Math skills are critical for future success in school (Eccles, 1997), as school-entry math knowledge is the strongest predictor of later academic achievement (Claessens, Duncan, & Engel, 2009). Researchers have found that teachers of young children spend less time teaching mathematics than other subject areas (Phillips & Meloy, 2012), and there is a lack of formal early mathematics instruction for young children’s understanding of early numeracy (Chard et al., 2008). However, preschoolers are developmentally ready for mathematics and are more able to learn math concepts than previously believed (Balfanz, Ginsburg, & Greenes, 2003). While there is a recent increase of literature on math with young children, there is a scarcity of research related to young children with disabilities in the field of mathematics, particularly utilizing evidence based interventions. The current study investigates one intervention integrating mathematics within children’s literature for preschoolers with disabilities. This study was a quasi-experimental group design, with one treatment group and one comparison group (N = 50 participants). Targeted early numeracy skills included: (1) one-to-one correspondence, (2) quantity comparison, and (3) numeral identification. The 20-minute intervention was conducted three days per week for six weeks; the comparison group received a typical small group storybook reading of the same literature book with no elaborations. The Test of Early Mathematics Ability, Third Edition (TEMA-3; Ginsburg & Baroody, 2003) was used as a pre and post standardized assessment, and analyzed using one-way ANCOVAs controlling for pretest scores. The Preschool Numeracy Indicators (PNI; Floyd, Hojnoski, & Key, 2006) was used as a weekly curriculum based measurement and analyzed by one-way ANCOVAS and by individual and group means for descriptive data. After the intervention, the children in the treatment group scored significantly higher in the areas of total math ability, quantity comparison, and one-to-one counting fluency than the comparison group. Implications include possibilities for further integrating mathematics within literature for preschoolers with disabilities, the benefits of intentional storybook selection for this type of intervention, and the recognition of the importance of introducing mathematical topics to preschoolers with disabilities in order of developmental cognitive readiness.

The nature and role of workplace literacy and numeracy are the subject of considerable debate (Baker, 1998; Castleton, 2002; Gee & Lankshear, 1997; Hull, 1997; Jackson, 2000; Marr & Hagston, 2007). The debate in New Zealand, (as in many other countries), is taking place amid concerns about the adequacy of the skills of its workforce and the latter’s ability to meet future demands of everyday work and life (Tertiary Education Commission, 2008). These concerns have resulted in major investment at a national level in a Skills Strategy (New Zealand Government, 2008) with particular emphasis on improving adult literacy and numeracy levels. However, Castleton (2002) suggests that conceptualising literacy as a skill ignores the reality of workplaces which, she suggests, consist of communities of workers who engage in purposeful communication and who possess and use different skills and knowledge in complementary ways, while Hull (1997) believes that too great an emphasis is placed on literacy, particularly in low skilled work. I teach on a programme for students with limited English literacy and numeracy proficiency. A common entry point into the workforce for current and past learners from the programme is entry-level supermarket work. However there is limited information available about the literacy and numeracy pre-requisites for this type of work or the literacy and numeracy demands placed on those in employment. In seeking to contribute to the body of knowledge about low skilled work in general and entry-level supermarket work in particular, research was carried out in a large, busy, suburban supermarket. The study was underpinned by the belief that both literacy and numeracy are social practices which cannot be separated from the contexts in which they occur. It adopted an ethnographic approach and was conducted through semi-structured interviews with supermarket managers and entry-level workers/supermarket assistants; observation of assistants during induction and at work; and analysis of some significant supermarket documentation. Findings indicate that, while literacy and numeracy are generally not considered to be important pre-requisites for entry-level supermarket work, supermarket assistants are exposed to highly context-specific literacy texts and ‘embedded’ and invisible numeracy demands at induction and during parts of their working day. The findings have significance for the teaching of literacy and numeracy in vocational training programmes. They indicate that off-site programmes have an important role to play in providing a learning foundation but also point to the importance of, and need for, workplace-specific, on-the-job literacy and numeracy training.

The nature and role of workplace literacy and numeracy are the subject of considerable debate (Baker, 1998; Castleton, 2002; Gee & Lankshear, 1997; Hull, 1997; Jackson, 2000; Marr & Hagston, 2007). The debate in New Zealand, (as in many other countries), is taking place amid concerns about the adequacy of the skills of its workforce and the latter’s ability to meet future demands of everyday work and life (Tertiary Education Commission, 2008). These concerns have resulted in major investment at a national level in a Skills Strategy (New Zealand Government, 2008) with particular emphasis on improving adult literacy and numeracy levels. However, Castleton (2002) suggests that conceptualising literacy as a skill ignores the reality of workplaces which, she suggests, consist of communities of workers who engage in purposeful communication and who possess and use different skills and knowledge in complementary ways, while Hull (1997) believes that too great an emphasis is placed on literacy, particularly in low skilled work. I teach on a programme for students with limited English literacy and numeracy proficiency. A common entry point into the workforce for current and past learners from the programme is entry-level supermarket work. However there is limited information available about the literacy and numeracy pre-requisites for this type of work or the literacy and numeracy demands placed on those in employment. In seeking to contribute to the body of knowledge about low skilled work in general and entry-level supermarket work in particular, research was carried out in a large, busy, suburban supermarket. The study was underpinned by the belief that both literacy and numeracy are social practices which cannot be separated from the contexts in which they occur. It adopted an ethnographic approach and was conducted through semi-structured interviews with supermarket managers and entry-level workers/supermarket assistants; observation of assistants during induction and at work; and analysis of some significant supermarket documentation. Findings indicate that, while literacy and numeracy are generally not considered to be important pre-requisites for entry-level supermarket work, supermarket assistants are exposed to highly context-specific literacy texts and ‘embedded’ and invisible numeracy demands at induction and during parts of their working day. The findings have significance for the teaching of literacy and numeracy in vocational training programmes. They indicate that off-site programmes have an important role to play in providing a learning foundation but also point to the importance of, and need for, workplace-specific, on-the-job literacy and numeracy training.

This research investigates the impact of collaborative work between an Educational Psychologist (EP) and teaching assistants (TAs) delivering a wave 3 National Numeracy Strategy (NNS) intervention. The aim was to decipher whether EPs can play a distinctive role in addressing the stubborn and significant tail of underachievement in numeracy and, indirectly, the associated risks to an individual’s life opportunities, health, employability and social cohesion by providing consultative support for TAs. A multiple case study approach was adopted involving three case studies, each comprising one TA and three underachieving children, at different schools in the North of England. The EP modelled the use of the wave 3 NNS materials and supported/trained TAs in delivering this and other jointly agreed input over one academic term. Initial consultations were held with TAs to explore their experiences of mathematics and delivering numeracy interventions. Thereafter, joint planning and discussions took place on a fortnightly basis to identify what was working well and what input from an EP may be of use; EP input was provided as and when appropriate. Outcomes from the research were assessed using a standardized numeracy test, attitude questionnaires completed by TAs and children, interviews with TAs before and after the intervention and a research diary. The quantitative data gathered through the numeracy test and attitude questionnaires were compared pre and post intervention using descriptive statistics. The qualitative data from interviews and the research diary was analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. The results indicate that consultative support from EPs is welcome by TAs and schools and can be associated with positive outcomes for the children involved. TAs felt EP support was reassuring and acknowledged that it increased their knowledge and confidence and this directly affected the way they thought, felt and behaved in relation to the children’s numeracy difficulties. TAs reported positive observable changes in the children’s attitudes to numeracy lessons and there was a positive correlation between children’s scores on the numeracy test and the final attitude scores allocated to them by TAs, indicating that the intervention had a substantial impact on children’s attitudes and attainment in numeracy. TAs, parents and teachers attributed the positive changes seen in children to participation in the intervention and children’s progress was clearly linked to the numeracy topics covered by the NNS materials. A model for EP-TA collaboration with NNS interventions is proposed and significant factors include: consultation; modelling resources; conducting diagnostic assessments; shaping TAs’ pedagogical practice and providing training on instructional psychology methods. The research indicates that there is a potential distinctive role for EPs in raising the numeracy attainment and attitudes of children working with TAs on NNS interventions. The key element is successive EP consultations that target specific numeracy needs, effectively consider contextual factors and provide ongoing support for TAs. The proposed model could be applied to other numeracy interventions and provides an economical alternative to expensive SEN provision that EPs could usefully contribute to. Further research will be needed to ascertain more precisely the value added by the factors identified in this study to be associated with positive outcomes for children.

Thesis advisor: Eric Dearing / For many children, preschool classrooms are a key context for early learning. While early education researchers and policy makers have focused considerable attention on the instructional and structural aspects of preschool classrooms, classic child development theory also points to the important role that peers play in early learning experiences (e.g., Vygotsky, 1978). Although best practices for early childhood education emphasize peer learning opportunities (e.g., Williams, 2001), adults, including early childhood teachers, often underestimate preschool children’s abilities to participate in cooperative interactions (Howes & Tonyan, 1999). And, within the empirical literature, many aspects of cooperative learning among very young peers remain poorly understood. This research aims to help build the knowledge base on peers and learning in early childhood. Seventy-two preschool children (mean age= 4.66 years) participated in a study designed to target counting skills through early math learning games that were adapted from empirically-supported curricula. In dyads (n=36), the children completed six game play sessions across three weeks with all sessions video-recorded and sessions one, three, and five coded for peer cooperative behaviors. The children’s general math skills were assessed prior to the first game play session and their counting skills were assessed after completion of the sixth game play session. The average rates of occurrence, and variations therein, of dyads’ peer cooperative behaviors during game play were examined. Using multi-level regression modeling to account for the dyadic nesting of these data, associations between cooperative behaviors and post-study counting skills were also explored. Results showed that these very young children demonstrated all of the peer cooperation behaviors of interest, including dyadic regulatory states and discrete peer cooperation behaviors (although the latter occurred less frequently than the former). Evidence that dyads’ peer supportive behaviors were significantly associated with their post-test counting scores was also found. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2019. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.