Are Today’s Students With Disabilities More Likely to Attend Full-Day Kindergarten or Part-Day Kindergarten? Analysis of Two Cohorts of Students and Their Teachers

2018 ◽  
Vol 85 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-45
Author(s):  
Michael Gottfried
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Education Policy ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Full Day Kindergarten ◽  
Policy Analysts ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Education Coursework ◽  
Full Day

Some education policy analysts have called for increased participation of young children in full-day kindergarten programs as opposed to part-day kindergarten. However, little is known about whether students with disabilities are increasingly attending these programs and what their teachers are like. This study addresses this gap by examining whether the full-day kindergarten-going patterns have changed within two nationally representative cohorts of kindergartners (Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Kindergarten classes of 1998 and 2010). The findings suggest that a greater percentage of students with disabilities are enrolled in full-day kindergarten programs in 2010 (approximately 80%) than in 1998 (approximately 55%). Comparing full-day kindergarten enrollees between the two cohorts, there were no differences in teachers’ years of experience or degrees, though full-day kindergarten enrollees in 2010 had teachers with less early education and special education coursework. However, full-day kindergarten enrollees in 2010 were more likely to be in classrooms with a special education teacher’s aide. Implications are discussed.

Exploring the Effects of Full-Day Kindergarten on School Absenteeism for Children With Disabilities: Evidence From State Policy Mandates in the United States1

2021 ◽  
pp. 001440292110625
Author(s):  
Michael A. Gottfried ◽  
J. Jacob Kirksey
Keyword(s):  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Children With Disabilities ◽  
School Attendance ◽  
State Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Full Day Kindergarten ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Student Absenteeism ◽  
Full Day

Student absenteeism is a barrier to learning and an issue that requires policy intervention. Students with disabilities are of particular concern, as they miss school more often than students in any other demographic group. Affecting a key attribute of school structures, policies promoting full-day kindergarten began as an effort to improve opportunities for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, but no studies have provided causal evidence as to whether full-day kindergarten enrollment relates to school attendance. No studies have examined whether effects exist for students with disabilities in the long term. Using a nationally representative sample of children with disabilities in the United States ( N = 2,120), we employed an instrumental-variable strategy that capitalized on state-level policy shifts of full-day kindergarten offerings as an exogenous source of variation. We found that full-day kindergarten structures related to a sharp increase in absenteeism for children with disabilities in kindergarten and first and second grades. We found no relationship to absenteeism for these children in later years of primary schooling. We discuss policy implications of these findings.

Legal Issues in Early Childhood Special Education

2021 ◽  
pp. 104420732110231
Author(s):  
Susan Larson Etscheidt ◽  
Stephanie L. Schmitz ◽  
Andi M. Edmister
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Due Process ◽  
Transition Planning ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Early Childhood Special Education ◽  
Educational Planning ◽  
Professional Collaboration ◽  
Education Act

Family and professional collaboration is beneficial to students, families, and educators. The importance of such collaboration was recognized for families of students with disabilities, resulting in provisions in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) which ensure parental participation in educational planning. Despite the benefits of family and professional collaboration and IDEA mandate, many parents disagree with the educational planning decisions provided to their children and request due process hearings. Parents perceive a lack of opportunity to provide input and/or to disagree with schools’ perspectives. Parents of early childhood students report significant concerns about their child’s readiness for the transition to kindergarten and their limited role in transition planning as their children prepared to enter preschool programs. The purpose of this article was to examine the issues identified in parental complaints in early childhood special education (ECSE) through a qualitative content analysis of recent court cases. The results revealed six themes related to current issues in ECSE programs. We conclude with several recommendations for state policy makers to improve services in ECSE based on the DEC Recommended Practices.

Disparities Across Time: Exploring Absenteeism Patterns between Cohorts of Students with Disabilities

2020 ◽  
Vol 122 (11) ◽  
pp. 1-32
Author(s):  
Michael A. Gottfried ◽  
Vi-Nhuan Le ◽  
J. Jacob Kirksey
Keyword(s):  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Social Needs ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Chronic Absenteeism ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Full Day Kindergarten ◽  
Effective Interventions ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Single Data ◽  
Over Time

Background It is of grave concern that kindergartners are missing more school than students in any other year of elementary school; therefore, documenting which students are absent and for how long is of upmost importance. Yet, doing so for students with disabilities (SWDs) has received little attention. This study addresses this gap by examining two cohorts of SWDs, separated by more than a decade, to document changes in attendance patterns. Research Questions First, for SWDs, has the number of school days missed or chronic absenteeism rates changed over time? Second, how are changes in the number of school days missed and chronic absenteeism rates related to changes in academic emphasis, presence of teacher aides, SWD-specific teacher training, and preschool participation? Subjects This study uses data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS), a nationally representative data set of children in kindergarten. We rely on both ECLS data sets— the kindergarten classes of 1998–1999 and 2010–2011. Measures were identical in both data sets, making it feasible to compare children across the two cohorts. Given identical measures, we combined the data sets into a single data set with an indicator for being in the older cohort. Research Design This study examined two sets of outcomes: The first was number of days absent, and the second was likelihood of being chronically absent. These outcomes were regressed on a measure for being in the older cohort (our key measure for changes over time) and numerous control variables. The error term was clustered by classroom. Findings We found that SWDs are absent more often now than they were a decade earlier, and this growth in absenteeism was larger than what students without disabilities experienced. Absenteeism among SWDs was higher for those enrolled in full-day kindergarten, although having attended center-based care mitigates this disparity over time. Implications are discussed. Conclusions Our study calls for additional attention and supports to combat the increasing rates of absenteeism for SWDs over time. Understanding contextual shifts and trends in rates of absenteeism for SWDs in kindergarten is pertinent to crafting effective interventions and research geared toward supporting the academic and social needs of these students.

scholarly journals Early Childhood Transitions and Critical Praxis

2012 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 13-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Tilleczek
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Public Education ◽  
Prince Edward Island ◽  
Educational Practice ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Full Day Kindergarten ◽  
The Social ◽  
Core Elements ◽  
Full Day

This paper presents literature and findings on childhood transitions in public education. Set in the context of shifts in Canada to full day kindergarten, it makes visible the range of human relational and structural concerns that must be considered in the practice of researching and facilitating transitions for children. The paper draws upon a review of international literatures and a longitudinal, three-year qualitative study of 795 students, parents, and educators in 37 families of schools who conversed about the character and meaning of transitions. Such long-term enactments of transitions as they occur are scarce but important in making visible the complexity and nuance of childhood transitions. Findings include the importance of a critical praxis for transitions which gets at the roots of the social organization and inequality in research and educational practice. The paper addresses critical praxis as found in three early childhood education frameworks (Australia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, Canada). Attention to being, becoming, and belonging for all children and the fit between human and structural concerns at the levels of society, community, school, and family form core elements of critical praxis. Transitions are best understood and facilitated as over time, complex social ensembles.

scholarly journals Early Childhood Educational Settings and School Absenteeism for Children With Disabilities

AERA Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 233285841878557
Author(s):  
Arya Ansari ◽  
Michael A. Gottfried
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Children With Disabilities ◽  
School Attendance ◽  
First Grade ◽  
School Year ◽  
Academic Benefits ◽  
Full Day Kindergarten ◽  
School Absences ◽  
Full Day ◽  
Kindergarten Class

Data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Class of 2010–2011 were used to examine the implications of preschool and full-day kindergarten enrollment for the subsequent school absences of 2,056 children with disabilities. Results suggest that children with disabilities who went to preschool were absent less frequently in kindergarten, but these benefits did not persist through the end of first grade. Conversely, children with disabilities who attended full-day kindergarten programs were absent more frequently during the kindergarten year as compared with children in part-day programs, but these children experienced a sharper drop in absenteeism throughout the following school year resulting in no differences in school absences in first grade. No multiplicative benefits emerged for attending both preschool and full-day kindergarten. And even though these aforementioned benefits of preschool diminished rapidly, there were lingering academic benefits through the end of first grade because of improvements in earlier school attendance.

scholarly journals Early childhood educators’ perceptions of their roles and responsibilities in Ontario’s full day kindergarten program

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rabeya Hossain
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Educators ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Roles And Responsibilities ◽  
Full Day Kindergarten ◽  
Professional Recognition ◽  
Colonial Theory ◽  
Teaching Team ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Full Day

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand early childhood educators’ perceptions of their roles and responsibilities based on their lived experiences in Ontario’s full day kindergarten (FDK) program. The theoretical framework that underpinned my study is post-colonial theory and Foucault’s post-structural concept of “power/knowledge” which offered different perspectives to understand how ECEs’ shaped their perceptions. Key messages from the findings suggest despite challenges within the FDK program, ECEs recognized and acknowledged their complementary roles within the teaching team, and identified the need for professional recognition of their work. The key messages further suggested that principals as the leaders of the school need to have a greater understanding about ECEs’ roles, and the relationship between the educators. The recognition of the role and knowledge that ECEs contribute to FDK programs is crucial in order to facilitate collaboration between the educators within the teaching team.

scholarly journals Early childhood educators’ perceptions of their roles and responsibilities in Ontario’s full day kindergarten program

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rabeya Hossain
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Educators ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Roles And Responsibilities ◽  
Full Day Kindergarten ◽  
Professional Recognition ◽  
Colonial Theory ◽  
Teaching Team ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Full Day

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand early childhood educators’ perceptions of their roles and responsibilities based on their lived experiences in Ontario’s full day kindergarten (FDK) program. The theoretical framework that underpinned my study is post-colonial theory and Foucault’s post-structural concept of “power/knowledge” which offered different perspectives to understand how ECEs’ shaped their perceptions. Key messages from the findings suggest despite challenges within the FDK program, ECEs recognized and acknowledged their complementary roles within the teaching team, and identified the need for professional recognition of their work. The key messages further suggested that principals as the leaders of the school need to have a greater understanding about ECEs’ roles, and the relationship between the educators. The recognition of the role and knowledge that ECEs contribute to FDK programs is crucial in order to facilitate collaboration between the educators within the teaching team.

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