All articles

Background. A successful transition from preschool to primary school education is determined not so much by cognitive readiness as by the child’s social and personal readiness: the ability to self-regulate, engage in constructive interaction within a group, and fulfill new social roles. At this stage, social skills become a key resource for school adaptation. However, the expectations of adults (family and school) may diverge, and the subjective assessment of a child’s skill development may not meet the level of required standards.

Objective. To conduct a comparative analysis of the importance ratings of social skills by parents and primary school teachers; to identify the skills perceived by parents as least developed; to establish which skills necessary for school are most often insufficiently developed in children at the start of their education.

Sample. The study involved 80 primary school teachers (assessing skill importance) and two groups of parents: 510 individuals assessed the importance of skills, and 1,269 individuals assessed the level of their child’s skill development.

Methods. A cross-sectional, multi-informant survey was conducted. Skill importance was rated on a 1–5 scale (5 – “very important”), and skill development was rated on a 1–5 scale (5 – “describes the child extremely accurately”). The analysis included descriptive statistics; group comparisons using Welch’s t-test and effect size estimates (Cohen’s d); Spearman’s correlation analysis (r); calculation of the difference (imbalance) between importance and development levels; identification of “critical zones” based on importance-performance analysis (IPA).

Results. Teachers, on average, rated social skills as more important (M=3.96) than parents did (M=3.87), with statistically significant differences found for 15 out of 18 skills. The greatest discrepancies in priorities were identified for emotional regulation and responsibility for personal belongings (higher among teachers), as well as for the ability to ask clarifying questions, express needs, and demonstrate learning motivation (higher among parents). According to parental assessments, the least developed skills in children are emotional regulation (M=3.03), persistence (M=3.36), and adaptability (M=3.40). The maximum gap between high importance and low development, noted by both groups, was recorded for the skill of emotional regulation. Common “critical zones” for both parents and teachers were the skills of peaceful conflict resolution and active listening.

Conclusions. The results emphasize the need to enhance practices in preschool age aimed at developing self-regulation, resilience to difficulties, and skills of constructive interaction. The discrepancies between school and family expectations require not merely informing parents but jointly designing the content of educational continuity. Preschool institutions can initiate dialogue with primary school teachers, including through joint diagnostic and preventive measures.

This paper analyzes the phenomenon of the leap from kindergarten to primary school level of education. Different approaches to understanding the indicators of successful transition have been considered. As the most relevant condition and experience of children concerning occurring changes and new environments, expectations and activity of parents, quality of cooperation with family, educational and public organizations, quality of preparation of teachers come to the fore.

The transformation of ideas about factors influencing the well-being of the transition has been analyzed. The conclusion about the need for a comprehensive consideration of the role of early educational experience of children, their preparation to school, the continuity of the content and methods of education, the involvement of parents and the quality of interaction between all participants in the transition process has been drawn.

Some of the transition strategies have been considered, in particular, from the point of view of the purposes of support of this process, the basic regulatory documents, the most widespread ways of working with children, families, educational and public organizations, as well as challenges and complications.

Cases from Japan, Finland and Australia have been considered to illustrate possible areas of work to improve the transition between preschool and primary education. These countries are implementing significantly different strategies and tactics, while recognizing the need to improve the transition process and appreciating the role of early learning experiences. Japan’s approach is more oriented towards the creation of detailed regulations and the organization of interaction between teachers. The creation of a common methodological framework for early childhood education is relevant for Finland, and the particular implementation of innovations in transition is delegated to the educational institutions themselves. Australia is primarily focused on working with children in the preparatory stage, as well as on informing parents and encouraging them to engage proactively with children, teachers and each other.

This article describes the development of the system of special schools and preschools Russia towards the deepening of differentiation in accordance with an important principle of modern pedagogy – the achievement of the highest possible individualization in education. Unfolded in recent years, the integration of disabled children into regular educational institutions, particularly in the form of inclusion, is directly opposite this principle of pedagogy and ignores the patterns of mental activity in disabled children. It is also amazing that the realization of this integration was brought in by non-experts, showing a lack of understanding of these laws/patterns: through the introduction of inclusion they ruined the inclusive education of children with impaired speech, who, studying in a regular school, had received speech therapy in school speech therapy centers. Data is provided on the 35 year long experience of implementing integration in the US and the 30 year experience in the UK. In both countries there is no consensus among experts on the feasibility of integration, especially in the form of inclusion. A disabled child in a regular school loses most of the funds and conditions, which provide special education, while he, wherever he studies, remains the object of special education. There is no conclusive research that would prove that even one of the claimed benefits of inclusion has been achieved. Moreover, increasing attention to the adaptation of textbooks convinces us that the basic idea of inclusion – the education of a disabled child in the same class with normally developing children, and the same curriculum and the same textbooks for most disabled children – is untenable.

The aim of the article is to help children and their parents in a difficult period of child’s adjustment to the school. The authors examine the relationship of psychological readiness and success of the child’s entry into school life. Indicators of these process successfulness are described. The article highlights the series of preparatory steps for school and the begining of the school life. Possibilities of support of first-graders in this interesting and difficult path to adulthood are explored. The answers to the questions whether the child knows the rules and able to comply with them without supervision by the parents and other adults, whether the child is ready to build a relationship with the teacher and peers in the form of cooperation are provided. Guidelines for psychological care to ensure safe entry child in school life are described.

The article presents a series of studies of the effect of mother on the course of the child’s adaptation to preschool institute. Correlation between quality of attachment to the mother, the nature of the interaction in the dyad, mother’s attitudes to the preschool institute and adaptation of the child to preschool establishment are shown. The study involved 107 mother-child pairs. The methods used in the study were: analysis of adaptation lists of children; interview with teachers, aimed at identifying the features of adaptation of the child; standardized observation of children, including meeting and parting with mother; interviews with parents aimed at identification of the relationship to early childhood institutions; the questionnaire for the study of the interaction of parents with their children (Markovskaya, 1988); a questionnaire for children and parental emotional interaction (Zaharova, 2002). The results showed that the favorable course of the process of adaptation occurs in children with secure attachment, with a high level of emotional interaction between mother and child and the positive attitude of the mother to preschool education. Unfavorable adaptation is seen in children with insecure attachment, lack of positive emotional interaction in the dyad, negative experiences during mother’s visit to preschool establishment.

Background. The study of the adaptation of preschool children who have experienced the consequences of hostilities, taking into account the psychotraumatic impact of an extreme situation, is due to the increased vulnerability of the psyche and the lack of development of constructive coping and adaptation mechanisms in children of this age.

Objectives. To analyze theoretical and empirical studies/approaches devoted to assessing the impact of traumatic events on the psychoemotional development of preschool children.

Sample. The theoretical analysis involved analyzing 55 sources, including 38 domestic and 17 foreign, published between 1977 and 2025. The chronological coverage is as follows: contemporary research (2021–2025) — 38%, research from the last 10 years (2016–2025) — 55%. The selection of sources was based on the scientific significance of the publications, their methodological validity, and the relevance of the problem being studied for this study.

Methods. A retrospective and contextual analysis of foreign and domestic studies devoted to the problem of adaptation of preschoolers who survived the consequences of hostilities.

Results. The article presents a study of the impact of traumatic events associated with the consequences of military operations, leading to adaptation disorders in preschool children. The consequences of the effects of hostilities on preschool children have been identified, which include acute stress, fear, attachment to a significant adult, regressive phenomena, and psychosomatic disorders. The specifics of adaptation processes under conditions of extreme influences on the preschool child’s psyche are characterized by the need for a deep transformation of previously formed behavioral patterns. This transformation becomes possible only within the framework of psychological and pedagogical support, taking into account the individual psychophysiological characteristics of children, their current state of mental health, and the specifics of traumatic experience.

Conclusions. The study revealed the significant impact of the effects of military conflict on the psyche of preschoolers, leading to adaptation disorders and the development of traumatic experiences. Effective adaptation of these children requires comprehensive psychological and pedagogical support, including remedial work with both the preschoolers themselves and significant adults. The effectiveness of support is enhanced by the systematic use of forms and methods, the effectiveness of which has been confirmed by experimental studies in working with children who have experienced the effects of military conflict.