School Readiness

School readiness can best be defined as a psychological state in which the child is prepared for or ready to engage in and benefit from the formal and informal learning experiences, both academic and social, that organized education provides. Determining exactly what this preparedness entails, the extent to which it is active or passive, and where specifically it originates, however, introduces considerable complexity into the definition of readiness. For some, readiness is a function of the school environment and expectations, academic and otherwise, that schools have for children as they begin formal elementary education. For others, school readiness is determined by children's social skills and ability to interact in appropriate and meaningful ways with peers and teachers in the school environment. For yet others, school ...