The benefits of full-day kindergarten
[Editor’s note: Parents Leslie Grimm and Anu Dewan presented the following paper at the May 20, 2010 O. A. Thorp Scholastic Academy Local School Council meeting.]
Full-day kindergarten is being instituted and studied in school districts across the country.
Arguments proving the necessity for a full-day kindergarten include:
1. All kindergarten-aged students need a safe and enriching environment for more than 2 ½ hours per day.
2. Neiman and Gastright found that children who attended preschool and full-day kindergarten out-performed their counterparts who did not attend preschool and attended only half-day kindergarten.
3. Teachers can individualize instruction better if they are given half as many students for twice as much time.
4. Many kindergarten teachers favor full-day kindergarten because they find it difficult to balance cognitive activities and affective/social activities in the short kindergarten day.
5. Students who are delayed cognitively, physically, socially, or emotionally benefit from having more time to obtain support and to practice skills in the areas of delay.
6. Full-day kindergarten can help level the playing field for those students who were not afforded quality preschool experiences.
From left: Violet Kania with her son, O. A. Thorp kindergartener Xavier, O. A. Thorp kindergartener Isabel Makris, 3-year-old Tabitha Woods with older brother and O. A. Thorp kindergartener Harper Woods, with mom Tammy Woods. Xavier, Isabel, and Harper have all received the benefits of full-day kindergarten this year. Substance photo by Sharon Schmidt.Results
Findings from multiple studies indicate that:
- Full-day kindergarten programs that are appropriate for kindergarten age children provide cognitive, social, physical, and emotional benefits for children.
- Children in the full-day programs studied spent more time in small groups and in child-to-child social interactions.
- Full-day students initiated more activities, received more one-to-one instruction, and spent less time in teacher-directed groups (Elicker and Mathur, 1997; Martinez and Akey, 1998- 99). - Additional class time was used to teach social skills and reinforce concepts taught earlier in the day. A smaller percent of time was spent in transitions. - Full-day teachers spent more time helping children complete challenging tasks, develop friendships, resolve conflicts, and understand other points of view (Martinez and Akey, 1998-99). - Found no detrimental effects of full- day kindergarten and an overabundance of positive effects.
What do kindergarten teachers think about full-day kindergarten? • Participating in full-day eased the transition to first grade, helping children adapt to the demands of a six-hour school day. • Having more time available in the school day offered more flexibility and more time to do activities during free choice times. • Having more time made kindergarten less stressful and frustrating for children, because they had time to develop interests and activities more fully. • Participating in the full-day schedule allowed more appropriate challenges for children at all developmental levels. For children with developmental delays or those "at-risk" for school problems, there was more time for completion of projects and more time for needed socialization with peers and teachers. For more advanced students, there was time to complete increasingly long-term projects. • Having full-day kindergarten assisted parents with child care. • Having more time made child assessment and classroom record keeping were more manageable for teachers. • Full-day kindergarten gives teachers more time for curriculum planning, incorporating a greater number of thematic units in the school year, and offering more in-depth coverage of each unit. What do parents of kindergarten children think about full-day kindergarten? Parents' perceptions of their children’s success in kindergarten are significantly higher for parents of full-day kindergarten students. Full- day kindergarten parents also report a closer working relationship with their child’s teacher. Many appreciate the more relaxed pace and in-depth learning that are possible with additional hours in the day.
According to Kaufman (1997), when asked what they liked about the full-day kindergarten program, parents’ responses related to the students having more time to socialize, being better prepared for first grade, and thinking it was better for the children to be in one learning environment all day. Parents indicated that the full day resulted in less stress and less pressure and that the children were developing faster academically. Parents appreciated that teachers were accessible and knew their children well. They also felt more opportunity for participation in their children's education. What are the benefits of full-day kindergarten for the children? Fusaro (1997) conducted a meta-analysis of every day kindergarten studies to test the hypothesis that full-day kindergarten children show greater achievement than children who attend half-day kindergarten. The result of the meta-analysis indicated that students who attended full-day kindergarten demonstrated significantly greater academic achievement than their half-day counterparts. Cryan et al. (1992), Housden and Kam (1992), and the Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation (1988) are among the researchers who have found a range of positive effects of full-day kindergarten. Full-day kindergarten students, as opposed to half-day kindergarten students, are more likely to show adequate school progress through their elementary school careers. The full-day kindergarten students exhibit more independent learning, classroom involvement, productivity in work with peers, and reflectiveness in their work than their half-day kindergarten peers. They are also more likely to approach the teacher, and they express less withdrawal, anger, shyness, and blaming behavior than half-day kindergartners.
Hough & Bryde (1995) found that full-day students significantly outperformed half-day students on 5 of 9 Reading criteria, 4 of 11 Language Arts criteria, 2 of 13 mathematics criteria, 2 of 9 Personal Development criteria; and on every criterion measured by the Early School Assessment norm-referenced achievement test. In the Elicker and Mathur (1997) study, full-day kindergarten students received higher ratings on first grade readiness reports.
In the first year of the Martinez and Akey study (1998), found the full-day kindergarten students received significantly higher math and listening scores and higher reading scores than half-day students.
If there are benefits for children from attending full-day kindergarten, do these benefits continue into the children’s subsequent years of schooling? Cryan et al. (1992) found that children who attended a full-day program displayed more positive behavior in the classroom, including being more involved in learning experiences, showing original thought, and engaging more in independent learning and self-initiated play than children from half- or alternate-day programs. Full-day kindergarten students were less likely to be dependent, shy, and withdrawn. The benefits seemed to last well into the second grade. Other researchers found that some children who attended full-day kindergarten programs rated higher than those who attended alternate or half-day programs in reading, school readiness, and overall academic ability (Neiman & Gastright, 1981; Humphrey, 1983; Jarvis & Molnar, 1985; Elicker & Mathur, 1997). In first grade, there were lower incidences of negative behaviors and increased incidences of positive behaviors among the children who had attended full-day kindergarten. First graders who had attended full-day kindergarten exhibited more confidence when approaching tasks and significantly higher levels of cooperative social behavior than children who had attended half-day programs (Hough and Bryde, 1995). In the Martinez and Akey study (1998-99), first grade students who had attended full-day kindergarten scored significantly higher in reading and slightly higher in math on a norm-referenced achievement test. Also, they were referred for special education placement less frequently.
Conclusion
Research shows that most full-day kindergarten students demonstrate:
• higher academic and social achievement than half-day kindergarten students.
• cognitive, social, physical, and emotional benefits.
• higher math and listening scores and higher reading scores than half-day students.
• greater overall academic achievement well into second grade.
