Abstract
The design of early childhood settings, including the purpose of programs and regulations that govern them, tend to eventually mimic those in public elementary schools. This paper presents a collaborative framework that builds on a study on prekindergarten teachers’ goals and practices related to kindergarten readiness and approaches to preparing children for the transition to kindergarten. The study emphasized the tensions that emerge between developmentally sound, play-based approaches in early childhood settings and policy-driven accountability approaches evident in kindergarten. By situating these findings within organizational behavior and clinical psychology, the framework demonstrates how readiness can evolve into resilience when designed as a collaborative process. Six guiding principles from the Model for Collaboration—identifying the situation, clarifying expectations, establishing a collective commitment, ensuring open communication, encouraging effective practices, and following specific guidelines—are applied as design elements that reframe the notion of school readiness as both systemic alignment and psychological support. The analysis highlights how teachers, administrators, and evaluators, functioning as collaboration members, co-create educational environments that balance accountability with evidence-based pedagogy and the nurturing of children’s development. This collaborative framework thus contributes to the design of educational systems by offering a forward-looking model for integrating organizational alignment with psychological well-being in education, positioning resilience as the central design principle for the decades ahead.
Presenters
Julie ChappellStudent, Curriculum and Instruction , University of South Florida, Florida, United States Michelle Rincones Rodriguez
Student, Master of Science, London School of Economics Liliana Rodriguez-Campos
Department of Educational and Psychological Studies, University of South Florida
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Educational Institutions, Collaborative Evaluation, Program Change, Institutional Alignment, Psychological Well-Being
