The Transition from Pre-K to Kindergarten: Parent, Teacher, and Administrator Perspectives

Abstract

The present study aimed to identify commonalities and points of divergence in the ways that parents, teachers, and administrators characterize children’s transition from public pre-K into kindergarten within a large, diverse school district. A wide range of transition practices were in use across the district, including practices designed to educate parents, connect pre-K and kindergarten stakeholders, train teachers, and provide transition experiences to children. Transition experiences were not uniform across programs, though. Using a consensual qualitative coding approach, we identified three crosscutting themes related to pre-K transitions: (1) pre-k programs and staff invest significant time and effort in supporting successful transitions; (2) preschool programs’ school readiness efforts often center on the “mechanics” of the transition, like completing paperwork and teaching children basic school behaviors; and (3) there are concerns about a lack of alignment between pre-K and kindergarten in terms of readiness, behavioral expectations, and learning goals.