Citation

Olsen D, Zigler EF. Early Child Res. Q. 1989; 4(2): 167-186.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1989, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/S0885-2006(89)80001-8

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

During the past decade the number of children attending an extended-day kindergarten program has swelled from a relative handful to include almost half of the 5-year-olds in the country. In this paper we offer a review of the literature suggesting that the enthusiasm for a longer, more academically oriented kindergarten day may have outstripped actual empirical support for the movement. Our analysis suggests that working parents, whose day care needs make a longer school day an attactive option, are still left with a day care dilemma for the hours between the end of school and the end of work. Children, on the other hand, are being asked to cope with longer periods of formal academic instruction with which they may or may not be developmentally equipped to deal. An alternative solution to the present all-day kindergarten is proposed, namely, combining a half-day of kindergarten with an optional half-day of high quality, in-school day care.