Publication year
2016
Citation Title
How early childhood teachers perceive the educational needs of military dependent children
Journal Name
Early Childhood Educational Journal
Journal Volume
44
Issue Number
2
Page Numbers
107-117
DOI
10.1007/s10643-015-0698-1
Summary
Military dependent children have unique experiences and educational needs versus non-military dependent children. This study analyzed early childhood teachers' perspectives of the socioemotional growth and academic progress of military dependent children compared their non-military dependent peers. Overall findings indicated that parental separation and geographic mobility have some negative impact but there are noted positive perceptions of military dependent students as well, such as their adaptability and worldliness.
Key Findings
Military dependent children lacked stability due to geographic mobility and parental separation, but teachers regarded them as also being more worldly and adaptable than non-military dependent peers.
Parental separation was viewed as having a negative impact on the academic progress and socioemotional development of military dependent children while geographic mobility negatively impacted academic progress but not socioemotional development.
Teachers did not perceive the military dependent children as having higher levels of negative behaviors than non-military dependent children.
Implications for Program Leaders
Facilitate parent-child bonding activities for Service members and their families, especially upon return from deployment
Coordinate with local early childhood educators to host homework assistance and tutoring sessions for children of Service members
Allow children of Service members to contribute to program lessons based on their strengths and background knowledge such as through show and tell lessons
Implications for Policy Makers
Recommend specific training for early childhood teachers who may teach military dependent children
Continue to support programs that assist military families and dependents during times of deployment
Promote the creation of educational assessments for military dependent children that can be used by new schools to understand baseline levels of the student’s academic achievement
Methods
Pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, first and second grade, and primary special education teachers in schools near Fort Meade, Maryland were recruited for the study via an emailed web-based survey.
Teachers were asked to provide their perceptions on three main areas via open-ended and Likert-scale questions: geographic mobility, parental separation, and socioemotional factors of military children.
The email invitation was sent to 152 teachers with 63 responding, resulting in a response rate of 41%.
Participants
County teachers’ data indicated: five were early childhood intervention teachers, seven were Pre-K, 41 were kindergarten, 44 were first grade, 45 were second grade, and 10 were primary special education.
Demographic questions were answered by 57 of the 63 teachers: five were early childhood intervention teachers, eight Pre-K, 15 kindergarten, 10 first grade, 11 second grade, and eight special education.
The years of teaching ranged from one to 36 (M = 9.18), and the number of military dependents ranged from 0 to 36 (M = 7.93), and the majority of teachers were not military dependents.
Limitations
The sample came from one geographic area with a fairly low response rate, making generalizability a challenge.
A larger proportion of early childhood intervention teachers, Pre-K, and special education teachers who were invited actually responded to the invitation, while fewer kindergarten through second grade teachers responded, indicating a possible selection bias.
The open-ended, qualitative questions elicited few and incomplete responses that were unspecific regarding supports needed for students, which led researchers to believe respondents did not fully understand or make meaning of the questions.
Avenues for Future Research
Expand geographic reach of the surveys to better understand what differences or similarities of teacher perceptions may be present across the country and near bases that vary in deployment tempo
Consider holding interviews or focus groups with early childhood teachers to get more meaningful qualitative data versus open-ended survey questions without follow-up
Conduct primary data collection from children along with teacher perspectives for an in-depth analysis
Focus
Multiple Branches
Target Population
Population Focus
Abstract
Military dependent children remain a largely unexplored subject, particularly in early childhood education. In an effort to fill the gap in the current literature, this research study focuses on how early childhood teachers perceive the educational needs of military dependent children. Previous research in the areas of geographic mobility, parental separation, and socioemotional needs are reviewed and used as a platform for this study. The study includes a survey developed by the researcher used in conjunction with Teacher Observation of Classroom AdaptationÑChecklist to further examine the needs of these children from the perceptions of their teachers. The results of the study demonstrate that while early childhood teachers do not perceive a significant difference between military and nonmilitary dependent children in the socioemotional domains of prosocial behavior, concentration, and disruptive behavior, they do believe there is a difference related to stability. Additionally, early childhood teachers noted a negative socioemotional and academic impact related to parental separation and a negative academic impact related to geographic mobility. Teachers’ responses indicated mixed beliefs about the social impact of frequent relocations.
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