Purposeful play has many educational benefits that support the whole child. As academic rigor continues to rise, the need for developmentally appropriate practices that support both academic and social emotional learning increases. The purpose of this quantitative study was to understand principals' perceptions of the incorporation of purposeful…

Early childhood education is a dynamic field, constantly evolving with the introduction of new curriculums, initiatives and programs. The classroom teacher is the constant, providing essential early literacy instruction amidst all of these changes. Universal Pre-Kindergarten is a vital program that provides access to quality early childhood…

The inclusion of Kansas preschoolers with developmental delays in general early childhood environments has shown little growth over the past seven years. An initial examination of public data for federal fiscal years 2018, 2019, and 2020 showed inclusion rates in preschools in Kansas public school districts differed by special education…

The purpose of this qualitative study is to investigate the significance of how pre-K and kindergarten teachers' perception and implementation of instruction prepares children for literacy in both grade levels. Three research questions guided the study: Are pre-K and kindergarten curricula aligned with implementing emergent literacy skills in…

The purpose of this study was to gain insights into how a PreK teacher's beliefs on readiness shaped how she adopted/adapted to a new practice that was intended to provide responsive mathematics education. To explore these issues, I constructed one descriptive case study of a teacher's beliefs and practice based on data from a broader research…

Technological emersion is now prevalent in educational methodologies. Strategies that present an emerging ideology are relevant to closing the digital divide gap at all education levels but remains problematic. The problem addressed by this study is that many Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K) lower socioeconomic (LSE) State-funded Preschool Program (SFPP)…

In a world where children are likely to experience early-life trauma, relationships matter, and trust is a key in forming healthy working relationships. Intentionally teaching adults and teachers how to evoke calmness in ourselves and breathe to handle negative situations, trusted educators can then teach children to do the same. It is important…

To date, applying what is known about child development to educational app design has been minimally studied and rarely tested. Using developmental and learning sciences research (e.g., Hirsh-Pasek et al., 2015), this dissertation identifies whether evidence-based teaching strategies are used in the design of existing educational apps and…

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore how instructors became aware of culturally relevant teaching (CRT) and developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) that support African American students' academic achievement. The Grounded Theory approach was used to uncover themes from the individual interviews of African American…

Environmental degradation, childhood obesity, and aggression of youth are societal problems that appear unconnected. However, their cause (and possible solution) may be linked to a common experience--the amount and quality of time spent in the natural world. Environment based education, significant life experience research, and studies involving…

This study examined Early Childhood Special Educators' perceptions of play as a developmentally appropriate practice in special education prekindergarten classrooms in one southeastern school district. Through purposeful sampling, eight prekindergarten special educators were identified because they held multiple teaching certifications and some…

The New Jersey Department of Education has been stressing the value of early childhood education for the past 12 years. Research has clearly demonstrated the value of high-quality preschool programs for preparing children for school and even later life. Particularly in light of the Core Curriculum Content Standards and elementary curriculum, which…

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which a preschool program followed the recommendations outlined by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) in their joint position statement "Early Childhood Mathematics: Promoting Good…