Public School Kindergarten Research Articles

Early Childhood Experiences and Kindergarten Success: A Population-Based Study of a Large Urban Setting

.This study examined the unique protective influence of center-based early care and education experiences on kindergarten outcomes for children entering public school kindergarten. The 3,969 participants were geographically and demographically representative of an entire kindergarten cohort in a large urban school district. Child age, gender, ethnicity, family poverty, low maternal education, and neighborhood were found to be risks for academic and behavioral adjustment upon kindergarten entry. Controlling for these risks, formal, center-based experiences were related significantly to higher levels of Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Knowledge, Motor Skills, and Work Habits performance assessments and attendance in kindergarten. Initial advantages associated with center-based early care and education were sustained across the kindergarten year.

Introducing the Issue

Introducing the Issue Cecilia Rouse (bio), Jeanne Brooks-Gunn (bio), and Sara McLanahan (bio) Cecilia Rouse Cecilia Rouse is Director of the Education Research Section and Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at Princeton University. Jeanne Brooks-Gunn Jeanne Brooks-Gunn is Virginia and Leonard Marx Professor of Child Development and Education at Teachers College and the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University. Sara McLanahan Sara McLanahan is Director of the Center for Research on Child Wellbeing and Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs at Princeton University. Endnotes 1. Wendy S. Grigg and others, The Nation’s Report Card: Reading 2002, NCES 2003-521 (U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, 2003). 2. Christopher Jencks and Meredith Phillips, "The Black-White Test Score Gap: An Introduction," in The Black-White Test Score Gap, edited by Jencks and Phillips (Brookings, 1998), pp. 3–4. 3. Meredith Phillips, James Crouse, and John Ralph, "Does the Black-White Test Score Gap Widen after Children Enter School?" in The Black-White Test Score Gap, edited by Jencks and Phillips (Brookings, 1998). 4. James J. Heckman and Alan B. Krueger, Inequality in America (MIT Press, 2004). 5. Nazli Baydar, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, and Frank F. Furstenberg, "Early Warning Signs of Functional Illiteracy: Predictors in Childhood and Adolescence," Child Development 64 (1993): 815–29; Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, "Do You Believe in Magic? What Can We Expect from Early Childhood Intervention Programs?" Social Policy Report of the Society for Research in Child Development 17, no. 1 (2003) (http://www.srcd.org/spr17-1.pdf). 6. National Education Goals Panel, Special Early Childhood Report (Government Printing Office, 1997). 7. Sheila Heaviside and Elizabeth Farris, Public School Kindergarten Teachers’ Views of Children’s Readiness for School, NCES 1993-410 (Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993). 8. C. Cybele Raver, "Emotions Matter: Making the Case for the Role of Young Children’s Emotional Development for Early School Readiness," Social Policy Report of the Society for Research in Child Development 16, no. 3 (2002) (http://www.srcd.org/spr16-3.pdf); Lisa McCabe and others, "Games Children Play: Observing Young Children’s Self-Regulation across Laboratory, Home and School Settings," in Handbook of Infant and Toddler Mental Health Assessment, edited by Rebecca DelCarmen-Wiggins and Alice Carter (Oxford University Press, 2004), pp. 491–521. 9. B. R. Hamre and Robert C. Pianta, "Early Teacher-Child Relationships and the Trajectory of Children’s School Outcomes through Eighth Grade," Child Development 72 (2001): 625–88. 10. Sara E. Rimm-Kaufman, Robert C. Pianta, and Martha J. Cox, "Teachers’ Judgments of Problems in the Transition to Kindergarten," Early Childhood Research Quarterly 15 (2000): 147–66. 11. Roland G. Fryer and Steven D. Levitt, "Understanding the Black-White Test Score Gap in the First Two Years of School," Review of Economics and Statistics 86, no. 2 (May 2004): 447–64. [End Page 14] Copyright © 2005 The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and The Brookings Institution

More Than Clocks and Calendars: The Construction of Timekeepers by Eleven Kindergarten Children in Mexico and the United States

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate timekeeping constructs of 4- and 5-year-old children in Campeche, Mexico, and North Carolina, United States, as well as the sociocultural conditions that shaped changes in their ideas about timekeeping (methods to mark and measure time) before, during, and after their kindergarten year. Eleven children constituted the case studies. The children entered public school kindergarten during the fall of the research period and had no prior long-term institutional experience, such as preschool or child care. Data were collected in three phases over the course of one year through: 1) semi-structured interviews with children, parents, teachers, and education administrators; 2) semi-structured activities with children, including drawings of time-related objects and concepts, verbal descriptions of time-related photographic images from the home and classroom, and problem-solving constructions; 3) observational field notes of the homes, communities, schools, and physical surroundings with a special emphasis on time indicators; 4) classroom observations; 5) the completion of a classroom environmental rating scale focused on time; and 6) a review of national, state, and local education policies affecting time in public schools. Data were analyzed within and across cases, sites, and phases to look for commonalities and differences in the children's timekeeping constructs. Three methods for marking and measuring time emerged from the data: biological, environmental, and conventional timekeepers. Each of these timekeeping methods proved to be relative to individual children, as well as replete with common features across cultural, geographical, and biological boundaries. Environmental cues and activities not ordinarily considered timekeepers proved to be more temporally significant than anticipated, and formal school instruction was sometimes out of step with home and community practices. The results of this research suggest that many critical ideas about timekeeping change during a child's first year of formal schooling as children learn to adhere to external schedules, which may constrain or enhance their ability to fully engage in school activities.

At What Age Should Children Enter Kindergarten? A Question for Policy Makers and Parents

At What Age Should Children Enter Kindergarten? A Question for Policy Makers and Parents

Effects of Practical Life Materials on Kindergartners' Fine Motor Skills.

A pretest-posttest control group design was used to measure the effect of practical life materials on public school kindergarten children's fine motor skill development over a 6-month period. The dependent measure was a penny posting test. More than 50 different sets of activities were provided to the experimental group (n = 101). Teachers coached students in following specific steps to use tweezers, tongs, and spoons to manipulate a variety of objects. Students then employed the materials during center time in their classrooms. Although experimental and control group teachers reported equal amounts of fine motor activity in their classrooms, significant interaction effects were found indicating the experimental group outperformed the control on the posttest measure. An overall effect size of 0.74 indicates that the type of fine motor activity is important in children's development.

Kindergarten teachers' certification status and participation in staff development activities in relation to their knowledge and perceived use of developmentally appropriate practices (DAP)

Two factors are examined that may impact public school kindergarten teachers’ knowledge of DAP: certification status and participation in various staff development activities. Four research questions guide this investigation: (1) Is knowledge of DAP related to certification backgrounds? (2) Does extent of participation in different kinds of DAP‐related staff development relate to certification? (3) Does extent of participation in different kinds of DAP‐related staff development relate to knowledge of DAP? (4) Is there a combined effect of certification background and staff development on DAP knowledge? Knowledge of DAP was assessed with a modified form of the “Teacher Beliefs Scale (TBS)” and “Instructional Activities Scale (IAS)” (Charlesworth, Hart, Burt, & Hernandez, 1991; Charlesworth et al, 1993a). Three different certification types were compared: Early Childhood, Elementary Education, and Other/Specialized. Teachers were asked to report different kinds of staff development and teachers with higher levels of more varied types of staff development activities in their backgrounds were compared with those teachers with less background. Analyses revealed a significant main effect for certification but not staff development activities, the specific types of which differed by certification. Suggestions are made to improve staff development for public school kindergarten teachers in need of DAP knowledge.

The Relation of Kindergarten Classroom Environment to Teacher, Family, and School Characteristics and Child Outcomes

We observed 223 largely suburban or rural public school kindergarten classrooms in 3 states to describe classroom activities and child-teacher interactions involving 1 child per classroom. We also observed global classroom quality and assessed its relation to teacher, school, classroom, and family characteristics and target child out-comes. Classrooms were observed once for 3 hours starting at the beginning of the school day. Time samplings of activities, teacher behaviors, and child behaviors as well as global ratings of teacher-target child interactions and the classroom environment were obtained. The most frequently observed forms of activity were structured teacher-directed activity and whole-group instruction. There was tremendous variation in the occurrence of these activities across classrooms, ranging from 0% to 100% of the observation period. Global ratings of teachers' positive interactions with the target child, classroom instructional climate, and classroom child-centered climate were lower wh...

Holidays in the Public School Kindergarten an Avenue for Emerging Religious and Spiritual Literacy

(2001). Holidays in the Public School Kindergarten an Avenue for Emerging Religious and Spiritual Literacy. Childhood Education: Vol. 78, No. 2, pp. 79-83.

Kindergarten Teachers' Reported Use of Kindergarten to First Grade Transition Practices

Using a national sample of 3,595 public school kindergarten teachers and an additional 176 kindergarten teachers in private schools, information was obtained about teachers' practices related to the transition of children into first grade. Over half of public and private school teachers reported using some form of first-grade transition practice. More teachers in private schools reported using first-grade transition practices than teachers in public schools. The most frequently reported first-grade transition practice was meeting with first-grade teachers to discuss curriculum. More teachers reported using transition practices that focused on teacher or child activities rather than transition practices that involved parents. Findings were similar across metropolitan status of the school, district levels of poverty, and minority representation in the schools. As district poverty and minority representation increased in the public school sample, fewer teachers reported using transition practices. Findings a...

Implementing and Maintaining an Effective Early Childhood Comprehensive Technology System

The Early Childhood Comprehensive Technology System (ECCTS) was a 3-year collaborative project designed to implement and maintain a comprehensive technology system based on combining four components of nationally recognized demonstration models and peer-reviewed outreach models funded by the Early Education Program for Children with Disabilities in the U.S. Department of Education. The models incorporated (a) on-going training, follow-up and technical support for teachers and an on-site technology support team (Tech Team); (b) team-based technology assessment for children with moderate to severe disabilities; (c) technology integration into the classroom curriculum; and (d) transition into public school kindergartens and other programs. ECCTS components were effective in establishing, maintaining, and institutionalizing computer technology in a large preschool program.

Transition From Head Start to Kindergarten: Do Family Routines and Parenting Behaviors Affect Children's Beginning Reading and Math Skills?

Family routines and parenting behaviors were reported by families of former Head Start children enrolled in urban and suburban public school kindergartens. Positive parenting was significantly correlated with children's Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery-Revised but not with Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test scores. Head Start Transition Comparison and Demonstration groups did not differ during the baseline year of this longitudinal study.

Interactive Storybook Software: Effects on Verbal Development in Kindergarten Children

This study addressed whether children from lower income homes can benefit in their verbal skills through interaction with computer software that reads to them. Sixty subjects from lower income homes were randomly selected and assigned to treatment and control groups, with thirty in each group. The design was a pretest‐posttest control group design, and data was analyzed using analysis of covariance. The study took place in ten public school kindergarten classrooms located in a district in northern Florida, each equipped with computers. Discis Knowledge Research, Inc., provided the storybook software. The results of the study determined that for 25 children who interacted with the software for a minimum of 300 minutes over the seven‐week intervention, there was a significant increase in their verbal abilities.

Mothering in public: The division of organized child care in the kindergarten and day nursery, St Louis, 1886–1920

Two case studies from turn-of-the-century St. Louis, the public school kindergarten and a privately run day nursery, reveal that both organizations provided compensatory child rearing, yet one was legitimated through the public school and the other continued as an impoverished, largely illegitimate institution. Distinctions were supported by leaders' overt and covert intentions and organizations were kept separate through the elimination from the kindergarten of the “nursery element” and resistance to educational offerings in the day nursery. Implications for merging the two organizations and for attitudes about working mothers and the public care of children are discussed.

Employment of Related Service Personnel in Preschool Programs: A Survey of General Early Educators

This report describes a mail survey of general early childhood educators to determine the extent to which representatives from various disciplines, commonly found on early childhood education teams, are employed by general early education programs. Randomly selected respondents were from four types of programs: Head Start, public school prekindergarten, public school kindergarten, and community preschool/child care. Of the 893 mailed questionnaires, 483 (54.1%) were returned and coded. Respondents indicated that programs that enrolled at least one child with disabilities tended to employ higher percentages of personnel in related service disciplines than did programs with no children with disabilities. Among other results, surveys indicated that relatively few programs reported having sufficient related service personnel to form basic team constellations.

Classroom Activities and Areas: Regularity of Use and Perceptions of Adaptability by General Early Educators

This report describes a mail survey of general early educators from Head Start, public school pre-kindergarten, public school kindergarten, and community preschool/child care programs. The purposes were to secure information about the availability of classroom activities and areas, and to obtain the respondents' perceptions of the ease with which activities and areas could be adapted to accommodate children with disabilities. Of the 893 mailed questionnaires, 483 (54.1%) were returned and coded. The respondents reportedly used a wide range of classroom activities and areas, and they rated those activities and areas as moderately easy to adapt. Also, respondents from mainstreamed programs used slightly more activities and perceived the activities as easier to adapt than did respondents from non-mainstreamed programs. The findings appear to indicate that placement of children with disabilities in segregated programs cannot be justified on grounds that integration will restrict the range of activities availa...

Interactive effects of student temperament and instruction method on classroom behavior and achievement

This aptitude-treatment interaction study examined the effects of student temperament, instructional method (computer vs. teacher), and the interaction between the two on (a) observed off-task behavior, and (b) problem-solving performance. Student temperament was measured by teacher ratings on the Temperament Assessment Battery for Children. Control variables included age, gender, socioeconomic status, and cognitive ability. The sample of 78 public school kindergarten students were randomly assigned to treatment groups. During a 3-week treatment period, five problem-solving tasks were introduced and subsequently practiced with either computers or manipulative materials. Multiple regression analyses showed that children with low Task Orientation (high distractibility, high activity, and low persistence) exhibited significantly more off-task behavior in both groups ( p < .0005). Further, a significant interaction effect was found between temperament and instructional method: Students with highest Task Orientation exhibited almost no off-task behaviors with either method, whereas students with lowest Task Orientation showed significantly more off-task behavior with teacher-directed instruction than with computer-directed instruction ( p < .05).

Employment of Educators in Preschool Mainstreaming

This report describes a mail survey designed (a) to identify the extent to which various types of educators (paraprofessionals, early childhood educators, elementary school educators, and special educators) were employed in early education programs, and (b) to describe patterns in that employment Respondents represented a variety of programs (Head Start, public school prekindergarten, public school kindergarten, and community preschool/child care) and were selected randomly from the nine U.S. Bureau of the Census regions. The results indicate that (a) higher percentages of programs employed full-time rather than pan-time paraprofesslonal and professional staff; (b) higher percentages of Head Start programs employed paraprofessionals, particularly Child-Development-Associate-degree staff, than did other program types, and the lowest percentage of employment of paraprofessionals occurred in public school kindergarten programs; (c) more mainstreamed programs employed paraprofessionals than did nonmainstreamed programs, but the differences were slight; (d) higher percentages of programs employed bachelor's-degree teachers; (e) nearly equal percentages of programs employed elementary teachers as employed early childhood teachers, and fewer programs employed special education teachers; and (f) about three fourths of the main-streamed programs did not employ special education teachers.

A Survey of the Extent to Which Speech-Language Pathologists Are Employed in Preschool Programs

This report describes a mail survey of general early childhood educators to determine the extent to which they employ speech-language pathologists. Respondents represented a variety of programs, including Head Start, public school pre-kindergarten, public school kindergarten, and community preschool/child care. Participants were selected randomly from the nine U.S. Bureau of the Census regions. Of the 893 mailed questionnaires, 483 (54.1%) were returned and coded. The respondents indicated that (a) with the exception of the community preschool/child care programs, a majority of the other program types enrolled children with speech-language impairments; (b) mainstreamed programs were more likely to employ speech-language pathologists than non-mainstreamed programs; (c) the employment of speech-language pathologists was not distributed evenly across the four program types; and (d) more programs enrolled children with speech-language disorders than employed speech-language pathologists, even on a part-time, consultant basis. The implications of these findings for policy and practice are discussed.

The effects of verbal scaffolding instruction on young children's private speech and problem-solving capabilities

This investigation examined the efficacy of a verbal scaffolding instructional program designed to teach young children how to use private speech while working on school tasks and problems. Two different contexts for solving problems were used; common school tasks and analogical reasoning problems. Thirty-four 5-year olds who attended public school kindergartens were assigned to either the comparison group or the treatment group. Comparison group subjects were presented with a series of 8 lessons which focused on a cognitive strategy to be used in the solutions of geometric analogy problems. Treatment group subjects were presented with a series of 8 lessons which employed cognitive self-instruction in a verbal scaffolding format. After initial instruction using self-verbalizations, treatment group subjects were shown how to apply the cognitive self-instruction to routine school tasks and geometric analogy problems. The data analysis revealed that there was an effect on the treatment group's use of 3 of the 4 levels of private speech. When the two groups were compared, the treatment group used significantly less task irrelevant private speech and significantly more task relevant private speech. There were no significant differences between the two groups on the post-assessment of geometric analogy reasoning. Additionally, when the two groups were compared there were positive effects of the instructional program on the treatment group's classroom behavior (near transfer) and locus of control scores (far transfer). The results of this study provide support for the use of cognitive self-instruction to improve young children's problem-solving private speech in the context of a public school classroom.

They Rule by Sympathy: The Feminization of Pedagogy

Much has been written about how state education was introduced in the nineteenth century to regulate and control the lives and behaviours of pupils. By reviewing the growth of public school kindergartens in Toronto, this paper focuses instead on how this form of education regulated the lives and behaviours of women, trained to teach in kindergartens, by relying on assumptions about female nature and the mobilization of maternal love. While the pedagogy of love had implications for women who taught, it became important in the regulation of working-class women's mothering, as well as for the organization of mothering among middle-class women. The marketing of educational toys associated with kindergartens was central to the extension of this form of pedagogy into practices of mothering.