Repetition of the preprimary year: Why is it done, and what is its effect?

Abstract

A three-phase study examined preprimary grade repetition in Western Australian schools. The purpose was to identify factors that influence teacher recommendations to repeat and to investigate outcomes of repeating. Focus group discussions with 24 preprimary teachers in the first phase identified three categories of factors: child, home, and school. Child factors that teachers considered important for coping in Year I were language, motor, and social skills. In the second phase of the study, 54 children were assessed on these three skills using the Early Screening Profiles (Harrison, 1990). A control group of“competent”Year Is was compared with children repeating preprimary and with Year Is considered “at risk” of not coping.The control group performed significantly better on all three skills than the other two groups, confirming thot these skills are accurately assessed in teachers’judgements of readiness for Year 1. The third phase of the study consisted of a posttest of the at-risk Year Is and the children repeating preprimary. The posttest late in the academic year did not find any significant differences between the language, motor, and social development of the two groups.

Keywords::

• Grade Repetition
• Preprimary Education
• School Readiness