A Comparative Case Study of Kindergarten Transition Practices and the Impact on Children's Kindergarten Readiness PDF Download

Author: Robin Hamilton
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Elementary school administration
Languages : en
Pages : 417

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Book Description
This comparative case study, with a phenomenological approach examined the effect of kindergarten transition practices on kindergarten reading achievement. Study participants were 4 administrators and 8 kindergarten teachers at 2 elementary schools in southeastern North Carolina. Findings included 61 transition practices and 4 barriers not previously reported in the literature. Data from multiple resources were triangulated and descriptive findings were compared to a Kindergarten Transition Program Logic Model that revealed the number and intensity of school based transition practices were associated with more positive reading achievement in kindergarten. This finding was contradicted by factors not controlled for in this study. The findings from the research support policies for the creation and implementation of written kindergarten transition plans that may help children on a trajectory for improved reading achievement and help districts meet high-stakes testing demands.

Author: Andrew J. Mashburn
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319902008
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 385

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Book Description
This book presents a comprehensive overview of children’s transitions to kindergarten as well as proven strategies that promote their readiness. It presents theories and research to help understand children’s development during the early childhood years. It describes evidence-based interventions that support children in developmental areas essential to school success, including cognitive, social-emotional, and self-regulatory skills. Chapters review prekindergarten readiness programs designed to promote continuity of learning in anticipation of the higher grades and discuss transitional concerns of special populations, such as non-native speakers, children with visual and other disabilities, and children with common temperamental issues. The volume concludes with examples of larger-scale systemic approaches to supporting children’s development during the transition to kindergarten, describing a coherent system of early childhood education that promotes long-term development. Featured topics include: Consistency in children’s classroom experiences and implications for early childhood development. Changes in school readiness in U.S. kindergarteners. Effective transitions to kindergarten for low-income children. The transition into kindergarten for English language learners. The role of close teacher-child relationships during the transition into kindergarten. Children’s temperament and its effect on their kindergarten transitions. Kindergarten Transition and Readiness is a must-have resource for researchers, clinicians and related professionals, and graduate students in child and school psychology, educational psychology, social work, special education, and early childhood education.

Author: Brad Simala
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
Current national practices demand that public educators demonstrate accountability for academic achievement for all PK through 12th grade students. These high demands make it necessary for children to enter kindergarten prepared for the social, emotional, and academic requirements placed on them. The purpose of this qualitative research descriptive case study was to determine how kindergarten transition and screening assessments are used to help serve children's academic needs as they enter kindergarten. This study examined the importance of kindergarten readiness and how the kindergarten transition process prepares children for kindergarten. This research study explored the value of, and uses for, pre-kindergarten screening assessments. This research is important to parents, teachers, administrators, pre-school providers and policy-makers as it informs the benefits and challenges of providing a quality pre-school experience for all four-year-old children as preparation to more formal schooling. This research study answered the following questions: 1) How do parents use information from kindergarten transition activities and screening assessments to help prepare their children for kindergarten? 2) What transition activities do teachers believe are most beneficial in preparing children for kindergarten? 3) How is information from kindergarten screening exams used to help children attain academic success in kindergarten? 4) What challenges do parents, teachers, and administrators overcome in order to help children prepare for kindergarten? This qualitative research descriptive case study highlights the need for kindergarten readiness. The study demonstrates how activities designed to increase kindergarten readiness help children become more successful in the academic setting. This study focuses on the question of what factors influence kindergarten readiness. This research gives teachers and administrators ideas for interventions for students who experience difficulty with academic material upon entering school. This research provides information on how to interpret the results of kindergarten screening assessments. This study provides educators and parents many different best practices for applying the knowledge gained from kindergarten screening assessments at home and in the classroom. The findings from this qualitative research study demonstrate that parents, teachers and administrators value the variety of transition activities offered to their children. The results suggest that transition events and the screening assessment help children become prepared for the academic, social, and emotional demands of kindergarten. The findings demonstrate the need to provide quality opportunities for transition of children entering school for the first time.

Author: Katie Mathew
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Bioecological systems theory
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This mixed methods case study explored pre-kindergarten children's and their family members' beliefs about kindergarten readiness. Guided by bioecological systems theory and community cultural wealth, this study explored how kindergarten readiness is embedded and defined within children's families, communities, and schools, and documented the community cultural strengths that families draw upon to prepare their children for the transition to kindergarten. In the quantitative phase of this study, responses from 1,664 family members to a neighborhood intercept survey were analyzed and showed how families prioritize children's academic and social emotional readiness for school as well as consider their children's physical and psychological safety. In the qualitative phase of this study, eight children and nine of their family members were interviewed further elucidating how families conceptualize children's readiness for school. Mixed methods integration revealed the ways in which families' beliefs about kindergarten readiness are similar to and different from the state-level definition of kindergarten readiness. The documentation of minoritized families' beliefs about kindergarten readiness in this study represent the views of stakeholders which are often theorized, seldom heard, and almost never heeded in early childhood research and policy. This dissertation concludes with a call for schools and policymakers to adopt more multidimensional views of readiness in support of children's transition to kindergarten.

Author: DeAnna M. Laverick
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9400705735
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 206

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Book Description
Transitions to new educational experiences are a universal rite of passage encountered by children worldwide. This volume in the Educating the Young Child: Advances in Theory and Research, Implications for Practice series provides early childhood educators with a resource that focuses on the transitions that young children make to early care and education settings, along with the issues that surround this important time in their lives. New experiences, such as the start of formal schooling, mark important and exciting events that also evoke different reactions from children and their families. The diverse experiences, traits, and needs exhibited by young children provide early childhood educators with what may be a potentially challenging role. With an international focus, the purpose of Transitions to Early Care and Education: International Perspectives on Making Schools Ready for Young Children is to communicate an enlarged view of the transition process in order to appreciate and honor the promise and potential of all children worldwide. Contributing to this volume are a group of distinguished researchers, practitioners, and educators in the field of early childhood education. Their collective expertise is shared with those who are committed to educating and caring for young children and the families they serve.

Author: Robert C. Pianta
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 442

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Book Description
Today's kindergarten is the onset of formal schooling for children--the first time families, schools, teachers, and communities come together to form an educational partnership. In this thought-provoking, issues-focused book, the experts explore the research on early schooling and give you a starting point with which to reexamine your beliefs, policies, and practices regarding the first years of school. Scholars, researchers, and other professionals will discover why early school transitions need to be improved and how these critical transitions affect children's future educational success. You'll learn about readiness assessment entrance ages grade retention classroom structure family-school-community partnerships cultural diversity children with disabilities children in poverty This book is part of a series edited by Donald B. Bailey, Jr., Ph.D., and developed in conjunction with the National Center for Early Development and Learning (NCEDL). Visit NCEDL's website for information on the center's research, upcoming meetings, and free online publications..

Author: Melissa Stormont
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1527573478
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Book Description
This book provides a framework for all kindergarten teachers to use to support young children in their transition to kindergarten. It offers an overview of the importance of this transition for young children, and shows how their success can be supported through the use of specific supports. The topics covered here include the various ways to involve children and their families, use assessment information, and use a collection of strategies for children based on their needs. The book is comprehensive in covering a multitude of needs children and their families may have, from basic support needs to creative and tailored ways to involve families, and to using specific social skills templates to teach and support social skills for young children. The final chapter of the book also addresses the need to determine children who need more focused supports, and provides concrete strategies to use for children with more intensive needs.

Author: Sue Dockett
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319583298
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
This collection addresses issues related to families and transition, and pays special attention to the transition to school, the effect of this on the family, as well as the effect of the family on that transition. It celebrates the roles of families, locating them as integral partners in time of transition and identifying a variety of ways in which families and educators can work together with children to promote positive transitions. The book draws on a range of theoretical frameworks and research projects to provide multiple perspectives of family involvement in education, family-educator partnerships, the nature of collaboration, issues for families in marginalised or complex circumstances, as well as the multiple intersections of families and transition processes. The research projects reported range from in-depth case studies to the analysis of large-scale data sets and all have multiple messages for practitioners, policy makers and researchers as they seek ways to engage with families as their children start school.

Author: Robert C. Pianta
Publisher: Brookes Publishing Company
ISBN: 9781557666154
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This how-to handbook with field-tested methods helps schools and programs make the transition to kindergarten smoother for young children and the professionals and families who care about them.

Author: Lacey Peters
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Children
Languages : en
Pages : 237

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Book Description
The transition to kindergarten is a significant milestone for children and families in the United States. Education reform movements and early childhood policy initiatives have had significant impact on the transition process in recent years, and as a result, there is greater emphasis on promoting "ready children" for school. Previous research on the transition to kindergarten in the U.S. consists primarily of adult perspectives, examining parents and teachers' expectations for kindergarten and explicating their concerns about the transition. While adults impart important considerations about the transition to kindergarten, members of the early childhood community should also pay attention to children's perspectives as they too offer critical insight on getting ready for school. This dissertation foregrounds children's and experiences getting ready for and being in kindergarten, bringing attention their participation in transition activities and school routines. In addition, this study examines ways parents structure children's participation in transition activities and school routines to provide background information on children's experiences preparing for school. This study used data from a large-scale qualitative research project conducted in Arizona to understand children's experiences transitioning to kindergarten. Specifically, interviews with preschool-aged children, kindergarten-aged children, and mothers were analyzed to impart a deeper understanding of children's viewpoints becoming and being kindergarteners. Findings illustrate how mothers' understandings of kindergarten, and constructions of readiness have influence over the transition process. Moreover, findings offer thick descriptions of how children learn about kindergarten, make meaning of school rules and routines, and form membership within classroom communities of practice. Moreover, interpretations of children's viewpoints contribute nuanced understandings of situations that promote or hinder children's participation in transition activities, and subsequent engagement in kindergarten classrooms. This study contributes to the ongoing discourse on kindergarten readiness. The viewpoints of children and parents on getting ready for and being in kindergarten provide alternative perspectives, contributing to a more holistic understanding of the transition experience. Further, a key implication of this study is that children's perspectives be given due weight in practical, programmatic, and policy initiatives aimed at promoting positive and successful transitions to kindergarten.