Date of Conferral

2015

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Donald Yarosz

Abstract

The evidence supporting the common instructional method of daily calendar group time to teach math skills to prekindergarten children has been inconclusive. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of exposure to daily calendar group time on prekindergarten children's math score gains in a private early-childhood program located in the suburban Southeast. Vygotsky's sociocultural theory guided this quantitative, causal comparative design wherein archival data from 104 prekindergarten students' pre- and posttest numeracy skill scores on the Young Children's Achievement Test were analyzed. Data from 6 classrooms over 2 school years were compared using multiple linear regression. Four classrooms offered daily calendar group time (n = 72), and the other 2 did not (n = 32). Results from multiple linear regression analyses showed that when pretest scores, English language learner status, and socioeconomic status were controlled for, posttest scores of prekindergarten students who were instructed using the calendar were not significantly different from posttest scores of students with no calendar exposure. The results from this study can be used by prekindergarten administrators and teachers to inform classroom math instructional practices. This study contributes to social change by demonstrating that the instructional practice of prekindergarten daily calendar group time does not assist young children in attaining additional math skills prior to kindergarten entry; other methods of instruction may be more effective.

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