Starting School in Australia

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About Me

Hello and welcome to my website. I grew up in the North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales. Public school educated; I thoroughly enjoyed my own schooling experiences. So much so, it was an easy decision to become a teacher myself when I finished school. I regularly tell my students that I loved school so much that I have never left.

My interest in the topic of “when children should start school” arose when my own son Lachlan turned three. Born in January, I needed to decide whether to send him to school at the earliest opportunity (where he would possibly be one of the youngest in the year) or send him at the latest opportunity. I chose the latter. You can read more about my own personal experience with this important decision in the designated blog.

https://orcid.org/0009-0005-0558-2964

Qualifications

  • Bachelor of Education (Secondary Education) (Human Movement and Health Education) – 2001- University of Sydney
  • Master of Educational Leadership – 2013- Australian Catholic University
  • Master of Religious Education – 2015- Australian Catholic University
  • Doctor of Education – 2024- Australian Catholic University

Awards

  • Australian Catholic University – 2012 – Dean’s List – Academic Excellence –
  • Australian Catholic University – 2016 – Brother MB Hanrahan Religious Education Prize – Academic Excellence

Publications

MacKinnon, K. (2019). Parental decision-making about school start age in Australia: Democratic for whom? In V. Margrain & A. L. Hultman (Eds.), Challenging democracy in early childhood education, (pp. 57-74). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7771-6_5

MacKinnon K. (2024). The rollercoaster ride: An interpretative phenomenological analysis of parental decision- making concerning academic redshirting of school entry [Professional Doctorate Thesis]. Australian Catholic University. https://doi.org/10.26199/acu.904wz

Thesis Summary

My Doctoral thesis explored parents’ decision-making experiences concerning when their child should commence formal schooling in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with 10 parents and four focus group interviews with parents from various regions across NSW. Key findings revealed parents often experienced cycles of indecision and feelings of ambiguity as they navigated this important decision. These were attributed to a clear misalignment between early childhood and school sectors in relation to school readiness attributes during this important transition. This qualitative study has made a significant contribution to the field of research, which to date has been predominantly quantitative research. This study also employed a unique methodology to explore the experiences of parents in detail.