A Study of Utah Teachers' Developmentally Appropriate Beliefs and Practices as Related to Perceptions of Kindergarteners' Successful School Entry

A Study of Utah Teachers' Developmentally Appropriate Beliefs and Practices as Related to Perceptions of Kindergarteners' Successful School Entry PDF Author: Mary McEuen Darnell
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Category : Electronic dissertations
Languages : en
Pages :

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This study was an exploration of 450 Utah kindergarten teachers' perceptions of problems children face at the time of kindergarten entry, as well as an examination of the teachers' developmentally appropriate beliefs and practices. Consistent with previous research, teachers' beliefs were found to be more developmentally appropriate than their reported practices. This study also investigated the relationship between both teacher and classroom/school demographics and teachers' developmentally appropriate beliefs and practices. Further, the relationship between teachers' perceptions of children's transition to kindergarten and beliefs, practices, teacher demographics, and classroom/school demographics studied. Study findings indicated that teachers perceive 20% of kindergarten children as experiencing a difficult school entry, with some teachers reporting 100% of their class as having a difficult entry into kindergarten. Teachers reported 25% of children as not being ready for kindergarten, with about 20% of teachers judging at least half of their class as not being ready, and an additional 7 % of teachers estimating that 75% or more of their class was not ready for kindergarten. "Lack of academic skills" was the item perceived as the least problematic at kindergarten entry. Findings also exhibited a trend that teachers with more appropriate beliefs perceived a higher percentage of children experiencing very successful entry than did teachers with less appropriate beliefs. Special education and early childhood licensed teachers, as well as those who had received their ESL endorsement, consistently judged "half or more" of their class as having a number of transition problems, including "problems with social skills," as well as "difficulty communicating/language problems," and not having a "non-academic preschool experience." Overall, as the percentage of special education children enrolled increased, and the number of children qualifying for free lunch increased, teachers perceived more children as not ready for school. Limitations, implications, and suggestions for future research are discussed.

A Study of Utah Teachers' Developmentally Appropriate Beliefs and Practices as Related to Perceptions of Kindergarteners' Successful School Entry

A Study of Utah Teachers' Developmentally Appropriate Beliefs and Practices as Related to Perceptions of Kindergarteners' Successful School Entry PDF Author: Mary McEuen Darnell
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Electronic dissertations
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
This study was an exploration of 450 Utah kindergarten teachers' perceptions of problems children face at the time of kindergarten entry, as well as an examination of the teachers' developmentally appropriate beliefs and practices. Consistent with previous research, teachers' beliefs were found to be more developmentally appropriate than their reported practices. This study also investigated the relationship between both teacher and classroom/school demographics and teachers' developmentally appropriate beliefs and practices. Further, the relationship between teachers' perceptions of children's transition to kindergarten and beliefs, practices, teacher demographics, and classroom/school demographics studied. Study findings indicated that teachers perceive 20% of kindergarten children as experiencing a difficult school entry, with some teachers reporting 100% of their class as having a difficult entry into kindergarten. Teachers reported 25% of children as not being ready for kindergarten, with about 20% of teachers judging at least half of their class as not being ready, and an additional 7 % of teachers estimating that 75% or more of their class was not ready for kindergarten. "Lack of academic skills" was the item perceived as the least problematic at kindergarten entry. Findings also exhibited a trend that teachers with more appropriate beliefs perceived a higher percentage of children experiencing very successful entry than did teachers with less appropriate beliefs. Special education and early childhood licensed teachers, as well as those who had received their ESL endorsement, consistently judged "half or more" of their class as having a number of transition problems, including "problems with social skills," as well as "difficulty communicating/language problems," and not having a "non-academic preschool experience." Overall, as the percentage of special education children enrolled increased, and the number of children qualifying for free lunch increased, teachers perceived more children as not ready for school. Limitations, implications, and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Kindergarten Teachers' Developmentally Appropriate Beliefs and Practices and Their Perceptions of Children's Kindergarten Readiness

Kindergarten Teachers' Developmentally Appropriate Beliefs and Practices and Their Perceptions of Children's Kindergarten Readiness PDF Author: Rachelle Ernest Wright
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ISBN:
Category : Electronic dissertations
Languages : en
Pages : 169

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This study examined 180 matched pretest/posttest surveys of kindergarten teachers' perceptions of the transition children experienced upon kindergarten entry. Investigations of changes in the percentages of children perceived as not being ready for kindergarten and percentages of children who were rated as having had a very successful, moderately successful, or difficult transition from the pretest to the posttest were conducted. Additionally, changes in teachers' developmentally appropriate beliefs and practices from the beginning of the school year (pretest) to the end of the school year (posttest) were explored. Further analyses were conducted to find differences and associations between teacher and classroom demographics and changes from pretest to posttest. Teachers' developmentally appropriate beliefs were statistically significantly higher at the beginning of the school year (pretest) as compared to the end of the school year (posttest). Conversely, teachers' developmentally appropriate practices were statistically significantly higher at the end of the school year (posttest) when compared to the beginning of the school year (pretest). Even with the increase in teachers' developmentally appropriate practices at the end of the year, consistent with previous research, teacher's beliefs were found to be more developmentally appropriate than their reported practices. Study findings indicated that teachers reported a significantly higher percentage of children as having had a difficult transition at the beginning of the school year when compared to the end. At the beginning of the year, teachers rated 21.9% of children as having had a difficult transition, compared to 17.4% of children at the end of the school year. Some teachers reported 100% of the children in their class had a difficult transition at both the beginning and end of the school year. Overall, just under 60% of children were perceived as having some problems with kindergarten entry. Findings also indicated that teachers reported a significantly higher percentage of children were not ready for kindergarten entry at the beginning of the school year than at the end of the school year. Teachers perceived 27% of children were not ready for kindergarten at the beginning of the school year, with 22.4% of children rated as not ready at the end of the school year. Again, some teachers perceived 100% of their children as not being ready at both the beginning and end of the school year. Limitations, implications, and suggestions for future research were discussed.

Kindergarten Teachers' Developmentally Appropriate Beliefs and Practices and Perceived Problems of Kindergarten Transition

Kindergarten Teachers' Developmentally Appropriate Beliefs and Practices and Perceived Problems of Kindergarten Transition PDF Author: K. Marie Sorenson Mecham
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ISBN:
Category : Kindergarten
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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This study examined kindergarten teachers' developmentally appropriate beliefs and practices, and kindergarten teachers' perceived problems of children entering kindergarten. The relationship between kindergarten teachers' beliefs and practices and their perceived problems of children entering kindergarten was studied, as was the relationship between teachers' beliefs and practices and their perception of children's successful kindergarten entry. Participants included kindergarten teachers from eight Utah school districts. Teachers were surveyed using both the Transition Practices, and the Teacher Beliefs and Practices Survey. From these surveys, data were collected on kindergarten teachers' beliefs and practices, and perceptions of problems children may have upon entering kindergarten. Findings indicated that kindergarten teachers reported that most often children have problems due to " lack of academic skill s," "difficulty following directions," and difficulty working independent!/' About half of the children were perceived as having a very successful entry into kindergarten. Of teachers who responded, 72% felt that one fifth or more of their current kindergarten class was not ready for kindergarten upon entry. Overall the kindergarten teachers in this study were considered developmentally appropriate, but teachers' reported developmentally appropriate beliefs were higher than their reported developmentally appropriate practices. The highest reported beliefs consisted of reading daily with children, helping children develop self-esteem, helping children develop social skills, guiding children's behavior in positive ways, and using individualized plans with children who have major behavior problems. The highest reported practices consisted of using music in the classroom, integrating various subjects, allowing children to experiment with writing, using manipulative in the classroom, and not using time-out as a means of discipline. The findings show a trend in which teachers with higher beliefs reported that'1ack of academic skills' was a problem less often than the teachers with lower reported beliefs. Teachers with higher reported practices reported that a non-academic preschool experience' was a problem for children more often than teachers with lower reported practices. Findings also indicated a trend in which teachers with higher beliefs reported a smaller percentage of children having a difficult or very difficult entry into kindergarten than did teachers who reported lower developmentally appropriate beliefs. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Utah Kindergarten Teachers' Challenges and Concerns about Teaching Kindergarten

Utah Kindergarten Teachers' Challenges and Concerns about Teaching Kindergarten PDF Author: Ruth Jane Liebschutz Moore
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ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 121

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This qualitative study was an exploration of 55 Utah kindergarten teachers ' perceptions of challenges in teaching. It investigated written concerns teachers expressed in a statewide survey of kindergarten teachers. Study findings indicated that two main issues were communicated by teachers: a disparity between their developmentally appropriate beliefs and practices in the classroom, and concerns about children's kindergarten readiness and transition to school. About 56% of teachers felt a struggle in implementing their developmentally appropriate beliefs about education, for a variety of reasons: large class sizes, district and state mandates, and lack of resources, particularly time. Furthermore, 53% of educators conveyed concerns regarding children's school readiness and their transition to kindergarten. These teachers articulated transition activities they engaged in and communicated the influence of preschool, both positive and negative, on their incoming kindergarteners. Three other concerns and challenges were also delineated: limited teaching time; feelings that kindergarten curriculum is becoming too academic, particularly that curricular expectations have been raised and an emphasis placed on literacy; and issues surrounding parental involvement, both in and out of school. Study findings also demonstrated that most teachers who communicated concerns about implementing developmentally appropriate beliefs had been teaching for more than 7 years. The majority of the educators who shared challenges regarding time had taught for 12 or more years, as was the case for those who spoke about concerns with parental involvement. Limitations, implications, and suggestions for future research are discussed.

A Study of Mothers' Perceptions and Practices of Kindergarten Readiness

A Study of Mothers' Perceptions and Practices of Kindergarten Readiness PDF Author: Kirsten Smith
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ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 98

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PUBLIC ABSTRACT: This study was conducted to understand what mothers with children enrolled in a developmentally appropriate preschool program believe and are actually doing to help prepare their children for kindergarten, something of key importance, as kindergarten success is a foundation for later school success. There is very little research on the topic of parental perceptions and practices in kindergarten readiness and the transition into kindergarten. A survey was sent home to 60 families who had their child enrolled in the Adele and Dale Young Child Development Laboratory at Utah State University during the 2010-2011 school year. In the survey, parents were asked to rate the importance of, as well as how often their child participated in a variety of activities, such as reading stories, playing outside, and building with blocks, to help prepare for kindergarten. Parents were also asked to rate the importance of parent involvement in children's education. The relationship between maternal perceptions/practices and both mothers' educational levels and the child's birth status was also examined. Thirty-three mothers returned completed questionnaires. Results showed that mothers were mostly developmentally appropriate in their responses about the importance of using literacy and math in their children's lives. It was also found that mothers was most developmentally appropriate in their perceptions of parent involvement, literacy, and social development.

Kindergarten Teachers' Perceptions of Developmentally Appropriate Beliefs and Practices

Kindergarten Teachers' Perceptions of Developmentally Appropriate Beliefs and Practices PDF Author: Adrienne M. Lee
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ISBN:
Category : Kindergarten
Languages : en
Pages : 148

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American Doctoral Dissertations

American Doctoral Dissertations PDF Author:
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ISBN:
Category : Dissertation abstracts
Languages : en
Pages : 776

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Developmentally Appropriate Practices in University Clinical Placement Sites

Developmentally Appropriate Practices in University Clinical Placement Sites PDF Author: Gretchen Kranz Irvine
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ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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"Appropriate" Kindergarten Instruction

Author: Cara L. Phillips
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ISBN:
Category : Early childhood education
Languages : en
Pages : 231

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Book Description
This qualitative case study focused on the relationship between teachers' beliefs and practices. Specifically, it examined how kindergarten teachers' beliefs impacted their use of developmentally appropriate practices (DAP). Data were collected from five kindergarten teachers in a single mid-Western public school through the use of semi-structured interviews and observations. The results of the study revealed that the teachers' beliefs were highly consistent with NAEYC's (1987,1996) defined developmentally appropriate practices; however, environmental factors had a greater impact on their classroom practices than their beliefs. In discussions of their beliefs, the teachers mentioned various sources of pressure, such as state standards and parents' desires, which affected their practices. They also discussed their use of a "combination approach" rather than "pure developmentally appropriate practice."

Dissertation Abstracts International

Dissertation Abstracts International PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Dissertations, Academic
Languages : en
Pages : 564

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