ABSTRACT

Research Findings: The present study examined the extent to which instructional practices, including curriculum, in pre-K through third grade are vertically aligned. Attention was directed to teachers’ grouping practices, academic content, and pedagogical methods given their importance for students’ learning. Variable- and person-centered analyses examined these practices for a sample of 1,095 students in 179 pre-K through third-grade classrooms. A comparison of practices indicated that pre-K practices were significantly mis-aligned from those used in kindergarten through third grade, whereas kindergarten practices were well aligned with practices used in the older grades. Examination of profiles of classroom practices showed there to be four profiles, one of which was considered as “academic-light group work,” which was dominated by pre-K and kindergarten classrooms. Practice or policy: Overall, this study found that instructional practices in pre-K were starkly different from those in kindergarten through third grade, and that kindergarten appears to be highly academic for about two-thirds of classrooms. This work underscores the importance of practices and policies that promote alignment from pre-K into the primary grades and how it might be enhanced.

摘要

研究成果：本研究检查了学前班到三年级的教学实践（包括课程）在多大程度上是垂直对齐的。考虑到教师的分组实践、学术内容和教学方法对学生学习的重要性，我们将注意力集中在这些方面。以变​​量和以人为中心的分析对 179 所学前班到三年级教室的 1,095 名学生样本检验了这些做法。实践比较表明，学前班实践与幼儿园到三年级使用的实践明显不一致，而幼儿园实践与高年级使用的实践完全一致。对课堂实践概况的检查显示有四个概况，其中一个被认为是“学术轻的小组工作，实践或政策：总体而言，这项研究发现，学前班的教学实践与幼儿园到三年级的教学实践截然不同，幼儿园大约三分之二的教室似乎具有高度学术性。这项工作强调了促进从学前班到小学年级的一致性的实践和政策的重要性，以及如何加强它。