{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/97438"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/97438","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Investigating the Virginia Preschool Initiative's Role in Preparing Students for Kindergarten","abstract":"Although many children enter kindergarten having some form of preschool experience, the quality of these experiences differs greatly among the programs that are available to families. This variability can create school readiness gaps, especially for children from disadvantaged backgrounds (Isaacs, 2012). Children not being ready for school has come to the attention of stakeholders around the country and in the Commonwealth of Virginia. According to a state-wide study, approximately 30% of the students entering Virginia's schools either were not ready academically and/or behaviorally (Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission [JLARC], 2017). Fortunately, the Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) program was created to give students with the greatest risk of school failure an opportunity to overcome potential learning obstacles. The general purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of a state-funded prekindergarten program in a rural school division in Central Virginia. Specifically, this study examined academic and behavioral data for four cohorts of kindergarten students to determine if students who participated in the VPI program performed better on school readiness measures compared to their peers without any preschool or prekindergarten experience. Two-tailed t-tests were used to determine if any significant differences existed on measures of literacy, mathematics, self-regulation, and social skills between students who attended a state-funded prekindergarten program to their peers without any prekindergarten or preschool experience.","abstract_html":"Although many children enter kindergarten having some form of preschool experience, the quality of these experiences differs greatly among the programs that are available to families. This variability can create school readiness gaps, especially for children from disadvantaged backgrounds (Isaacs, 2012). Children not being ready for school has come to the attention of stakeholders around the country and in the Commonwealth of Virginia. According to a state-wide study, approximately 30% of the students entering Virginia's schools either were not ready academically and/or behaviorally (Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission [JLARC], 2017). Fortunately, the Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) program was created to give students with the greatest risk of school failure an opportunity to overcome potential learning obstacles. The general purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of a state-funded prekindergarten program in a rural school division in Central Virginia. Specifically, this study examined academic and behavioral data for four cohorts of kindergarten students to determine if students who participated in the VPI program performed better on school readiness measures compared to their peers without any preschool or prekindergarten experience. Two-tailed t-tests were used to determine if any significant differences existed on measures of literacy, mathematics, self-regulation, and social skills between students who attended a state-funded prekindergarten program to their peers without any prekindergarten or preschool experience.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Lyle, Douglas Wayne Jr."],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Doctor of Education","degree_level":"doctoral","degree_discipline":"Educational Leadership and Policy Studies","degree_department":"Counselor Education","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Mullen, Carol Ann"],"committee_members":["Kniola, David J.","Price, Ted S.","Mesmer, Heidi Anne Edelblute"],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020-03-23","date_published":"2020-03-23","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:56Z","subjects":["prekindergarten","school readiness","literacy","mathematics","self-regulation","social skills"],"languages":[],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:24497"],"render_values":[{"text":"vt_gsexam:24497","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10919/97438","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Mullen, Carol Ann"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Kniola, David J.","Price, Ted S.","Mesmer, Heidi Anne Edelblute"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Counselor Education"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Lyle, Douglas Wayne Jr."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2020-03-24T08:00:35Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2020-03-24T08:00:35Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2020-03-23"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Educational Leadership and Policy Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Education"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["prekindergarten","school readiness","literacy","mathematics","self-regulation","social skills"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:24497"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/97438"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Although many children enter kindergarten having some form of preschool experience, the quality of these experiences differs greatly among the programs that are available to families. This variability can create school readiness gaps, especially for children from disadvantaged backgrounds (Isaacs, 2012). Children not being ready for school has come to the attention of stakeholders around the country and in the Commonwealth of Virginia. According to a state-wide study, approximately 30% of the students entering Virginia's schools either were not ready academically and/or behaviorally (Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission [JLARC], 2017). Fortunately, the Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) program was created to give students with the greatest risk of school failure an opportunity to overcome potential learning obstacles. The general purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of a state-funded prekindergarten program in a rural school division in Central Virginia. Specifically, this study examined academic and behavioral data for four cohorts of kindergarten students to determine if students who participated in the VPI program performed better on school readiness measures compared to their peers without any preschool or prekindergarten experience. Two-tailed t-tests were used to determine if any significant differences existed on measures of literacy, mathematics, self-regulation, and social skills between students who attended a state-funded prekindergarten program to their peers without any prekindergarten or preschool experience."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstractgeneral","label":"General Abstract","values":["Children not being ready for school has come to the attention of stakeholders around the country and in the Commonwealth of Virginia. According to a state-wide study, approximately 30% of the students entering Virginia's schools either were not ready academically and/or behaviorally (Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission [JLARC], 2017). Fortunately, the Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) program was created to give the students with the greatest risk of school failure an opportunity to overcome potential learning obstacles. The general purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of a state-funded prekindergarten program in a rural school division in Central Virginia. Specifically, this study examined academic and behavioral data for four cohorts of kindergarten students to determine if students who participated in the VPI program performed better on school readiness measures compared to their peers without any preschool or prekindergarten experience."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Doctor of Education"]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["ETD"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Investigating the Virginia Preschool Initiative's Role in Preparing Students for Kindergarten"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Mullen, Carol Ann"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Kniola, David J.","Price, Ted S.","Mesmer, Heidi Anne Edelblute"],"dc:contributor.department":["Counselor Education"],"dc:creator":["Lyle, Douglas Wayne Jr."],"dc:date.accessioned":["2020-03-24T08:00:35Z"],"dc:date.available":["2020-03-24T08:00:35Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2020-03-23"],"dc:description.abstract":["Although many children enter kindergarten having some form of preschool experience, the quality of these experiences differs greatly among the programs that are available to families. This variability can create school readiness gaps, especially for children from disadvantaged backgrounds (Isaacs, 2012). Children not being ready for school has come to the attention of stakeholders around the country and in the Commonwealth of Virginia. According to a state-wide study, approximately 30% of the students entering Virginia's schools either were not ready academically and/or behaviorally (Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission [JLARC], 2017). Fortunately, the Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) program was created to give students with the greatest risk of school failure an opportunity to overcome potential learning obstacles. The general purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of a state-funded prekindergarten program in a rural school division in Central Virginia. Specifically, this study examined academic and behavioral data for four cohorts of kindergarten students to determine if students who participated in the VPI program performed better on school readiness measures compared to their peers without any preschool or prekindergarten experience. Two-tailed t-tests were used to determine if any significant differences existed on measures of literacy, mathematics, self-regulation, and social skills between students who attended a state-funded prekindergarten program to their peers without any prekindergarten or preschool experience."],"dc:description.abstractgeneral":["Children not being ready for school has come to the attention of stakeholders around the country and in the Commonwealth of Virginia. According to a state-wide study, approximately 30% of the students entering Virginia's schools either were not ready academically and/or behaviorally (Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission [JLARC], 2017). Fortunately, the Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) program was created to give the students with the greatest risk of school failure an opportunity to overcome potential learning obstacles. The general purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of a state-funded prekindergarten program in a rural school division in Central Virginia. Specifically, this study examined academic and behavioral data for four cohorts of kindergarten students to determine if students who participated in the VPI program performed better on school readiness measures compared to their peers without any preschool or prekindergarten experience."],"dc:description.degree":["Doctor of Education"],"dc:format.medium":["ETD"],"dc:identifier.other":["vt_gsexam:24497"],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/97438"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Tech"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:subject":["prekindergarten","school readiness","literacy","mathematics","self-regulation","social skills"],"dc:title":["Investigating the Virginia Preschool Initiative's Role in Preparing Students for Kindergarten"],"dc:type":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Educational Leadership and Policy Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["doctoral"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Education"],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:56Z"}