Parental decision-making about school start age in Australia : Democratic for whom?

Variance in school starting age policies across Australia offers some parents flexibility of choice. As a result, an increasing number of children in Australia with birthdays between January and July now commence school a year after the child is first eligible, a practice known as academic redshirting (Edwards et al., Aust Rev Public Aff 10:41–60, 2011) or delayed school entry. The purpose of the study was to explore the lived experience of parents who were in the process of deciding whether to academically redshirt their child to determine main influences on decision-making. The study adopted a qualitative approach, using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with ten parents who were making decisions as to whether their preschool child should start school in the following year. Analysis of results revealed many parents reporting feelings of stress and anxiety, especially if making the decision for the first time. Decision-making was influenced by four superordinate themes: characteristics of individual children, readiness, own experience and advantage. Parents’ plans for the year before school were also examined because this has been shown to affect human capital accumulation, or skill attainment, which can impact on overall achievement at school and beyond (Elder and Lubotsky, J Hum Resour 44:641–683, 2009). Significant disparity of early childhood education and care (ECEC) quality exists, alongside limited understanding from parents of how ECEC services are rated. Whilst many parents reported perceived advantages with delayed school starting age, their decision was influenced by high childcare costs and disparity of family socioeconomic circumstance. These inequities mean that the notion of choice is not democratically just for all and the decision not determined by children’s readiness.