Research that Benefits Children and Families

There are many research topics that really interest me.  If I were able to conduct research in an area, I would want to learn more about the effectiveness of certain types of interventions.  I’d also be interested in conducting research and gathering data on retention in Kindergarten.  These are two topics that are close to my heart as a Kindergarten teacher.  Each year we have a handful of students who don’t respond to normal levels of instruction and intervention.  Teachers send home extra materials and projects, work one-on-one with these children, and add them to our reading interventionist’s caseload.  At the end of the year, however, there are still a few that are so behind that we worry about sending them on to first grade.  Still others lack maturity, social, or behavioral skills and have the academic piece.  Keeping children to do a second year of Kindergarten is not a decision we make lightly.  I always wonder if I’m doing the right thing, though.  Does a second year really help?  If they’re not getting something will an extra year of the same thing really make a difference?  I would be interested to track student growth and progress to compare children who were pushed to first grade and lacked skills versus those who were held to do another year of Kindergarten.

This research would benefit children, families, and teachers.  Teachers would have some guidance and insight into when Kindergarten retention in beneficial and when it is detrimental.  Families would be able to understand a recommendation to hold or pass along a child because there would be more information and research to back it up.  Children would benefit from quality care given by adults who have their best interest in mind, but also have the information to back up their decision.