Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

8-2007

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Major Professor

Deborah W. Tegano

Committee Members

Rena A. Hallam, Mary Jane Moran, John G. Orme

Abstract

With data from the NCEDL Multi-State Pre-Kindergarten Study, the relationship between the characteristics of program, classroom, and teachers and classroom quality was examined in this study. Classroom quality was measured by the Classroom Assessment Scoring System and the Emerging Academics Snapshot. The sample consisted of 227 pre-k teachers in state-funded programs from six states. The percentage of children from low-income families in the classroom and the number of children with limited English proficiency (the only two predictive variables that described children’s characteristics) were found to be statistically significant predictors of classroom process quality. These findings were discussed with regard to the need for more in-depth thinking about research on the relationship of structural quality and process quality in early childhood classrooms. The Snapshot was eliminated from the analyses because of low means and limited variances. In contrast to some literature, teacher qualification variables were not statistically significant predictors in this study. This was discussed with regard to the need for consistent definitions and measures of teacher qualifications and teacher training.

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