<p> There is a distinct need to understand subjective well-being for neurodivergent students in early childhood. Review of previous literature suggests the positive influence of subjective well-being in mitigating psychological distress; however, young children have been excluded from these investigations. Therefore, this study employed an advanced mixed methods research design, through which a convergent core was embedded within an overarching quasi-experimental framework to analyze three key outcomes in early childhood education: (a) self-identified conceptualizations of student covitality, (b) self-evaluated levels of student covitality, and (c) teacher-rated levels of executive dysfunction. </p><p> All students actively enrolled in a local partner school serving pre-Kindergarten to 2nd grade (<i>N</i> = 45) participated in qualitative and quantitative evaluations of covitality. Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured focus groups, and quantitative data were collected through student ratings on the Social-Emotional Health Survey-Primary (Furlong, You, Renshaw, O’Malley, & Rebelez, 2013). Qualitative findings suggested students conceptualize covitality as positive school experiences along a developmental trajectory across five themes—play activities, classroom instruction, school environmental factors, interpersonal relationships, and special programs. Quantitative results determined excellent internal reliability of the covitality scale for early elementary 1st- and 2nd-grade students (Cronbach's α = .908). </p><p> Two classrooms were randomly assigned to the waitlist control (<i> n</i> = 14) or intervention (<i>n</i> = 10) condition—1st- and 2nd-grade, respectively. A novel positive psychology intervention was designed and tested to promote covitality. Implementation of strategically targeted practices supported the underlying factors of gratitude, zest, optimism, and persistence. </p><p> Additional quantitative data were collected through teacher ratings of cognition on the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, Second Edition (Gioia, Isquith, Guy, & Kenworthy, 2016). Intervention effects indicated a statistically significant interaction for improved executive functioning relative to the waitlist control group (<i>p</i> = .011). Integration of qualitative and quantitative results produced preliminary evidence of categorical advancement in a dual-factor clinical classification system and distinctions in varied and nuanced conceptualizations of well-being constructs over time. Synthesis of qualitative, quantitative, and integrated findings highlighted the value of design-based research generally, and the <i>Student Strengths Safari</i><sup>©</sup> program, specifically, to establish a dual-factor model of educational well-being (EdWB) for optimal student development. </p><p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:13813592 |
| Date | 10 April 2019 |
| Creators | Naples, Lauren Hunter |
| Publisher | The George Washington University |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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