Date of Conferral
1-27-2025
Degree
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
School
Education
Advisor
Joanna Karet
Abstract
The problem addressed in this quantitative study was that 80% of universal prekindergarten (UPK) programs in the Northeast United States did not meet the quality threshold in the instructional supports (IS) domain of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS). This study was grounded in systems theory and Garira’s unified framework for education quality to examine the relationship between child-to-teacher ratios and IS domain scores, with student-gender ratios as a moderating factor. Two research questions guided this study: (a) How does the child-to-teacher average UPK program ratios predict the UPK programs’ IS domain score of CLASS? and (b) How does the student-gender average program ratios moderate the influence of child-to-teacher average UPK program ratios on UPK programs’ IS domain score of CLASS? Data were drawn from 127 UPK programs rated good or excellent on CLASS from 2016–2021. Logistic regression revealed a significant inverse relationship between higher child-to-teacher ratios and IS domain scores (p =.018), emphasizing the impact of smaller ratios on instructional quality. Student-gender ratios did not significantly moderate the relationship (p =.372). Results support policy initiatives advocating for lower child-to-teacher ratios. Recommendations include targeted resource allocation for lower ratios, continuous educator training, and further exploration of gender dynamics in early childhood education, with implications for social change by promoting equitable and high-quality early childhood education for all students.
Recommended Citation
Ickes, Nicole Marie, "Exploring the Predictive Powers on Instructional Domain Scores for Universal Prekindergarten Programs" (2025). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 17239.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/17239
