Award Date
August 2024
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Early Childhood, Multilingual, and Special Education
First Committee Member
Joseph Morgan
Second Committee Member
Heather Van Ness
Third Committee Member
Jenna Weglarz-Ward
Fourth Committee Member
Katherine Lee
Number of Pages
157
Abstract
This dissertation investigates the effectiveness of a professional development program aimed at enhancing early childhood education (ECE) teachers' abilities to identify and address developmentally appropriate versus maladaptive behaviors in young children. Utilizing an explanatory sequential mixed methods design, the study involves pre- and post-intervention surveys, a post-intervention focus group, and the implementation of four asynchronous learning modules. The participants, pre-service teachers from a large urban university, were evaluated on their knowledge and application of distinguishing between behaviors in early childhood settings.The literature review highlights the struggles ECE teachers face in identifying maladaptive behaviors and the need for targeted professional development. The professional development content was derived from Wakschlag and colleagues' work on behavior dimensions and included the use of Content Acquisition Podcasts (CAPs) as an innovative educational tool. The results indicate slight improvements in teachers' knowledge and their ability to apply this knowledge in practical settings. This study contributes to the field by providing evidence on the effectiveness of CAPs and other structured professional development frameworks in ECE. The findings suggest that improving teacher training can lead to better early interventions, thereby mitigating long-term negative outcomes associated with maladaptive behaviors in young children. The study also identifies areas for future research, including the need for ongoing support and training for ECE teachers in behavior management.
Disciplines
Special Education and Teaching
Degree Grantor
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Language
English
Repository Citation
Carattini, Michela, "Early Childhood Teacher Knowledge: Distinguishing Between Developmentally Appropriate Behavior and Maladaptive Behavior" (2024). UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones. 5104.
https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/thesesdissertations/5104
Rights
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