Date of Graduation

5-2014

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum and Instruction (PhD)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Curriculum and Instruction

Advisor/Mentor

John C. Pijanowski

Committee Member

Michael Daugherty

Second Committee Member

Ed Bengtson

Keywords

Education, Kindergarten, Parents, Redshirting, Relative age

Abstract

Kindergarten redshirting is the term used to describe the phenomenon where a parent chooses to keep their child from attending kindergarten so that the child may gain a year's worth of maturity. This qualitative dissertation examines the decision making process undergone by parents who have redshirted their children. While some parents began the decision making process soon after their child's birth, every parent in the study considered the decision carefully. The study also provides an analysis of the outcomes the redshirting has provided for children as perceived by their parents. Parents rated the academic, Social and emotional effects of kindergarten redshirting as highly positive for their child. The underlying theme that emerged from this study was the parental belief shared by parents who redshirted their child is that being older among peers provides more advantages for children in the early grades of elementary school as well as high school and college.

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