Academic Pressure and Expectations Impacting Upon the Educational Provision In Kindergartens :

Renewed interest in the early academic preparation of young children, designed to lead to future success in schooling, has been impacting upon the educational provision for many kindergarten students. Academically focussed curricula are becoming more prevalent in kindergarten settings, resulting in traditional play-based approaches being challenged by some parents and educators. This paper reports on a study, which sets out to ascertain the prevalence of more formalised teaching and learning practices being undertaken in Tasmanian kindergartens with four and five year old children, when the teachers' area of specialisation, years of teaching experience and school location are considered. Eighty six kindergarten teachers from three of the six Tasmanian state school districts participated in the study. Results showed that teachers from isolated school locations and those with limited teaching experience were the teachers utilising the most teacher-directed learning experiences in kindergarten. Conversely, teachers from urban locations who had between sixteen and twenty five years of teaching experience were providing the least formalised learning program for their kindergarten students. It is evident that strong leadership is needed for some groups of teachers in Tasmanian schools if these trends towards formalisation of the kindergarten-teaching program are to be addressed. Establishment of strong collegial support networks would also be beneficial, especially for those less-experienced and isolated teachers, to allow informed debate to be undertaken by all kindergarten teachers on this important issue in young children's learning.