Kindergarten Derogations in Quebec
Helping Parents Considering Early Advancement into School
Psychologist, Pauline Kafka PhD, shares information and insights for Quebec parents considering derogating a child who misses the academic cut-off date for kindergarten.
In Quebec, Canada, a child must be five by September 30th to qualify for kindergarten of that academic year. In Ontario, Canada, a child must be five by December 31 of that year. Although, different regions have different dates, the existence of a cut-off leaves some parents with kids turning five during the year, who must wait until the next academic year to start Kindergarten. Intellectually, emotionally, and physically the children born that year but after the cut-off date may be at similar level of development to their peers. Interestingly, in Quebec, parents have the right to challenge this cut-off and request the school board admit their child early.
The process of advancing a child into kindergarten early, known as the kindergarten derogation, requires a thorough psychological evaluation. This evaluation is aimed at assessing the child’s cognitive, emotional, social, and physical levels of development. The psychologist is trying to gather enough information about the child’s psychological capacities and emotional maturity to determine if that child is ready for the intellectual, behavioural, and social demands of the classroom. After all, kindergarten requires the child to be ready and able to learn, socialize, and demonstrate classroom behaviors as well as some self-discipline.
The derogation process is pursued by parents and conducted at their personal expense. Because it can be quite costly, it is important to carefully consider the reasons for advancing the child as well as advantages and disadvantages to beginning school early before seeking out a psychologist specializing in derogation.
Possible Reasons
Quebec parents’ motivations for derogating their child vary and need to be carefully evaluated for relevance to the issue of true academic readiness. Financial reasons (to stop paying daycare fees), social reasons (to keep kids with friends), achievement reasons (to push kids beyond peers), convenience reasons (to keep siblings at the same school) may all have merit. However, advancing a child into kindergarten has possible cons in need of mention.
Pro
Perhaps the only real advantage to derogating a child exists when the child is truly intellectually, socially, and emotionally ready to begin school. In fact, this should be the only motive for advancing a child into school. In this case, there is no harm in beginning early and the benefits include all the enrichment gained from the classroom, particularly for an advanced child who requires stimulation beyond that which is provided by their current environment.
Con
A child who is intellectually ready for school may not necessarily have the social or emotional skills to deal with the classroom environment or the school yard. Younger children are often behind older children (even those just a few months older) in physical, intellectual, emotional, and social development. This can present the derogated child with challenges and difficulties that could have been avoided by waiting the year.
The clear advantage to waiting until the next academic year is that the child has grown in all aspects and stands a greater chance of performing better. This may contribute to greater self-esteem and mastery than would have been possible the year before. Even for children who are ready for school early, there is no negative consequence for the delay of waiting for the next academic year. The decision Quebec parents make must ultimately rest on what is in the best overall psychological and academic interest of their child.
