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UBC Theses and Dissertations
Children’s experience starting kindergarten Waddle, Sandra Emily
Abstract
The transition to formal schooling is a critical period in the life of a child and their family (Maxwell & Eller, 1994). A successful transition to school is a predictor of not only elementary school performance, but also life outcomes (Maxwell & Eller, 1994). Children's opinions of the first year of this formal transition to schooling were explored, including what they say is important for them to know when starting school. Focus groups contained 3-4 children in Kindergarten from a rural area of British Columbia, four girls and six boys in total. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using qualitative methods. Data were coded into themes and sub-themes by three coders. Results indicate that children mention positive or negative feelings or attitudes about school most commonly (i.e. dispositions), making up 34% of responses. Skills was the second most common category, making up 23% of the responses. Rules comprised 18% of responses. These responses were broken down into activity descriptions, academic skills and non-academic skills. Children also discussed social adjustment, educational environment, physical, and family related factors as important when starting school. This study differed from previous research (Dockett & Perry, 1999, 2002) in which rules were more emphasised by participants. In this study rules were not discussed as frequently as in previous research. Rather, social-emotional concerns or dispositions, children's feelings and attitudes toward school, were more emphasised by participants.
Item Metadata
Title |
Children’s experience starting kindergarten
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Creator | |
Publisher |
University of British Columbia
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Date Issued |
2004
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Description |
The transition to formal schooling is a critical period in the life of a child and their
family (Maxwell & Eller, 1994). A successful transition to school is a predictor of not only
elementary school performance, but also life outcomes (Maxwell & Eller, 1994). Children's
opinions of the first year of this formal transition to schooling were explored, including what
they say is important for them to know when starting school. Focus groups contained 3-4
children in Kindergarten from a rural area of British Columbia, four girls and six boys in
total. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using qualitative methods. Data were coded
into themes and sub-themes by three coders. Results indicate that children mention positive or
negative feelings or attitudes about school most commonly (i.e. dispositions), making up 34%
of responses. Skills was the second most common category, making up 23% of the responses.
Rules comprised 18% of responses. These responses were broken down into activity
descriptions, academic skills and non-academic skills. Children also discussed social
adjustment, educational environment, physical, and family related factors as important when
starting school. This study differed from previous research (Dockett & Perry, 1999, 2002) in
which rules were more emphasised by participants. In this study rules were not discussed as
frequently as in previous research. Rather, social-emotional concerns or dispositions,
children's feelings and attitudes toward school, were more emphasised by participants.
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Extent |
3341391 bytes
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Genre | |
Type | |
File Format |
application/pdf
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Language |
eng
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Date Available |
2009-11-24
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0091693
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URI | |
Degree | |
Program | |
Affiliation | |
Degree Grantor |
University of British Columbia
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Graduation Date |
2004-11
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Campus | |
Scholarly Level |
Graduate
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Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.