{"id":24364,"date":"2013-09-16T09:07:30","date_gmt":"2013-09-16T14:07:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=24364"},"modified":"2013-09-16T09:07:30","modified_gmt":"2013-09-16T14:07:30","slug":"brock-prof-co-evaluator-of-ontario-kindergarten-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2013\/09\/brock-prof-co-evaluator-of-ontario-kindergarten-research\/","title":{"rendered":"Brock prof co-evaluator of Ontario kindergarten research"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kindergarten is serious business.<\/p>\n

Playing with puppets, plasticine and paints individually and in groups might look like fun, but in fact, some heavy-duty social and cognitive development is taking place.<\/p>\n

And early childhood education expert Mary-Louise Vanderlee explains that the longer this occurs, the better.<\/p>\n

“An extended time in kindergarten allows for greater exposure to quality early learning experiences,” the Faculty of Education associate professor tells The Brock News<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"Mary-Louise<\/a>

Mary-Louise Vanderlee<\/p><\/div>\n

“It allows deeper engagement so that children can focus for a longer period of time on their activities. It fosters more opportunity to have small group and one-to-one interaction. These are all things that support child development.<\/p>\n

“Additionally, the fact that two educators are in classes with 16 or more children also enhances the education and care within the program,” she says.<\/p>\n

Vanderlee, along with Ray DeV Peters from Queen’s, were the principal evaluators of a province-wide research team that the Ontario government commissioned to evaluate the implementation of all-day kindergarten and examine its benefits.<\/p>\n

The Ministry of Education released key findings September 3<\/a>. Vanderlee explains that, compared to children enrolled in half-day or alternate day programs, children in full-time kindergarten “typically adapt quicker to routines, engage in tasks for longer periods of time, and have much more exposure to experiences that support self-regulation.”<\/p>\n

The team collected data from 693 children in 125 schools over a two-year period. Using the Early Development Instrument – a UNESCO-reviewed measurement of early childhood development – researchers found that full-day kindergarten:<\/p>\n