The transition to formal schooling is a large contextual change, which for many children in U.S. begins with the year of kindergarten. To better understand the challenges of this transition, the present study examines the extent to which children experience transition difficulties in five salient areas: making friends, following schedules, meeting academic demands, working within groups, and being organized.

Using a sample of 688 kindergarteners from 45 classrooms, we found that challenges in the transition to kindergarten were prevalent based on teacher report. More than 70% of the children were reported to have difficulty in at least one area, and over 30% of children had challenges in all five areas. Meeting academic demands and being organized were two of the most common challenges kindergarteners experienced. Gender and IEP status consistently predicted transition difficulties, in that boys struggled more than girls, and children with disabilities (on the basis of IEP provision) were more likely to have difficulties than those without IEPs. Overall, this work highlights the need to support children during the transition to kindergarten.

向正规学校的过渡是一个很大的环境变化，对于美国的许多孩子来说，变化始于幼儿园年。为了更好地理解这种过渡的挑战，本研究考察了儿童在五个显着领域经历过渡困难的程度：结交朋友，遵循时间表，满足学业要求，在小组内工作以及组织起来。

使用来自45个教室的688名幼儿园学生的样本，我们发现，根据教师报告，向幼儿园过渡的挑战十分普遍。据报告，超过70％的儿童在至少一个地区有困难，而超过30％的儿童在所有五个地区都有挑战。满足学业要求并组织起来是幼儿园儿童遇到的两个最常见的挑战。性别和IEP状况始终预示着过渡困难，因为男孩比女孩挣扎更多，而残疾儿童（根据IEP的规定）比没有IEP的儿童更容易遇到困难。总的来说，这项工作强调了在过渡到幼儿园期间需要儿童的支持。