Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'African studies|Pedagogy|Early childhood education'

This qualitative ethnographic collective case-study of two Nigerian Early Childhood Education (ECE) practitioners focused upon the practitioners’ reflections over a three-day period in February 2014 (and then a 3-month period from February through April 2014) of their first 18-months of implementing constructivist curriculum after participating in a week-long workshop in October 2012 on constructivist education theory and practice. The reflections were framed by seven questions, and their sub-questions, addressing their impressions of the most efficacious sections of the workshop, what worked and did not in their classrooms, their frustrations and successes, and their recommendations for further workshops for additional ECE practitioners. The practitioners responded to the inquiries in three different formats, as follows: the face-to-face discussion of the seven formal interview questions, a three-month journal (from February 2014 through April 2014) with the formal interview questions, and informal afternoon chat sessions that were more free-ranging. A comparison among the answers, mediated by NVivo10 (2012) software thematic sorting, revealed differences in the quantity and emphasis of the answers to the questions, varied by written and verbal responses. The most surprising finding and one that qualifies as a central phenomenon was that without sufficient parent education and support that the smooth transition from the Rote systems to the constructivist curriculum could be slowed down and even halted at the school site, as the parents voiced their concerns that the students were not going to be well-educated under this new curriculum. In further workshops, it is now apparent that parental education and engaged support must be presented and discussed so that ECE constructivist curriculum can be more widely implemented in Lagos, Nigeria and elsewhere.

African American children’s public school education outcomes differ from those of their White, non-Hispanic peers. This dissertation used the data from The Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey for the Kindergarten Class of 2011 (ECLS-K: 2011) to explore the question: What factors during a child’s kindergarten through third-grade years contribute to disparate test scores, opportunities, and outcomes? There is a large body of research citing a gap between African American students and their White, non- Hispanic peers in later years of schooling. This study utilized data collected from students, parents, teachers, and administrators from a child’s entry to kindergarten through the completion of third grade. The results were interpreted through the lens of Critical Race Theory (CRT). Most CRT work has been qualitative. This study aimed to identify areas in which follow-up qualitative work could enrich the findings of the quantitative work and offer insight beyond the deficit models that are routinely provided to explain the gap.

Findings suggest that there is a slight gap between African American students and their White, non-Hispanic peers in reading and math scores on kindergarten entry. Those differences increased over a 4-year period. The data also suggest poverty played a factor in this disparity. The beliefs about kindergarten readiness between teachers and parents were aligned, and African American parents’ beliefs were more aligned than were those of the parent population as a whole. Teachers reported closer relationships with White, non-Hispanic students and higher levels of conflict with African American students, although this did not seem to correlate directly with reading and math test scores.

The research results indicate that there needs to be an increase in culturally relevant pedagogical training for preservice and inservice teachers. Early education programs need to be closely examined for practices that exclude or disadvantage children who are not from White, middle class backgrounds. The curriculum needs to build on the skills the students possess, rather than considering those without the desired skills deficient. Finally, intervention programs need to be evaluated as the data in the study indicate that reading gaps were less than math.

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 preschool directors, teachers, and assistant teachers of African American pre-kindergarten children in Los Angeles County. The interview questions identified the source of information for creating a culturally relevant and developmentally appropriate classroom environment and instructional practices. The literature review identified the benefits of a high-quality preschool experience for African American children. A high-quality learning environment and the consistent implementation of research-based instructional practices are created and sustained by culturally competent teachers who receive ongoing professional development and access to quality resources. The literature showed that African American teachers expressed concerns about the universal aspect of DAP for all children, leading teachers to adapt their practices to meet the cultural and developmental needs of the children. The key findings for the source of information for creating a CRT environment and instructional practices identified personal experiences, other preschool programs, multicultural workshops, multicultural resource books, and child development classes. The literature review and study findings supported the connection between the belief in DAP and the implementation of DAP in the classroom. The key findings for the source of information for creating a DAP environment and instructional practices were child development classes, trial and error, DAP workshops, and other preschool teachers. An additional finding was the challenge participants experienced when attempting to discern between creating the classroom environment and identifying instructional practices to implement the curriculum. The conclusions drawn from the study were that preschool directors, teachers, and assistant teachers used personal experiences as the primary source information for creating a CRT and DAP environment and implementing CRT and DAP instructional practices. Lastly, the disconnect between the culture of the students, real-life classroom experiences and child development classes, multicultural workshops, and multicultural resources impact the quality and consistency of implementation of CRT and DAP in the classroom.

Preschool expulsions have gained new attention in the early child care field. The disproportionate rate of Blacks boys that are expelled or "pushed out" from their child care settings suggests particular concern for exploration. Behavioral problems in early childhood have negative outcomes later in life (Keane & Calkins, 2004); therefore, it is imperative that educational systems create equitable, non-disciplinary practices, which do not marginalize or shame Black boys. This study captured the experiences of five parents of Black boys that were expelled or pushed out of multiple child care settings, as well as the temporary and lasting effects of the expulsions or "push-outs" on the entire family. One center director of a state-funded preschool and one head teacher of a private center also participated. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews, focus groups, and on-line temperament profiles. Grounded theory was used to code the data in terms of the study's conceptual framework, including relationships between parent, child and teacher/provider, Critical Race Theory (CRT), neurobiological considerations, gaps in teacher/provider preparation, and the high-stakes accountability movement. The social construction of Black boys and learning in early child care settings was also explored. Expulsions or push-outs had several negative impacts for parents, the boys of this study and their families. However, through these hardships, parents learned strong advocacy skills and showed resiliency. Implications for providers and policy are discussed.

The achievement gap between African American students and other races was continuously widening. School districts across the country were examining several programs to address the issue. This study attempted to examine the overall benefit of summer school attendance on reading achievement. It evaluated the relationship between summer school attendance and lexile levels of African American students from a low socio-economical area, in grades one through four. Participants for the study were not recruited as secondary data was used for the research. The study site school district's secondary data from the summer school session of 2012 was analyzed. The data included the spring 2012 and fall 2012 AimsWeb RCBM scores, along with the lexile levels. The study site school district collected lexile level data before and after summer school instruction. The summer school program was a four-week program that focused on math and reading. The program was voluntary and any student in the school district was able to attend. Data from the AimsWeb RCBM Assessment provided two measures for analysis: fluency and lexile level. The central research question was "What effect will summer school attendance have on reading lexile levels for African American Students from a low socio-economic area?" This quantitative study explored whether attendance in summer school contributed to an increase in the reading level, decrease in the reading level, or no effect on the reading level. This study used secondary data from a controlled group of students who did not attend summer school and an intervention group of students who attended summer school during 2012. A stratified random sampling of 60 students from the school's population of 343 was used to conduct the research.