Date of Award

January 2014

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Educational Leadership

First Advisor

Gary Schnellert

Abstract

Should children born during the summer months be enrolled in kindergarten onetime or should they be delayed a year? The purpose of this comparative case study was to formulate recommendations for parents and schools based on parent perspectives who made the enrollment choice, but also have had four to five years to evaluate their decision.

The research identifies points of consideration for parents and schools regarding kindergarten enrollment decisions for children born shortly before the enrollment cutoff date.

The researcher gathered data from parents who previously made this decision and had the option to enroll their child on-time or delay kindergarten enrollment for a year, creating two subgroups: 4th and 5th graders during the 2013-14 school year. The parents were asked to complete a survey concerning their child's academic, social, and emotional

development.

The first research question focused on parents' perceptions of their own children's academic, social, and emotional development. The responses indicated little difference in how parents perceived their children's academic, social, and/or emotional development, regardless of enrollment choice.

The second research question focused on parents' reflection of their original enrollment decision. Parents of female students remained comfortable with their choices and did not desire to change their initial decision. However, 50% of the parents of males enrolled on-time expressed an interest in changing their decision. In other words, if they

could do it over, they would choose to delay the entry of their son into kindergarten by a year. The findings encourage the need for further qualitative research.

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