UUttaahh SSttaattee UUnniivveerrssiittyy DDiiggiittaallCCoommmmoonnss@@UUSSUU All Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 5-2010 KKiinnddeerrggaarrtteenn TTeeaacchheerrss'' DDeevveellooppmmeennttaallllyy AApppprroopprriiaattee BBeelliieeffss aanndd PPrraaccttiicceess aanndd TThheeiirr PPeerrcceeppttiioonnss ooff CChhiillddrreenn''ss KKiinnddeerrggaarrtteenn RReeaaddiinneessss:: CCoommppaarriinngg tthhee BBeeggiinnnniinngg aanndd tthhee EEnndd ooff tthhee SScchhooooll YYeeaarr Rachelle Ernest Wright Utah State University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd Part of the Pre-Elementary, Early Childhood, Kindergarten Teacher Education Commons RReeccoommmmeennddeedd CCiittaattiioonn Wright, Rachelle Ernest, "Kindergarten Teachers' Developmentally Appropriate Beliefs and Practices and Their Perceptions of Children's Kindergarten Readiness: Comparing the Beginning and the End of the School Year" (2010). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 605. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/605 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. KINDERGARTEN TEACHERS’ DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE BELIEFS AND PRACTICES AND THEIR PERCEPTIONS OF CHILDREN’S KINDERGARTEN READINESS: COMPARING THE BEGINNING AND THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR by Rachelle Ernest Wright A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in Family, Consumer, and Human Development Approved: _____________________________ _____________________________ Shelley L. Knudsen Lindauer, Ph.D Kaelin M. Olsen, M.S. Major Professor Committee Member _____________________________ _____________________________ Troy E. Beckert, Ph.D. Byron R. Burnham, Ed.D. Committee Member Dean of Graduate Studies UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY Logan, Utah 2010 ii Copyright © Rachelle Wright 2010 All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Kindergarten Teachers’ Developmentally Appropriate Beliefs and Practices and Their Perceptions of Children’s Kindergarten Readiness: Comparing the Beginning and the End of the School Year by Rachelle Ernest Wright, Master of Science Utah State University, 2010 Major Professor: Dr. Shelley L. Knudsen Lindauer Department: Family, Consumer, and Human Development 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 iv 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. (169 pages) v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My success in completing this thesis is attributed to so many people it is hard to know where to begin in thanking them. First I would like to thank Dr. Shelley Lindauer, without whom this project would not have been finished. I am grateful for her professional example, patience, sacrifice, and never-ending encouragement throughout this process. I know there were many nights she chose to help me over sleeping. I also would like to thank her husband, Bill Lindauer, for his sacrifice in supporting his wife in her efforts to help me, for postponing a clean house and for maybe eating a little later on the nights Shelley was reading my thesis. When I think of the lives Shelley has influenced, I am honored to count myself among them. I am and will always be grateful for this time we had to work together, for the wonderful mentor she has been, and for the lasting friendship she has offered. Thank you for knowing when to push me and for always believing in me. I would also like to thank Farol Nelson, who first inspired me to continue my education in this field and who supported and taught me through the entire journey. Thank you for all the laughter, creativity, and professional support during the time we spent together. Thank you for always believing in me and for being so willing to begin this process with me. In addition, this project would not have come to fruition without Kaelin Olsen’s willingness to step up and help me run it to the finish line. Thank you for constant support and positive feedback. Your simple words of encouragement made it easier to get back to the computer and take it one improvement at a time. Also, I would like to thank Troy Beckert, whose enthusiasm for teaching and for vi this field inspired me early on in my educational pursuits at Utah State University. You have a way of inspiring your students to rise to higher expectations and realize their true potential. Thank you for your patience, your belief in me, and for keeping me on my toes. I would also like to thank Roxane Pfister for offering her talents and skill in analyzing my data. Thank you for being so willing to go over things with me time and again until I “really” understood. Your encouragement and interest in my success calmed me at the times when I was most overwhelmed. This thesis would not have been possible without your help. There were also friends and colleagues who helped inspire me to find a way to keep going. I would like to thank Marie Mecham and Trisha Haws for always offering tips and suggestions on ways to get finished and for proving that it can be done. Moreover, thanks must be given to the friendships, conversations, and last minute babysitting that got me through the hard days. Thank you Trisha Haws, Terra Stanko, and Mary Scoresby. I would not be who I am or where I am today without my husband, Craig Wright. Thank you for beginning this journey with me and for helping me see it through to the end. Thank you for being willing to grow and be refined with me through this “process.” I could not have done this without your love, support, and encouragement during the hard times and good times. Thank you for all the sacrifices you made to help make this happen. Your never wavering belief in my ability to conquer “the thesis” would bolster me up and inspire me to just keep typing. I love you, you are my strength, my happy place, and I know that with you by my side anything is possible. I am so grateful for my little girl, Emmaline Claire Wright, who has literally been vii by my side throughout this process. Thank you for being so sweet and patient throughout this chapter of life. Thank you for taking such long naps, coming to meetings with me, and for being right next to me while I continued to type away. Without your sweet nature and willingness to patiently play while you waited for mom to write just a little more, this thesis would not have been completed. Your smiles and laughter turned difficult moments into cherished memories, and inspired me to continue on and finish. I would like to thank my parents, Tim and Trina Ernest, who from the time I was little have supported me in any endeavor I pursued. Thank you for allowing me to discover my own ability and for always believing in me. I am who I am today in large part because of who you taught me to be. Thank you for the life lessons you helped me learn, the sacrifices you have made for me, and most importantly for teaching me to never give up. Thank you for providing opportunities for me to learn for myself that hard work, consistency, faith, and belief in my own ability puts you on the path to succeed in the ways you desire. I love you both so much! I also want to thank the rest of my extended family for taking an interest in this thesis and continually asking me about the progress I was making and giving me encouragement. Finally, I must also thank all the children, families, students, and teachers who have inspired me to continue learning, and to delight in working in this field. It is because of all of you, chocolate, and Pandora radio that I was able to finish this thesis. Thank you! Rachelle Wright viii CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...................................................................................................v LIST OF TABLES ...............................................................................................................x CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................1 II. LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................6 History of Kindergarten ...................................................................6 Current Kindergarten .....................................................................11 Qualified Teachers .........................................................................13 Developmentally Appropriate Practice ..........................................18 Definition of Developmentally Appropriate Practice ....................21 Effect of Developmentally Appropriate Practice ...........................24 Teachers’ Developmentally Appropriate Beliefs Versus Practices ........................................................................33 Kindergarten Transition .................................................................38 Conclusion .....................................................................................48 III. METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................50 Participants and Procedures ...........................................................50 Instruments .....................................................................................51 IV. RESULTS ..................................................................................................54 Research Question 1 ......................................................................54 Research Question 2 ......................................................................60 Research Question 3 ......................................................................63 Research Question 4 ......................................................................70 V. DISCUSSION ............................................................................................79 Research Question 1 ......................................................................79 Research Question 2 ......................................................................83 Research Question 3 ......................................................................88 ix Research Question 4 ......................................................................94 Limitations ...................................................................................101 Implications..................................................................................102 Suggestions for Future Research .................................................106 Conclusion ...................................................................................107 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................111 APPENDICES .................................................................................................................116 Appendix A. Letter to Superintendent .................................................................117 Appendix B. Letter to Kindergarten Teacher ......................................................120 Appendix C. Transition Practices Survey/Teacher Beliefs and Practices Survey Packet ..................................................................................122 Appendix D. Tables .............................................................................................139