Whether they are ready or not, across the country, a new generation of kindergartners has entered the school system from preschool through high school level.
Their teachers will spend these first few weeks determining where 5- and 6-year-olds are developmentally, what academic, social, and emotional skills they bring to the table, and what support they need to prepare them for a successful school year.
That job has become more difficult in recent years, according to numerous surveys, research studies and EdSurge interviews, as recent classes of kindergarteners have been shown to lack some of the basic skills and competencies that educators and school leaders previously expected, such as following directions, sharing, listening and participating during lessons, using writing utensils and craft materials, and toilet training.
Many people, both in the educational field and among the general public, are quick to… It's the pandemic's fault for these challenges. Although today's kindergarteners were infants when the pandemic began, fewer of them participated in early learning experiences, such as preschooland most had limited social interactions during a critical period of development. However, the explanation is probably much more complicated; several people, in interviews, pointed to the ubiquity of smartphones and screen time as at least part of the change.
As a new school year begins, EdSurge asked educational leaders and child development experts about the most important skills for a child to have when starting school.
There are five core domains of development, says Van-Kim Bui Lin, a senior research scientist focused on early childhood development at Child Trends, a national nonprofit research center focused on child well-being.
One of them is physical development, which includes gross motor skills, which allow children to run, jump and skip, as well as fine motor skills, which help children hold a pencil or use scissors.
Another is cognitive development, such as reasoning and problem solving. Then there is language development, which includes the ability to understand and communicate verbally and, eventually, read and write. Another is social-emotional development, which includes active listening, interacting with adults and peers, sharing and sustaining attention.
Finally, there is the child's approach to learning, which includes what motivates him or her and how he or she learns best.
“A child needs that whole set of development to be truly successful,” Lin explains.
Social-emotional skills prepare children for success
According to many people, the most important skills to start kindergarten are social-emotional skills. This is the area of development where many teachers focus report seeing the steepest descent.
Many students in the Phoenix-Talent School District in Southern Oregon, which suffered a devastating wildfire in the fall of 2020, compounding the effects of the pandemic, have been attending kindergarten without the skills needed to follow directions, share toys and materials with classmates and stick to a schedule.
“Routines and procedures,” says Tiffanie Lambert, Phoenix-Talent’s assistant superintendent of teaching and learning, “have been the biggest impediment we’ve seen since the pandemic and the fire.”
Lambert has also noticed that children of all ages (not just kindergartners, but especially kindergarteners) have shorter attention spans. “And we don’t expect a kindergartener to come and sit through an hour-long lesson,” she adds.
Social-emotional skills, such as self-control and listening skills, enable children to arrive at kindergarten ready to engage and learn. These skills are the foundation.
Can a child sit and listen during story time? That’s a good barometer, says Susan Petersen, director of education for the Lodi Unified School District in Northern California. “That would be ideal,” she says.
Can a child interact with other children appropriately, taking turns and including others? “Those basic social skills would also be helpful,” Petersen adds.
Emotion regulation and perseverance are also important, adds Child Trends' Lin. If a child is having difficulty using scissors, does he have the ability to overcome his frustration and keep trying? Can he tolerate another child using the toy he was playing with?
If a child can work well with others, share, acknowledge his or her emotions and control his or her impulses, “the rest will follow,” says Rachel Robertson, chief academic officer at Bright Horizons, which operates more than 600 early care and education centers in the United States.
Fine motor skills are declining
Fine motor skillsThe skills that relate to the movement of small muscles in the hands and wrists that enable people to perform many functional skills such as cutting, using a glue stick, opening a lunchbox, and turning the pages of a book, are important but seem to be lacking among kindergarteners.
Pencil grip — the way a person holds a pencil or other writing tool — has been a problem, even among older kindergarten students, says Lambert of the Phoenix-Talent School District.
“My mission has been to observe how each child holds the pencil,” he says.
If children don't have that motor skill developed, Lambert adds, their hands get fatigued, their letter formation fails and they find it difficult to complete work.
Lisa Eckert, director of early learning at Pequea Valley School District in southeastern Pennsylvania, has heard from parents that their children are entering kindergarten knowing all their letters and numbers. However, because they learned everything on a device, like an iPad, “they can't pick up a pencil and write anything. Or they don't know how to use scissors and cut a piece of paper,” Eckert shares.
Academic skills are good to have, but they are not necessary.
The alphabet and 1-2-3 may seem like a foundation for kindergarten readiness. However, many educators point out that they are really just nice-to-haves.
“It would be great if they could come to class writing their name, recognizing the letters and sounds of the alphabet,” Lambert says. “We don’t always expect that, but being able to come, interact, understand their emotions, regulate them, participate in a class and in a group, that helps us.”
Letters and numbers, reading and writing are the skills that kindergarten is designed to teach a child. It is far preferable for a child to have some basic social-emotional skills than to be able to read on the first day of kindergarten.
“I’m not interested in preparing them for a year of school,” explains Bright Horizons’ Robertson. “I’m interested in giving them a foundation for life.”
Potty training is on the decline
In Education Week State of Education surveyIn a study that asked preschool through third-grade teachers how certain tasks and skills had changed compared to five years ago, 44 percent said “toilet training/using the toilet without assistance” was “much more challenging” or “more challenging” today.
School district leaders confirmed this experience. Increasingly, they see students starting kindergarten. Without the skill use the bathroom on their own.
Kindergarten teachers simply don't have time to help every child with the bathroom, notes Child Trends' Lin.
“It makes a huge difference during the day,” adds Eckert, of the Pequea Valley School District. “If (teachers) are focused on helping kids in the bathroom, they lose an hour of their day.”
Don't underestimate the importance of being present
As US public schools face alarming problems high rates In the case of chronic absenteeism, defined as a student missing 10 percent or more days in a school year, it's worth noting that showing up is essential to a child's success in kindergarten.
“Students aren’t learning if they’re not in school,” Lambert says. “Families think, ‘It’s just kindergarten. It’s OK if they miss a day.’ But kindergarten is so important… Even missing one day is critical.”
