Full-Day or Half-Day Kindergarten?

Author: Dianne Rothenberg

Source

ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education, Urbana, Ill.

Contents

Forums

Related Articles

This Digest examines how changing family patterns have affected the full-day/half-day kindergarten issue, discusses why schools are currently considering alternative scheduling, and describes the advantages and disadvantages of each type of program.

Back to the Table of Contents

Changes In Family Patterns

• An increase in the number of working parents. The number of mothers of children under six who work outside the home increased 34 percent from 1970 to 1980 (Evans and Marken 1983). In 1984, 48 percent of children under six had mothers in the labor force (The National Commission on Working Women 1985)

• An increase in the number of children with preschool or day care experience. Since the mid-1970s most children have had some kind of preschool experience in Head Start, day care, private preschools, or in early childhood programs in the public schools. These experiences have provided children's first encounters with daily organized instructional and social activities before kindergarten (Herman 1984)

• An increase in the influence of television and family mobility. These two factors have produced 5-year-olds who seem more knowledgeable about their world and are apparently more ready for a full-day school experience than the children of previous generations

• Renewed interest in academic preparation for later school success. Even when both do not work outside the home, parents are interested in the contribution of early childhood programs (including full-day kindergarten) to later school success.

Schools and Full-Day Kindergarten

• State school funding formulas. Some states provide more state aid for all-day students, although seldom enough to completely pay the extra costs of full-day kindergarten programs. Other states allow only half-day state aid. Funding formulas would have to change in order for these schools to benefit financially from all-day kindergarten

• Busing and other transportation costs. Eliminating the need for noon bus trips and crossing guards saves the school system money

• Availability of classroom space and teachers. As school enrollment declines, many districts have the extra classroom space and enough qualified teachers to offer full-day kindergarten

Back to the Table of Contents

Advantages of Full-Day Programs

While the long-term effects of full-day kindergarten are inconclusive, Stinard's review of 10 research studies indicates that students taking part in full-day programs demonstrate strong academic advantages as much as a year later (1982). Stinard found that full-day students performed as well or better than half-day students in every study with no significant adverse effects.

A recent longitudinal study of full-day kindergarten in the Evansville-Vanderberg, Ohio, School District indicates that fourth graders maintained the academic advantage gained during full-day kindergarten (Humphrey 1983).

School districts that have planned a developmentally appropriate, non-academic curriculum with well-paced activities have reported few problems with full-day scheduling (Evans 1984; Stinard l982).

Back to the Table of Contents

Disadvantages of Full-Day Programs

Other requirements of full-day kindergarten, including the use of more classroom space, may be difficult to satisfy in districts where kindergarten or primary grade enrollment is increasing and school buildings have been sold.

In addition to citing added expense and space requirements as problems, opponents argue that full-day programs may become too academic, concentrating on basic skills before children are ready. In addition, they are concerned that one half-day of an all-day program may become merely child care.

Back to the Table of Contents

Advantages of Half-Day Programs

Specifically, half-day programs are viewed as providing continuity and systematic experience with less probability of stress than full-day programs. Proponents of the half-day approach believe that, given the 5-year-old's attention span, level of interest, and home ties, a half day offers ample time in school and allows more time for the young child to play and interact with adults and other children in less-structured home or child care settings (Finkelstein 1983).

Back to the Table of Contents

Disadvantages of Half-Day Programs

Back to the Table of Contents

Conclusion

Back to the Table of Contents

For More Information

Finkelstein, Judith M. RESULTS OF MIDWESTERN UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS STUDY: KINDERGARTEN SCHEDULING. Volume I Number 4. Iowa: Price Laboratory School Research, 1983. ED 248 979.

Grant, W. Vance, and Thomas D. Snyder. DIGEST OF EDUCATION STATISTICS 1983-84. Washington, D.C.: National Center for Education Statistics, 1983.

Herman, Barry E. THE CASE FOR THE ALL-DAY KINDERGARTEN. Fastback 205. Bloomington, IN: Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation, 1984. ED 243 592.

Humphrey, Jack W. A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF FULL-DAY KINDERGARTEN. Evansville, OH: Evansville-Vanderburgh School District, 1983. ED 247 014.

National Commission on Working Women. "Working Mothers and Their Families: A Fact Sheet." WOMEN AT WORK: NEWS ABOUT THE 80% (Winter 1985).

Stinard, Thomas A. SYNOPSIS OF RESEARCH ON KINDERGARTEN SCHEDULING: HALF-DAY, EVERYDAY; FULL DAY, ALTERNATE DAY; AND FULL DAY, EVERYDAY. Cedar Rapids, IA: Grant Wood Area Education Agency, 1982. ED 219 151.

"Woes Plague New York's All-Day Kindergartens," NEW YORK TIMES, October 13, 1983, section Y, page 47.

This Digest was prepared for the ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education, 1984.

Back to the Table of Contents

Credits

THIS DIGEST WAS CREATED BY ERIC, THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ERIC, CONTACT ACCESS ERIC 1-800-LET-ERIC

Back to the Top