M.Ed. - Early Childhood Education

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https://hdl.handle.net/10125/20321

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Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    Ka Papahana Kaiapuni: Graduate Perspectives on Hawaiian Immersion Education
    ( 2012-12) Namau'u, Christine Kilikina

    The broad theme of this study focuses on a specific means of language retention in the face of the larger issues surrounding language loss amongst indigenous cultures. Focusing on the graduates of Papahana Kaiapuni, Hawaiian language immersion program in the state of Hawai'i, this study was undertaken to help parents decide if this particular program is a good educational choice for their children, and subsequently if not ultimately if they believe language retention is important, and why. Research was based on surveying the graduates of Papahana Kaiapuni and then interviewing a cross sample of some of these graduates and their parents. The findings illuminated the positive impact this program has had on their lives through effects on language use and development, cultural values, identity development, and their own personal contributions within the context of community.

    This paper is useful for anthropologists, ethno-botanists, ethno-musicalogists, curators and students of museum studies, students and teachers of cultural studies, linguistics, and geography.

    Though the research yielded an overwhelmingly positive experience in Hawaiian immersion programming, it is recommended—given the opportunity and resources—to expand the study to other indigenous communities for a more broadly writ basis of comparison.

    *Author is of Hawaiian descent, whose personal experience as both an educator and a parent in this particular immersion experience should be noted.
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    Quality in early childhood programs : views of preschool directors in rural Hawaii
    ([Honolulu] : [University of Hawaii at Manoa], [December 2011], 2011-12) McAvoy, Erin Dorothy
    This qualitative, grounded theory study explored the views directors in rural Hawaii have about quality in early childhood programs and what influenced those views. The study included nine participants, all of whom were directors of rural preschool programs in Hawaii. Participants held four shared values that were viewed as meaningful in early chilldhood programs. Participants also viewed a quality program as having eight key defining components. Evaluation systems and being in a rural environment were viewed to positively influence quality in early childhood programs. The analytic tool "Participant Views of Quality: A Conceptual Framework for Understanding Influences" was developed by the researcher to understand different levels of influences on participants' views of quality. The grounded theory that emerged from this study suggests that values, shared views of key components of quality and context have a major impact on directors' views of quality in early childhood programs.
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    Child care subsidies and child care choice in Hawaiʻi: Decisions and concerns of low-income parents with children ages birth to five
    ( 2005-12) Hisatake, Traci
    Because of the welfare reform of 1996, many welfare families must now meet work requirements and enter the workforce. To do this, many need to find child care for their children. Although these families are provided with subsidies to assist in paying for child care, questions concerning availability, access, and quality remain. This study explores the concerns and choices made by parents who are applying for child care subsidies. Content analysis was used to summarize and interpret parents' responses to open-ended questions about their concerns in finding preferred care arrangements and (for those already using child care) satisfaction with different forms of child care. Specific investigations about child care in Hawai'i are very limited. This study will add to existing knowledge and inform local policies to better meet the needs of those families these policies affect. If we are able to predict the type of care arrangements sought by families with specific characteristics and attempt to understand the reasons for their preferences, we can better focus the time, energy, and funds to improve the quality of the types of care settings they are most likely to use.
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    Defining motivation: perspectives from early childhood educators
    ( 2005-12) Choy, Angela M.Y.
    Motivation is suggested to be an important link to learning and achievement. However, it is unclear what previous researchers refer to as motivation because of the plethora of terms that are associated with motivation. The purpose of this study was to examine the definition of motivation in young children through the perspectives of Head Start early childhood educators. The Defining Motivation in Early Childhood survey was developed to examine motivation in terms of characteristics, indicators, origin, influence, and strategies that teachers use to promote it in a classroom setting. On the basis of factor analyses of the survey, as well as focus group interviews, a child's personal interest in a task or activity was suggested to be a defining belief of motivation in young children.