The effect of preschool attendance on children\u27s readiness for kindergarten

The purpose of this causal-comparative study was to determine the effect of attendance of preschool, the type of preschool, socioeconomic status, and gender has on the readiness of children entering kindergarten using their Brigance Screen entrance test. Two hundred and one students entering kindergarten in the 2007–2008 school year from DeKalb County, Tennessee participated in the study. These students attended Smithville Elementary School and DeKalb West Elementary School, which are the only two schools servicing kindergarten in the county. Data was collected from the cumulative records of each child. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, unpaired t-test and ANOVAS to determine a .05 level of significance. Statistically significant differences in Brigance Screen mean scores were found for students who had not attended preschool, between males and females who had not attended, between males who had attended and those who did not, between females who had attended and those who did not, students who attended different types of preschools, and between students of different socioeconomic status. No significant differences were found for males and females of the different types of preschool experiences. It was recommended that (1) preschool should be implemented for all socioeconomic groups, (2) professional development should be conducted for all administrators and teachers prior to the implementation of universal preschool, (3) transition programs for at-risk and special education students should be developed, (4) before and after school remedial and enrichment programs for the student and parents should be developed, (5) replication of the study should be conducted in both rural and urban areas all across the state