Date of Award
6-30-2021
Document Type
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
children's perspective, vocabulary development, early childhood, curriculum, developmentally appropriate practice (DAP)
Abstract
Abstract
Many children are in a group setting for most of the day in early childhood programs with educators developing the programming and schedules (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2019). Research was analyzed to see if the lack of consideration of the children’s interests and perspectives had an impact on language development during early childhood. Evidence showed that learning was enhanced when children were given the opportunity to make decisions and engage in meaningful activities of interest to the children (Breathnach, Danby, & O’Gorman, 2017; Kinkead-Clark, 2017; Pyle & Alaca, 2016). The research demonstrated that planning with the children, understanding the children’s funds of knowledge and personal interests were essential aspects for educators to consider when creating an environment conducive for language development for young children (Chesworth, 2016; Hedges et al., 2011).