Bibliography of Citations from the ERIC Database
ERIC database search through September 2002

Transition to Kindergarten: Research

ERIC Documents


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ED452951 PS029400
Title: How Are Transition-to-Kindergarten Activities Associated with Parent Involvement during Kindergarten?
Author(s) Rathbun, Amy H.; Hausken, Elvira Germino
Pages: 21
Publication Date: April 2001
Notes: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (Seattle, WA, April 10-14, 2001).
Available from: EDRS Price MF01/PC01 Plus Postage.
Document Type: Reports--Research (143); Speeches/meeting papers (150)
Geographic Source: U.S.; District of Columbia

This study identified the types of transition activities practiced by kindergarten teachers/schools around the country, the relation of various school characteristics to transition activities, and the relation between transition activities and parent involvement during kindergarten. The study sample was comprised of 2,826 public school and 417 private school kindergarten teachers participating in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99. Data were obtained from teacher and administrator questionnaires. Findings indicated that teachers used an average of three transition activities, the most common being phoning and sending information home about the program, inviting parents and children to visit the classroom prior to beginning school, and inviting parents to a pre-enrollment orientation. Teachers in schools with low proportions of at-risk children, minority children, or English language learners reported more transition activities than teachers in schools with higher proportions of these groups. Compared with teachers in public and other private schools, significantly higher proportions of teachers in Catholic schools reported telephoning or sending home information, hosting pre- enrollment visits by parents and children, and shortening school days at the start of the kindergarten year. Teachers in schools with lower proportions of low-income or minority families reported greater parent attendance at conferences, open houses, and art/music events. The proportion of parents volunteering regularly was associated with the proportion of low-income families. Regular parent volunteers were most prevalent in private schools. Several transition activities were associated positively with parent participation. Contains 10 references and 5 tables. (KB)

Descriptors: Administrator Attitudes; Catholic Schools; Comparative Analysis; Family School Relationship; Institutional Characteristics; *Kindergarten; Kindergarten Children; Longitudinal Studies; Outreach Programs; *Parent Participation; *Parents; *Preschool Teachers; Primary Education; Private Schools; Public Schools; *School Readiness; Teacher Behavior; *Transitional Programs
Identifiers: Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey; *Transitional Activities


ED447705 FL026481
Title: Bilingualism, Gender, and Friendship: Constructing Second Language Learners in an English Dominant Kindergarten.
Author(s) Hruska, Barbara L.
Pages: 55
Publication Date: March 2000
Notes: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Applied Linguistics (Vancouver, BC, Canada, March 2000).
Available from: EDRS Price MF01/PC03 Plus Postage.
Language: English
Document Type: Reports--Research (143); Speeches/meeting papers (150)
Geographic Source: U.S.; Massachusetts
Journal Announcement: RIEMAY2001

This article draws on data collected during a year-long ethnographic study of six Spanish-dominant English language learners, enrolled in both English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) and Spanish Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE) "pull-out" programs, in an English kindergarten classroom. The study is based on a theoretical framework that conceptualizes language as the site of social meaning construction and power negotiations. It argues that a focus on effective second language instruction and language acquisition alone are inadequate for understanding and addressing complex learning environments and the needs of language learners. Four broad research questions address the local meanings of bilingualism, gender, and friendship, and how these ideologies, identities, and social relationships relevant to these socially- constructed discourses affect the Spanish-speaking students. Broad-, mid-, and micro-level analyses were conducted using standard interpretive analytic procedures. The study demonstrates how the meanings of these three local discourses and their inherent power dynamics shape students' identities, classroom participation, access to relationships, access to knowledge, and ultimately their investment in school. (Contains 86 references.) (Author/KFT)

Descriptors: *Bilingual Education Programs; *Bilingualism; *English (Second Language); Ethnic Groups; Ethnography; *Friendship; Kindergarten; Kindergarten Children; Limited English Speaking; Longitudinal Studies; Participant Observation; *Power Structure; Primary Education; Second Language Instruction; Second Language Learning; *Sex; Sociocultural Patterns; Sociolinguistics; Spanish Speaking; Transitional Programs


ED427073 TM029454
Title: First Grade or Not? Using Children's Artwork as a Tool in Determining Reading Readiness.
Author(s) Hale, Judy Ann; Boozer, Sandra T.
Pages: 21
Publication Date: November 1998
Notes: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Mid-South Educational Research Association (New Orleans, LA, November 4-6, 1998).
Available from: EDRS Price MF01 Plus Postage. PC Not Available from EDRS.
Language: English
Document Type: Reports--Research (143); Speeches/meeting papers (150)
Geographic Source: U.S.; Alabama
Journal Announcement: RIEJUN1999

The use of young children's art work in the assessment of reading readiness was studied through a qualitative research design. Subjects were 12 transitional-first-grade students from an elementary school, each of whom was treated as a case study. Artwork was collected from each child each month of the school year and reading levels were recorded. By the end of the school year, three of the students were still in the preschematic stage of art development (objects represented randomly in space) with marked improvement being demonstrated in their emergent reading levels. Two students were in transition to a schematic stage of art development (connectedness of items in drawing) with growth in their reading levels. Six students had progressed into the schematic stage of art development, and all but one were in the fourth stage of emergent reading. The 12th student had progressed into the schematic stage of art development and his reading had advanced to the second emergent reading level. Findings suggest that children's artwork may offer insights into children's literacy development. (Contains 11 tables and 10 references.) (SLD)

Descriptors: Art Education; Case Studies; *Childrens Art; Educational Assessment; Evaluation Methods; Grade 1; Kindergarten; *Kindergarten Children; Primary Education; Qualitative Research; *Reading Readiness; Tables (Data); Transitional Programs
Identifiers: *Emergent Reading Levels


ED437155 PS026565
Title: Establishing a Baseline for School Readiness of Washington County Children
Entering Kindergarten.
Author(s) Severeide, Rebecca
Author Affiliation: Early Childhood Strategies, Portland, OR.(BBB35843)
Pages: 89
Publication Date: 1998
Sponsoring Agency: Washington County Commission on Children and Families, Hillsboro, OR. (BBB35069)
Available from: EDRS Price MF01/PC04 Plus Postage.
Language: English
Document Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data (110); Reports--Research (143)
Geographic Source: U.S.; Oregon
Journal Announcement: RIEJUN2000

The assessment of school readiness needs to include all aspects of children's early learning and indicators of family/community activities that support children's development. This study used a holistic approach to set baseline benchmarks on factors related to school readiness for entering kindergarten children, and to engage schools in Washington County, Oregon in discussing the nature of school readiness and to empower them to collect information independently. Data were collected on 413 entering kindergartners and their families during September 1997 in six public school and two private programs. Factor analyses yielded 17 child-, family-, school-, or community-based factors related to an acceptable performance level, including: (1) child cognitive development; (2) physical well-being: (3) motor development; (4) social development; (5) television viewing habits: (6) family reading habits; (7) family activities and routines; (8) parental involvement in child's education; (9) family involvement and empowerment; (10) coordinated transition to kindergarten; (11) access to high quality child care; and (12) collaborative and integrated services in community offered through school. Six factors identified a potential need and area for intervention: emerging literacy development--not being read to and/or exposed to books enough to support typical early literacy; family access to basic resources--unmet needs in mental and physical health and parent education; developmentally appropriate curriculum, assessment, and instruction; culturally and linguistically appropriate education; collaborative and integrated services--unmet needs in housing, adult basic education, and employment supports; and access to parent education. Data were used to create a list of community strengths and a profile of a neighborhood in need. (KB)

Descriptors: Benchmarking; Cognitive Development; Community Services; Day Care; Early Childhood Education; Factor Analysis; Family Involvement; Integrated Services; *Kindergarten; *Kindergarten Children; Motor Development; Neighborhoods; Parent Participation; Parents; Preschool Children; Reading Habits; *School Readiness; Social Development; Television Viewing; Transitional Programs; Well Being
Identifiers: Access to Services; Daily Routines; Family Activities; Indicators; Oregon (Washington County)


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