tests were run for each grade level for language arts and math report card grades. Results revealed that there was a statistically significant difference in the MCT2 language arts mean scale scores. For the area of math, the students who attended a public school pre-K program had comparable MCT2 math mean scale scores with the participants who did not attend a public school pre-K program. For language arts and math report card number grades, students who attended a public school pre-K program had higher report card number grades compared with students who did not attend a public school pre-K program. Based on these findings, it can be implied that public school pre-K attendance was effective for the academic areas language arts and math. It is recommended that public school pre-K programs continue to be funded and implemented for 4-year-old students in the Raleigh School District. The subjects of language arts and math should continue to be instructed for the pre-K students. It is also recommended that public school pre-K programs be funded and implemented in school districts across the state of Mississippi, as well as nationwide.

This study was conducted to describe the initial physical education experiences of two less skilled (LS) and two more skilled (MS) kindergarten children, to gain insights into children’s feelings about those experiences, and to suggest their educational significance. Data for this study were triangulated through the use of observations, fieldnotes, and interviews. A narrative description of the setting, program, and teacher were written along with descriptive profiles of each the four children’s experiences in physical education. The results of this study indicated that there were both similarities and differences in the experiences of LS and MS kindergarten children as they participated their initial physical education classes. LS children appeared hesitant in get involved in activity while the MS children appeared more confident in their participation. LS children appeared to learn about classroom procedures by observing their classmates while the MS children appeared to learn about procedures from the teacher or simply figured out what to do on their own. Children were similar in their feelings about participating with partners. They all reported they would rather work by themselves than with a partner. Throughout their initial experiences all four children appeared to possess a "relentless persistence for play’. Whenever physical education tasks were too easy, too difficult, or uninteresting, the children were observed to change the activities to be more play-like. The teacher’s "zone or appropriate responses’ provided children the opportunity to change some tasks to be more play-like while other tasks required a specific non-play-like structure. / Ed. D.

On the most simple level the projects presented here are intended to fulfill the requirements of a kindergarten. At the next level they represent an investigation into the roles of order in design. In these projects I have chosen to deal with four orders inherent to architecture. The most basic is the order of material, fundamental and inescapable. Linked to this is the order of geometry, which must be sympathetic to the order of material, but goes further in establishing an overall pattern. Giving additional meaning to the overall pattern is the hierarchical order of the spaces. Finally, the social order animates the hierarchy with the abstract notions of the individual and collective. The core of this thesis lies in the integration of these orders into a coherent system, a deep structure adaptable to a variety of conditions. This deep structure gathers the orders, allowing for the necessary freedom while giving the equally indispensable restraint. The system provides a vehicle, an operational method from which one may approach each new circumstance. The following pages present the physical manifestations of this deep structure at several scales. From the realm of the site to the geometry of small objects the single overriding structure gives order, bringing together disparate elements into comprehensible wholes, intensifying the experience and ultimately infusing the whole with a spirit, architecture. / Master of Architecture

In an age of adultism in which children have been perceived as mere drains on society, schooling often has been viewed as a means to an end. Due to the fact that a capitalistic society requires future workers, children have been socialized in the necessary skills and knowledge required to fulfill their future job requirements. Consequently, schooling often has taken place in the form of the banking model in which students are treated as empty vessels to be filled up by the knowledgeable teachers, and then to regurgitate said knowledge on assessments to prove their understanding. I challenge this antiquated vision of education, especially in relation to what it has meant for young children in preschool through first grade. Using critical pedagogy and the Reggio Emilia approach as theoretical frameworks, I conducted a critical narrative study of eight early educators who have had experience working with students in early grades in emancipatory ways. I found that educators’ own experiences and consciousness greatly affected their beliefs about young children as well as the liberatory practices they engaged. I present a proposal for a shift in thinking about the education of young children, a relational model of education that highlights the intersections of critical pedagogy and the Reggio Emilia approach in grounding the work of teaching in armed love, belief in the capabilities of children, and opportunities for students to work with educators as revolutionary partners and transformative change agents who have an active role in their education and their world.

<p dir="ltr">Children with autism may have delayed language skills. Deficits in pragmatic language can affect social interaction with adults and peers and academic performance as more complex language becomes required for reading comprehension and analysis of information (Ibrahimagic et al., 2021 p. 251) This research supports the study question, how can educators prepare children with autism during this transition program? The survey was sent to fifteen participants addressing their insights and experiences of the transition to kindergarten process and the transition strategies that were used in the classroom. The results from the survey indicated that teachers do not know about the transition to kindergarten process. For the transitional practices, 36% of teachers said they used social stories, 9% of teachers used a photo book of new people and school environments, and 27% of teachers used observations of the student in the preschool classroom. This research assisted in the production of a handbook.</p>

Although play is a vital concept and a core element within early childhood development, it is quickly diminishing throughout our schools. It is critical to provide an awareness that play is important in the development of young children and allows . children the opportunity to grow socially, emotionally, physically and cognitively. This thesis provides some play strategies and implications for parents to ensure their children's optimal development.

This study used extant data to examine the role of executive functioning (EF) and intervention dosage in predicting student behavioral outcomes throughout a social-emotional intervention. Data were collected in 19 kindergarten classrooms in Midwest public schools during the 2010-2011 academic year. The sample included 260 students with approximately 49% (n = 126) identified by parents as female and approximately 52% (n = 134) identified by parents as male. Factor analyses and correlational analyses were conducted with all observed behaviors and with all rating scale and task-based EF measures to detect underlying constructs for analysis. However, neither the behaviors nor the rating scale EF measures demonstrated adequately sized correlations to justify combining them into composite variables. Therefore, rating scale EF measures were entered independently into analyses for individual behavioral outcomes. Generalized additive models (GAM) were used to determine the significance of increased exposure to the intervention and various rating scale and task-based measures of EF for prosocial (i.e., cooperative play, on-task, and helping) and maladaptive (i.e., disruptive, physically aggressive, and verbally aggressive) behaviors. Results indicate that some behavioral outcomes improved significantly during the intervention, while most were unaffected. Parent and teacher ratings were predictive of some behavioral outcomes; however, there was no evidence that task-based measures were significant predictors of any classroom behaviors. These results highlight the value and complexity of classroom behavioral observations, as well as the importance of improving understandings of which social-emotional curricula are most effective for addressing both prosocial and maladaptive behaviors, as well as the underlying mechanisms responsible for their efficacy. / School Psychology

Over the past three years, there have been changes in learning observed due to COVID-19 pandemic-related disruptions that affected young learners who needed support during instruction, raising concerns about their learning progress. As such, this qualitative phenomenological study explored and described the parent and teacher perspectives on the long-lasting impact of COVID-19 on kindergarten students who started formal education virtually during a pandemic. The central research question, "What are the teacher and parent perspectives on learning during the pandemic and their views on the impact of remote instruction on kindergarteners?" was examined from a constructivist and play-based learning theory. The study used purposeful and snowball sampling to obtain five teachers and four parents who virtually completed one-on-one 15- to 30-minute semi-structured interviews. Data was analyzed using Boije's constant comparative approach using three steps: (1) comparison within a single interview, (2) comparison between interviews within the same group, and (3) comparison of interviews from the two different groups. I used an inductive approach using axial coding to interpret results on themes that surfaced from within the participants' interviews. The study findings will benefit educators, school leaders, policymakers, and researchers interested in early childhood education. Limitations of the study include lack of generalizability, exclusive focus on the kindergarten level of study, and the use of previous literature conducted in different contexts and cultures to support the need for the study.