Committee Chair

Crawford, Elizabeth K.

Committee Member

Pipes, Ashleigh; Rausch, David W.; Herndon, Martha

Department

Dept. of Applied Leadership and Learning

College

College of Health, Education, and Professional Studies

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore differences in a program funded in rural West Tennessee. The Promethean Foundation is a program that provides childcare tuition support to at-risk children. While the program has been in existence for 20 years, the study focused on 10 years from 2009 through 2019. The program staff reviewed the perceptions of staff and family members during the qualifying process. The study was also to investigate the level of achievement measured in children by age five and nine years considering the length of time enrolled in an early childhood program. To explore differences, children were divided into two groups based on qualifying or not qualifying for the program and the length of time enrolled in an early childhood setting, more or less than nine months. The length of time enrolled is highlighted due to the lack of research related to the period a child is enrolled in a quality program. Home visit scores, family versus teacher school readiness perceptions, Brigance screening scores, TCAP and TN Ready scores, and special education referrals were all key aspects of the study. The data provided the picture that length of time in a program mattered when reviewing the TCAP and TN Ready math scores and females received more educational referrals than their male counterparts. Families perceived that their children were ready for kindergarten while in fact, the kindergarten teachers did not score the children as such. With all of this information, it was determined that future research would still be valuable in several of the areas to include teacher and family perceptions, math scores, and educational referrals. Each would expand on the existing data to provide a stronger understanding of the current findings.

Acknowledgments

There are many who have played a role in supporting the completion of this project. I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all of those individuals who contributed through their advice, counsel, and professional expertise. I would like to express my appreciation to my family for their love and encouragement throughout this process. I want to extend a special appreciation to Dr. Ted Miller for his time, patience, understanding, encouragement, and guidance. His leadership and direction provided me the support I needed to begin this study. Upon his retirement, Dr. Elizabeth Crawford picked up where he left off. I would also like to express my gratitude to her for her patience and pressure to pursue the end goal. I would like to thank the other committee members, Dr. David Rausch, Dr. Steven Banks, Dr. Ashleigh Pipes, and Dr. Martha Herndon, for their valuable time and contributions to this study. Thank you for making this an experience I will never forget. I wish to thank the Promethean Foundation for their encouragement and support. A special thank you goes to Cathy Waggoner, former Promethean Director, Teena Jarman, Promethean Director, and Dr. Martha Herndon, for the direction and encouragement they have provided me throughout my doctoral educational journey. I am forever grateful for the encouragement to pursue this degree. Allowing me to access the Promethean data was invaluable and without the board approval, this research would not have been possible. I would also like to thank Ms. Evelyn Hale for her encouragement to pursue my doctorate. She has no idea how encouraging her words were early in my career with the vi Tennessee Early Childhood Training Alliance program. Without her recognizing the potential and lighting that flame, I might not be finalizing this doctoral journey. Thank you, Julie Griggs for encouraging me to begin this journey with you. “We are in this together” took on a new meaning. Becoming a lifelong learner is a mission I gladly take on with you. Those Saturday classes leading to Monday afternoon discussions sparked a new love for learning. I appreciate your deep thoughts causing me to ponder many of the discussion boards and your constant willingness to listen when I needed to vent. Thank you. Finally, I would like to thank Brenda Langston. She listened to each rant, heard every praise, and was a shoulder to cry on when I needed someone. Her constant support has gotten me through all of the long nights. She did not always want to be the proof reader, but she would complete the task when requested and offer sound advice about errors or corrections needed very early into the program. I appreciate her true friendship.

Degree

Ed. D.; A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Education.

Date

5-2025

Subject

At-risk youth--Functional assessment--Tennessee; Early childhood education--Parent participation; Educational tests and measurements--Tennessee

Keyword

at-risk children; rural West Tennessee; family characteristics

Document Type

Doctoral dissertations

DCMI Type

Text

Extent

xiii, 158 leaves

Language

English

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

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