scholarly journals Ontario’s Full-Day Kindergarten and Report Cards: Honouring Children’s Learning and Development through Reflective Evaluation Practices

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonia Mastrangelo
Keyword(s):  
School Board ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Early Learning ◽  
Report Card ◽  
Report Cards ◽  
Preliminary Review ◽  
Metacognitive Skills ◽  
Learning Program ◽  
Full Day Kindergarten ◽  
Full Day

The Ontario Full Day Kindergarten (FDK) program, now in its fifth year, celebrates children’s intentionality and natural curiosity about the world. Consequently, a report card is needed to support the vision for the new full-day early learning program in Ontario. A preliminary review of the report cards reveals that expectations/outcomes have been categorized and quantified. The scales being used vary considerably from school board to school board and these variations include: using numeric scales of achievement (Levels 1-4); providing descriptors for a specific skill set (i.e. emerging, developing at expected level, beyond expected level); or evaluating progress based on frequency (i.e. sometimes evident, always evident, not yet evident). Additionally, although reports should include next steps for the Early Learning–Kindergarten team, as well as next steps for the parents to assist them in supporting their child’s learning (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2010), our preliminary review reveals that while this information is sometimes communicated variably or informally, it is only periodically included in completed report cards. The overall focus of the new FDK program is on developing children’s problem solving and metacognitive skills (encouraging children to think about their thinking). In addition, the goal is for children to develop self-motivation and self-regulation so that they can become self-directed, lifelong learners. A new report card is needed to embrace this new vision for full-day learning which is based on child directedness and inquiry. In this article we: a) present the background on the inception of the Full-Day Kindergarten program in Ontario; b) share insights and evaluative methods from the Reggio Emilia approach of pedagogical documentation for reporting growth and learning of four and five year olds in an attempt to inform our practices in Ontario; and c) present a standardized provincial Kindergarten report card that is aligned to Pascal’s vision for full day early learning.

scholarly journals The Impact of Full-Day Kindergarten on Learning Outcomes and Self-Regulation Among Kindergarten Children at Risk for Placement in Special Education

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 42-56
Author(s):  
Janette Pelletier ◽  
Ellen Fesseha
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Special Education ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Binary Logistic Regression ◽  
Kindergarten Children ◽  
Longitudinal Impact ◽  
Full Day Kindergarten ◽  
Average Group ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Full Day

Two-year, play-based, full-day kindergarten (FDK) has been shown to have long-term academic and self-regulation benefits for young children. This article addresses the question of whether FDK has particular benefits for children who may be at risk for placement in special education. Participants included 592 kindergarten children in their second year of kindergarten, with an average age of 5 years, 9 months. Parent reports indicated that 56% of the children spoke a language other than English at home. The research design exploited a natural experiment that occurred due to the phasing-in of FDK, creating two groups of children who attended either FDK or half-day kindergarten (HDK). Kindergarten children’s outcomes in vocabulary, reading, writing, mathematics, and self-regulation were used to create two achievement groups based on data cut-points: below average and average to above average. Following a series of binary logistic regression analyses, results showed that HDK children were significantly more likely than FDK children to be in the below average group in the areas of reading, vocabulary, and self- regulation. In fact, results for self-regulation showed that HDK children were three times more likely to fall into the below average group. These results are consistent with our larger study on the longitudinal impact of FDK to Grade 3. The article discusses the importance of play-based learning in fostering self-regulation and providing opportunities for small- group learning in the FDK program. For children who struggle academically, full-day learning through play with the guidance of an educator team may present additional benefits.

scholarly journals Operationalization of self-regulation in the early years: comparing policy with theoretical underpinnings

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Braund ◽  
Kristy Timmons
Keyword(s):  
Self Regulation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Behavioral Regulation ◽  
Policy Document ◽  
Full Day Kindergarten ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Full Day ◽  
Research Analysis

AbstractResearch has consistently demonstrated that self-regulation is essential for the development and preservation of health and well-being in the early years and across the lifespan. Based on the emerging literature on the important role of self-regulation in promoting healthy child development, policymakers have made efforts to include self-regulation skills in practice and policy documents worldwide. Despite efforts to include self-regulation skills in early years curriculum documents, there is limited understanding by teachers, scholars, and policymakers of what self-regulation is and how best to support it in the day-to-day classroom. This limited understanding is perpetuated by a lack of a unified definition of self-regulation. Thus, it becomes important to examine these efforts in a critical way. In Ontario, where the research was completed, a revised play-based full-day kindergarten program was introduced in 2016. In this research we use a qualitative document analysis approach to compare the conceptualization of self-regulation in Ontario’s revised play-based kindergarten program with theory-driven models of self-regulation from empirical research. Analysis was iterative, and themes emerged based upon a coding scheme developed by the research team. Results suggest that co-regulation has a powerful influence on student learning. In addition, the policy document de-emphasizes behavioral regulation and expands cognitive regulation to include more than inhibitory control. Lastly, the kindergarten program discusses metacognition in relation to the use of language to articulate one’s thinking with little attention to goal-directed behaviors. In this paper, explicit recommendations for policymakers and practitioners are provided to ensure that emerging conceptualizations of self-regulation are promoted in early years curricula. Further, empirical evidence is needed to support why it is necessary to understand emerging conceptualizations of self-regulation and outline implications for current early years curricula.

scholarly journals Privileging Power: Early Childhood Educators, Teachers, and Racial Socialization in Full-Day Kindergarten

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Zuhra Abawi
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Critical Race Theory ◽  
Racial Socialization ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Early Learning ◽  
Early Childhood Educators ◽  
Learning Spaces ◽  
Full Day Kindergarten ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Full Day

This paper critically unpacks the racialized and gendered hierarchies between the co-teaching model of early childhood educators (ECEs) and Ontario certified teachers (OCTs) in full-day kindergarten (FDK), and how such positionalities speak to racial socialization in early learning spaces. While young children and early learning spaces are often portrayed as raceless, ahistorical, and apolitical, extant literature suggests that children as young as two years of age are aware of visible and cultural differences between themselves and other groups. The paper employs a reconceptualist framework by drawing on critical race theory to explorehow racialized power relations between ECEs and teachers inform hierarchies of dominance and impact processes of racial socialization in FDK learning spaces. While both professions are predominantly feminized, the overwhelming majority of teachers in Ontario are white and middle class, whereas ECEs in FDK programs are more likely to be racialized and marginalized due to low wages and diminished professional status as care workers rather than educators. Although there has been great emphasis on the importance of diversifying the teacher workforce, there is minimal study on the impact of the hierarchies and racialized power relations between ECEs and OCTs and their impact on racial socialization in FDK programs. This conceptual paper seeks to address this gap.

scholarly journals Masquerade of Neoliberal Concepts Revealed: Self-Regulation Skills in Ontario’s Full Day Kindergarten Program

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-101
Author(s):  
Manu Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Disruptive Behaviour ◽  
Action Research Project ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
Full Day Kindergarten ◽  
Action Research Study ◽  
Full Day

This study examines an action research project that included four kindergarten teachers who taught in the first year of the Ontario’s mandated full day kindergarten (FDK) program, which began in September 2016. This action research project focused on the teachers’ concerns about the constant unsafe violence, bullying and disruptive behaviour that characterized their FDK classrooms, which led them to explore self-regulation skills. According to the FDK program developers and school administrators, self-regulation was the key to eliminating such difficult behaviours and actions. However, the findings of the action research study revealed there were many challenges in sustaining and having students understand self-regulation, and there was a disconnect between the theoretical understanding of self-regulation and the practical reality of how self-regulation was used in the classroom. The findings of this action research study bring forth an interesting argument: the practical use of self-regulation in FDK classrooms (un)consciously gives permission to the reach and subsequent impact of neoliberalism in schools.

Fostering self-regulated learners in a community of quality assessment practices

CADMO ◽  
2011 ◽  
pp. 7-20
Author(s):  
Hopfenbeck Therese Nerheim
Keyword(s):  
Quality Assessment ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Educational Research ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Metacognitive Skills ◽  
Developing Communities ◽  
Important Field

Self-regulation has become an important field within educational research, but yet there is still little empirical research on the relation between self-regulation and assessment practices. The present paper explores how models of self-regulation and assessment can be linked through the development of metacognitive skills to improve students' learning outcomes. Knowledge from two studies will be used as examples to illustrate how self-regulation can be fostered and linked to developing communities of quality assessment practices in the classroom.

scholarly journals Report Card Grades on the Physical Activity of Children and Youth From 10 Countries With High Human Development Index: Global Matrix 3.0

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (s2) ◽  
pp. S284-S297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia A. González ◽  
Joel D. Barnes ◽  
Patrick Abi Nader ◽  
Dolores Susana Andrade Tenesaca ◽  
Javier Brazo-Sayavera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Human Development ◽  
Human Development Index ◽  
Report Card ◽  
Children And Youth ◽  
Report Cards ◽  
Global Alliance ◽  
Development Index ◽  
Average Grade ◽  
Report Card Grades

Background: The Global Matrix 3.0 brings together the Report Card grades for 10 physical activity indicators for children and youth from 49 countries. This study describes and compares the Global Matrix 3.0 findings among 10 countries with high Human Development Index. Methods: Report Cards on physical activity indicators were developed by each country following a harmonized process. Countries informed their Report Cards with the best and most recent evidence available. Indicators were graded using a common grading rubric and benchmarks established by the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance. A database of grades from the countries was compiled, and letter grades were converted to numerical equivalents. Descriptive statistics and scores for groups of indicators were calculated, and correlation analyses were conducted. Results: Grades for the 10 countries clustered around “D” ranging from “F” to “B+.” Active Transportation had the highest average grade (“C”), whereas Overall Physical Activity had the lowest average grade (“D-”). Low grades were observed for both behavioral and sources of influence indicators. Conclusions: In the context of social and economical changes of high- Human Development Index countries, urgent actions to increase physical activity among children and youth are required. Surveillance and monitoring efforts are required to fill research gaps.

scholarly journals Managing the Impacts of Full-Day Kindergarten on Rural Child Care Centres in Ontario

2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 22
Author(s):  
Ogochukwu Chinelo Udenigwe ◽  
Donna Lero
Keyword(s):  
Child Care ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Service Planning ◽  
Survival Strategies ◽  
Child Care Centre ◽  
Rural Child ◽  
Telephone Interviews ◽  
Full Day Kindergarten ◽  
Full Day ◽  
Service Managers

<div class="page" title="Page 1"><div class="section"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span>Evidence suggests that the introduction of full-day kindergarten (FDK) in Ontario poses challenges to the child care sector; however, there is a dearth of information on the unique struggles faced by the rural child care sector as a result of the implementation of FDK. Furthermore, little is known about survival strategies adopted by rural child care centres. Telephone interviews with seven consolidated municipal service managers (CMSMs), who are responsible for service planning and support, revealed the actions taken to aid rural communities. Telephone interviews with nine rural child care centre directors/operators highlighted their strategies for managing the challenges presented by FDK and revealed the most pressing problems facing the rural child care sector. </span></p></div></div></div></div>

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