Kindergarten Classrooms

Perhaps it is because I spend a fair bit of time working with large datasets, but I have always been fascinated by studies that use classroom observations to collect data. While the Hawthorne effect is a real threat, I always find it fascinating when researchers are able to get into classrooms and observe practice.

Which is why I loved reading a recently published article on daylong observations of kindergarten classes. Our son Owen was a kindergartner last year, and there was only so much we could get out of him about his day:

Me: How was school? Did you have a good day?

O: Yeah.

Me: What'd you do?

O: Nothing.

Well, it turns out that "nothing" isn't too far from the truth. At least, when researchers conducted 82 classroom observations, they found that an average of about 33 to 42% of kindergartners' day was designated as "non-instructional time." More specifically, kids spent an average of 5-6% of their day starting and ending school; 7-9% transitioning between lessons; 9-11% moving to or from specials, recess, or lunch; 9-13% at meals; and 3-5% conducting other non-instructional or behavior management activities. 

Now, this wasn't too surprising to me. At least, it still shocks me how long it takes our family to get out the door to go anywhere, even places our kids want to go. All kids -- especially 5- and 6-year olds -- take a while to transition.

But the other findings in the paper are also interesting. The authors found that schools serving kindergartners with low income students spent an average of about 30 minutes more on literacy and 9 minutes more on math per day than schools serving high income students. In total, schools serving lower income students spent about 43% of the day on the core subjects of math, reading, science, and social studies, compared with with 34% in higher income settings. Schools serving higher income students also spent an average of 32 fewer minutes on non-instructional time.

So where do the differences show up? How do schools in higher income settings use instructional and non-instructional time differently? The researchers found 2 major areas: 

1. Gross motor - Any activity where students were physically active including recess and physical education, as well as dance, stretching, or breaks with structured or unstructured movement. 
2. Mixed content - Multiple types of content occurring simultaneously or for under a minute each, such as center time or small group activities that include math and science. 

As a parent, I want my kids to be in classrooms where they spend about a half hour more moving their bodies and another 40 minutes working in centers or engaging with multiple subjects, not to mention about a half hour less time transitioning. I think we all would. But, we have to recognize that the accountability pressures our schools face to perform in math and reading are real, especially for those schools serving low income students. 

Of course, a stronger focus on math and reading isn't inherently bad, but I worry that it may be counterproductive to child development. That is, what does it mean for our kids future school success if kindergarten becomes the new first grade? 

In future posts, I will wrestle with this question and begin to describe some of the research that my colleagues Michael Little, Lora Cohen-Vogel and I are beginning that examines how school leaders can navigate and strategically lead in early grades' spaces. 

Thanks for reading! More soon.

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