Since devolution, the Scottish Government has had powers for education and child family policy (The Scotland Act, 1998) which sit apart from England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This is the Scottish Government's great strength. This article begins by exposing the Scottish early learning and childcare context across the spectrum of policy,…

Research suggests that providing high-quality early education experiences for young learners can support positive outcomes for these children, including higher achievement test scores and even higher graduation rates. Transitional kindergarten (TK) aims to provide an additional year of kindergarten to California's youngest students to help them…

In 2010, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the Kindergarten Readiness Act into law, which changed the kindergarten entry age so that children must turn 5 by September instead of December to enroll. The new grade level was put into place to promote school readiness for California's youngest learners. It also established a new grade…

In 2010, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the Kindergarten Readiness Act into law, which changed the kindergarten entry age so that children must turn 5 by September instead of December to enroll. The new grade level was put into place to promote school readiness for California's youngest learners. It also established a new grade…

Research that bears on the issue of school entry policies is summarized in this report. The focus is on the age children should be to enter kindergarten and the potential benefits of delaying school entry for all or some children. The research reviewed uses three methodologies: (1) comparing outcomes for children who have delayed entry by a year…

Interviewed teachers and parents concerning newly developed school services for 6-year olds in Stockholm, Sweden, where the traditional age for starting school will change from 7 to a flexible 6 or 7 in 1997. Results from ratings done by teachers indicate that the new services have had a positive influence on the children's adjustment and peer…

Explored perceptions of school readiness among preschool and kindergarten teachers, principals, and parents. Found participants experienced tensions related to their readiness views: conflict between personal teaching/learning philosophies and state expectations; pressure placed upon children, teachers, and families for children to perform; and…

Written by members of a consulting team engaged to evaluate a school district's kindergarten program and make recommendations for the future, this report chronicles the district's progress in coming to more fully understand goals and problems related to kindergarten education. Specifically, the report presents the evaluation team's examination of…