English

ERIC ED504839: Crisis in the Kindergarten: Why Children Need to Play in School

Kindergarten has changed significantly in the last two decades: children now spend more time being taught and tested on literacy and math skills than they do learning through play and exploration, exercising their bodies, and using their imaginations. Many kindergartens use highly prescriptive curricula geared to new state standards and linked to standardized tests. In an increasing number of kindergartens, teachers must follow scripts from which they may not deviate. These practices, argue the authors, violate long-established principles of child development and good teaching, and compromise both children's health and their long-term prospects for success in school. The authors direct this report to policymakers, educators, health professional, researchers and parents to: (1) Restore child-initiated play and experiential learning to a central role in kindergarten education; (2) Reassess kindergarten standards to ensure that they promote developmentally appropriate practices, and eliminate those that do not; (3) End the inappropriate use in kindergarten of standardized tests; (4) Expand the early childhood research agenda to examine the long-term impact of current preschool and kin

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