In March of 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, drastically changing teaching and learning. Children were immediately placed in emergency remote learning, and parents became facilitators of their children's learning while children were in their virtual learning space. This study explored families' experiences with…

The purpose of this exploratory case study was to understand how elementary students perceived their learning and engagement in a remote learning environment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Five students elected to join the study with parental permission, ranging in grades 3rd-5th. Interviews were conducted on Zoom with the students as well as their…

Over the past two decades, U.S. states have widely adopted early literacy policies. These policies have shown short-term success in enhancing K-3 literacy skills. However, the reasons behind their widespread adoption and the factors driving their success are poorly understood. This three-paper dissertation focuses on Michigan's Read by Grade Three…

This study will utilize a quantitative method to the explore the association between third grade students' home computer access and their ability to attain a proficient score on the Fall 2019 English Language Arts standardized state assessment. The secondary focus will explore the association between third grade students' home computer access and…

Oftentimes those within a particular minoritized group (e.g., refugees) are assumed to have had the same language and literacy experiences or to hold the same language- and literacy-related values and beliefs. This fails to consider the variation that exists both across and within these groups. Children from refugee backgrounds attend elementary…

The problem addressed in the study is the significant numbers of elementary school students who fail to demonstrate proficiency in reading/language arts as determined by the Georgia Milestones English Language Arts Test. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to investigate teachers' perceptions of effective research-based parental…

Evidence has suggested that preschool and kindergarten experiences affect the cognitive and social-emotion development of language-minority students (LMS). This quantitative study aims to illustrate the LMS' preschool and kindergarten experience by investigating the preschool and kindergarten experience, family environment, and school environment.…

Seemingly small reading delays in early childhood have the potential to compound into more considerable reading difficulties later in childhood (Bast & Reitsma, 1998; Foster & Miller, 2007). Children growing up in at-risk households are especially vulnerable to falling behind in reading. The objective of this study was to explore the…

Using data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD), this dissertation examined the relationship between pre-K quality and children's academic achievement at 54 months and in first, third, and fifth grades, controlling for child and family covariates and the…

The Title I program was established to support students who were enrolled in schools that had high rates of children from low-income households. The program's goal was to provide supplemental services that would assist in raising the academic success of students in Title I schools so that they achieve comparable outcomes to children in Non-Title I…

Many risk factors have been identified for children entering Kindergarten. Many at-risk children eventually get classified as having a Specific Learning disability. Some of these risk factors include having a primary home language other than English (Hosp & Reschly, 2004), having non-intact families (Pong, 1997), being of minority status…

How well students perform on standardized tests can affect their educational paths and the rest of their lives. In addition, students' performances on state assessments will affect their schools due to the No Child Left Behind Act. For English language learners (ELLs), the success on tests may be diminished due to their inability to completely…

This study examines the relationships among third and fourth grade teacher practices in cognitive development: understanding, application, synthesis, and judgment; emotional/social development; their students' self-reported opportunities for emotional/social development; and academic self-concept. In addition, this study investigates the…