The Transition to Kindergarten: How Families fromLower-Income Backgrounds Experienced the First Year

Kyle Miller

� Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014

Abstract The transition to kindergarten is regarded as a

critical time for both children and families, especially for

families with low incomes who are at greatest risk for

educational challenges. Most studies focus on the school

perspective as children enter classrooms, and less schol-

arship focuses on the family perspective. This paper shifts

the conversation to the context of the family and how

families understand and experience kindergarten entry. As

part of a larger qualitative study on the transition to school,

24 parents participated in semi-structured interviews where

they described the process of preparing children for kin-

dergarten before school entry, and then reflected on the

actual process 1 year later. Based on a thematic analysis of

interview data, four main themes emerged: (1) The tran-

sition is still going, (2) Logistics were the toughest part, (3)

I told you this would happen, and (4) The first time is the

hardest. Findings from this study generate new knowledge

related to the lived experiences of families from lower-

income backgrounds, as well as many of the challenges

they encounter with the educational system. Supporting the

transition to school requires the building of relationships

with families and examining the family context in addition

to the school context. Implications for early childhood

personnel and schools are discussed.

Keywords Low-income � Families �Transition to school � Academic socialization �Siblings � Home–school relationships

Background

The transition to kindergarten is described as a critical

point in students’ educational trajectories, which may point

students towards success or failure in formal education

(Pianta et al. 1999a; Pianta 2007). As stated in the National

Educational Goals Panel (Shore 1998), families play an

important role in their children’s educational development

and deeply inform the process of child development

(Morrison-Gutman and McLoyd 2000; Machida et al.

2002). The transition to school is not merely a transition for

children; it requires the whole family to make adjustments

and change (DeCaro and Worthman 2011). However,

limited research inductively focuses on ways in which

families choose to prepare their children for kindergarten,

and the experience of transitioning children to school

(Dockett and Perry 2013). As the managers of children’s

home environments, how parents socialize their children

for school is an essential piece to understanding children’s

school readiness (Doucet and Tudge 2007; Kraft-Sayre and

Pianta 2000), especially for families from lower-income

backgrounds who are at greatest risk for compromised

school beginnings Piotrkowski et al. (2000).

Securing that children start school ready to succeed

requires the attention of scholars and practitioners to sup-

port one of the first normative and complex processes in

education—the transition to school (Pianta 2007; Dockett

and Perry 2013). Transitions may consist of a one-time, set

event provided by schools or reflect ongoing efforts to link

children’s home environments to the school (Dockett and

A preliminary version of this paper was presented at the annual

conference of the American Educational Research Association.

K. Miller (&)

School of Teaching and Learning, Illinois State University, 237

DeGarmo Campus Box 5330, Normal, IL 61790, USA

e-mail: kemille@ilstu.edu

K. Miller

Department of Human Development and Family Studies,

University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA

123

Early Childhood Educ J

DOI 10.1007/s10643-014-0650-9

Perry 2003). Further, transitions may involve creating

continuity between preschool and kindergarten settings

related to curricular decisions and pedagogical delivery.

However communities choose to define and approach this

period of change, the transition to kindergarten should be

understood in terms of the influence of contexts. This study

aimed to better understand the transition to school within

the family context, how parents understood the process of

preparing children for kindergarten, and how children

experienced their first year of formal education.

Several Australian studies investigated the perspectives

of parents on the transition to school (e.g., Dockett and

Perry 2001). Such studies documented parental attention to

and desire to help children adjust to formal education.

Participants identified supporting the development of aca-

demic, social, and health-related skills for kindergarten

entry. Overall, parents in these studies felt their needs and

concerns were overlooked as their children entered school,

and that schools judged their parenting practices and efforts

(Dockett and Perry 2007). Other studies suggest that par-

ents’ school readiness concerns extend beyond academic

and social competencies, and some families from lower-

income backgrounds question whether, and to what extent,

the schools are ready for their children, their specific cul-

tural backgrounds, and their individual needs (McAllister

et al. 2005).

Many children and families consider the transition to

public school a major event for which they feel underpre-

pared (Wildenger and McIntyre 2011). It can be an exciting

time for children and families, but also can yield some

stress and discomfort when placed in an unfamiliar setting

(Kennedy et al. 2012; Bell-Booth et al. 2014) or with new

service providers (Podvey et al. 2013). Parental worry

about the transition to school is common, often leading

parents to take preventive action and engage in activities to

better prepare their children for school (Ramey et al. 1998).

Studies and mainstream discourses suggest that the tran-

sition process may be more complex for families from

lower-income backgrounds, due to how families are

viewed or encouraged to be involved in pre-kindergarten

education or early learning centers. Growing up in poverty

can limit children’s connections to resources and enrich-

ment experiences (Magnuson and Shager 2010); however,

it is important to recognize that many children living in

poverty can and do achieve success at kindergarten

entrance and beyond (Dockett et al. 2012). This present

study was an investigation of parental perspectives on and

experiences with children’s transition into formal educa-

tion, to better understand the process for families from

lower-income backgrounds. This study addresses a gap in

research and in current practice, which often neglects to

inductively consider the family approach to children’s

readiness for school and ongoing efforts to support the

transition (Doucet and Tudge 2007; Dockett and Perry

2007). Additionally, it incorporates the perspectives of

fathers, with are often ignored in parental studies (Downer

2007).

Theoretical Perspective

The transition to kindergarten is a complex process and

should be understood in terms of multiple and intersecting

influences (Pianta et al. 1999b; Bronfenbrenner 1986). It is

a concept that goes beyond the assessed competencies of a

child at any given time and acknowledges the ecology of a

child’s life-such as the family context, early childhood

education, and resources provided within the community to

support lower income children and families (Daily et al.

2012). Kraft-Sayre and Pianta (2000) acknowledge the

shared responsibilities of many individuals and institutions

during the transition to elementary school. These scholars

suggest that the transition is a dynamic process experienced

by children, family, teachers and communities rather than

an event that happens independently to a child. Through

this ecological perspective, the transition to school is rec-

ognized as a normative process these stakeholders con-

tribute to and support. A transition to school framework

that incorporates these multi-level and intersecting influ-

ences, is now viewed as a more accurate portrayal of how

children become ready to learn and successfully enter

kindergarten (Pianta and La Paro 2003). This approach

provides greater appreciation for the collaborations and

relationships of adults, and less emphasis on the individual

characteristics and skills of the child (Villeneuve et al.

2013). Guided by this perspective, our study investigates

the transition process over the course of a year and focuses

on the family side of schooling and parents’ relationships

with the school, resources of the community, and policies.

Methods

This qualitative study draws on interviews conducted with

16 families (24 parents) prior to kindergarten entry and

again after children entered school. Three main questions

guided the investigation: (1) How do families report their

experience with the transition to kindergarten? (2) Based

on themes expressed in parents’ original interviews before

kindergarten entry, did the transition unfold as parents

anticipated? and (3) Were there differences across families

in how the transition was experienced? To be eligible for

inclusion in the study, participants’ household income

could not exceed 200 % of the Federal Poverty Threshold,

which made families eligible for the state’s child care

subsidy (Wisconsin Department of Children and Families

Early Childhood Educ J

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2012). All participants had a child entering kindergarten in

the fall of 2011, requiring that children turn 5 years old by

September first. This was an ideal age, because partici-

pants’ children were already registered for kindergarten,

which is a clear marker of the transition to school in par-

ents’ minds (Pianta 2007). The sample included African-

American and White mothers (N = 16) and fathers

(N = 8) who qualify for the state’s child care subsidy and

have enrolled their children in kindergarten for the fol-

lowing fall. Initial interviews included all 24 participants

and follow-up interviews included 20 participants. Attrition

was the result of several participants moving from the area

or inaccessibility due to incarceration. A description of

participant characteristics is provided in Table 1.

Data Collection

Mothers and fathers were asked to participate in two semi-

structured interviews that explored their current practices

and beliefs on preparing their children for school and the

actual transition into the kindergarten setting. The first set

of interviews took place in the participant’s home or a

neutral location of their choice the summer before kin-

dergarten entry. The second interview was administered

approximately 1 year later in the same location. Follow-up

interviews asked participants to review the content of their

original interviews and then explored the adjustment pro-

cess for the child and family.

Data Analysis

Data analysis began immediately following the first

interview, and continued throughout the data collection

process. The analysis began with the transcription of the

data and was accompanied with the creation of memos.

The data analysis of both sets of interviews followed

similar analysis procedures and will be presented together,

starting with the coding process. We followed Boyatzis’

(1998) process for developing codes and thematically

analyzing data. The process involved five prescribed steps

to inductively developing a code: (1) reducing the raw

information, (2) identifying themes within subsamples, (3)

comparing themes across subsamples, (4) creating a code,

and (5) determining the reliability of the code. We used

NVivo9 to assist data management, coding and analysis of

interviews.

Reliability was achieved by determining our degree of

consistency of full transcripts between coders, by com-

paring independent coding of transcripts. We followed

Bazeley’s (2007) approach to lumping data for coding

purposes. During this process, the research team met

periodically to discuss any issues or questions with the

application of codes. Based on the ongoing process of

coding and interrogating data with software assistance, the

team began to identify the most frequent and meaningful

themes to report in the findings. Frequency was one of the

most important indicators for the strength of a theme.

However, frequency was coupled with the significance of

the theme for participants.

Results

The thematic analysis identified four salient themes pre-

sented across interviews. First, the transition for students

and families was still in progress, and many parents did not

feel their children were fully adjusted to school. Second,

parents reported that the logistics of registering and getting

their child to the correct school was more challenging than

originally considered. Third, parents confirmed that their

original ideas about preparing for school were fairly

accurate. Fourth, inexperienced parents encountered the

most surprises during the process. Table 2 provides a

description of themes and additional interview quotes as

evidence.

Table 1 Sample characteristics (N = 24)

Variable Frequency Percentage

(%)

Mean Range

Age (years) 31.57 23–46

Annual household income

\10,000 9 37.5

10,001–15,000 6 25

15,001–20,000 0 0

20,001–25,000 5 20.8

Over 25,001 3 12.5

Education

Some high school 4 16.7

High School/GED 4 16.7

Trade/Vocational

School

3 12.5

Some College 11 45.8

BA/BS 1 4.2

Graduate Degree 1 4.2

Race/ethnicity

Black/African American 14 58.3

White/European

American

9 37.5

Bi-racial/Multi-racial 1 4.2

Marital status

Single/Never married 9 37.5

Married 9 37.5

Living with a partner 3 12.5

Separated 3 12.5

Early Childhood Educ J

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Theme One: The Transition is Still Going

Overall, parents reported positive feelings about their

child’s new life in kindergarten, but did not necessarily

describe the transition as an easy process or that the tran-

sition was complete. In fact, after almost a full school year,

many families were still working on their child’s adjust-

ment—as well as their own. One mother said:

Table 2 Themes and descriptions

Theme Description Examples

The transition

is still going

Participants described the child’s, or their own, ongoing

adjustment to the kindergarten setting. Although the child or

parent may be adjusted in some areas, they are still working on

a full sense of belonging and adjustment to school

‘‘We are still working on stuff. He still has some issues

with his interactions with the other students and

controlling his emotions. You’d think we’d have it fixed

by now, but the teacher says he’s making progress. We’ll

get there. I’m just glad he’s still excited about school’’

‘‘So, the problem is he’s a mama’s boy. Really, that’s what

the issue is. He always has to be with me, and that’s not

how school works. I’ve been told I need to stop babying

him so he can get used to the full day. I mean, that’s not

exactly what they [the teachers] said, but I can read

between the lines. So I try to spend more time away from

him’’

‘‘They say she’s doing okay, but something still feels off.

She was different in Head Start. She seemed more at

home there. I don’t see that yet. Maybe next year it will

all fall into place for her’’

Logistics were

the toughest

part

Participants described challenges or issues associated with the

process of enrolling their child in kindergarten, school zoning,

and transportation. Participants comment on difficulties or

surprises associated with school policies or procedures related

to beginning school

‘‘We moved over the summer. I had done all of my

homework and made sure I had everything she needed to

start. But, I don’t think their information was all up-to-

date online, because they kept asking for more stuff. It

became really frustrating and stressful’’

‘‘We had someone from the school come talk to us at a

family meeting about what to expect and how to plan for

kindergarten. I think I told you about that last year. But

then apparently things changed and there were like

budget cuts, so some of the orientation stuff that was

supposed to happen, didn’t. It was all just really

confusing at the beginning. But, we got her there on the

first day, so I guess that’s what matters’’

I told you this

would

happen

Participants reflected on their initial concerns or aspirations for

their children’s entrance into kindergarten. Participants

acknowledged that their original concerns or expectations

actually transpired during the transition

‘‘You know how I told you that I had issues with the school

and his older brother? I knew that it would probably

mean bad things for him, since they share a last name. I

just don’t think they treat him fairly– and I know they are

sick of seeing me up there’’

‘‘She really picked things up in preschool, and we worked

on a lot at home. She knew her letters and numbers and

really was ahead of most of the kids in her class. I knew

the teachers would be impressed, and they were. There

was one test that the state gave at the beginning of the

year that she only did okay on, but the rest is great’’

The first time

is the

hardest

Novice parents acknowledged their naivete or frustrations in

navigating the transition process for the first time. Veteran

parents acknowledged that transitioning their first child was the

most difficult, and they gained knowledge and comfort with

additional children

‘‘Now that I’m on child number 8, I think I’ve finally

figured it out. I had no idea what I was doing the first

time, and I wasn’t much better with the second. Each

time it is a little bit easier’’

‘‘I was so much older when I had my third kid. With age

comes experience with kids and with the school. I look at

some of these really young parents around me, and they

seem so lost. I was there, I get it’’

‘‘This is not my first rodeo. I was clueless with the first one.

When it’s your first time, you make mistakes, and then

you learn how it all works’’

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I guess I just figured because his older sister was fine

after like a week that he would be okay. But he is just

different and it’s taken a while. There are still things

we struggle with and he likes going to school, but I

am working with the teachers on helping him adjust.

This mother explained that her son’s academics

appeared to be adequate, but she believed something was

still ‘‘off’’. For that reason, the transition was still in

motion.

Scholars may explain this lengthy adjustment through

the lens of culture shock, and the challenges associated

with differences between the home and school cultures

(Kennedy et al. 2012). However, the participants in this

study did not cite cultural differences between the home

and school, but rather differences between the culture of

the early childhood center and kindergarten classroom that

challenged a sense of immediate belonging. The shock and

ongoing adjustment was about the transition between these

two settings. However, this could, in fact, be linked to

home cultures, since many of the children’s early child-

hood centers focused on creating culturally relevant set-

tings for the families they served, which may not be true of

the kindergarten setting (Kossak 2005).

As part of this theme, mothers also commented on

working with teachers to assist this adjustment. One mother

recalled attending a beginning of the year orientation

breakfast, but also ongoing attempts throughout the year to

assist the son’s adjustment. She described this initial con-

tact as beneficial, but that it was too early to fully under-

stand how the year would go. She then relied on a daily

notebook that was transported from the school to the home,

to learn about her son’s progress and voice concerns to the

teacher:

We still have a notebook of communication back and

forth, so I write you know when I woke up and he is

in a bad mood or isn’t feeling good. He still has a

really hard time with mornings, and I don’t want it to

keep him from doing his work and getting ahead. We

are working on that.

Working with a teacher who encouraged and maintained

ongoing communication comforted this mother in sup-

porting her son’s transition, and is linked to student success

during the first year of school (Hindman et al. 2013).

Another mother said, ‘‘It’s weird and embarrassing. I’m a

lot less worried about her [the daughter] now, but I’m still

not there.’’ After a full school year, the child was

approaching adjustment, but the mother was still

struggling.

As reported above, although schools may consider this

transition a short-term event (Dockett and Perry 2003),

transitions may extend throughout the school year, until the

child and family feel a sense of belonging and adjustment

in the school setting. In fact, the majority of participants

recognized that the transition was still in progress for the

child or family. Schools can choose to build relationships

in a number of ways both pre and post-entry (Noel 2011);

and the level and intensity of transition efforts are usually

driven by the school. Most parents named one formal ori-

entation event or tour of the school as helpful, and the

remainder of the transition process relied on informal

connections with the school. It appears, the kindergarten

transition may be more complicated and acquire more

attention for families from lower-income backgrounds that

may not share the same norms of the school (Doucet and

Tudge 2007) or have complex needs (Dockett et al. 2011).

Theme Two: Logistics Were the Toughest Part

As parents primed their children for kindergarten, they did

not realize the complexities associated with physically

getting their child to the kindergarten classroom. This

theme captured parents’ original underestimation of the

influence of the school districts’ policies and procedures on

the transition for families. Even though many participants

feared unnecessary transitions or moves for their children

based on their own school histories, they were unable to

shield children from these disruptions during the summer

prior to kindergarten entry or during the school year. One

mother expressed a great deal of anger related to the first

several months of school:

We went out of our way to make sure everything was

in order before our move. The school promised me

that my son could still attend the school and we made

up his IEP and everything. Then to find out that they

wouldn’t allow it cause of transportation issues and

we had to start from scratch. My son ended up

missing the first two and a half weeks of school. And

for a son like mine, missing that much school is a big

deal. And it turns out the first school could have let

him stay, but the new principal didn’t want him.

During this interview, the father shared a notebook that

they maintained throughout the year related to their son’s

schooling. He displayed the long list of names and numbers

they collected and called during the first few weeks of

school. The mother said, ‘‘I just kept calling. They were

sick of me, but I couldn’t get a straight answer.’’ Other

participants also described the ‘‘telephone game’’ of calling

a variety of individuals to work through registration and

transportation issues.

One mother discussed the family’s summer move before

starting kindergarten. She hoped to find one school that

would work for her children, so that her kindergarten-

bound son would be with his older siblings:

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I didn’t want to move again, but we knew about the

move. I was really trying to get them to the same

school – but that wasn’t going to work. I went to one

school and then I went to the other before school

started – they gave us the whole run around. I was

like ‘I’ve got to get in there and see somebody’, and it

was hectic trying to get him in school.

Earlier, this mother had described the family’s long

history of moves, which has been linked to a number of

educational challenges for children and families (Kerbow

et al. 2003; Miller et al. 2011). This mother was very

grateful for the assistance they received from various

organizations, but that many of their policies and housing

availability created a lot of disruptions in her children’s

schooling. Her attempts to keep her son close to his peers

from Head Start were unsuccessful, but she hoped this

school would be a permanent placement.

Parents reported a great deal of frustration with the

general ‘‘system’’ that stifled many of their efforts to make

the transition as seamless as possible. This theme demon-

strates the need to not only facilitate, but maintain con-

nections among a variety of stakeholders throughout the

transition process (Noel 2011). Lack of summer program-

ming made the logistics more challenging and cumbersome

for families, because participants felt cut-off from important

early childhood personnel who that helped parents navigate

the school system during the year. Participants felt a loss of

support during the months leading to the first day of kin-

dergarten, which is often a byproduct of losing the eligi-

bility for services at their former early childhood centers

(Dockett and Perry 2007). Although participants did not

report experiencing any bias or discrimination related to

their socioeconomic status or ethnicity, some of their

descriptions hinted at inequitable practices on the part of the

school. The unanticipated obstacles that families described

may be related to schools’ conscious or unconscious mis-

treatment of families from lower-income backgrounds

(Miller et al. 2014; Hughes and MacNaughton 2000).

Theme Three: I Told You This Would Happen

As parents described the first year of kindergarten, they

revisited some of their initial concerns named before kin-

dergarten entry. They regularly referred to their first

interview and pointed out their original hopes or fears that

did transpire upon school entrance. During pre-entry

interviews participants identified a number of domains that

were important for a successful entrance into kindergarten

(i.e., knowing basic academic skills, having a positive

disposition, following rules, working well with other stu-

dents). In the pre-entry interviews, they not only identified

these specific areas but also had a general sense of which

areas were strengths or weaknesses for their child. Those

initial feelings seemed to hold true once the children

actually entered the school. One mother said:

Remember, when I told you my boys were going to

tear up the school. Well, they did. It is still an issue. I

get lots of calls from the school. I just gotta go up

there and pick them up and bring them home. I don’t

know what we’re going to do about them. They don’t

seem to have any other thing than me just coming to

get them. I guess they’re that bad.

Since all but two of participants’ children were involved

in some form of early childhood program, they felt primed

by teachers on where their children might excel or struggle

in the kindergarten setting. In most cases, the identified

areas did reach fruition.

Conversely, another mother predicted her son’s aca-

demic success prior to school entry; and, at the follow up

interview, she and her husband proudly displayed his

award for excellence, which was given to the top student in

each grade. However, most participants did not share this

family’s success story and instead continued to struggle

with literacy or behavior problems that were apparent

before beginning kindergarten. Decades of research pro-

vide evidence that early center-based experiences contrib-

ute to children’s academic and social gains as they begin

school education (Camilli et al. 2010; Abbott-Shim et al.

2003). Based on participant responses, early childhood

experiences also provided parents with a general awareness

of what to expect when entering kindergarten, related to

academic or social areas of concern. However, that

awareness did not necessarily yield extra support or inter-

vention services for the child’s areas of weakness.

Theme Four: The First Time is the Hardest

Three of the 16 families were sending children to kinder-

garten for the first time, the remainder of families had

experienced between one to seven kindergarten entrances.

Based on follow-up interviews, first-time parents faced

more surprises during the transition process. One mother

discussed literacy problems her daughter was facing in

kindergarten:

So, I thought things would be fine. But her teacher

called me like early on, and said she [the daughter]

was really behind in reading. They had me come up

to the school. I was so nervous and I felt like I did

something wrong. But really, it’s just stuff I need to

work on with her and her teacher put her in a special

program. So now at least I know what I need to do,

but it was really stressful. I didn’t want her to start

like this.

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Just as children need to adjust to new teacher pedagogies

and goal-focused teaching methods (Skouteris et al. 2012),

so must parents. This shift could contribute to surprises for

parents, if their child’s preparedness does not match the

expectations of kindergarten teachers. This mother’s quote

also demonstrates the fear attached to re-entering a public

elementary school for the first time since her school days.

Parents are often aware of the power teachers hold, and

may feel as if they are going back to school themselves

(Miller et al. 2014; Dockett et al. 2012).

Other participants discussed the ongoing journey of

preparing children for school and how much their first time

differed from subsequent transitions. Parents who had older

children and had already gone through this process also

recognized that the first time was the most surprising. One

father said, ‘‘We were clueless the first time,’’ suggesting a

certain level of blindness or naivety to the situation and

expectations. One mother said:

You go in just not knowing anything. Everything is

new. They [new parents] don’t know what the right

questions are or they don’t know how that teacher

would react if they asked for that support or help. So

they don’t say anything.

She recalled feeling the same way. Now that she is

entering kindergarten with her third child, she feels much

more confident and knows what to expect. However, her

first time, she described herself as young and feeling very

alone in the process:

You know, if you had asked me these questions with

my oldest son, this would have been a different

conversation. I didn’t know what he would do in

kindergarten. I didn’t know I should be reading to

him. I didn’t know what he needed. That is something

you get with experience and doing it.

There was a marked difference between first-time and

veteran parents in the transition process. Veteran parents

were familiar with the system and kindergarten expecta-

tions. Even if the adjustment was not going well, they were

more aware of potential problems and were not as shocked

when issues surfaced. However, first time parents of children

entering kindergarten reported being more overwhelmed by

the actual process and learning how the school worked.

Discussion

A family’s transition to school presents a critical time and

opportunity to lay the groundwork for children’s long-term

academic and social success. Findings from this study

generate new knowledge related to the lived experience of

families from lower-income backgrounds, as well as many

of the challenges they encounter as their child entered

kindergarten. The ongoing process of transitioning to for-

mal education may last far beyond the first few days of

school. The participants in this study were still struggling

to find a sense of belonging in the school at the end of the

school year and some families did not believe their children

were fully adjusted to school. In one case, the mother said

her daughter was more adjusted than her. Based on prior

involvement with early childhood programs, parents felt

knowledgeable about what skills were necessary for their

children to start school, but that awareness did not neces-

sarily translate to a successful transition for their children

or themselves.

Experience with the school system appeared to make a

big difference in the transition process for children and

families. There were strong differences in what parents

‘‘believed’’ was expected for kindergarten readiness versus

what they ‘‘knew’’ was expected—as well as who was the

most surprised by the actual process. This was related to

the experience acquired from already having a child in

formal education. For parents who are transitioning their

first child to school, it may be their first contact with the

elementary school since their own school days (Meredith

et al. 1999). Only three participants in the study were

transitioning their first child to school, while all others had

at least one child in formal education. Participants who that

had already experienced the process reported less anxiety

and felt much more knowledgeable with the current child,

confirming that first-time parents should be targeted for

extra support and early intervention during this transition

period (Noel 2011). One father even stated, ‘‘This is not my

first rodeo. I think I’ve finally got it down.’’ Parents

reported an advantage with having prior experience with

schools and knowing what to expect. However, they still

acknowledged that each child was a bit different, which

also guided the process.

Research suggests that when their first child enters

kindergarten, parents establish a connection with the school

and teachers (Meredith et al. 1999). By the time the second

or third child starts school, this connection is well estab-

lished and may lead to a sense of partnership between the

school and home environment or a stronger understanding

of curricular expectations (Compton-Lilly 2003). There-

fore, later children benefit from this already established

relationship (Arthur et al. 1996). However, this was not

necessarily true for the participants in this study. Previous

scholarship assumes that these established relationships are

positive and that all of the children attend the same school.

Based on some friction parents were already reporting with

older children’s teachers and frequent housing mobility

that led to school transfers, parents did not report this

advantage. However, they did identify the benefit of

exposing the younger children to older siblings’ school

Early Childhood Educ J

123

setting and becoming familiar, themselves, with the school

environment and larger education system as helpful. Such

benefits match the literature by suggesting that older sib-

lings help increase the confidence and comfort of parents

for the adjustment to the school as an institution and its

expectations (Arthur et al. 1996; Meredith et al. 1999). It

also calls for the reform of early childhood centers to

tighten the link between preschool and elementary schools,

so that families and children experience a less turbulent

change between the two settings.

All but two of the families’ kindergarten-bound children

were in some form of early childhood center. However, all of

the parents recognized that early childhood programs greatly

assisted the process of preparing children for school, espe-

cially through the development of important academic and

social skills. One father kept repeating throughout his

interview, ‘‘I can’t say enough about his Head Start program.

They have done so much.’’ The experience prepared his son

academically and socially, as well as his readiness as a

father. Similar accolades were expressed across mother and

father interviews. Much like the mainstream discourse on

school readiness, ‘‘early childhood education’’ and ‘‘readi-

ness’’ are practically synonymous and serve as a primary

source for preparing children for school (Brooks-Gunn

2003; Kagan and Kaurez 2007).

A finding of concern was that many participants knew

exactly how their child would struggle in kindergarten;

and, in fact, they were correct. The fruition of anticipated

problems may be a self-fulfilling prophecy for parents, or it

may be a symptom of unready schools. More recent

research on the transition to school focuses on not only the

child’s readiness for school, but also the school’s readiness.

Unfortunately, knowing children’s areas of weakness did

not translate into the necessary supports or early inter-

vention efforts aimed at helping children adjust to kinder-

garten for the participants in this study. If a school focuses

less on changing contexts and more on expecting the child

to change, the transition may be unsuccessful (Kennedy

et al. 2012). While some services and supports are offered

for families and young children or families facing specific

challenges, fewer services were available for families

experiencing multiple problems, which is common in

lower-income homes (Dockett et al. 2011). There is a

general lack of coordination to support individual and

family needs (Villeneuve et al. 2013), which may explain

why many of the issues are still a problem, even though the

families preemptively identified the concerns.

Conclusion

The current definitions of what it means to be ready for

school emerge from and primarily cater to families that

identify as White and middle-class (Gill et al. 2006), which

shape how we view and support the transition to school for

children and families. Children from lower-income house-

holds who do not meet these criteria are deemed to be

lacking in skills. However, children living in low-income

homes make up 45 % of the population in the United States

and this number continues to grow (National Center for

Children in Poverty 2012), making it a top priority for

school personnel and service providers. The early childhood

field needs to consider the views and experiences of fami-

lies from lower-income backgrounds and explore the

investments and needs of families in order to support a

positive school start for all children. Supporting the tran-

sition to school requires the building of relationships with a

new set of school personnel (Dockett et al. 2012); espe-

cially, in higher-need communities, where families are

rarely considered as equal partners or decision-makers in

educational endeavors (Barton et al. 2004). It requires a

recommitment to further acknowledgment that the transi-

tion is an ecological process involving a number of stake-

holders and influences that guides the process for children

and families (Dockett and Perry 2003; Pianta et al. 1999b).

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