Date of Award

3-21-2013

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Educational Leadership

First Advisor

Elizabeth Vaughn-Neely

Abstract

Researchers reported public school prekindergartens provided higher-quality programs than Head Start, daycares, and preschools (Burchinal, Howes, et al., 2008, Mashburn et al., 2008). Public school systems typically placed prekindergarten classrooms within district facilities based on available space and staffing (Ready & Lee, 2007). However, no reports documented classroom quality ratings for prekindergarten within elementary schools compared to other district facilities like prekindergarten-only schools (W. Barnett, personal communication, May 15, 2012). The current study used an ecological lens (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006) to investigate the differences in quality ratings for all classrooms within one urban public school prekindergarten program located in prekindergarten-elementary or prekindergarten-only campus configurations (N = 75). Data included the total score and seven subscale scores on the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised (ECERS-R) (Harms, Clifford, & Cryer, 2005). Data analyses involved two levels of the independent variable (campus configuration) and eight dependent variables (total score and seven subscale scores). First, an analysis of variance (ANOVA) compared total score (global quality) based on campus configuration as established in prior research (Clifford et al., 2005, Cryer, 1999, LaParo et al., 2009). Then, a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) examined the difference between campus configurations on the seven subscale measures. Prekindergarten-only campuses received significantly higher ratings than prekindergarten-elementary campuses in both analyses ([F(1,132) = 12.14, p = .01, partial &eta,2 = .08], and [F(7, 126) = 4.64, p = .01, Hotelling's T = .26, partial &eta,2 = .21]). The moderate and large effect sizes identified the campus setting as influential in the significant differences in classroom quality. The subscales staff/parents, space/furnishings, personal care routines, and language-reasoning emerged as the largest contributors to the overall differences, consistent with prior research on characteristics of quality (Cryer, Harms, & Riley, 2003, Phillips & Howes, 1987). The study affirmed the theoretical framework in which broad contextual factors influenced an immediate environment (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006) evidenced by higher classroom quality in prekindergarten-only settings.

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