The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine educators' perspectives of the value of their workload and the many influences that affect those perceptions. A cross-sectional survey was developed and distributed to general educators in a northern region of Illinois that were teaching kindergarten through fifth grade. The developed survey…

The wellbeing of early care educators is essential for lessening burnout and increasing teachers' intentions of staying in the field. Protective factors related to the wellbeing of early care educators in the field have been given little attention in research and practice but have such a profound impact on programs, classrooms, children, and…

The purpose of this exploratory descriptive research was to examine what Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) certified Montessori teachers (MTs) for students ages 3-6 years in the United States reported regarding scientific observation (SO) as a disposition and as a disposition in action (DIA) to better understand MTs' application of…

The purpose of this study was to explore how teachers perceived challenging behavior in contrast to behaviors that exemplify social-emotional competence, while attending to how descriptions of behavior varied based on child demographics such as gender, race/ethnicity, and disability status. Using a DisCrit lens, this study was conducted under the…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive case study was to focus on teachers' perceptions regarding professional development training for early childhood education. The problem addressed in this study was the inadequate amount of professional development training available for early childhood teachers to address children with challenging…

This phenomenological qualitative study explores how public school pre-kindergarten teachers in Florida perceive their principals' understanding of early learning standards and developmentally appropriate practices. The problem addressed is that prekindergarten teachers are evaluated by their principals using state-approved evaluation rubrics…

Preschool teachers are an essential part of the education system in the United Sates. The problem is that research and data about the development of literacy skills exist for kindergarten and upper grades, but there is minimal research on preschool teachers' perceptions on the development of literacy skills in a play-based learning environment.…

Child maltreatment is a widespread issue across the United States, directly impacting young children's learning and behavior. Yet, variability found in early education pre-service training does not include focus on this topic. Early education teachers often experience low wages, long work hours, and a lack of support to meet the needs of young…

This study explored and analyzed the phonological and phonemic awareness components of a teacher edition of a school district's kindergarten language arts curriculum material. Criteria for this pragmatic content analysis were derived from the research on phonological awareness and the sequence of instruction and intervention (Schuele and Boudreau,…

Kindergarten teachers in one large district in Arkansas are inconsistently implementing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-integrated lessons into their curriculum despite a systemic plan for increasing equitable access to high-quality STEM-focused education for all students by the state department of education. While…

According to the National Assessment of Education Progress, students in one state in the midwestern United States showed little change in reading scores despite the use of literacy coaches. The problem of focus in this study was inadequate primary students' reading achievement in the focus state. Bandura's social learning theory was used in this…

The aim of this qualitative multiple case study was to understand three Saudi kindergarten teachers 'attitudes toward enacting inquiry to teach science in the kindergarten classroom. This study was guided by two research questions: 1) What attitudes do Saudi kindergarten teachers hold about using inquiry to teach science in their classrooms? 2)…

This study investigated the extent to which preschool teachers have been prepared to recognize students with potential learning needs. The ability of these teachers to recognize students with learning needs and provide appropriate support or referrals is critical for the success of the students. Through this research, several insights have emerged…

The transition to five-year-old kindergarten is a pivotal time in children's development, setting the tone for the children's and their families' subsequent formal education experiences. Establishing connections between home and school is a key to creating a supportive learning environment for every child. This dissertation examines how home…

This qualitative, phenomenological case study was conducted to explore preschool teachers' and clinicians' understandings of social-emotional development and their perceptions of self-efficacy in teaching social-emotional learning (SEL) to their preschool students. Gaining an understanding of the participants' self-efficacy provided insight on how…