Summary:
Kindergarten retention aims at maturing the students who have developmental or emotional difficulties. The time of retention is considered vital in order for the students to prepare properly to cope cognitively and emotionally, as the elementary school demands (Mantzicopoulos & Morrison, 1992). Students with the highest retention rates, have learning disabilities, followed by those with behavioral disorders (Daniel & Wang, 2017). Οther cases for which retention is recommended are in children with low language skills and hyperactivity (Mantzicopoulos & Morrison, 1992). Many researches have studied the effects of retention on the educational envelopment of students attending the elementary school. Some of them were designed as quasi - experimental researches, while others approached the subject based on teachers' views. The majority of findings indicate negative effects on the educational and social - emotional progress of the students. However, the retention rates are constantly increasing. In the literature there are few researches that focused on parents’ perceptions. This study is a qualitative research. It’ s purpose is to investigate the aspect of the parents, regarding the influence of retention on the educational and emotional progress during education. The ultimate goal, is to compare their views and experiences regarding the educational, social and emotional development of their children, in primary school. The main questions concern the parents' perceptions of the term retention, the valuation of the legal framework referring to retention, as well as their aspect of its influence on the development of their children in elementary school. Semi - structured interview was used as the tool of the study. For the need of this interview, a guide which consists of three axes, was designed. The data was presented and analyzed using the content analysis tool. The sample of the research consisted of parents whose children retained to kindergarten. The main conclusion from the parents’ views is that retention does not induce clear results in emotional or academic development of the students, besides these results do not last long term. Additionally it seems that the practice of retention it is not inclusive and it results in students being categorized and also excluded from certain educational contexts. As it seems, the students do not benefit from retention, in order to be able to proceed to the following educational stages. Perhaps the Greek Educational System does not need retention to support its students, unlike the adoption of the principles of inclusive education and the utilization of differentiated education practices.
Keywords:
retention, kindergarten, parents' aspect, social- emotional development, educational development
