The school readiness, language proficiency and preschool experience of Hispanic kindergarteners: An ecological perspective

This study investigated social, educational and linguistic factors influencing school readiness in preschool Hispanic children. The purposes were to (a) determine relationships between school readiness, language proficiency and preschool experience in Hispanic kindergarteners, and (b) identify which type of preschool program, by language of instruction, optimizes language proficiency and school readiness.; Information was collected on 259 Hispanic children from kindergartens in urban public schools in San Diego. Kindergarten teachers used an investigator-developed scale to rate subjects on school readiness. Preschool and kindergarten classes were observed and teachers interviewed. Each preschool classroom was categorized by language of instruction (Spanish, English, Bilingual or Mixed). Statistical analysis of the data yielded these results: (1) Children from formal preschool programs were rated significantly higher on most aspects of school readiness. (2) Preschool attendance had no significant effect on subjects' English or Spanish language proficiency (IDEA Language Proficiency Test). (3) School readiness showed a consistent relationship to Spanish language proficiency level, but not to English. Teachers rated Spanish dominant and bilingual students higher on school readiness than semilingual and English dominant students. (4) School behavior was rated higher for children from the English only preschool class than for bilingual classroom students. No differences on school readiness ratings between English only and Spanish only preschool program participants were noted. (5) English language proficiency levels for students from mixed language preschools were higher than the English only and Spanish only preschool students. Spanish language proficiency levels did not vary among students from the four preschool programs.; The analysis of data regarding gender and age indicated: (a) Girls rated higher than boys on task completion only. (b) Younger kindergarteners rated below middle and older groups consistently on school readiness, but not on language proficiency.; Classroom observations and interviews suggested that overall effectiveness in the preschool programs was mitigated by inconsistent policies on language of instruction, lack of community involvement and variability in teachers' bilingual instructional experience and Spanish proficiency. Based on the quantitative and qualitative results of this investigation, recommendations for planning effective preschool programs for Hispanic children and for further research are presented.