One topic that will get me fired up faster than standardized testing, is “Kindergarten Readiness.”
What in the world is “readiness” for kindergarten?
Here is one of my favorite answers to that very question….
Readiness is not in the child’s head. Readiness is a relationship not a trait. Readiness always refers to the relation between the child and the demands and/or the expectations that are being made of or imposed upon him or her.” David Elkind, 2014.
I like the quote because it begins to move the discussion away from the child and forces a look at all the factors that impact readiness. I also, of course, couldn’t agree more when Elkin goes on to say, “To demand that all children be at the same developmental or achievement level because they are the same age is simply a denial of our biological and environmental variability” (p. 193).
Some time ago, I wrote a brief piece on my thoughts around Kindergarten Readiness, for Young Exceptional Children’s Voices From the Field, “Stop Trying to Make Kids Ready for Kindergarten.” More recently, I extended my thoughts for the Kansas Inservice Training System. The following text first appeared in the KITS Spring 2015 Newsletter and is re-posted here for all those who grapple with readiness, particularly, when it is conceptualized as a trait. Please download the newsletter and share widely.
Powerful Partnerships for Effective Practices: Re-Defining Early Childhood Readiness
What is “readiness” for kindergarten? How do we know when a child is ready, and what exactly is it that we should or shouldn’t do to help them along the way? Unfortunately, as with many topics in education reform and improvement, policymakers tend to ignore the complex questions and, instead, focus on a narrow set of answers. There is a tendency to think in terms of “either-or” instead of “both.”
For instance, it appears we have decided that we must either focus on children demonstrating select literacy and math skills (e.g., the child is able to recognize upper and lower case letters and count objects) or on how well the young child can regulate emotions, participate in daily activities with increasing independence, or whether or not they have secure relationships with loving adults. This either-or mentality becomes the driving force of policies and practices when, in fact, focusing on both is not only possible, but necessary (Blair & Raver, 2014).
Such a limited notion of readiness has led to a dangerously high-stakes approach to early education. In fact, we seem to be at a place in time where a child’s readiness impacts entrance into kindergarten, decisions regarding program funding, and the evaluation of teachers. Further, the narrowly constructed definition of readiness skews what is deemed as developmentally appropriate and causes us to lose sight of the richness that is inherent in our collective cultural and individual differences.
Despite repeated calls to address the true complexities of readiness identified by leaders in our field, the extreme pressure to focus on a narrow set of “pre-academic” skills continues to increase. In other words, despite research on the impact that early relationships and social emotional competence have on later success in school (OECD, 2015), knowing letters and numbers appear to be all that matters. The misguided approach to readiness also persists in a country where universal pre-K education is not provided, is regularly debated, and the benefits of prevention are largely ignored.
What can be done about wanting children to be ready, but not wanting to focus solely on narrowly defined child outcomes? What can be done in the face of mounting pressure and high-stakes testing practices?
- Readiness needs to be defined at a local level and conceptualized as our children living within ready families, going to ready schools, and participating within ready communities. Readiness for families means access to healthcare, adequate nutrition, and quality childcare. Readiness for schools means the involvement of families, inclusive classrooms, well-prepared and supported teachers, and manageable class sizes. Readiness for communities means economic stability and growth, safety, civic involvement, valued cultural differences, and coordinated social services.
- Readiness needs to be defined using a whole-child approach where we understand that learning happens only when complex skills are nurtured and mature simultaneously. In other words, we can’t look at supporting one area of development without understanding its reliance on other areas. For example, if we want to help a child learn how to grasp a pencil and write letters, we must concurrently consider their trunk control, shoulder strength, wrist flexibility, eye-hand coordination, ability to engage in symbolic and abstract thinking, as well as their interest and motivation to perform the task, just to name a few. It is critical that we define and talk about readiness with the understanding that early development is highly complex and is influenced by a host of variables.
- Readiness needs to be framed within a preventative and developmental approach versus a simple maturational perspective. We need to remind ourselves (and decision makers) that it is atypical, NOT typical, for children to reach a given milestone at the same age. Said differently, development and learning is highly variable and this variability is expected. In fact, as Carol Black (2014) reminds us, “But as a child moves through the life cycle, from first step and first words to toilet training to losing baby teeth to riding a bicycle to reaching puberty, the normal range of variation does not decrease – it increases. Dramatically.”
The early years are a magical time period, a critical time period, and a complex time period. Our desire to ensure children thrive in school and beyond must begin with approaching readiness in such a way that we match it to the wonder and complexity of young children themselves.
I’ll continue to write on this topic and I hope you’ll share your stories as well. It will take all of us….all members of our community to turn the tide…to continue the ECE {r}evolution!
Approaches to K-readiness must match the wonder and complexity of young children.
References:
Black, C. (2014, August 7). A thousand rivers: What the modern
world has forgotten about children and learning [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://schoolingtheworld.org/a-thousand-rivers/
Blair, C., & Raver, C. C. (2014, August). School readiness and self-regulation: A developmental psychobiological approach. Annual Review of Psychology, 66, 711-731. doi:10.1146/
annurev-psych-010814-015221. Retrieved from http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-psych-010814-015221?journalCode=psych&
Elkind, D. (2014). Parenting on the go: Birth to six A to Z. Perseus Book Group
Skills for social progress: The power of social and emotional skills. (2015, March). OECD Skills Studies Series. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264226159-en. Retrieved from
http://www.oecd.org/edu/skills-for-social-progress-9789264226159-en.htm
Author Notes: Thanks to Misty Goosen and Karen Lawson from KITS in helping me get the newsletter article in its final form. To learn more about and/or register for the KITS 2015 Summer Institute: Powerful Partnerships, click here.