<p> Transitional kindergarten (TK) is the 1st year of a 2-year kindergarten program. It follows the requirements of California Senate Bill 1381 in providing a modified kindergarten curriculum that is both age and developmentally appropriate. The Kindergarten Readiness Act of 2010 changed the required entry age for admittance to kindergarten and first grade and developed a TK program to implement throughout districts. The criterion to enter a TK program is that students must turn 5 between the months of September 2 and December 2. The TK program is designed to place emphasis on developing cognitive, socioemotional, and physical skills. TK implements the same core curriculum and materials as the kindergarten program, with curricular modifications and developmentally appropriate practices that will allow TK students to ultimately meet the Kindergarten Common Core and State Content Standards at the end of their 2-year program. </p><p> This study aimed to explore teachers’ perceptions about the extent to which the new TK program contributes to students’ social, emotional, and cognitive development to ultimately yield better learning outcomes for students once they enter kindergarten. Further, this qualitative study aimed to give a voice to TK and kindergarten teachers who are at the heart of the TK program implementation. It explores not only how the implementation of the Kindergarten Readiness Act of 2010 affects teachers professionally but also how it affects the learning outcomes of students under their tutelage. </p><p> Overall, these findings of this study revealed teachers’ beliefs that the TK students needed extra time to develop the cognitive, socioemotional, and physical skills necessary to improve learning outcomes in kindergarten. Teachers viewed the TK program as developmentally appro- priate to meet the needs of all students; however, they believed that the TK curriculum did not integrate the developmental domains into teaching and learning of subject matter. In fact, the participants held diverse perspectives regarding the TK curriculum on preparing students for kindergarten. Although teachers held various perspectives on the TK curriculum, they expressed strong, unifying views on their passion for practice and the importance of their instructional practices.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:10286003 |
| Date | 08 July 2017 |
| Creators | Facaros Parra, Michelle |
| Publisher | California State University, Long Beach |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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