Evaluating a district-wide kindergarten transition process for preschool children with special needs

Abstract

The present study was an explorative summative program evaluation of the preschool to kindergarten transition process used by a school district in the Denver-metro area. Surveys were provided to parents, preschool staff, and elementary school staff who were involved in the transition process for 57 young children with special needs moving into kindergarten placements for the 1998-99 school year. Respondents were asked to indicate their satisfaction with, and identify the importance of, each specific transition activity within the transition process. Follow-up measures of reported satisfaction with, and importance of, various transition activities, as well as a measure of each child's adjustment to kindergarten was obtained from the respondents two months following the beginning of the school year. All respondents reported high levels of satisfaction with the overall transition process and rated nearly all of the individual transition activities as important to the overall transition process. However, parents were significantly more satisfied with the transition process than were the preschool or elementary school teams. In general, elementary school teams appeared less satisfied with their ability to understand the student's needs and family concerns, while preschool teams were less satisfied with their ability to make systemic decisions for their students. The data suggest that by incorporating a district-wide preschool to kindergarten transition process, parents and educators were able to provide satisfactory transitions for a group of young children with special needs. Limitations of the present study, as well as future directions for research, are also discussed.