Browsing by Subject "Prekindergarten"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD): Screening, Assessment, and Treatment in the Under-Five Population
(2009-12) Levine, Ann
Connecting schools and communities : a case study of prekindergarten collaboration
(2014-05) Morales, Vanessa Beltran; Reyes, Pedro, 1954-; Gershoff, Elizabeth T.
In an effort to increase access to public prekindergarten programs, many states are linking school- and community-based early childhood education (ECE) providers together to jointly deliver services. This strategy leverages existing ECE programs as part of the ongoing expansion of state-funded prekindergarten. Understanding how these efforts unfold at the local level is important for future policymaking that seeks to address the provision and improvement of publicly funded ECE programs. This dissertation explores how prekindergarten collaboration members work together, influence one another, and contribute to increased alignment within the field of ECE. This research presents findings from a case study that examined prekindergarten collaboration in one Texas community. Data were collected primarily through semi-structured interviews with individuals directly involved in prekindergarten collaboration implementation or with families served through public prekindergarten. Findings show that the depth and nature of the partnerships in this effort varied by the location of services and level of support made available to collaboration members. Key program features, such as classroom structure, instruction, and curriculum, were aligned across all three programs. Based upon these findings, I discuss the potential implications for policy and practice and suggest further topics of study related to these issues.
Superintendents’ decision making for funding full day prekindergarten programs in schools that serve low-income families
(2019-04-22) Hill, Elena Sue; Olivárez, Rubén; Ovando, Martha N., 1954-; Pringle, Pat; Sharpe, Edwin
While abundant literature exists that outlines the benefits of investing in prekindergarten programs for children as well as the advantages of children attending prekindergarten, attention is needed to identify how decisions are actually made to fund full day prekindergarten programs. Most studies have focused on decision making in general and some studies have focused on the decision making process regarding implementing prekindergarten. Few studies, however, have focused on decision making for funding full day prekindergarten programs for low-income families. Additional research is needed to identify decision making factors and considerations that superintendents use to make decisions to fund full day prekindergarten programs. Therefore, this study identified characteristics superintendents use to describe their decision making processes and factors that were considered when making decisions for funding prekindergarten. Three questions guided the study: 1) How do superintendents characterize their decision making processes for funding full day prekindergarten programs serving low-income families? 2) What factors do superintendents consider to make full day prekindergarten funding decisions? 3) How do superintendents’ decision making practices, regarding funding for full day prekindergarten reflect rational decision making? A purposeful sampling method was used to select three superintendents for this study who had experience with decision making regarding funding for full day prekindergarten programs at the district level, had a minimum of two years in their role as superintendent, and who serve in large public school systems of at least 25,000 students. Face to face interviews, document analysis and observations were the primary data collection protocols. Findings suggest that superintendents characterize their decision making as collaborative, data-driven, and priority based. This study also found that superintendents appear to consider accessibility to high-quality education, benefit to community and sources of funding as factors when making decisions to fund full day prekindergarten. Further, a comparative analysis of the rational decision making framework and the decision making practices of superintendents suggest that the steps of a rational decision making process are completed to some extent. This study provides insight and information for practicing superintendents who attempt to make decisions for funding full day prekindergarten. Finally, given the nature and findings of the present study, recommendations for practice and further research are offered
Young children's play using digital touchscreen tablets
(2014-05) Carrell Moore, Holly Lynne; Roser, Nancy; Reifel, Robert Stuart
National early childhood organizations have posited that technology tools might be used to expand young children's thinking and experiences if offered in playful ways, and organized with interactive activities that allow for individualization and social interaction (NAEYC & Fred Rogers Center, 2012). Furthermore, these organizations have argued for the need to study newer technologies such as touch-screen technologies (NAEYC & Fred Rogers Center, 2012). The purpose of this study is to examine young children's technology-related play choices and actions particularly as they occurred with touch-screen tablets in a classroom setting. The 10-week qualitative study, organized around a classic grounded theory methodology (Glaser, 1978, 1992, 1998) and conducted within a single classroom, reports the close observation and description of 14 public- school pre-kindergarten students' actions with open-ended, symbolic-play tablet apps and interactions with one another, toward building a grounded theory of children's socially situated, tablet-centered digital play. The findings of this study demonstrate how participants' play choices were situated within multiple nested social spheres, including layers of digital play, the iPad activity-center, and the classroom as organized by the teacher. Examination of children's changeable play actions and choices revealed students' use of reflexive tracking as they actively navigated between personal and social interests to engage in three types of play: sampling, experimenting, and engaging in pretense. The findings and theorized model of socially situated dual-tablet play inform the discourse on technology integration in early childhood classrooms as well as the discourse on play, particularly in regards to digital play.