Social and personal readiness for school as assessed by parents and teachers: identifying critical areas
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Abstract
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.
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