Kindergarten readiness refers to the developmental domains that contribute to children's ability to adapt to the kindergarten classroom, which is often a new and unfamiliar environment. There is no single agreed upon definition of kindergarten readiness. The domains often included in the definition comprise: academic skills (e.g., early literacy and mathematics understanding, etc.), social-emotional development (e.g., self-regulation, pro-social behaviour, etc.), and physical development (e.g., motor development, sensory development, etc.). In addition to these competencies, the child's environment and opportunities for learning should also be considered. This includes the child's home environment and their interactions with teachers and peers.
Academic skills When assessing children's readiness for kindergarten, much of the discussion is focused on the emergence of basic academic skills, including reading, writing, and arithmetic, which are commonly referred to as the “three Rs” (United States Department of Education, 2001). This is likely because upon entering kindergarten, academic skills—such as literacy and numeracy—predict later academic success.
Reading Reading is an important skill, as reading ability during primary school predicts academic achievement and later success. Therefore, particular emphasis is usually placed upon the development of literacy skills for preschool and kindergarten students to prepare them for the future. Children are not expected to read upon entering kindergarten. However, they are expected to have phonemic and phonological awareness, as well as a knowledge of print.Tankersley, K. (2003). Threads of reading: Strategies for literacy development. Alexandria, Va: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Phonemic awareness is the first step in learning to read; it refers to the ability to hear and manipulate the smallest forms of language known as phonemes. Phonemic awareness, upon entering kindergarten is the strongest predictor of reading success. Once a child understands phonemes, the next step is to develop phonological awareness, which is the ability to recognize that there is a relationship between sounds and letters, and letters and words. Phonological awareness strongly predicts the development of literacy skills. Upon entering kindergarten, children should also be able to recognize their own name in print, know how to handle a book, recognize letters, and identify words that rhyme. These are all predictors of literacy success.
Another important aspect of reading development is the understanding of narrative structures, which lends to better comprehension skills.Pinkham, A. M., Kaefer, T., & Neuman, S. B. (2012). Knowledge development in early childhood: Sources of learning and classroom implications. New York: The Guilford Press. Vocabulary development is closely associated with comprehension skills; those with weaker vocabularies may have difficulties following narratives.
Writing Upon entering Kindergarten, children typically make attempts to write their own name and letters that have been dictated, and are able to master some of the letters (NCLD, Pianta). In order to write letters, children must be able to integrate auditory information (what sound the letter makes) and orthographic skills (knowledge of letters and print convention). Children's developing ability to write letters is related to later literacy outcomes such as reading compression and spelling (Pianta). However, during the transition into Kindergarten, the primary focus in terms of relevant writing skills involves the physical ability to draw (i.e., motor skills). Kindergarten aged students can typically draw pictures of themselves and their families and use a variety of different sized lines and shapes in their drawings (NCLD).
Arithmetic In general, children are expected to have knowledge of numbers to demonstrate kindergarten readiness. Children generally should be able to count to at least 10, count about 5 objects, demonstrate knowledge of adding or taking away objects, and identify basic shapes, such as triangles, circles, and squares (NCLD, 2006). Recent studies in Australia have suggested that children know much more mathematics than kindergarten teachers would expect upon beginning kindergarten. In general, children should demonstrate problem-solving, spatial reasoning, and calculation abilities. Children engage in nonverbal calculation at early ages; however the transition from nonverbal to verbal calculation does not take place until approximately five and half years of age (Mix, Huttenlocher, & Levine, 2002). Therefore, preschool children, including those entering kindergarten, should have a sense of quantitative reasoning. The transition to verbal problem-solving does not occur until they become familiar with conventional symbols (p. 112).
Mathematical knowledge during preschool predicts later school success.Perry, B., MacDonald, A., & Gervasoni, A. (2015). Mathematics and transition to school. International perspectives. However, preschool and kindergarten students in low-income settings have been shown to have significantly less developed mathematical skills than students from middle-income homes. As such, particular attention has been given to developing math interventions.
Social emotional well-being The transition to Kindergarten often requires children to adapt to a new and different environment. This can be a difficult transition for some children as they must learn to meet new social demands. This new environment is typically more structured and filled with more prolonged social engagement than their home environment. Children use their social and emotional abilities in order to navigate this new and unfamiliar environment. Although social and emotional skills are sometimes not included in definitions of Kindergarten readiness, focus groups surveys indicate that teachers often advocate that developed social skills are more important than academic skills as children enter school. Social skills function as tools to help children learn more quickly and promote peer acceptance, contributing to a more positive outlook on school.
Social and emotional development Between the ages of 3-6, children undergo dramatic development in their social and cognitive abilities. The development of these skills provides them with the tools to navigate the social context of a kindergarten classroom. These developments become obvious during children's social interactions that transform from playing alongside of their peers, to more complex and coordinated play amongst peers. This transformation in social abilities comes about not only from an increase in language abilities, and increasing self-regulation abilities, but also from the quickly developing ability to consider other people's perspectives. Perspective taking allows children to take into account others’ points of view, and to appreciate that others’ points of view may be different from their own. This ability develops rapidly between ages 3–6 and continues to develop throughout adolescence. Not only is it important for children entering kindergarten to be able to take into account their peers’ points of view, it is also important for them to be able to consider their teacher's perspective
The ability to consider others’ perspectives also gives way to the development of social empathy. Children begin to appreciate that other people can experience emotions that are different from their own, and that their actions towards others can affect their emotions. This developing understanding, paired with their increasing self-regulation abilities, enables children to interact and develop meaningful relationships, as well as the ability to successfully manage conflicts.
In addition to promoting positive peer relationships, successfully managing the social environment of the kindergarten classroom also contributes to more positive academic outcomes. Through more positive social interactions, children are better able to access the resources that they need to thrive in the classroom setting. For example, if the child is able to appropriately and effectively interact with the teacher, the child is more likely to receive assistance and attention when necessary. Additionally, if the child is able to engage and participate with their peers, it is more likely that they will be included and form more meaningful relationships, thereby associating school with positive experiences.
Parent's role Children's development does not occur in a vacuum. They are constantly being influenced by the environments that they are surrounded by. At the same time, children's behaviors and reactions have an effect on their environments as well.Bronfenbrenner, U., & Evans, G. W. (2000). Developmental science in the 21st century: Emerging questions, theoretical models, research designs and empirical findings. Social development, 9(1), 115-125. During the preschool years, children spend the majority of their time surrounded by their immediate family. Therefore, the family environment will significantly influence how a child develops during this age period. Therefore, parents play an important role concerning their child's readiness for the kindergarten classroom. In fact, children have better academic skills when their relationship with family is characterized as warm, accepting, involved and when parents value education (Hill, 2001). Furthermore, parent-child interactions that are structured and responsive are positively related to school readiness.
A key aspect in this type of parent-child interaction is being sensitive to the child's skill level in order to provide the appropriate amount of support when guiding the child's learning. This type of guidance is known as scaffolding, in which the level of support given to the child decreases as the child's skill level increases on a given task. Just as scaffolding around a building is removed as the building gets nearer to completion, the amount of help that is provided to the child decreases as the child begins to master a certain task. The decreasing amount of support allows the child to have more autonomy which gives them the opportunity to practice their newly developing skills. Scaffolding can be implemented in any type of learning, but is especially helpful in the preschool age-range to teach about conflict resolution in social settings, emotion regulation, and problem solving.
Teacher's role When children enter Kindergarten, they experience a shift from the family acting as a primary influence on the child's development, to an increased influence from their classroom environment. An important factor that contributes to how well a child adapts to the Kindergarten environment is his/her relationship with the teacher. When children form a close relationship with their teacher, they appear better adjusted within the kindergarten context compared to when a conflicting relationship is developed. Children feel more comfortable approaching their teacher, as well as expressing their thoughts and feelings when a warm and open relationship is developed. This allows the child to effectively use the teacher as a means for support. This support can come in the form of social, emotional, or academic assistance which ultimately contributes to promoting the child's opportunities for success in the Kindergarten classroom.