June 25, 2024

At the 2024 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Drexel School of Education alumna Katie Mathew, Ph.D. was recognized with an Outstanding Dissertation Award by the Early Education and Child Development Special Interest Group (SIG). Mathew’s dissertation, “Ready or Not? A Mixed Methods Case study of the Beliefs about Kindergarten Readiness and Transition Practices of Families” is just one of many excellent examples of the School of Education’s community-engaged scholarship, and one of many ways Drexel Education students are connecting with their neighbors in West Philadelphia. In her study, Dr. Mathew worked directly with local families and interviewed caregivers to understand family goals for their child’s transition to school. In addition to family interviews, she used information previously collected through a neighborhood family survey conducted by Action for Early Learning (AFEL).

Research for Dr. Mathew’s dissertation was conducted during the university’s Summer Kindergarten Bridge Program, a collaboration between the School of Education and Action for Early Learning teams at Drexel. The summer program provides five weeks of programming to introduce rising kindergarten students and their families to school routines and build their confidence as they transition to a new school environment. Developed as part of the West Philly Promise Neighborhood and facilitated through the school relationships School of Education built over the last several years, the program is preparing for the fourth year of operation in 2024.

In addition to supporting children in the community, the K Bridge Program employs Drexel Education majors as teachers throughout the summer. Through this paid position, students engage in the experiential learning Drexel is known for and are immersed in a hands-on classroom leadership experience. Teacher education students use the opportunity to practice building a classroom community and increase their confidence in teaching with the support of a School of Education graduate student who is also an experienced teacher, creating opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students to be involved.

When speaking about the experience, Drexel students have said “I feel like this is the most beneficial experience I’ve ever had working with a group of students in terms of helping them and also helping myself figure out exactly what I want to do with teaching.” Dr. Mathew helped write the curriculum for this program with support from SoE faculty, SoE staff, and AFEL staff members. She also served as the teacher leader for the first two years of the K Bridge Program. It is programs like this which combine Drexel’s strong relationships in the community to student experiences that exemplify the work of our university.

Dr. Mathew’s work was featured in two additional AERA Annual Meeting sessions, including a roundtable entitled “Safety as a Kindergarten Readiness Priority: Exploring the beliefs of minoritized parents/caregivers in collaboration with AFEL staff”. As the lead author of “Working Within, Against, and Beyond the Systems that Uphold Kindergarten Readiness: Centering Families’ Aspirations” published in Advancing Critical Pedagogy and Praxis across Educational Settings, the team’s work was part of a symposium on this volume of the series Urban Education, Cultures and Communities. Programs like the Kindergarten Bridge and Action for Early Learning partnerships continue to create experiential learning opportunities for Drexel students while offering continuous support for our West Philadelphia community.