Policymakers' demands for improved academic achievement by all children and the standardization of instructional practices continue to alter the landscape of early childhood education. Many within the early childhood education community are examining how these changes impact stakeholders' conceptions of school readiness. Yet, little has been done…

A southeastern state engaged in a systematic landscape study to identify needs and priorities for young children and their families. Early childhood and research methods experts, representing five Institutions of Higher Education (IHE), along with equity and family engagement experts developed three strategies to collect data from various…

Successful transition to kindergarten for children with disabilities is a complex process that can have long term effects on school success. Although attempts are made for a seamless transition, far too often the process lacks the communication, training, and high intensity transition supports needed for all the involved stakeholders. This study…

Kindergarten has changed. Many believe that it no longer reflects a nurturing environment but, instead, has become a race for children to learn skills so they are ready for the academic achievement tests that they will take continuously throughout their time in school. "Resisting the Kinder-Race" examines how the race came about, why it…

Kindergarten in the United States has fundamentally changed. It is the new first grade where children are taught increased academic content and experience more standardized testing. There is much debate among education stakeholders about these changes, but such discussions are often siloed-- making it difficult to know whether these changes…

The focus on improving children's readiness for kindergarten has intensified globally. While most studies examine this issue prior to children entering kindergarten, little is known about how education stakeholders make sense of readiness once children enter kindergarten. This article addresses this gap by examining how a range of stakeholders…

Place-based initiatives, such as the federal Promise Neighborhoods grant, attempt to coordinate interventions, supports, and services with a myriad of organizations to targeted communities. Although Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs), inclusive of academic medical institutions, are among the most overall researched anchor institution,…

The Center on Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes (CEELO) was asked to provide information on how other states are approaching the development and implementation of Kindergarten Entry Assessment (KEA) as part of a comprehensive assessment system. Specifically, the request asked for information about KEA measures used by other states, the processes…

The aim of this small-scale, qualitative study is to understand the perspective of varying stakeholders responsible for student transitions from pre-primary to primary school in the Jamaican context. The questions that guided the research are: What factors affect student transitions to primary school? What skills do children need in order to…

Early childhood stakeholders in state departments of education are interested in knowing what child assessment measures are being used in state-funded pre-kindergarten and in kindergarten classrooms. To address this need, the Center on Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes (CEELO) performed a secondary analysis of data in the National Institute for…

Problem: Transitioning into kindergarten marks an important time in the lives of young children and their families. While many families and teachers participate in transition events little is known about the ways that transition activities actually inform and support key stakeholders. The purpose of this study was to describe district transition…