This study examined kindergarten teachers’ developmentally appropriate beliefs, developmentally appropriate practices, and their
opinions about the current state of the kindergarten curriculum through the lens of teachers’ beliefs. A sample of 107 kindergarten teachers
participated in the study by completing the Teacher Questionnaire on-line. The survey instrument was comprised of three sections; The
Teachers Beliefs Questionnaire, The Instructional Activities Questionnaire, and the Opinions Questionnaire. The findings showed that
kindergarten teachers had concerns and were frustrated with the current state of the kindergarten curriculum. The respondents who were
comfortable with the current state of the kindergarten curriculum had extenuating circumstances such as working in invitation-only school or
using a Montessori curriculum. The findings also showed that kindergarten teachers’ beliefs and practices were not aligned. The kindergarten
teachers tended to have developmentally appropriate beliefs, but they did not often engage in developmentally appropriate practices. It was
also found that kindergarten teachers’ beliefs and practices overall were not significantly correlated. In addition, the findings showed that
kindergarten teachers in Title I schools engaged in more developmentally inappropriate practices than did the kindergarten teachers who were
not at Title I schools. Kindergarten teachers with more than 18 years of teaching experience engaged in more developmentally appropriate
practices than kindergarten teachers with 0-5 years of teaching experience and kindergarten teachers with 6-17 years teaching
experience. / A Dissertation submitted to the School of Teacher Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester 2017. / July 13, 2017. / Belifs, Concerns, Developmentally Appropriate Practices, Kindergarten Teachers, Opinions, Practices / Includes bibliographical references. / Ithel Jones, Professor Directing Dissertation; Thomas Welsh, University Representative; Elizabeth
Jakubowski, Committee Member; Angela Davis, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_605025 |
| Contributors | Tours, Sara Beth (author), Jones, Ithel (professor directing dissertation), Welsh, Thomas M. (university representative), Jakubowski, Elizabeth M. (committee member), Davis, Angela F. (committee member), Florida State University (degree granting institution), College of Education (degree granting college), School of Teacher Education (degree granting departmentdgg) |
| Publisher | Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text, doctoral thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (128 pages), computer, application/pdf |
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