A prekindergarten teacher working in a private elementary day school developed and implemented a prosocial behavior program designed to improve the social behavior of prekindergarten students. The program focused on decreasing the incidence of 10 behaviors: (1) pouting; (2) hitting; (3) yelling indoors; (4) interrupting; (5) whining; (6) ignoring…

In a day care center which enrolled children between 14 months and 5 years of age, a child caregiver implemented a practicum study in order to allow children and older adults the opportunity to interact with one another for their mutual benefit. Goals were to: (1) increase children's positive attitudes toward older people; (2) seek positive…

This practicum paper describes a fantasy play program designed for 3- and 4-year-old preschoolers with Barbie dolls that could be used as a tool in regularly scheduled center play activity. Because of strong biases held by teachers against commercial toys, children were not afforded the ability to experiment with these tools, or discover the role…

A child caregiver developed a substance abuse intervention and prevention program for preschool children between 2 and 5 years of age who were at risk for substance abuse. The practicum effort resulted in a preschool substance abuse curriculum that included information on drugs, offered techniques for enhancing self-esteem, and discussed skills…

This practicum was designed to give parents of preschool children with autism an understanding of the disorder and appropriate skills to manage their children's challenging behaviors. A curriculum-based training series involving weekly 2-hour sessions was implemented during a 12-week period for 25 participants. Goals included increasing the…

This practicum paper describes an intervention to help parents increase their sense of empowerment. Expected outcomes of the intervention were that parents would: (1) increase their knowledge of concepts related to empowerment, such as control and nurturance; (2) experience a shift from an external to an internal locus of control; (3) observe an…

Over an 8-month period, a preschool teacher's aide designed and implemented a practicum study intended to improve the social skills of preschoolers in a private day care center. Lesson plans for teaching seven social skills through problem solving were created. Skills were related to entering and exiting activities without disrupting them;…

This practicum developed a workshop to educate staff and parents on identifying preschool stress, behavioral indicators of stress in children, and exploring effective stress coping techniques for use in the classroom and at home. A 3-phase solution strategy was implemented over 10 weeks. Phase I, the implementation process, included a staff…

This practicum paper reports on a project undertaken to enhance the knowledge of age-appropriate learning for parents of 3-year-old preschoolers. The project implemented a variety of techniques and strategies to improve parent knowledge, including parent education classes, a monthly newsletter for parents that addressed current research on…

The major goals of this practicum were (1) to initiate a preschool screening program to identify children with special needs in the Lower Township School District, Cape May, New Jersey; (2) to refer these children to appropriate remedial services prior to their entrance into kindergarten; and (3) to provide opportunities for parents to attend…

During an 8-month period, a primary school teacher designed and implemented a practicum study intended to socialize children in prekindergarten through 3rd-grade classes to be cooperative, responsible, and achieving individuals. Primary goals of the practicum were to develop a nurturing affective environment, enhance character development,…

This paper reports on an educational program designed to teach parents about the role of television in their children's lives and to increase use of a family video lending library intended to enhance alertness in students, decrease aggressive behavior, and educate parents. Interviews with professionals and a parent survey indicated that there was…

A practicum was designed to increase the lines of positive and effective communication between parents and teachers in a preschool setting. Poor parent-teacher communication (due to lack of knowledge or experience) was documented. The program sought to improve communication regarding the child's developmental and personal progress. The 8-month…

This practicum was designed to increase enrollment of preschool children with special needs in seven regular day care centers. Corollary aims were to improve the attitudes of day care directors and staffs towards integration; to increase parental and community awareness of integration; to keep governmental day care staff aware of the program in…

Many Native American communities have high rates of alcoholism. Children growing up in alcoholic families often exhibit co-dependent or para-alcoholic behaviors, which place them at high risk of educational failure. The Love Bug model was designed to encourage culturally appropriate self-expression and to promote self-love and detachment from…