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Dissertation
Ready or not?: a mixed methods case study of the beliefs about kindergarten readiness and transition practices of families
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Drexel University
Jun 2023
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00001712
Abstract
This mixed methods case study explored pre-kindergarten children's and their family members' beliefs about kindergarten readiness. Guided by bioecological systems theory and community cultural wealth, this study explored how kindergarten readiness is embedded and defined within children's families, communities, and schools, and documented the community cultural strengths that families draw upon to prepare their children for the transition to kindergarten. In the quantitative phase of this study, responses from 1,664 family members to a neighborhood intercept survey were analyzed and showed how families prioritize children's academic and social emotional readiness for school as well as consider their children's physical and psychological safety. In the qualitative phase of this study, eight children and nine of their family members were interviewed further elucidating how families conceptualize children's readiness for school. Mixed methods integration revealed the ways in which families' beliefs about kindergarten readiness are similar to and different from the state-level definition of kindergarten readiness. The documentation of minoritized families' beliefs about kindergarten readiness in this study represent the views of stakeholders which are often theorized, seldom heard, and almost never heeded in early childhood research and policy. This dissertation concludes with a call for schools and policymakers to adopt more multidimensional views of readiness in support of children's transition to kindergarten.
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Details
- Title
- Ready or not?
- Creators
- Katie Mathew
- Contributors
- Ayana Allen-Handy (Advisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- xii, 233 pages
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- School of Education (1997-2026); Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 991021047315404721