Picture Book Portrayals of the Transition to Kindergarten: Who is Responsible?
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Picture Book Portrayals of the Transition to Kindergarten: Who is Responsible? Laura Cutler1 · Gerilyn Slicker1
© Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract Children’s picture books have been used in a variety of situations to introduce young children to unfamiliar experiences, including the transition to kindergarten. This study examines the ways in which children’s transition to formal schooling is portrayed in 52 American picture books about starting kindergarten. Grounded in the ecological and dynamic model of the kindergarten transition, this content analysis explores the role of the entering kindergartner’s family and the elementary school in supporting children during the kindergarten transition. Results show a high frequency of books (73%) depicting families (predominantly women) as supporting their children to start kindergarten and a low frequency of books (10%) depicting schools as supporting children and families with this transition. Kindergarten readiness skills were both discussed and performed in the home more often than they were mentioned or practiced in the kindergarten classroom, with an emphasis placed on children’s social-emotional development and approaches to learning skills. Findings indicate a need for more picture books about starting kindergarten that portray a wider array of kindergarten transition experiences reflective of best practices for supporting children with the transition, and a diverse range of family constellations including families from various racial, ethnic, and sociodemographic backgrounds. Keywords Picture books · Kindergarten transition · Families · Schools · Content analysis The transition to kindergarten is an important milestone in the lives of children and their families. When children enter into kindergarten, they frequently encounter an educational environment that is vastly different than their previous experiences in the home or in an early care and education setting, particularly in the wake of heightened levels of instruction, assessment, and academic expectations in American kindergarten classrooms in recent decades (Bassok et al. 2016b). Yet, the implications of the kindergarten transition, particularly for entering kindergartners, is substantial. Research has shown that success during the kindergarten transition is foundational to children’s social-emotional and educational trajectories (Cook and Coley 2017).
* Laura Cutler [email protected] Gerilyn Slicker [email protected] 1
Department of Human Development & Family Sciences, University of Delaware, 111 Alison Hall West, Newark, DE 19716, USA
Relationships between the child, home, and school influence children’s transition and adjustment to school (RimmKaufman and Pianta 2000). Research shows efforts that foster communication between home and school contexts are best suited to support children’s transition to kindergarten (Pianta et al. 1999). However, strategies that encourage communication and collaboration between schools and families (e.g., meeting students and their families before school starts)
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