ERIC Number: EJ1349804
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Jun
Pages: 28
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0161-4681
EISSN: EISSN-1467-9620
Make Kindergarten "Funner": Examining How Kindergarteners Made Sense of the Changed Kindergarten
Brown, Christopher P.; Barry, David P.
Teachers College Record, v123 n6 Jun 2021
Background/Context: Over the last two decades, policymakers' standards-based accountability reforms in the United States have fundamentally changed public schooling in general and kindergarten specifically. As this has occurred, little has been learned about how the children themselves make sense of these changes in schooling. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: The purpose of this article is to address this issue by providing insight into how a sample of kindergarteners enrolled in a public kindergarten in Texas made sense of their experiences in kindergarten today in relation to two research questions: (a) How did they make sense of their educational experiences in kindergarten?, and (b) How would they like to alter kindergarten so that it reflects their understanding of schooling? Research Design: This is an explorative qualitative, video-cued, multivocal ethnographic research study. Data were generated through focus-group interviews with 19 kindergarteners in Texas. The students were asked about how they made sense of the changed kindergarten through viewing a micro-level example of their kindergarten classroom in Texas. The video the kindergarteners watched and commented on provides a coherent narrative that captured shortened versions of each of the activities they participate in over a typical day in their classroom. Findings/Results: The findings shared in this article illuminate these kindergarteners' understandings of kindergarten as well as whether or not they believed they would be able to succeed in a school system that expects them to learn more academic content and demonstrate their knowledge on an increasing number of standardized tests. These findings also provide insight into the changes these kindergarteners would like to see made to kindergarten to improve their learning experiences in school. Conclusions/Recommendations: The kindergarteners in this study framed kindergarten as a place they go to learn academic content that they believe will allow them to progress to and through subsequent grade levels. Though they enjoyed kindergarten and had strong relationships with their teacher, they would like more opportunities for physical activity and choice throughout the day, which echo the sentiments of other early childhood education stakeholders and researchers. As these were kindergarteners enrolled in a typical public kindergarten, additional insight into these issues could be gained by seeking out the voices of children in different kindergarten programs (e.g., private, play-based, half-day, etc.) or from these same children at different points in their educational careers.
Descriptors: Kindergarten, Young Children, Student Experience, Student Attitudes, Concept Formation, Educational Experience, Educational Change, Physical Activities, Play, Learning, Testing
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Kindergarten; Primary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Texas
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A