Studying Combinations of Kindergarten Transition Activities Available to Children and Families

The purpose of this study was to explore whether teacher and parent reports of transition activities could be grouped into transition activity groups by looking for common combinations of survey responses across all the survey items. Importantly, we asked whether children who attended Head Start prior to kindergarten experienced different combinations of kindergarten transition activities than those who did not attend Head Start. We then sought to understand whether those different experiences were associated with outcomes in kindergarten. 

• Children and families experienced four common combinations of transition activities. These four distinct combinations were called Transition Activity Groups.
  • Transition Activity Group 1: Families Experienced Comprehensive Transition Activities (Comprehensive Activities). Children in this group experienced the most transition activities.
  • Transition Activity Group 2: Families Experienced Many Transition Activities, Except Scheduling Adaptations (Many Activities, Except Scheduling). This group included families who were likely to experience many of the transition activities but were less likely to experience activities that involved scheduling adaptations, such as shortened school days or staggered school entry.
  • Transition Activity Group 3: Families Least Likely to Experience Face-to-Face Transition Activities (Limited Face-to-Face Activities). This group included families least likely to experience face-to-face transition activities, such as home visits and parent-teacher meetings
  • Transition Activity Group 4: Families Least Likely to Receive Information about the Kindergarten Program (Limited Information Received). This group included families least likely to say they receive information about the kindergarten program.
• For children who previously attended Head Start and other children living with lower-income who had not attended Head Start, teachers and parents reported fewer types of transition activities than for higher-income children. Head Start and other lower- income children were more likely to be in Limited Face-to-Face Activities and Limited Information Received transition activity groups. Specifically, they were less likely to visit to the kindergarten classroom, have parents attending an orientation, and report that schools sent home information about the kindergarten program to families. 
• The combination of transition activities provided to children and families were associated with children’s initial school adjustment and parent involvement in kindergarten. Children and families with more of a variety of transition activities provided showed better outcomes.

These findings offer some evidence on activities that could best support children’s transitions into kindergarten. They suggest that providing more information to families about what to expect in kindergarten, engaging in more face-to-face transition activities, and making schedule adjustments to ease transitions could improve children and families’ experiences as they transition into kindergarten and throughout the kindergarten year.

A technique called Latent Class Analysis (LCA) was used to explore whether teacher and parent reports of transition activities could be grouped together based on common combinations of experiences. Subgroup analyses examined different experiences among children who previously attended Head Start, those who did not attend Head Start but came from lower-income families, and children from higher-income families. Regression analyses were used to look at whether transition activity group membership predicted child and family outcomes during kindergarten.

Elementary schools and districts may need to develop more strategic supports to address the needs of low-income children transitioning to kindergarten, regardless of their prior ECE setting. For example, schools and districts may need to broaden outreach activities, consider whether the timing of activities and events is accessible to all families, and address potential barriers to receiving kindergarten-relevant information. More research is needed to better understand which specific outreach activities best support different groups of children and families.

Findings also highlight the importance of building and maintaining collaborations around how to prepare families for kindergarten transitions. For example, Head Start programs and local schools can come together to work on joint transition activities, especially in places where elementary schools are currently carrying out fewer transition supports.

Ehrlich Loewe, S. B., Kyle DeMeo Cook, John Francis, Sarah Kabourek, Tamara Halle, Mitchell R. Barrows (2022). Studying Combinations of Kindergarten Transition Activities Provided to Children and Families, OPRE Report # 2022-269, Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ​