Educators’ perceptions of school readiness within the context of a kindergarten entry assessment in Alaska

ABSTRACT

This empirical study examined educators’ perceptions of kindergarten readiness, within the context of a larger study on the perceptions and use of the Alaska Developmental Profile, a mandated kindergarten entry assessment (KEA). The participants (n = 17) were primarily kindergarten teachers with varying years of experience. Data were collected through the use of surveys and semi-structured interviews and analyzed utilizing a qualitative approach. The results of the study suggest that educators’ perceptions of kindergarten readiness reflect a ‘come as you are’ philosophy and that ideally, children will come to kindergarten with some preschool experiences and some academic and social-emotional skills. The results also indicate that educators’ perceptions are not impacted by the use or results of a KEA. These findings encourage readers to consider how KEAs impact educators, what roles educators play in considering kindergarten readiness, and how schools might be ready for kindergartners instead of children being ‘ready’ for kindergarten.

KEYWORDS:

• Kindergarten readiness
• teacher perceptions
• kindergarten entry assessments
• mandated assessments
• school readiness

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge the support they received from research assistant Sophie Leshan.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Dr. Kathryn A. Ohle is an Assistant Professor in Early Childhood Education at UAA. She has been involved in a number of projects that revolve around supporting educators, including evaluating her programme's peer placement model; examining how first year teachers make decisions around literacy assessment and instruction; and investigating how the ADP is used by teachers across the state. She has published in a variety of journals and is a former kindergarten teacher.

Dr. Hattie A. Harvey is an Assistant Professor in Early Childhood Education at UAA. She works collaboratively with early childhood community partners on numerous projects that aim to strengthen family engagement, improve inclusionary practices of children with diverse needs and backgrounds, and improve practices related to observation and assessment with young children. Dr. Harvey has published in the journal Early Education and Development and is also a Nationally Certified School Psychologist.

ORCID

Kathryn A. Ohle http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5599-1452

Hattie A. Harvey http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9869-0868

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the Center for Community Engagement and Learning is an internal organization at UAA.