Date of Award
6-26-2021
Document Type
Non Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Education
Department
Education
Program
Early Childhood Education
Capstone Instructor
Dr. Kelly Sadlovsky
Second Reader
Dr. Tamara Nuttall
Keywords
PBIS, Conscious Discipline, Trauma-Informed Care, Challenging Behaviors, Preschool, Tiered Supports, ECERS, CLASS, Tier Fidelity Inventory (TFI), PreSet, Program-Wide, Classroom-Wide, School-Wide, Culturally Responsive
Abstract
Preschool teachers are looking for more positive classroom support to handle disruptive behaviors in the classroom such as Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports Carter ,Van Norman, Tredwell (2011). Conscious Discipline Bailey (2014), and Trauma-Informed Practices Erdman, Colker, Winter (2020). Carter, Van Norman and, Tredwell (2010), discussed how there has been a shift from using punitive discipline practices to incorporating positive guidance strategies in early childhood education classrooms. Clearly defined expectations and teaching the expectations positively guide the child’s social-emotional, cognitive, and physical growth. Researchers have shown that using positive guidance strategies such as Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), Conscious Discipline, and Trauma-Informed Care in early childhood classrooms greatly reduces challenging behaviors. Resources for this paper include research that was quantitative, qualitative, and mixed studies. The research examined teacher fidelity, training for educators, classroom expectations, teaching the expectations, how to incorporate Conscious Discipline and Trauma-Informed Care into the preschool classroom Voorhees, Walker, Snell, and Smith (2013) indicated that more studies are needed with larger groups that are not all in the same program. Research showed that the use of positive guidance strategies in early childhood classrooms, young children are gaining better social and emotional skills, are taking control of behavior and emotions, and teachers are getting in more learning time with the reduction of challenging behaviors.