The state of Florida’s voluntary prekindergarten (VPK) program is delivered through a mixed delivery service program model. The
prekindergarten program is offered to all four year olds on a voluntary basis in a mix of public school and non-school settings. VPK program
providers can be public schools, community-based childcare centers, private nursery schools, and faith-based preschools. The purpose of the
study was to compare the performance of three types of providers, faith-based, public school, and private, in terms children’s readiness for
kindergarten. In addition, the study examined the extent to which VPK providers’ readiness rates were impacted by the numbers of English
Language Learners, students with exceptionalities, and children from low-socioeconomic families in their programs. Data for the study was
obtained from the Florida Department of Education’s Office of Early Learning. The study utilized data concerning VPK provider’s performance
for the 2010-2013 academic years. Participating in the study were 4110 (2011), 4169 (2012) and 4234 (2012) private, public and faith-based
VPK providers. Children who had participated in the VPK program were assessed at the beginning of their kindergarten year using the Early
Childhood Observation System (ECHOS) and the Florida Assessments for Instruction in Reading (FAIR) instruments. Children’s readiness for
kindergarten was determined based on their performance on these instruments, and those scoring at or above threshold score were considered
ready for school. VPK providers’ readiness scores were derived from students’ performance on the instruments and expressed as the proportion
of their students scoring at or above the school readiness threshold on the assessment instruments. The data were analyzed using descriptive
statistics and a series of analyses of variance (ANOVA). The ANOVA compared the mean readiness rates of the three types of VPK providers.
Then, using the numbers of English Language Learners, students with exceptionalities, and students from low SES families as covariate
measures, an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was conducted to compare the mean readiness rates of the three provider types. Regression
analysis was used to determine the relationship between the covariate measures and mean readiness rates of the provider types. The ANOVA
reveled a statistically significant difference in the mean readiness rates across provider types such that faith-based providers had higher
readiness rates than did the public and private providers. The ANCOVA findings differed in that the mean readiness rates of the public-school
prekindergarten providers were higher than those of the faith-based and private providers. The regression analysis revealed that there was a
relationship between the providers’ readiness rates and the numbers of English Language Learners and students from low SES families. It was
concluded that there were differences in the overall performance of each type of VPK provider as indicated by measures of children’s school
readiness. Data for the 2012-2013 academic year suggested that the public school VPK providers were more successful in terms of preparing
their students for kindergarten. / A Dissertation submitted to the School of Teacher Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester 2017. / October 30, 2017. / kindergarten readiness, prekindergarten, prekindergarten providers / Includes bibliographical references. / Ithel Jones, Professor Directing Dissertation; Colleen M. Kelley, University Representative; Angela
Davis, Committee Member; Lindsay Dennis, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_605007 |
| Contributors | Quick, Tammy (author), Jones, Ithel (professor directing dissertation), Kelley, Colleen M. (university representative), Davis, Angela F. (committee member), Dennis, Lindsay Rae (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 (147 pages), computer, application/pdf |
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