How Do Combinations of Transition Activities Available to Children and Families Predict Successful Kindergarten Transitions?

ABSTRACT

Research Findings: The transition to kindergarten can be challenging for children and families. Research shows that some transition activities implemented by elementary schools can have small positive associations with children’s outcomes. Examining the nationally representative Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Class of 2011 dataset (N= 13813), we explored whether children and families had access to different combinations of transition activities and whether those combinations were associated with child and family outcomes. Using latent class analysis, we found four distinct groups based on teacher and parent reports. Two groups had opportunities for engaging in many transition activities, while the other two groups had fewer transition activities offered – particularly face-to-face experiences. Children from low-income households were more likely to experience fewer types of transition activities, and children from higher-income households were more likely to experience a more comprehensive set of transition activities. Group membership predicted children’s initial adjustment to kindergarten, parent involvement in school, and parent satisfaction with the elementary school. Practice or Policy: These findings suggest that more work is needed to develop policies and practices that ensure children and families with low incomes have transition supports available to them. This research also highlights the importance of considering how transition supports benefit parents, not just children.

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank the following people for their feedback on the design, analyses, and writing for this study: Kathleen Dwyer, Nina Phillipsen, Emily Ross, Eric Hedberg, Van-Kim Lin, Eric Dearing, and Dana McCoy.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data Availability Statement

This study used the public version of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Class of 2010-2011 (ECLSK:2011). The data is available for download from the Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics at: https://nces.ed.gov/ecls/dataproducts.asp

Additional information

Funding

Analyses for this paper were supported by the US Department of Health and Human Services,Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Contract No. HHSP233201500048I, awarded to NORC at the University of Chicago. This paper does not necessarily represent the views or policies of the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation,the Administration for Children and Families or the US Department of Health and HumanServices.