Background. Parents’ perceptions of their children’s school readiness play a significant role in shaping their psychological readiness and successful adaptation to school. The nature of a preschooler’s preparation for this new social stage can determine their future attitude toward learning. Despite extensive research on psychological readiness, parental views on this phenomenon remain understudied.
Objective. To study and conduct a comparative analysis of the perceptions of parents of preschoolers and first-graders regarding their children’s readiness for school.
Sample. The study was conducted in Baku among 74 Russian-speaking parents of preschoolers and first-graders aged 27 to 50 years (M=37; SD=5).
Methods. The study utilized the “Identifying Parents’ Perceptions of Psychological Readiness for School” method by M.V. Klimakova, Yu.A. Kochetova, and A.E. Sakadanova. The Student’s t-test, Mann-Whitney U-test, frequency analysis, and one-way ANOVA were used to process quantitative data.
Results. Parents’ perceptions of their children’s readiness for school did not differ statistically between those of preschoolers and first-graders. Differences in perceptions were identified based on parents’ subjective assessments of their child’s academic performance and the type of preschool preparation. No relationship was found between parents’ perceptions and their socio-demographic characteristics (age, gender, education level, number of children in the family).
Conclusions. Starting school does not lead to a change in parents’ perceptions of their child’s readiness. Parents who rate their child’s academic performance as “excellent” place a greater emphasis on motivational readiness than parents who rate it as “satisfactory.” Parents whose children attended a preschool program are less likely to focus on their child’s mastery of the school curriculum.