The first day of kindergarten: examining school readiness advantages and disadvantages across multiple developmental contexts
type: CreativeWork
description: Young children are increasingly expected to perform at predetermined levels in various developmental domains when they enter kindergarten. Yet, researchers find that a significant percentage of children are “not ready to learn” on the first day of kindergarten. Reflecting disparities in social class, race, and gender, low-income and African American children’s readiness for school falls below the general population. Moreover, low-income, African American boys are particularly disadvantaged. “School readiness gaps” have been attributed to family life and parenting, home-school connectedness, community resources, and social inequality. Studies have shed light on school readiness as an important social issue and national concern. However, specific examinations of micro-level processes affecting African American children’s school readiness and transitions into kindergarten are limited. Further, the majority of the existing studies focus on low-income, African American children’s school readiness, without a similar discussion of middle-income, African American children’s experiences. This study addressed these limitations by examining specific mechanisms of school readiness advantages and disadvantages across low- and middle-income, African American home and school contexts in a Midwestern city. The guiding research questions were: (1) What characterizes kindergarten preparation in the context of low- and middle-income, African American homes? (2) What characterizes kindergarten preparation in the context of schools? What continuities and discontinuities exist between home and schools contexts? (3) What neighborhood resources and activities do adults utilize to facilitate kindergarten preparation and transitions? (5) How does education policy and law play out within local contexts? An interdisciplinary theoretical framework guided this study. It was informed by the ecological model, the concept of cultural capital, critical race theory, and feminist theory. A qualitative…
abstract: Young children are increasingly expected to perform at predetermined levels in various developmental domains when they enter kindergarten. Yet, researchers find that a significant percentage of children are “not ready to learn” on the first day of kindergarten. Reflecting disparities in social class, race, and gender, low-income and African American children’s readiness for school falls below the general population. Moreover, low-income, African American boys are particularly disadvantaged. “School readiness gaps” have been attributed to family life and parenting, home-school connectedness, community resources, and social inequality. Studies have shed light on school readiness as an important social issue and national concern. However, specific examinations of micro-level processes affecting African American children’s school readiness and transitions into kindergarten are limited. Further, the majority of the existing studies focus on low-income, African American children’s school readiness, without a similar discussion of middle-income, African American children’s experiences. This study addressed these limitations by examining specific mechanisms of school readiness advantages and disadvantages across low- and middle-income, African American home and school contexts in a Midwestern city. The guiding research questions were: (1) What characterizes kindergarten preparation in the context of low- and middle-income, African American homes? (2) What characterizes kindergarten preparation in the context of schools? What continuities and discontinuities exist between home and schools contexts? (3) What neighborhood resources and activities do adults utilize to facilitate kindergarten preparation and transitions? (5) How does education policy and law play out within local contexts? An interdisciplinary theoretical framework guided this study. It was informed by the ecological model, the concept of cultural capital, critical race theory, and feminist theory. A qualitative…
author: Kelly, Jenell N.
language: en
keywords: School readiness, Educator perceptions, Parent perceptions, African American families
date published: 2010-05-14T20:43:47Z
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:25:08Z
provider: University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/2142/15516