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Doctoral Dissertation
The Effects of Multiple External Mandates on Curriculum, Pedagogy and Child Activity in the Preschool Classroom
Available from: University of Massachusetts - Scholar Works
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Abstract/Notes: Within the last decade, the pressures of implementing state mandated early learning guidelines and meeting the requirements from federal, state and local agencies, have taken their toll on many preschool programs. In the present study, preschool programs were given a chance to voice their opinions about how curriculum standards and other external mandates were directly and indirectly influencing curriculum planning, teaching practices, and child activity. A brief survey was sent to 90 preschool directors in a region in Massachusetts, 28 directors completed this survey. A sample of nine directors, from the survey respondents, volunteered to be interviewed. In two separate interviews the researcher asked a series of questions to obtain data from the participants. These interview questions focused on how the participants made sense of the mandatory integration of early learning standards and other external mandates into their preschool program and their concerns based on their role as a preschool director. The results of the study revealed that external guidelines set forth by the state and federal government were a great concern to the preschool directors. These directors agreed that curriculum mandates were necessary yet the amount of work, time and expenditure needed to meet the demands of these mandates could be quite overwhelming. Concerns were particularly relevant in the areas of obtaining or maintaining NAEYC accreditation and the push for a standardized curriculum and/or a standardized assessment tool. To recieve specific types of funding, a program must be using a standardized assessment tool. Many funding sources also require that a program be accredited by NAEYC. The financial and physical expense of both of these requirements was prohibitive . The results were analyzed with respect to child development and early childhood education principles. The findings indicated that curriculum mandates focused primarily on young children’s cognitive development to the detriment of social and emotional competence. The findings also indicated that children were being pressured to spend more time on narrow academic skills and less time on play. Yet play has been found to provide children with opportunities to interact socially, express and control emotions, and develop symbolic thinking skills (Nicolopoulou, 2010).
Language: English
Published: Amherst, Massachusetts, 2011
Article
Proposal by Sylvia Pankhurst for an Ethiopian Women’s College, 1959: A Suggested Curriculum for a College of Education for Young Women
Available from: Taylor and Francis Online
Publication: Gender and Education, vol. 20, no. 1
Date: 2008
Pages: 67-75
Africa, East Africa, Ethiopia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Sylvia Pankhurst - Biographic sources, Trainings
Article
Does Preschool Curriculum Make a Difference in Primary School Performance: Insights into the Variety of Preschool Activities and Their Effects on School Achievement and Behaviour in the Caribbean Island of Trinidad; Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal evidence
Available from: Taylor and Francis Online
Publication: Early Child Development and Care, vol. 103, no. 1
Date: 1994
Pages: 27-42
Americas, Caribbean, Latin America and the Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago
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Abstract/Notes: Preschool education is an important and much studied topic in developed countries, and of growing importance in the third world. Studies exploring preschool experience have noted positive effects when comparing children with access to preschool versus children without access, and effects of particular curriculum approaches over the length of primary schooling. This study adopts a focused sample, cross‐sectional design to explore the types of preschool experience available (denoted by types of preschool activities which equate broadly to curriculum approaches) and whether variation in preschool experience affects core curriculum (English, science, mathematics) performance and classroom behaviours throughout the years of primary schooling in Trinidad and when children complete their primary education in the form of a national ‘common entrance examination’ for entry into a stratified secondary school system. Results show that a large majority of the sampled children attended preschool and that most of the preschool experience was traditional and teacher centred. Neither child centred or teacher centred preschool activities affected academic performance in the core subjects during the primary school years or at the end of their primary school career. Type of preschool activity did affect teacher perception of behaviour in class. Child centred experience facilitated a social/peer orientation in children. High levels of teacher centred experience detracted from later relationships with teacher. Results were confounded by social class, with middle class children having most access to (the limited amount available) child centred preschool experience and performing at the highest academic and behavioural levels in the classroom although in limited numbers. The discussion questions the appropriacy of the various preschool activities for pupils within a cultural orientation of traditional upbringing and primary schooling practices.
Language: English
ISSN: 0300-4430, 1476-8275
Article
Curriculum: Toward a Comprehensive Theory
Available from: University of Connecticut Libraries - American Montessori Society Records
Publication: The Constructive Triangle (1974-1989), vol. 2, no. 2
Date: Summer 1975
Pages: 14-20
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Language: English
ISSN: 0010-700X
Article
Curriculum? Follow the Methodology
Available from: University of Connecticut Libraries - American Montessori Society Records
Publication: Public School Montessorian, vol. 21, no. 2
Date: Winter 2009
Pages: 21
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Language: English
ISSN: 1071-6246
Article
In the Classroom: Six Exercises for a Sensorial and Creative Movmeent Curriculum in a Montessori Pre-school Environment
Available from: University of Connecticut Libraries - American Montessori Society Records
Publication: The Constructive Triangle (1974-1989), vol. 3, no. 1
Date: Spring 1976
Pages: 50-56
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Language: English
ISSN: 0010-700X
Article
A Biography Curriculum for the Montessori Classroom
Available from: University of Connecticut Libraries - American Montessori Society Records
Publication: The Constructive Triangle (1974-1989), vol. 5, no. 2
Date: Spring 1978
Pages: 5-10
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Language: English
ISSN: 0010-700X
Article
The Montessori Human Relations Curriculum: The Basic Needs Of Humans
Available from: University of Connecticut Libraries - American Montessori Society Records
Publication: The Constructive Triangle (1974-1989), vol. 11, no. 4
Date: Fall 1984
Pages: 20, 28-29
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Language: English
ISSN: 0010-700X
Article
Peace in the Curriculum: Practical Aspects for Creating a Saner World
Available from: University of Connecticut Libraries - American Montessori Society Records
Publication: Public School Montessorian, vol. 5, no. 1
Date: Fall 1992
Pages: 14-15
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Language: English
ISSN: 1071-6246
Article
The Montessori Peace Curriculum: It Begins with the Teacher's Attitude
Available from: University of Connecticut Libraries - American Montessori Society Records
Publication: Public School Montessorian, vol. 4, no. 4
Date: Summer 1992
Pages: 21
Peace education, Public Montessori
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Language: English
ISSN: 1071-6246