Half-Days or Full Days of Kindergarten? How and Why Parents Decide

Abstract

This study investigated the reasons parents of kindergarten children selected the attendance option of either full days or half-days for their child/ren. Three-hundred-and-thirty-two kindergarten parents from 30 schools across three Tasmanian school districts were participants in this study. Postal surveys were employed to gather data investigating the reasons behind parents' selection of either full-day or half-day attendance. Forty-nine percent of responses from ‘full-day parents’ (n=208) offered child-based reasons (including child's readiness for full days, preparation for Prep grade the following year, childcare issues, and quality of the learning program) for their selection. However, 94 per cent of parents of ‘half-day students’ (n=114) cited child-based reasons (including frequency of attendance, child's age, readiness for half-days, and quality of the learning program) for their decision. Few ‘half-day parents’ (4.3%) cited family-based reasons, while 50.6 per cent of ‘full-day parents’ cited these reasons (including work commitments, childcare convenience, transport issues and home location). Hence, while a majority of ‘half-day parents’ made their choice for child-based reasons, these results indicate that full-day kindergartens serve at least two functions: providing a service that supports an aspect of family life plus educating the kindergarten child.