The purpose of this study was to describe and explain the perspectives and beliefs that practitioners have about prekindergarten in a Voluntary Prekindergarten program unable to meet minimal accountability requirements. The exploratory questions included: What are the beliefs and perceptions about effective and appropriate early childhood education among practitioners in a Voluntary Prekindergarten program on probation? And in what ways does probation influence practitioners' perceptions and beliefs about early childhood education? I used participants from a school where I conducted a pilot study. My data collection consisted of semi-structured interviews, resumes, my research reflective journal, and the centers program improvement plan. Social constructivism was applied to understand the participants' perceptions and beliefs of Voluntary Prekindergarten Program. The findings indicated the practitioners and administrators in a Voluntary Prekindergarten not meeting readiness requirements believe the need for programs to have systems of accountability. They believe accountability is important; however, they believe holding programs accountable for a test at the beginning of kindergarten is ineffective. In addition, the findings denoted more information and more action is needed to accurately conclude approved Voluntary Prekindergarten programs are meeting all five components of the criteria in Title 48-Chapter 1002-Part V. The findings denoted further studies are necessary to assist practitioners to understand the importance of teaching children at where they are developmentally and just beyond. The amount of time that is offered in the Voluntary Prekindergarten programs needs to be examined, especially in the summertime.

No description available.

This research is a Case Study of the experiences of two groups of gifted children, including two preschoolers (3-5 years old) and three primary age children (6 - 9 years old), and their families in Victoria. The children were selected utilising a multi-faceted approach to identification appropriate to their ages and stages of development. That is, both objective and subjective procedures were used which included teacher nomination, parent nomination and checklists for the identification of the children for the case study. The focus of the study was on the personal and educational experiences of these children, with a particular emphasis on recording the

This study examined the food acceptance behaviour of preschool children in Taiwan from their parents’ perspectives. The research explored food preferences and aversions of preschool children and how parents’ beliefs, concerns and coping strategies influenced their food acceptance behaviour. This qualitative study used in-depth interviews to obtain answers to the research questions. This appears to be the first study of its kind in Taiwan. The results of this research were represented in three ways: as themes and sub-themes, as narratives for two families, and as concept maps to show the relationship between themes and preschool children’s food acceptance behaviour. The major findings of this research are firstly, that children showed a wide range of food acceptance behaviours that are established early in life. Secondly, parents had a number of beliefs and concerns about the nature of the food acceptance behaviour of their preschool children. They described many factors that they believe affect their children’s eating behaviour including the influence of caregivers, parents themselves, siblings, grandparents, peers, the kindergarten teacher, the kindergarten cook, and the media. Thirdly, parents’ rearing styles influence the eating habits of preschool children. The thesis concludes by pointing to useful directions and recommendations for further research, education and policy around the issue of early childhood food acceptance behaviour.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 271-290) Also available in print.

Thesis (D.Ed.) in Educational Leadership--University of Maine, 2006. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 157-171).

<p>Overweight and obesity in children is an extensive and accelerating </p><p> problem in the western world. The risk factors for overweight are well-</p><p> known and well-documented. Focus should lie in the prophylactic work </p><p> in order to prevent overweight and obesity in preschool children.</p><p> The aim of our study has been to highlight the role of the district</p><p> nurse in her/his work to prevent overweight and obesity in preschool </p><p> children. The study was carried out through studies as a literature </p><p> review. In order to support the parents and taking their circumstances </p><p> and conditions into consideration, it was considered very important that </p><p> the district nurse paid attention to the view of the parents on the weight </p><p> of their child. Parents were considered to have an important role in </p><p> giving their children healthy eating habits. The attitude of the district </p><p> nurse was relevant as to how she/he treated the overweight and how </p><p> she/he tackled the preventive work. Professional practice and training </p><p> within the field were important factors in making the district nurse </p><p> succeed in her/his work to prevent overweight and obesity in children. </p><p> Lack of time and lack of parental commitment and attitude were the </p><p> main reasons for limiting the district nurse in her work to prevent </p><p> overweight and obesity in children. Personnel within the primary care </p><p> should supervise and coordinate health promoting measures in order to </p><p> prevent overweight and obesity in children. The district nurse plays a </p><p> unique part in influencing the parents very early on in their children’s </p><p> life by arranging regular and repeated visits to the child welfare center. </p><p> The basis for a successful work by the district nurse is training and the </p><p> fact that she is made aware of her own attitudes towards overweight. </p><p> More research is imperative to support and develop guidelines for </p><p> preventing overweight and obesity in children.</p>

Interest in gesture production has considerably increased in recent decades, yet few studies have examined the preschool population. Even fewer studies have examined the intriguing interaction between motor skills and gesture. The original intent of this study was to investigate the relationship of gesture and motor skills in individuals who stutter. However due to recruitment limitations the enrolled sample consists solely of typically developing preschoolers, 3:8 to 6:6 years. Data are presented on gestures and disfluencies during spontaneous speech, a cartoon narration, and a video narration. Additionally, disfluencies were observed during a procedural description task with restricted hand use and hand tapping. Data indicated that higher frequencies of gestures and disfluencies were seen during the cartoon narration. A greater frequency of disfluencies was also experienced with restricted hand use. Relationships between the variables were also explored. Limitations and implications of these results are discussed from both theoretical and clinical perspectives. / Rangos School of Health Sciences / Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) / MS / Thesis