This book presents a comprehensive overview of childrens transitions to kindergarten as well as proven strategies that promote their readiness. It presents theories and research to help understand childrens development during the early childhood years.  It describes evidence-based interventions that support children in developmental areas essential to school success, including cognitive, social-emotional, and self-regulatory skills. Chapters review prekindergarten readiness programs designed to promote continuity of learning in anticipation of the higher grades and discuss transitional concerns of special populations, such as non-native speakers, children with visual and other disabilities, and children with common temperamental issues. The volume concludes with examples of larger-scale systemic approaches to supporting childrens development during the transition to kindergarten, describing a coherent system of early childhood education that promotes long-term development. 
Featured topics include:Consistency in childrens classroom experiences and implications for early childhood development.
Changes in school readiness in U.S. kindergarteners.
Effective transitions to kindergarten for low-income children.
The transition into kindergarten for English language learners.
The role of close teacher-child relationships during the transition into kindergarten.
Childrens temperament and its effect on their kindergarten transitions.Kindergarten Transition and Readiness is a must-have resource for researchers, clinicians and related professionals, and graduate students in child and school psychology, educational psychology, social work, special education, and early childhood education. 

Andrew J. Mashburn, Ph.D., is a Professor of Developmental Psychology at Portland State University.  His research focuses on identifying, developing, and testing innovative approaches to promote school readiness and later school success for children living in poverty.  He has been involved in large-scale studies of the effects of preschool programs and strategies to improve preschool quality and/or childrens development. 

Jennifer LoCasale-Crouch, Ph.D., is a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Virginia's Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning (CASTL). Her research focuses on the supports and systems that influence children during their early school experiences, and how we can best enhance those experiences to support childrens development. She has extensive experience in the design and implementation of studies in early childhood settings across varying cultural and geographic contexts.

Katherine C. Pears, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist at the Oregon Social Learning Center in Eugene, OR. Her research focuses on factors influencing school readiness and school adjustment in children facing early adversity such as placement in foster care due to maltreatment and poverty. She has designed, tested, and implemented preventive interventions for high-risk children to prepare them and their caregivers for the kindergarten transition.

Part I: Understanding Childrens Development during the Kindergarten Transition.- Chapter 1.A Conceptual Framework for Understanding and Supporting Childrens Development during the Transition to Kindergarten.- Chapter 2. Childrens Developmental Needs during the Transition to Kindergarten:  What Can Research on Social-Emotional, Motivational, Cognitive, and Self-Regulatory Development Tell Us?.- Chapter 3. Consistency in Childrens Classroom Experiences and Implications for Early Childhood Development.- Chapter 4. Continuity and Change in Low-Income Childrens Early Learning Experiences across the School Transition:  A Comparison of Head Start and Kindergarten Classrooms.- Chapter 5. Changes in School Readiness in Americas Entering Kindergarteners, 1998-2010.-Part II: Understanding Kindergarten Transitions for Specific Groups of Children.- Chapter 6. Effective Transitions to Kindergarten for Children with Disabilities.- Chapter 7. Recognizing and Addressing the Effects of Early Adversity on Childrens Transitions to Kindergarten.- Chapter 8. The Transition into Kindergarten for English Language Learners.- Chapter 9. School Readiness and Kindergarten Transitions:  Children with Vision Impairment and Blindness.- Chapter 10. Childrens Temperament and the Transition to Kindergarten:  A Question of Fit.-Part III: Supporting Childrens Development during the Kindergarten Transition.- Chapter 11. Transition Practices into Kindergarten and the Barriers Teachers Encounter.- Chapter 12. Transition Practices and Childrens Development during Kindergarten:  The Role of Close Teacher-Child Relationships.- Chapter 13. The Kids in Transition to School Program.- Chapter 14. Stretch to Kindergarten:  A Model of Shared Partnership for Student Success.- Chapter 15. Promoting Positive Transitions through Coherent Instruction, Assessment, and Professional Development:  The TRIAD Scale-up Model.- Chapter 16.Alignment and Coherence as System-Level Strategies:  Bridging Policy and Practice.